Possibly to Sony’s detriment, a huge deal was made about the reveal of the PlayStation 4 Pro in the months leading up to it. The so-called ‘PS4K’ was backed into a corner by the assumption from some that it would be capable of 4K gaming. It’s not. It’s a decent effort. But it’s not. However what it has done is shine a major spotlight on 4K gaming as a whole. Up until now it’s been a very, very minor part of the games market. Heck, the percentage of gamers which run at 4K, according to the latest Steam hardware survey, is a very optimistic 2.08%.
4K is just lumped in under ‘Other’ on Steam as well, so it also takes into account all other sorts of strange resolutions above and beyond 2560 x 1440. Which is to say that for every one PC gamer running a 4K display, there are at least 49 others that aren’t. It is an extreme niche. But not for much longer, and particularly now the gaming world at large has become preoccupied with it.
Getting up and running at 4K isn’t cheap though. In a feature on the cost of 4K gaming I estimated you’re looking at about $1350, all in. That’s to achieve relatively decent 4K single-GPU performance, generally in excess of 30 frames per second.
Compare that to just a year or two ago though, when it could just $2-3000 just for a 4K monitor. The barrier to entry is dropping, and it’s dropping fast.
Which begs the question, when are you planning to stop being a member of the 49 and the become the one? When do you see yourself fully kitted out with a 4K-capable gaming PC? Let us know!
Login or Register to join the debate
PC Specs
I'm fine with 2.5K (2560x1440) - pixel density is okay and it's not that resource heavy (especially with low AA it isn't that more demanding than 1080p with modest AA),
to me 4K is just a marketing nonsense nobody is ready for, hardware is not ready, codecs are not ready, infrastructure isn't ready...
I attended some new tech workshop/conference couple days ago, and we got to conclusion uncompressed 4K stream of 12Gbit/s requires nothing else but fiber optics and serious SSD storage, and lots of processing power,
therefore we can only be presented with crippled 4K because of lossy compression (which applies to gpu-rendered games as well)
PC Specs
True. 1440p has about 77% more pixels than 1080p. Fps loss is about 33% (varies much) but thats worth it imo
PC Specs
I got new job with better salary now. Maybe will try 4K (With SLI 1070), next year.
PC Specs
i think a single 1080ti would be a better solution if you sell your 1070
PC Specs
Easy to say. Buy 1080TI it's like buying 1070 twice, I already have 1. Add another one cost less.
PC Specs
so they said about the Rx 480 CF and the GTX 1080 but look at the benchmarks, SLI/CF wont double the performance and in some cases it adds only 10-20% .
2x1070 cost around 900$ same as the 1080ti would likely be, and its rumored to 12GB
PC Specs
Shouldn't the CF & SLI performance increase if a game has DX12 or Vulkan since both APIs have asynchronous shader and combines the graphic memory if all cards? If so then a multi-GPU set up may be worth considering. Albeit the heat of two or more cards will have to be a consideration.
PC Specs
yes of course the performance will increase but it will depend on the game optimization for SLI/CF. 50% of the games that were recently released are having performance issues with single gpu systems at 1080p.
PC Specs
take a look at this video of the 1070 SLI vs the titan x ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUet375VZbk ) you will not get a playable performance in every game , but its up to you to decide ;)
PC Specs
Comparing 1070 SLI to Titan X is way too much. You can't compare 2 Humvee with 1 tank.
PC Specs
@ShkGD01 the 1080 ti would be close to the titan x
PC Specs
It's not high on my important-things-to-be list. Eventually I'd have to go 4K, if only because hardware upgrades lay along that road, but it's not the destination. Heck, I'm still looking to update to a base 1080p @ 60 fps.
PC Specs
Just get a 1050 when it comes out :)
PC Specs
I was thinking of getting a RX 480 8GB for future proofing. It should serve 1080p @ 60+ fps for quite some time.
PC Specs
confirmed bro!
PC Specs
Great!! I see that you got the reference model. Any concerns about it since they released the patch? I'm considering the MSI or Sapphire, but unsure which way to go.
PC Specs
Soon as I'm able to stop spending my savings on frivolous crap.
PC Specs
When it's in 21:9
PC Specs
lg 38uc99-w
PC Specs
Not earlier than in 5 years. I'm very happy with 1440p :)
PC Specs
a single GPU under 800$ giving 50-60 fps and also a monitor should not break the bank
PC Specs
Right now I'm a 3440x1440 gamer and I couldn't be happier. That 21:9 aspect ratio is wonderful!
PC Specs
When a game is supported of course. :P
But I definitely agree!
PC Specs
Otherwise 2x 4:3 game XD
PC Specs
When a single card not valued at $1000 can run 4k 60 fps
PC Specs
Never really...
PC Specs
i game on 768p res....let me go to 1080p first then i will think about 4k
PC Specs
I could be right now but I don't really want to have to buy a top end gpu every year.
PC Specs
when 20k gaming become popular ..i guess :\
PC Specs
When there is a single GPU(not SLI or crossfire) that runs 100+ fps at 4k with no issues.
PC Specs
with affordable price
PC Specs
Probably late next year, or early 2018. Prices on TV's should have fallen even further by then, and single GPU's should be available, for reasonable prices, that can do 4k at 60 FPS.
PC Specs
There should also be options of "Unknown" & "Never".
PC Specs
I am not sure about 4k right now as it is still a tall order for any rig unless you SLI gtx 1080s. I usually prefer High/Ultra graphic setting with 60+ fps atleast and currently its way too expensive to reach that at 4k. Its going to take 2-3 years at most until a single graphic card can reach that in some games but even then the games that are being pushed are getting very demanding.
PC Specs
No money in the pocket :P
PC Specs
Damn, true. I spent 600€ on this rig back then and it was a god damn struggle to find money for it (4 years of saving). I'm not even on 1080p :'(
PC Specs
me too :(
PC Specs
I didn't know ps4 pro was a time unit
PC Specs
It could mean never...
PC Specs
I am targeting 2019, provided things go as planned with Intel releasing their mainstream 6-core processors to the masses. Also Nvidia releasing the GTX 1260 which is hopefully equivalent to Titan X Pascal and capable of 4K gaming.