I've been using 1080p devices but want to upgrade over the next year. After my old monitor died, I quickly bought a 27-inch 1080p display, but although it was fine for gaming, regular desktop use was uncomfortable and strained my eyes. I then learned about dual-mode monitors that can run at 4K for everyday use and switch to 1080p at a higher refresh rate for gaming. I found a 27-inch Asus TUF 4K monitor on sale for around $200 and have been very happy with it. A button switches it to 1080p and 300 Hz for gaming, then back to 4K afterward. My concern is whether running a 4K desktop from an older GTX 1060 is somehow harmful or inefficient. Is there a catch to this setup, and how does the dual-resolution mode actually work?
2 Answers
The monitor does not physically change its panel resolution. It switches modes so the computer outputs 1080p and the monitor scales that image to fill the 4K panel. The advantage is that the lower resolution requires much less rendering work and can allow a higher refresh rate over the available HDMI or DisplayPort bandwidth.
A GTX 1060 being old does not mean it cannot output a 4K signal. The difficult part is rendering demanding 4K games, not sending a 4K desktop image to the monitor. Older and weaker integrated graphics have driven 4K displays for ordinary productivity tasks, so one 4K monitor is well within the card’s capabilities.
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