Dialing down resolution is not the best thing to do for getting high image quality. Yes, you can dial down the resolution and run 1440p on a 4K monitor but the answer is not complete at all and it requires further explanation. We need to analyze the purpose of monitor 4K vs. 1440p, and the scaling factor in this spectrum of inquiry. Let’s begin.
1440p Resolution on 4K Monitor – How Is It?
Need for Resolution
The smallest unit of computer monitors is pixels. As the number of pixels gets increases, the picture quality of the monitor gets better. On a 1440p or 2560 x 1440 monitor, there are 1440 pixels on the vertical side of the monitor. Whereas, there exist 2160 vertical pixels on the 4K or 3840 x 2160 monitor. Therefore, the 4K monitor will always produce high-quality pictures as the number of pixels is more compared to the 1440p (popularly known as 2K) monitor. You would need a more-resolution monitor to watch crystal clear videos, movies, Netflix that provides an eyes-soothing experience.
4K vs 1440p Purpose of the Monitors
The 4K monitor is excellent for producing attractive visual content. The games that are less demanding on the FPS (Frame per Second), or in other words, visual content-based normal games are suitable for 4K monitor. Many games even are not supported by the 4K resolution. Hence, the 4K monitor is not considered a beast for gaming. However, for pure eyes-soothing stuff, there is no alternative to 4K resolution.
On the other hand, 1440p is kind of that balanced resolution that hits the sweet spot both in terms of resolution and FPS (Frame per Second). Yes, it won’t produce as high image quality as 4K will; but it is enough for most of the activities with the monitor. The gamers, especially, love 1440p for its higher FPS (Frame per Second) as the resolution gets decreased and for its higher refresh rate as well.
All in all, the graphic designers, content creators, and normal users should always go for a 4K monitor if there is no budgetary constraint. However, to get a good monitor at a reasonable price, and when the main purpose of the monitor is gaming, then 1440p is the best one.
Why would You Need to Lower the Resolution in the First Place?
In my opinion, the 4K monitor is too advanced for the time being. Even some of the most modern games do not support them as high resolution like 4K. So, if you are already a 4K monitor owner, what would you do to play your favorite game that is supported only up to 1440p? There is no alternative to dial down the resolution to 1440p on the game. You should have been choosy and thinking before deciding to buy the 4K monitor.
Can 1440p Resolution Run on 4k Monitor?
Although 1440p resolution can be run on a 4K monitor, there are some downsides to it. First of all, you can dial down the resolution in two ways:
1. dialing down the resolution to 1440p from in-game settings
2. dialing down the resolution to 1440p from the computer’s display.
The latter one is even more problematic as all other activities besides gaming will be run at 1440p.
What are the problems created by lowering the resolution? A 4K image runs best on a 4K resolution; similarly, a 1440p image also runs best on its native 1440p resolution. So, when you force the 1440p picture to run on the 4K monitor, naturally it will not show its original form. Rather, you may see blurry and distorted images as the pixels of 1440p cannot be fit into the 4K monitor. This way the monitor cannot maintain proper scaling. Here is an example of a difference in graphics quality when someone wants to run a 1440p game on a 4K monitor (the grass gets blurry with the 1440p resolution).
Up to this point, you might misunderstand me thinking the images get really bad. To your relief, the difference is not that much and it will work well on most occasions. But the point is: why you would experience less quality even that is minimal by bothering to lower the resolution. Instead, go for a 1440p monitor to play any kind of game smoothly.
Conclusion
You can run 1440p resolution on a 4K monitor with some adverse effects like blurring, distorted texts, stuttering, etc. So, it is not a good thing for overall experience. Hopefully, you have understood the matter; that’s all for today.
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