When we saw the first mainstream 4K displays a few years ago at CES, we knew they were something really special. The clarity and color made what we thought was the perfection of 1080p look like an old tube television from days gone by. But the price. Ugh. The price put these first gen 4K displays well outside the reach of Average Joe PC Buyer. But thankfully prices have come down over the past few years to a level that’s not just affordable, but now downright attractive, making all of that high pixel density goodness available to the masses. It’s been a few years since we had something really “revolutionary” in the world of gaming. But that revolutionary thing is here, and 4K be thy name.
So what makes 4K gaming so great?
Well for starters, check out the pixel density that a 4096 x 2160 (4K) resolution display brings when compared to 1920 x 1080 (1080p) as illustrated below. That’s around 4x the number of pixels over what we consider today to be “High Definition.”
Ok, fine, there are WAY more pixels, but how does that really affect my gaming experience?
Yes, and quite a bit. Though the jury is still out on 4K as a home theater medium due to the lack of content (online streaming is about the only way to currently watch a 4K movie, much to the chagrin of ISPs), gaming has been much quicker to adapt to that additional resolution with some of the biggest titles coming this Fall and Winter already primed for 4K. And because we sit so much closer to our PC screens than our TVs, those additional pixels really do make a difference. Check out this side-by-side from Batman: Arkham Origins.
Or this one from the upcoming Battlefield: Hardline.
The 4K gaming bandwagon is here. Time to jump on or get left behind. Ready to get started configuring a custom desktop to crush 4K? Let’s go.
Josh Covington
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