Making The Switch To 4K

MAKING THE SWITCH TO 4K RESOLUTION

Is Making The Jump Worth It?

4K Resolution is all the rage now-a-days. Every major TV and Monitor manufacturer has about a dozen models out there, and it really is only a matter of time before 4K resolution is an industry standard output. However, present day, is it really worth your resources to make the switch? That completely depends on you.

First off, we need to look at a few things. The main reason to upgrade to 4K is to utilize as many pixels in possible in your monitor, to achieve the sharpest and most clear image possible. Keeping this in mind, you need a montior specifically made to output 4K res. Anything else will look good, but won't hit your mark.

So think about it, is that really important to you? Are you into graphic design, and want to be able to manipulate pixels that you would have never been able to have worked with? Or do you want to achieve as close to real life detail in games as possible? If so, then we can move on.

The Hardware Needed

Just for the record, we are not going to state a specific build, but rather touch on the things you need to look into before you make this switch.

First off is, of course, the Graphics Card. Simply put, even if you have a top of the line gfx card installed and can max that bad boy out running at 60 fps playing Crysis 3 on Ultra, you most likely won't be able to push out a 4K resolution while maintaining that framerate. If you try, with a single top of the line gfx card, such as the GeForce GTX 950, you will most likely only be able to pump out around 30 fps, and maybe run it on high settings, (In fact, the 980 struggles with this as well).

Now, it's not all bad news. Major leading developers, such as NVIDIA and AMD, have already released flagship models that are capable of running at 4K res by themselves.

Take for example, the GeForce GTX TITAN X, the mother of all gfx cards. This bad boy can deliver everything you are looking for in a 4K setup, being able to beast through all your favorite games Ultra HD. The only drawback to this upgrade is the price tag, currently coming in at around $1,100.00, depending on the retailer.

If you have the space however, you could also just go with two GTX 980's, which will boost your performance higher than the GTX TITAN X can handle. The main problem with this boils down to the simple question of if you want two gfx cards or just one.

Of course, in upgrading your card, you might need a new CPU, so keep that in mind as well. As soon as you figure out which gfx card setup you are going to go with, you need to check if your current CPU is compatible or not.

One other issue you may run into is a lack of power being supplied to your build if you are using a bulkier gfx card. The minimum system power requirement for a TITAN X to be used is 600w. Most likely, however, you are going to need a lot more power in order for your computer to run smoothly.

The Last Thing To Consider

Coming in as the last major thing needed to make your switch to 4K is going to be a new monitor. Which one is completely up to you. However, we have a suggestion to make; if you are going to use an NVIDIA GPU, we recommend the Acer XB280HK, and other reviewers do as well.

The reason for this basically comes down to a much much smaller price point, and offers G-Sync, which is crucial if you go with an NVIDIA GPU. There are other competitors in the 4K market, however, they come in at a price point that is completely unrealistic.

The Acer XB280HK is coming in currently at around $680.00 on Amazon (link), but that is compared to other models, which come in at anywhere between $1,000 - $1,500.00 (estimation).

So Is It Worth It?

If you are really looking to make the switch, definately go for it. But make sure you do your research before you spend the money to build such a glorious machine. You don't want a CPU that will hold your GPU back, and you don't want your system to be underpowered. There is a lot to think about, but in the end, you will not be disappointed. This is literally the upgrade of the decade.