Smallest LCD monitor I could use for 4K shaders?

[Brad251]

I'm looking for a new 4K LCD monitor in the $300-400 range and I want to get one big enough where I will see the benefit of using emulation shaders in 4K vs. 1080p. What is the smallest size that I could go? I would prefer either a 24" or 27" monitor.

Also, do you have any recommendations for monitors with my requirements?

[gray117]

Well... It's just size vs distance?.... Really imho it comes more down to the physicality of it.... what kind of experience were you hoping to emulate the feel of? Personally I'm all about the 25-29 arcade range. So you're immediately off into the larger sizes. In that price range to find a good 4k 'monitor' of any size might be a bit tough... Just due to supply and demand a reasonable TV might be a better bet when it comes to gaming... But then size wouldn't be your issue I guess?... Is it primarily for gaming or 50/50 work?

[bobrocks95]

Rtings recommends the LG 27UD58-B at the low end of your price range.

I don't think I've seen a 24" 4K monitor. At that point the ppi is so high you'll have a hard time reading text at 4K. I have a 24" 1080p monitor and it's not like you can make out the pixel structure at a normal viewing distance.

Personally speaking to keep ppi roughly equivalent I would go 24" for 1080p, 27" for 1440p, and 32" for 4K. Clearly 27" 4K monitors exists and work for people, so you can get away with it.

[Fudoh]

text is one thing, but for emulation use and using retro shaders in 4K, you can't really argue that way.

[SNK-NEO-GEO]

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Monitor-P24 ... ref=plSrch

This is the one that I was looking for because I had the same requirements at one point..

Edit - the 27" version is on sale
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073V ... _1320370_0

[Xyga]

The 24UD58 is abordable but so small... imho 32" is best for a 4K monitor.

[Brad251]

Just to be clear, I would be using CRT shaders and I know 4K resolution makes the CRT shaders look much better. I would really prefer not to go above 27". Would it maybe not be worth it on a monitor smaller than 32".

[SNK-NEO-GEO]

Amazon has a very flexible return policy and in most cases you just need to play for shipping returns..maybe purchase both a 24" and 27", test them out and return one..when I was in a similar situation looking for the smallest 4k LCD for its light weight and use shadder but them I found two free 17" VGA CRT monitors, I used RetroArch and shadder and looked fantastic.. I tested the rest of my LCD monitors and the 17" VGA CRTs could not be beat and they are very light weight..

[Brad251]

Amazon has a very flexible return policy and in most cases you just need to play for shipping returns..maybe purchased both a 24" and 27", test them out and returned one..when I was in a similar situation looking for the smallest 4k LCD for its light weight and use shadder but them I found two free 17" VGA monitors, I used RetroArch and shadder and looked fantastic.. I tested the rest of my LCD monitors and the 17" VGA could not be beat and they are very light weight..

Were those 17" monitors LCD or CRT?

[SNK-NEO-GEO]

CRT... at the 17" scale, they don't weight much..

[Brad251]

CRT... at the 17" scale, they don't weight much..

What shaders do you use with the monitor? I would think you would only need a scanline filter since it already is a CRT.

[SNK-NEO-GEO]

CRT... at the 17" scale, they don't weight much..

What shaders do you use with the monitor? I would think you would only need a scanline filter since it already is a CRT.

Usually when you use a PC CRT people use GroovyMame which to my understanding uses some kind of scanlines effect.. I did not venture there and used RetroArch and the shadder was Kasumi something, I forget the name but there is a tread somewhere on this forum that people recommended..it is an add on shadder that you download without RetroArch

[ZellSF]

Just to be clear, I would be using CRT shaders and I know 4K resolution makes the CRT shaders look much better. I would really prefer not to go above 27". Would it maybe not be worth it on a monitor smaller than 32".

1080p > 4K is definitely a huge difference even on a 24" monitor. 1440p > 4K is trickier (even on a 27" monitor).

I don't think I've seen a 24" 4K monitor. At that point the ppi is so high you'll have a hard time reading text at 4K

This makes no sense. Text looks the same, just sharper on higher resolution displays.

That's assuming modern software that can scale properly, on legacy software text looks the same, just blurrier (or in ideal conditions: the same). Still not hard to read though.

and it's not like you can make out the pixel structure at a normal viewing distance.

That doesn't really mean anything? You can see the difference in resolutions even if you're unable to see the pixel structure itself.

[nissling]

21½" iMacs uses 4096x2304 displays, though the default resolution in OSX is lower. I'm using a 27" iMac which a 5120x2880 display and OSX is set to 2560x1440 from factory for resolution. Text and graphics look really good as far as sharpness and clarity goes on those monitors, if that makes any sense.

[Tatsuya79]

CRT... at the 17" scale, they don't weight much..

What shaders do you use with the monitor? I would think you would only need a scanline filter since it already is a CRT.

Usually when you use a PC CRT people use GroovyMame which to my understanding uses some kind of scanlines effect.. I did not venture there and used RetroArch and the shadder was Kasumi something, I forget the name but there is a tread somewhere on this forum that people recommended..it is an add on shadder that you download without RetroArch

"Kurozumi" which is a preset for crt-royale.

Kasumi wasn't involved in its development.

[ZellSF]

21½" iMacs uses 4096x2304 displays, though the default resolution in OSX is lower. I'm using a 27" iMac which a 5120x2880 display and OSX is set to 2560x1440 from factory for resolution. Text and graphics look really good as far as sharpness and clarity goes on those monitors, if that makes any sense.

Your 27" iMac probably outputs 5120x2880 actually. It just shows 2560x1440, because the scaling setting makes it look equal to a 2560x1440. Which is not what an option named resolution should do, but Apple's in hard competition with Microsoft over creating the dumbest OS.

[SNK-NEO-GEO]

"Kurozumi" which is a preset for crt-royale.
That's the one

[fernan1234]

21½" iMacs uses 4096x2304 displays, though the default resolution in OSX is lower. I'm using a 27" iMac which a 5120x2880 display and OSX is set to 2560x1440 from factory for resolution. Text and graphics look really good as far as sharpness and clarity goes on those monitors, if that makes any sense.

Your 27" iMac probably outputs 5120x2880 actually. It just shows 2560x1440, because the scaling setting makes it look equal to a 2560x1440. Which is not what an option named resolution should do, but Apple's in hard competition with Microsoft over creating the dumbest OS.

You can set that iMac to its native 5120x2880 resolution, but the tiny text won't be any fun. More importantly, Retroarch can output at 5k, and with a slightly customized kurozumi shader setting you can get an aperture grill effect that looks pretty close to a 1000 TVL monitor (the overall picture is of course not as sharp as the real thing, but it's damn good).

Shaders definitely gain from the extra 1k in resolution. Can't wait to see how these shaders will look in 8k, we could get a finer aperture grill (or shadow mask, if that's your thing) that never actually existed, but could have if CRT tech had kept on developing.

[ZellSF]

21½" iMacs uses 4096x2304 displays, though the default resolution in OSX is lower. I'm using a 27" iMac which a 5120x2880 display and OSX is set to 2560x1440 from factory for resolution. Text and graphics look really good as far as sharpness and clarity goes on those monitors, if that makes any sense.

Your 27" iMac probably outputs 5120x2880 actually. It just shows 2560x1440, because the scaling setting makes it look equal to a 2560x1440. Which is not what an option named resolution should do, but Apple's in hard competition with Microsoft over creating the dumbest OS.

You can set that iMac to its native 5120x2880 resolution, but the tiny text won't be any fun.

The iMac is outputting its native 5120x2880 (without upscaling) when set to 2560x1440.

Tiny text has nothing to do with resolution, that's just Apple being dumb.