Is it possible (and functional) to use a 4k 28" screen like 4 full hd screens?

1

I plan to buy a 4k 28" screen in order to replace my dual full-hd screen.

The main reason for this is to have "more screens" in front of me. I plan to use it like if I had 4 full hd screens in front of me, meaning I will have 4 various applications opened at the same time and visible.

I know that in theory, it would be possible but before purchasing it, I'd like to be sure that in practice, this is something really feasible and enjoyable to have ; not having quircks, bad pixels, or anything like this.

That's the reason for my question, I'm turning to those owner of 4K screens to know if what I want to do is possible or not.

(Note: I plan to take a 28" instead of a 24" (like Dell's) for the same reason : having enough visual space to place the equivalent of 4 full hd screens. I'm afraid a 24" would be too small).

Thank you in advance.

Cyril N.

Posted 2016-01-05T13:05:01.677

Reputation: 433

You just mean 4 Windows or do you actually want Windows to detect 4 seperate displays, because that isn't possible, Windows will only see a single display. ... or any os for that matter – Ramhound – 2016-01-05T13:30:44.033

No no, I'm under Linux (Fedora 22 for now), so I mean 4 applications :) – Cyril N. – 2016-01-05T13:35:08.507

So are you asking if you can run 4 applications? If you can do that now, you can do that with a single monitor hooked up, but it is not clear what your actually asking. How an application looks on a 4k monitor is entirely up the the application author. – Ramhound – 2016-01-05T13:36:57.017

No, I'm asking if is it visually possible to have 4 applications being displayed at the same time at the 4 corner of the screen. It's technically possible since 4k is equivalent to 4 Full hd screen, but in practice, placing an app at the top left, and other one at the bottom left, and the same in right : is this something unusable for today's 4k or largely possible. I can't be any clearer! – Cyril N. – 2016-01-05T13:48:10.283

A 4K monitor is not equivalent to 4 full hd screens. The resolution of a 4K display is simply 4 times the resolution of a HD display. You can put 4 or more application windows on any size monitor of any resolution, what makes that useful, is entirely up to the beholder. I have seen setups where people have 5-6 applications windows size in such a way all relevant information is displayed on a HD display. – Ramhound – 2016-01-05T13:53:40.757

Answers

5

Sure, though it would be like having 4 tiny screens. I use windows and its lovely snapping function to do this but its entirely usable. I do note you're missing a few essential factors.

Higher resolution does not mean 'more space'. To use my 4K 27 and 28 inch displays effectively, I end up having to use display scaling (so text is at 150% magnification - text is smaller than a 1080p screen but not that much) so I don't really have '4x' the screen space, maybe twice. Also, I find context switching isn't that easy, and I can't really use more than 2-3 windows at a time unless I have a second window opened up for research on something I am working on. Not sure how fedora handles these things.

It is readable, and usable though. The weak spot here is probably my concentration span.

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(full size here).

You do want a 27ish inch screen though for 4K - my other answer here goes into that - essentially that's the optimum size for most folks using a desktop with a screen 150cm away. Higher resolutions give you sharpness. Text is glorious (and tiny, and needs to be scaled up for many people). That isn't magically going to translate to 'more' screen space, beyond a point.

I have a pair of them, and even a single screen paired up with a lesser screen was pretty fantastic.

Journeyman Geek

Posted 2016-01-05T13:05:01.677

Reputation: 119 122

As Journeyman Geek hints at, a higher resolution will just make the display sharper to read, it won't give you more actual screen real estate unless you actually get a larger screen with that same resolution. I will fall back to my statement though that an application can or cannot support a higher resolution, which means you will have to scale the application's interface at higher resolutions, how that looks is entirely up to the author of the program to handle. Most applications are starting to handle 4K now that it is more mainstream. – Ramhound – 2016-01-05T13:55:35.337

Exactly what I was looking for! Thank you @journeyman-geek! I plan to buy the "SyncMaster U28E590D - FreeSync", do you have any feedback about it ? (I read your interesting post from your other answer) – Cyril N. – 2016-01-05T14:18:07.520

I've got a dell and a crossover. I've got a bit of a review of the dell on my blog and since its a colour caliberated monitor, while its a little pricy (~500usd) . I have two posts on hardware recs on my other, much cheaper monitor here and here. I'd say check the reviews for the monitor and do your homework ;)

– Journeyman Geek – 2016-01-05T14:22:23.143

Asked: 2016-01-05T13:05:01.677

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