I'm setting up a new gaming rig with a 5070Ti, 9800x3d, and 32GB of RAM, all overclocked. I'm thinking of buying a 240Hz OLED monitor; there's a great deal on a used 4K Alienware model for $750, but I'm also considering a 240Hz 1440p version. I play demanding and competitive games like Rust and want to know if it's smart to get a 4K monitor and downscale to 1440p for those games. What kind of trade-offs should I expect if I go with the 4K option? Any advice would be much appreciated!
4 Answers
If you’re looking for something great for immersive gameplay, consider a 3440x1440 ultrawide! A 4K panel might not be necessary unless you have a powerful GPU like a 5090. Plus, low VRAM could be an issue for 4K. Consider the gaming experience you really want!
I’ve heard good things about ultrawides! Might be worth considering instead.
From experience, you'd probably get way better FPS with 1440p—around 100FPS—while you'll struggle to hit 60FPS at 4K in AAA titles on a 5070Ti. If you had a beefier GPU, like a 4090 or 5080, I'd say 4K is worth considering.
That definitely helps! So for competitive gaming, 1440p sounds like the better option.
Absolutely! I’d go with 1440p for competitive titles.
If you do go with a 4K display, you’ll want games that support upscaling or dynamic resolution, which helps keep the HUD and text clear when you downscale. Not all games handle this well, and if they don’t, your gameplay could look fuzzy if the resolution doesn’t scale nicely. Think about if the titles you play have features like DLSS. Also, if you do a lot of non-gaming like programming or office work, a 4K monitor can be a game changer for productivity!
That makes sense! I'm mainly focused on gaming, though, so I need to think about frames per second.
Exactly! But if you're mainly gaming, maybe just stick with 1440p.
Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend getting a 4K 240Hz monitor if you plan on downscaling. You might not hit the refresh rate you want in most games, and it seems like a waste to have a higher resolution just to lower it for better FPS. 1440p looks excellent on Windows already!
But I'm not trying to downscale all the time, just for a couple of games. Can you tell me more about how it might perform generally?
Yeah, I think 1440p looks great too, especially for competitive gaming!
I just got an ultrawide, and it's seriously the best upgrade I made!