4K resolution has been around for enough years to be considered a mainstream technology by now. You can easily find 4K content on streaming platforms, UHD Blu-ray discs, and even on YouTube. So, what about 4K gaming?
If you keep up with the news, then surely you know that current gaming consoles have support for 4K now. However, getting a matching display often comes at a premium compared to 1080p. Is it worth buying a 4K monitor for console gaming? And if yes, then how big should it be?
Let us look at three aspects of 4K that illustrate why a 32″ 4K monitor is the ideal canvas for proper console gaming.
Screen Size
Simply going with the biggest screen is not always the best choice. That is because the bigger the screen size the longer the distance you need to sit away from it. Also, the bigger the screen the slower the response time.
If you are gaming on a monitor using a controller, instead of keyboard and mouse, the distance to the display is somewhat larger than traditional PC gaming. About one meter gives you enough space to sit back in your chair while you embark on a cinematic gaming experience.
To calculate the optimal viewing distance, we have to consider the field of view of the human eye. SMPTE guidelines recommend sitting at a range where the screen fills up a minimum of 30° of your field of vision, while THX recommends 40° for a more cinematic experience. An easy way to calculate this distance is multiplying the screen size by 1.2 for a cinematic viewing distance or 1.6 for standard usage.
At this distance and using the guidelines mentioned above, a 32″ screen size offers the most immersive viewing while still providing some flexibility to jump back and enjoy gaming and movies from further away.
Monitor Size |
Standard Distance - 30° |
Cinematic Distance - 40° |
|---|---|---|
Monitor Size 24″ | Standard Distance - 30° 98 cm | Cinematic Distance - 40° 73 cm |
Monitor Size 28″ | Standard Distance - 30° 114 cm | Cinematic Distance - 40° 85 cm |
Monitor Size 32″ | Standard Distance - 30° 130 cm | Cinematic Distance - 40° 98 cm |
Table 1. Recommended viewing distances for different monitor sizes.
Resolution
Besides screen size, resolution is another relevant spec to consider. 4K, also called UHD or 2160p, is the highest of the most common resolutions for monitors and televisions. It is precisely 3840 pixels wide and 2160 pixels tall and gives you four times the pixel count of 1080p.
In terms of resolution, usually more is better. The more pixels a screen has, the sharper the displayed image is. As a tradeoff, higher resolutions require more power from the source to drive all those pixels. Due to this tradeoff, 2K monitors became very popular with PC gamers.
Video game consoles work a little different. They are highly optimized systems designed for a specific target resolution. Current generation PS4 Pro, Xbox One S, and Xbox One X offer support for 4K games and video, and upcoming next gen consoles scheduled to release late 2020 are specifically designed to run at 4K or above. If you also consider the vast amount of 4K video content available, it seems like buying a UHD display is a safe bet and a future-proof investment.
Pixels Per Inch
A spec that helps tie resolution and screen size together is PPI, or pixels per inch. Pixels have no specific physical size. Their dimensions depend on the number of pixels you line up within a particular space. If you have 1000 pixels in a 10" area, then this is equal to 100 PPI (1000 pixels ÷ 10″ = 100 PPI).
The smaller the screen size is at a specific resolution, the higher the PPI. The higher the PPI, the smaller the physical size of the pixels. For example, a 32″ monitor with a 1080p resolution has 69 PPI. At 4K, the same monitor's PPI is 138, meaning more and smaller pixels within the same area.
| Monitor Size | 1080p | 1440p | 4K |
|---|---|---|---|
Monitor Size 24″ | 1080p 92 PPI | 1440p 123 PPI | 4K 184 PPI |
Monitor Size 28″ | 1080p 79 PPI | 1440p 105 PPI | 4K 157 PPI |
Monitor Size 32″ | 1080p 69 PPI | 1440p 92 PPI | 4K 138 PPI |
Table 2. Pixels per inch (PPI) of monitors in different resolution and size combination.
A higher PPI results in sharper images, but there are also a few limitations. Designers define the size of graphics elements in games and computers using pixels, not inches. A 100-pixel line looks longer in a low PPI monitor, but it is shorter in a high PPI one. Elements and text on the screen can become unreadable if PPI is too high.
Another limitation is how PPI compares to the human eye's ability to resolve resolution. Under ideal circumstances, our eyes can distinguish 60 lines per degree of view. At a viewing distance of about 91 centimeters, that translates to a maximum of 191 lines per inch, which means that watching a display with a PPI higher than 191 from this distance does not provide any visible benefit.
With resolutions like 1080p, you don't want things to be blurry and too big on a large screen. At higher resolutions like 4K, you don't want elements to be unreadable on a screen that is too small. Considering these limitations and the human eye's resolving power, a good range for monitors is 100 to 150 PPI.
| Distance | Human Eye Max PPI |
|---|---|
Distance 61 cm | Human Eye Max PPI 286 PPI |
Distance 91 cm | Human Eye Max PPI 191 PPI |
Distance 152 cm | Human Eye Max PPI 115 PPI |
Distance 305 cm | Human Eye Max PPI 57 PPI |
Table 3. Human eye resolving power related to viewing distance.
Conclusion
If you want to take full advantage of current and next gen 4K consoles, as well as available 4K video content, buying a 32″ 4K monitor is your best choice.
Considering the viewing distance and PPI limitations explained above, it becomes clear that a 32" screen is a perfect fit for 4K cinematic gaming. Like the BenQ's 32″ 4K HDR monitor EW3280U that gives you everything you need to enjoy the future of gaming and content in HDR 4K, all in one product.
