P870dm-g 4k Screen Enquiry

Hi everyone,

I currently own a p870dm-g laptop which has developed a fault with its 1080p screen. I've been offered an upgrade to a 4k panel with g-sync.

In regards to the 4k screen when using windows, what lower resolutions can you run it at? Is the screen still clear when running it at these resolutions, and are there borders around it? In your opinion is it worth the upgrade especially for gaming? I use applications that don't tend to scale well at higher resolutions, thus why I'm asking if it's possible to lower the resolution without distorting the display too much.

Thanks in advance for all your help and advice. It is most appreciated.

Kind regards

 

You can choose the type of scaling you like, 1080p will look good, maybe a touch less clear than native 1080p panels but perfectly acceptable.

 

The 4k should have all of the common resolutions below 1080 I would think. I did not actually check if any were missing as I rarely (never?) have gone below 1080 for anything other than maybe a benchmark like 3dmark11.

It should look good at 1080 as Meaker said, and 2560x1440 looks great in games, but windows will be a little blurry of course being non native (just as 1280x720 will be a little blurry on a 1080 screen).

You won't get any black borders if you have your GPU scaling set that way. Some prefer the bars to maintain either screen ratio or 1:1 pixel mapping but like you, I usually stretch the image to full screen.

One thing to note, are you running above 60hz refresh? That could be a huge downside for you if you are used to 75 or 100hz having to go back to 60 which is all the 4k panel will do.

 

Some screens scale better than others. Check with the seller to see which 4K panel (make and model) they're offering, then see whether you can find reviews on it. Typically, scaling down to 1080p still looks fine (but not as fine as a native 1080p screen).

 

DPI scaling is terrible in Windows, especially 10. I have poor eyesight and need some scaling on my 2560x1440 external monitor. At 125% it's not awful, especially since I use a program that makes W10's scaling behave more like Windows 8.1's, which looks better overall.

My Yoga 2 Pro has a 3K (3200x1800) screen, and its 13-inch size means I have to really crank up scaling to make it even somewhat usable. Dropping to 1600x900 looks even more awful. I absolutely hate it and wish I would have gotten the 1080p version instead.

4K on a 17-inch screen isn't worth it, IMO. @Mithredath, can you see if it would be possible to have them replace your screen with a 1080p G-Sync panel? I think you'll enjoy it a lot more.

 

also, they said they will upgrade you to a G-Sync 4K screen? I wasn't aware that 4K screens have GSYNC now. Either Ways, running any resolution other than the native resolution means you will get a blurry screen. Unless you choose the native resolution with DPI scaling which not all apps/games work well with.

I would never buy a 4K screen on a laptop personally but that's just me.

 

Yeap, Prema magic ftw~
But the panel is fantastic. So beeeaaaauuutiiifuull.