4k on laptops?

[Seemly]

I bought a Lenovo Y50 (4k version) and it's coming on it's way. However, some people tell me it's not good, and that it decreases performance. Why?

 

[fliger5]

The GPU simply sucks for gaming. A GTX 860M is not a strong GPU but you might be able to play new games in full HD with medium-high settings. The CPU is not bad at all, it also has enough RAM. But you won't be able to play in 4K unless you play old games only (like AoE2).

Even then I don't see why you need a 4K resolution combined with a 15,6" screen. Even movie watching won't be any different.

 

[StarChief]

Because Lenovo is a pretty crappy brand for laptops. 4k gaming is out of the question on that laptop, even max settings on 1080p will be quiet an ordeal.

 

[Seemly]

It's the only best laptop I found in my local store, the store mostly had gtx 840m. I plan to use 4k for video editing. and 1080p for gaming.

 

[Seemly]

would 4k work out well on video/graphic editing though? I mostly use premiere, cinema 4d and photshop

 

[StarChief]

I don't understand what 4k video editing means? 4k as far as I know refers to the higher than 1440p monitor resolutions. Will you be editing videos in a super high resolution on that laptop, is that what the question is?

 

[Seemly]

Yes sir, you got it right. it wouldn't be much problem no? even if the 4k sucks on that laptop, I want to use it for something. for me I could have just built a PC but I move around alot so.

 

[photonboy]

Hi,
Some points:

1) 4K on a laptop gives more pixels thus text etc is sharper for desktop use. You will have to increase the DPI scaling so text is large enough. Some programs do not scale very well and have blurry text.

Overall, I think 4K is better than 1080p (4x the number of pixels).

2) Mouse/Trackpad - At 4K you need a polling rate. I'll let you Google that. You can't change the trackpad so investigate that it it smooth.

3) Gaming:
You'd likely want to change game resolution to 1080p, but I disagree that your performance would be noticeably different to an identical laptop with a 1080p instead of 4K screen.

Everything from the CPU to GPU is identically processed and the ONLY difference is the scaler unit for the screen that upscales the 1080p to fit the screen. That does not affect frame rate in the slightest.

I've even tested using my video card to scale, or my monitor to scale in benchmark conditions and it made no difference (the though being I'd use some GPU resources if GPU scaling thus it would decrease performance).

 

[Dagstar]

I wouldn't buy a 4k laptop for gaming. Since the native resolution is 4k, that's what you'll want to play games at. Considering the best desktop graphics cards can struggle with 60fps on newer games at 4k, a laptops gpu performance at 4k will suffer a lot without a lot of compromising. Of course it's personal preference what someone considers playable (30/60fps, low/high settings, etc.). I'm not sure about the "even if played at 1080p" comment. The games won't look as good@1080p, but you will benefit from increased performance as the system isn't being taxed as much, regardless if the native resolution is 4k. One thing to mention though is a 4k screen takes a lot more juice to power so the battery life most likely will be in the toilet compared to a 1080p model, and if you plan to game on the go, that'll put a hurtin' on play time.

EDIT: Geez, start typing with zero replies and find a ton by the time I'm done, lol.

 

[StarChief]

I have no experience with video editing sorry. But if the laptop is advertised for such a feat, should be fine.

 

[hdmark]

I've had 2 Lenovo laptops, and my brothers is a Lenovo. they are great machines imo. you should be fine. but definitely gaming at 1080p

 

[photonboy]

DPI Scaling:

a) For DESKTOP usage, I'd suggest trying 40% scaling. For more more info Google that.

b) For BROWSING look for a plugin to auto-scale. For example, in Firefox one option is "NoSquint".

c) For BROWSING you can also use "Scroll + CTRL" to increase or decrease scaling for the page you are on.

Other:
a) If not getting a Windows 10 laptop, I would suggest upgrading. Among a few changes, for 4K it gives better options for running multiple programs though on a small screen you probably won't want to run FOUR programs at one (each quadrant). I often use TWO (left and right). You can Google how that works.

b) Gaming performance again is not DPI related but rather related to the number of pixels processed and the final output is scaled up to fit the screen. So no obvious performance drop to 4K when running at 1080p.

You can further gain performance by adjust AA, Shadows etc.

 

[Seemly]

I guess I will scale the DPI and see how it will work out, Also I have a dell gaming mouse and might give it a try. for the gaming part. I didn't really get it, are you saying that 4k performance won't be different to 1080p?

 

[photonboy]

I wouldn't buy a 4k laptop for gaming. Since the native resolution is 4k, that's what you'll want to play games at. Considering the best desktop graphics cards can struggle with 60fps on newer games at 4k, a laptops gpu performance at 4k will suffer a lot without a lot of compromising. Of course it's personal preference what someone considers playable (30/60fps, low/high settings, etc.). I'm not sure about the "even if played at 1080p" comment. The games won't look as good@1080p, but you will benefit from increased performance as the system isn't being taxed as much, regardless if the native resolution is 4k. One thing to mention though is a 4k screen takes a lot more juice to power so the battery life most likely will be in the toilet compared to a 1080p model, and if you plan to game on the go, that'll put a hurtin' on play time.

EDIT: Geez, start typing with zero replies and find a ton by the time I'm done, lol.

Incorrect.
The native resolution does not prevent choosing any suitable resolution below 4K such as 1920x1080. On an HDTV that is slightly different, but a laptop works the same as a desktop PC.

Battery life:
Probably true, but qualify what "a lot more juice" actually means since the BACKLIGHT is the largest factor and that likely uses the exact same amount of power. Regardless he can look up battery life for both models likely though if it was more than 20% different I'd be surprised. It should vary more by the amount the screen is changing (like a movie or video game) as it has to update all the pixels.

 

[Seemly]

I am not worried much about gaming (I will give 1080p a try even if it won't work out well) but I am worried about video editing, I am an animator that uses c4d and that program is pretty demanding. I would say the same for premiere

 

[hdmark]

you will see a HUGE difference between gaming at 4k and 1080 performance wise. you will be able to push 1080 a lot further than 4k

 

[Seemly]

That is great to hear! , so I shouldn't worry much about gaming now, about video editing now..more worried about that

 

[Dagstar]

I wouldn't buy a 4k laptop for gaming. Since the native resolution is 4k, that's what you'll want to play games at. Considering the best desktop graphics cards can struggle with 60fps on newer games at 4k, a laptops gpu performance at 4k will suffer a lot without a lot of compromising. Of course it's personal preference what someone considers playable (30/60fps, low/high settings, etc.). I'm not sure about the "even if played at 1080p" comment. The games won't look as good@1080p, but you will benefit from increased performance as the system isn't being taxed as much, regardless if the native resolution is 4k. One thing to mention though is a 4k screen takes a lot more juice to power so the battery life most likely will be in the toilet compared to a 1080p model, and if you plan to game on the go, that'll put a hurtin' on play time.

EDIT: Geez, start typing with zero replies and find a ton by the time I'm done, lol.

Incorrect.
The native resolution does not prevent choosing any suitable resolution below 4K such as 1920x1080. On an HDTV that is slightly different, but a laptop works the same as a desktop PC.

Battery life:
Probably true, but qualify what "a lot more juice" actually means since the BACKLIGHT is the largest factor and that likely uses the exact same amount of power. Regardless he can look up battery life for both models likely though if it was more than 20% different I'd be surprised. It should vary more by the amount the screen is changing (like a movie or video game) as it has to update all the pixels.

That's not what I said. You can choose whatever resolution you'd like, but it will look better at it's native(4k) vs 1080p simply because of the difference in resolution and if it was me I wouldn't compromise. Why buy it if not to use it (in general, I saw his reasoning)?

 

[TechyInAZ]

4k is a mixed blessing on laptops. The good side of it is that you can run 4k YT (given enough internet bandwidth) and Photoshop editing at 4k really well. Downside is that it takes a lot of horsepower to run and windows 8 (windows 10 fixes this I think) doesn't scale properly with 4k, so most wording is extremely difficult to read.

I suggest getting windows 10 on that laptop when it comes out.

 

[Seemly]

This started to give me headache.. can someone just explain in basic way.?