The 4k 120hz monitors he is recommending all have a fan noise issue, since they all use the same basic design with a dinky small fan in the back and I think panel. I did a deep dive on it myself and decided in the end not to do it because of the fan issue:
Time to Upgrade Your Monitor
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Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor
#622I disabled font smoothing for a hot minute: text became dimmer, and contrast was reduced.
It became much harder to read text and it strained my eyes.
Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor
#623Earlier quoted context omitted.
What CRT(s) are you using?
My personal workstation has a Samsung Syncmaster that I don't have model number available now. The maximum resolution is around what people call 2k, but 60hz, that I don't like. My current resolution is 1600x1200 75hz.
Reminds me of a Dell CRT I used to use - 1600x1200@80Hz, and 21" IIRC. Every monitor I've had until fairly recently has felt like a compromise in some way compared to it, but taking a CRT to university was a non-starter.
HD-DVDs playing on my Xbox 360 looks looked glorious on it (Xbox 360 supported 1600x1200 output, as did some games IIRC, and any widescreen content would just get letterboxed.
Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor
#624Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hello! Person who actively dislikes 4k here. In my experience: 1. No matter what operating system you're on, you'll eventually run into an application that doesn't render in high dpi mode. Depending on the OS that can mean it renders tiny, or that the whole things is super ugly and pixelated (WAY worse than on a native 1080p display) 2. If the 4k screen is on your laptop, good luck ever having a decent experience plu…
I have a 49" curved monitor. It is effectively two 27" 1440p monitors stapled together (5120x1440). It is the best monitor I have ever had. 1440p has a very decent [higher than typical] pixel density but is not "retina". Fonts look pretty smooth, but you can still see pixels if you try really hard. Overall, I do think high density screens look amazing, but the software has not quite caught up to them. The benefits ar…
I have a 49” curved too! But it’s a UHD TV so it’s four 24” 1080p screen in one! Three/two portrait windows is great for reading, reducing scrolling.
Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor
#625Earlier quoted context omitted.
FWIW, my main monitor is a 43" 4k display, and it works perfectly fine on AwesomeWM - but I' don't use any scaling, the 4k is purely for more screen real estate - literally like having 4 perfectly aligned borderless 24" monitors. I can fit 10 full A4 pages of text simultaneously.
I recently upgraded to a 43” 4k monitor and use it the way you describe. I’m not sure I am happy with it. The real estate is nice but it might be too much. UI elements end up very far away. I rarely need all that space. I either need a bigger (deeper) desk to sit back farther or just a smaller monitor physically with the same resolution.
32” 4K is perfection, right in the sweet spot of size.
Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor
#626Earlier quoted context omitted.
> nobody will actively dislike a 4K monitor In addition to what thomaslord said [ https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23554382 ], 4K monitors tend to be widescreen. 1280x1024 user here; you'll take my aspect ratio when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.
What if I gave you more vertical pixels? Would that be okay? 1280x1440 maybe? Just a few more.
Nope, bad aspect ratio. Let me know if you find a 1920x1536, though. (1600x1280 would also be nice, and a 2560x2048 would be a 4K monitor that's actually useful, although thomaslord's objections still apply.)
Edit: actually, wouldn't 1440x1280 (aspect ratio 1.125, which is even less than my usual 1.25) be a better use of such a LCD panel, rather than a obviously-useless 1280x1440 (with a aspect ratio less than one)?
Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor
#627Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hello! Person who actively dislikes 4k here. In my experience: 1. No matter what operating system you're on, you'll eventually run into an application that doesn't render in high dpi mode. Depending on the OS that can mean it renders tiny, or that the whole things is super ugly and pixelated (WAY worse than on a native 1080p display) 2. If the 4k screen is on your laptop, good luck ever having a decent experience plu…
Completely agree! Went from a mediocre 2x1440p to high quality 2 x 4K, then back to a pair of equal quality 2x1440p. I would also add, when it comes to 4K and, for example, MacBooks, things fall apart quickly in my opinion. Cables, adapters/dongles/docking stations just must match up for everything to work in proper 60fps, and it gets worse if you have two external displays. As for my home set up, also stayed at 25"…
>I would also add, when it comes to 4K and, for example, MacBooks, things fall apart quickly in my opinion. Cables, adapters/dongles/docking stations just must match up for everything to work in proper 60fps, and it gets worse if you have two external displays.
I agree it's a bit of a mess, but USB-C monitors solve all those issues. I just plug my MacBook in with USB-C, and instantly my 4K (60 Hz) display is connected, along with external sound and any USB peripherals. No fussing with a million different cables and adapters. It's the docking workstation setup I've dreamed of for a decade.
Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor
#628The technical details are all right (or seem right to me, anyway), but this is too opinionated for my liking. No, you do not need a 4K monitor for software development. Some people might like them, some won't. [edit/clarification: someone rightfully pointed out that nobody will actively dislike a 4K monitor. I was unclear here: I meant "some people won't need them" more than "dislike them"] This sounds like when Jeff…
I think lots of fonts actually look worse on hidpi screens, especially on Windows, probably because these fonts were specifically designed for low resolution screens. And most applications use hard-coded fonts that you can't change. Text is maybe a little easier to read on hidpi screens, but it is less aesthetically pleasing. Linux can be made to look good in that respect, but the situation for scaling legacy applica…
Yes, this. Even if you have only one hidpi screen, Windows still looks bad, because the fonts look terrible when rendered on a hidpi screen. This is one thing keeping me on "lodpi" screens for now.
Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor
#629As a geezer with glasses, I find my laptop screen works better than a monitor. The laptop screen is down in the reading zone of my progressive lenses, yet I can still look up out the window. A big monitor requires me to use glasses without any distance vision, making me feel like I'm trapped in a fishbowl.
I also love the fact that my window layout is exactly the same whether I am working at my desk or a coffeeshop. Or at least when I used to work at coffeeshops...
Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor
#630For me, 2560x1440@144 on a 27" panel is by far the Goldilocks of writing code. 1080p feels like it's not tall enough with fat editors like Visual Studio, and anything bigger in size or DPI is starting to get too difficult to keep in focus. I do also have a separate workstation with a 4K 43" monitor that I use exclusively as a standing setup. The monitor is fairly far back, but still requires me to move my head slight…
I am considering a 43" 4K monitor. Which one do you have, if you don't mind?
LG43UD79