Whether you are a competitive gamer, or just simply game to wind down after a long week, having a monitor that doesn’t do the game justice can be utterly infuriating.
You may find that your current monitor isn’t performing as well as it should, or you have started to notice the dreaded dead pixels, so what do you do? Do you go out and buy a 1440p monitor or a 1080p monitor? Which one is best for gaming or watching TV and what is the difference between the two? Don’t worry; we’re here to help you make that decision!
What Is 1080p?
1080p has become a common household name as it is now relatively old technology. It was released to the public in 2006, so in technological terms, it is pretty old but there have been advancements that have helped this pixel count weather the age storm and remain fresh. 1080p refers to the height of the resolution in pixels, the higher the number, the better the image you get.
What is 1440p?
1440p is the latest development in pixel technology, 1440p is the shortened term of the new resolution, which is 2560x1440p when you marry this up against the longer resolution for 1080p which is 1920x1080p you can see the increase in pixels that you now have. 1440p is referred to as quad HD, the quality isn’t as good as a 4k unit, but it isn’t far off. 1440p serves as the middle man between 1080p and 4k, for gamers this is a good thing, for TV and film lovers, not so much, you’re going to find out why shortly.
Which Is Better For Game Play?
If you currently have a monitor set up and want to stay at around 27 inches, then the latest 1440p will be the best resolution for you. There are some good choices for 1440p 144hz monitorsthat are now available on the market. You may not think it will make a lot of difference but when you are playing games, you are naturally sat closer the monitor, so you will need a higher resolution to make sure that you don’t miss out on or lose any of the intricate details within the game. A lot of all future release will also be geared towards this resolution as a standard, so if you can afford one, you will be future proofing yourself against further game releases for a while to come.
If you don’t have the money for the latest 1440p technology, don’t worry you can still purchase exceptional 1080p monitors where, unless you are competitive gamer, you won’t really notice the difference is resolution at the moment, but that isn’t to say it will always remain this way. If you have the money, there is no reason that you can’t upgrade to a 4K monitor, but you need to bare in mind the strain it will put on your graphics processing unit, if you can’t afford to upgrade both at the same time, then settling for a 1440p monitor will be a better option for you.
Which Is Better For Films and TV?
When we watch films we are sat a further distance away than we are when we play games. For this reason, you can probably stick with your 1080p screen for the moment. If your screen is between 32 and 65 inches, the difference is negligible, even at a distance of 10 feet, but the best way to check would be to get yourself down to a shop and see the difference for yourself. It doesn’t seem that 1440p is the way forward at the moment, especially not for TV’s, this is because it is operating as the middleman between 1080p which is slowly becoming outdated and 4k, which holds the crown for the best picture. So, if you are thinking of upgrading your current TV from a 1080p to a 1440p, it would be best to think long and hard on that, and then maybe save a bit more money and go and buy a 4K TV instead.
Final Thoughts
Technology usually moves at alarming rates and it can feel like we’ve only just bought something for it to be outdated less than a year later. Thankfully, this isn’t the case with monitors and TV’s as the technology is so complicated, that advancements in resolution are comparatively slow. If you are an avid gamer and you don’t want to spend the money upgrading your GPU, then a 1440p will be an excellent choice for you as you won’t need new hardware and you will be able to notice a stark difference in the quality of the image on your screen. If you love your film and TV, then 1440p may not be the best option for you, it serves as a middleman between 1080p and 4k, so why not wait until you can get the best?
