1080/1440p on 4K TV as PC monitor

[lolokaa]

Hi

So I've had an LG C8 55" since its release and been using it as my main PC monitor, running it at 1080p 120hz on PC input label for 4:4:4. RTX 3080 runs everything at 120fps for me. Been very happy with it.

Now, I've been thinking about upgrading to 1440p and I found the LG C4 65" on sale. (C8 can only run 120hz at 1080p and below)
So that's 1440p@120hz. The thing is, I tried the C4 for a couple days, and no matter what I do, the image, in particular text, is very blurry, and every setting I tried doesn't seem to fix it. PC input, 4:4:4, ClearType enabled, different configurations inside the Nvcpl etc etc..

My question then, is: Can a 65" native 4K TV not "perfectly clear" due to the non-integer scaling? Would I actually be better off running it at 1080p (the 65" C4) or just stick to my old 55" at 1080p where I get absolute perfect clarity?

I'm moving my setup to a bigger room so the 65" would come in handy, 1440p (w 120hz) has been on my radar for a couple years, and I get the C4 for a good price.

Am I missing something when it comes to achieving perfect clarity at 1440p?

Thank you for your help

[danamorris]

When using a 4K TV like the LG C4, running it at 1440p can lead to non-integer scaling. This means that the pixels don’t map perfectly to the display's native resolution, which can result in blurriness, particularly with text. Non-integer scaling can introduce artifacts that affect clarity. You can try running the C4 at various resolutions, including 4K and 1080p, to see which provides the best clarity for your needs.

[lolokaa]

So there is actually no way to get a perfectly clear image/text at 1440p on a 4K TV? Equal to the clarity of 1080p on the same 4K TV...

[jorimt]

So there is actually no way to get a perfectly clear image/text at 1440p on a 4K TV? Equal to the clarity of 1080p on the same 4K TV...

If we're talking about a physical 1440p resolution set in the NVCP on a 4k TV, pretty much unavoidable, yes, and this goes for any lower source resolution that is being upscaled to a resolution that it isn't evenly divisible by:

pixel-mapping.png (284.52 KiB) Viewed 639 times

You can obviously run the C4 at 4k 120Hz, or even 4k 144Hz for both the desktop and games, but I assume you'd avoid that due to the performance impact with your 3080?

In that case, is there a reason in DLSS supported games you wouldn't output them at a native 4k and then use the correct DLSS preset to upscale from 1440p? Because in most DLSS supported titles, the "Balanced" or "Quality" level (can't remember which) should already be a 1440p internal res upscaled to a 4k output by DLSS.

More advanced techniques like DLSS are currently the only viable way to bypass the interpolation blur of non-integer upscaling that I know of.

And as for non-DLSS games, most of them are old enough now that your 3080 can probably achieve an acceptable framerate at a native 4k 120Hz, no?

[lolokaa]

So there is actually no way to get a perfectly clear image/text at 1440p on a 4K TV? Equal to the clarity of 1080p on the same 4K TV...

If we're talking about a physical 1440p resolution set in the NVCP on a 4k TV, pretty much unavoidable, yes, and this goes for any lower source resolution that is being upscaled to a resolution that it isn't evenly divisible by:


pixel-mapping.png

You can obviously run the C4 at 4k 120Hz, or even 4k 144Hz for both the desktop and games, but I assume you'd avoid that due to the performance impact with your 3080?

In that case, is there a reason in DLSS supported games you wouldn't output them at a native 4k and then use the correct DLSS preset to upscale from 1440p? Because in most DLSS supported titles, the "Balanced" or "Quality" level (can't remember which) should already be a 1440p internal res upscaled to a 4k output by DLSS.

More advanced techniques like DLSS are currently the only viable way to bypass the interpolation blur of non-integer upscaling that I know of.

And as for non-DLSS games, most of them are old enough now that your 3080 can probably achieve an acceptable framerate at a native 4k 120Hz, no?

Appreciate the input and the very useful image! I enjoy a variety of games ranging from fast-action, input lag-sensitive games, competitive, to laid back story games. Ideally I would want to play the competitive games at 1440p, and story games on 4K with dlss, for example. But if there is no way to get around the blurriness and downsides that comes with the non-integer scaling with 1440p to 4K native TV, I probably have to reconsider.

I very much prefer the perfect clarity that I currently have with 1080p on my 55", but I'm afraid 1080p at 65" might be too low pixel density. Although as I previously said, I'm moving to a bigger room where the size 65" would be much better for the viewing distance.

Decisions, decisions...

[lolokaa]

@jorimt Is setting the resolution to 4K in the NVCPL, so Windows runs it natively at 4K, and then whenever I launch a game, I set the game to 1440p, a solution? That way I get perfect clarity across the system and for browser content etc., and downscale(?) the games to 1440p so I can get the desired performance?

[jorimt]

Is setting the resolution to 4K in the NVCPL, so Windows runs it natively at 4K, and then whenever I launch a game, I set the game to 1440p, a solution?

Of course.

There are also some games that offer scaling sliders (aka 0-100%) which allow you to keep the in-game resolution set to 4k, but then will internally downscale the resolution to 1440p when set to the appropriate percentage, or, as mentioned previously, you can use a DLSS preset (where available) to target an effective 1440p upscaled to 4k.

[lolokaa]

Awesome. Thanks for the clarifying information