1080p Gaming On A 4K Monitor

When it comes to gaming resolutions, you may be led to believe that the higher the resolution of a gaming monitor is, the better the graphics will be. While there is some truth to this statement, this is not always necessarily the case, because there are a handful of things you will want to take into consideration when gaming at a higher resolution. 

For gaming, a 4K resolution can be used, and many gamers have now switched from a 1080p gaming monitor to a 4K one. However, it is not always the best move to make, unless you are only playing 4K games.

This is why a lot of gamers report that games with a 1080p resolution do not look as good on a 4K monitor. In this article, we will be taking a closer look at this, and discussing the reasons why 4K gaming monitors may not be the best option for you.

The Resolution

To explain this concept in more detail, we need to take a closer look at the resolution of the gaming monitor. As to be expected, a 4K gaming monitor is able to portray a 4K resolution with ease.

When you compare the specifications of 4K, in comparison to 1080p, ultimately, the graphics and picture quality are better. This is because there are more pixels in the resolution, which lead to a crisper and clearer image. 

However, with an increase in pixels, this does mean that the refresh rate is typically slightly lower in comparison to a 1080p monitor. While it is not overly noticeable, it can make a difference to gameplay.

As a result of this, the preferred resolution for gaming is still 1080p. However, if you are playing a game that has a 4K resolution then you will want to have a 4K monitor. Without a 4K monitor, you are not truly playing the game in a 4K resolution. 

When it comes to a 1080p resolution, as we have already discussed, the vast majority of games still use this. When thinking about the size of a 1080p resolution, this is smaller than a 4K resolution. This means that there are fewer pixels used within the game. 

This is why the vast majority of gamers currently use a 1080p gaming monitor, because the resolution of the monitor matches up to the game perfectly. The pixels are intended for that screen size, which means that the response time and refresh rate are as good as they can be. This helps to prevent lagging and refresh issues. 

Does 1080P Look Bad On 4K Gaming Monitor?

Keeping in mind what we have discussed in the previous section, if you are playing a 1080p game on a 4K gaming monitor, the graphics are not going to be great. 1080p games are intended to be played on a 1080p monitor. 

When you use a monitor that is a higher resolution, with more pixels, this means that the pixels cannot upscale. While they can be on a TV to increase the overall resolution, monitors are not capable of this. 

In short, this means that the image quality is not going to be as crisp and clear on the 4K gaming monitor. If you are only playing 1080p games, then there is no current need to switch up to a 4K gaming monitor for future proofing purposes.

While the overall resolution is not awful, there will be a significant difference when you compare the 1080p games on a 4K gaming monitor, to a 1080p one. This is where people tend to go wrong because they automatically assume that any game will look better on a 4K monitor, when this is not actually the case. 

A 4K monitor cannot change the resolution of a game. Unless the creators release a 4K version of the game, its resolution will remain at 1080p. While future proofing is useful, it is not necessarily needed when it comes to your gaming monitor. 

The games are not going to look bad on the 4K gaming monitor, but they will not look as crisp as they should. If you are someone that is not overly concerned about the graphics of your game, then this is not something to be overly concerned about. 

In addition to this, a lot of 4K gaming monitors have an overall screen resolution of 2160p. This is double the resolution of 1080p, and as a result can load 1080p games fairly well. While the image will be stretched and not as crisp as a 1080p monitor, the results are fairly good. In this instance a 1080p resolution does not look terrible on a 4K monitor, and it can certainly be used without affecting the gameplay overly. 

However, if you are looking to take gaming seriously, especially if it is at a competitive level, then it is better to purchase a 1080p gaming monitor. This is the standard for the majority of gamers currently. Though, as games improve, over time, it is likely that 4K gaming will become the norm, even though we are not quite there yet. 

Does 1080p look bad on 4K TV?

When thinking about 4K screens, it is also useful to discuss 4K TV’s, given that some gamers will choose to use a TV screen instead of a monitor. When it comes to 4K TV’s, the concept is the same as with 4K monitors.

However, 4K TV’s tend to display a 1080p slightly better on the whole. This is because they have a built-in scaler which is useful. While the picture will not be as crisp as using a 1080p monitor, it is slightly better than using a 4K monitor on the whole. 

Summary

We hope that you have found this article useful. As you can see, 1080p does not look bad on a 4K gaming monitor, but it does not look as good as it would if you used a 1080p gaming monitor. This is why the vast majority of gamers still choose to use a 1080p gaming monitor.