1920×1080 vs 2560×1440 Compared

1920 x 1080p vs 2960 x 1440p debate is going on right now. The question on many people’s minds is whether the jump to 1440p will make images look not only better but sharper too. Since 1440p gives lower frame rates, is it worth the better imagery.

The thing is; if you sit two displays side by side. One has 1080p resolution and the other at 1440p and both are locked at the same frame rate, you will notice a significant difference in the 1440p display. The more pixels on a screen the better it is at a lot of stuff including professional office work and some gaming.

What does 1440p do that 1080p will not do? 

1920 x 1080p refers to 1920 horizontal pixels and 1080 vertical pixels giving you a total of 2,073, 600 pixels. On the other hand, 2960 x 1440p gives you a total of 3,686,400 pixels. Both resolutions have a 16:9 aspect ratio which means that the frame aspect is 16 units width and 9 units height.

When looking at screens of the same size, the pixel density is going to be higher on the 1440p display and lower on the 1080p display. The high-resolution monitor will give you larger screen estate than what you get with the 1080p monitor.

However, texts and windows on a high-pixel display will appear smaller which can make it less comfortable when doing professional video editing.

1080p vs 1440p for Watching and General Use 

For the longest time, 1080p has been the standard for image quality. If your monitor is strictly for watching videos, sticking to 1080p is optimal. 1440p is a display standard but not a video standard. This means you won’t find any 1440p content. As such, playing 1080p content on 1440p content will be through a process called upscaling.

You will notice some visible loss in clarity on small-sized screens but not so much on larger screens. The bottom line is 1080p content does not scale well on 1440p displays and is better watched on a display with a native 1080p resolution.

1440p as a display standard is better for desktop work. This is where the pixel density comes into play. Say you are using a 27-inch screen with 1080p resolution. It can result in blurry texts and images because of the low pixel density compared to working on a 27-inch screen with 1440p resolution.

That’s why small screens work well with low resolutions in everyday use, and large screens are great with high resolutions for everyday use.

1080p vs 1440p for Photo Editing 

Quad HD is slowly creeping in to be a favorite in the consumer electronics including laptops, televisions, monitors, and smartphones.

When it comes to photo editing on the two resolutions, you have to be using a high-end display say with IPS panels that won’t affect the way you see the image every time you change your viewing angle.

That said, if you are editing on a laptop even as large as 17 inches, 1440p is stretching it. Pixels will be small, and everything you display on the screen will be equally small. That’s why we reserve photo editing on laptops for 1080p resolution.

But when it comes to larger screens over 23 inches, you can make the jump to 1440p. You will see a massive difference in picture quality, especially when sitting directly in front of your computer. You will get a large workspace where you can edit more photos, and they will remain clearly defined.

With apps like Adobe’s Creative Suite, you will find that you can work with large file sizes at full screen.

1080p vs 1440p for Gaming 

Resolution is still important when choosing a display for gaming. Comparing the above two standards, you will find that the difference is like night and day. This is regarding to what competitive gamers and gamers looking for stunning imagery want.

  • Competitive gamers

In gaming, a high resolution means that your computer needs more graphics processing power. You will need to pair 1440p displays with robust machines lest you will suffer from performance drops. When looking at most popular games like Overwatch, Fortnite Rocket League, PUBG and many others, you will notice that they don’t suddenly become better at high resolutions.

Competitive gamers are content with 1080p displays as long as they have high refresh rates and adaptive refresh technologies like FreeSync and G-Sync. These features can make a game smoother when playing system-driven titles over newer titles that demand high resolution.

If you don’t have a powerful PC, it’s better to stick with 1080p with a minimum 144Hz over high resolutions that demand more than what your computer can offer.

  • Gamers looking for Stunning Imagery

Gameplay in titles such as Tomb Raider, The Witcher 3 and Dishonored can take advantage of high resolutions. 1440p is an ideal investment if you can get equally high refresh rates and are willing to invest in the hardware components that will go hand in hand with the display format.

1440p supports the latest GPUs and is VR compatible. It will keep things beautiful and stutter-free with detailed graphics that will make your gameplay more immersive.

If you are more about visuals, we would suggest going even higher than 1440p and go for 4K. You will want to have an unlimited budget because you will need everything to be high-end including the Nvidia G-Sync graphics cards and expensive coolers that will help run your system at ideal temperatures.

AMD does not have graphics cards that can push high resolutions in the 4K lane. As such, you are stuck with Nvidia, and their graphics cards rarely come cheap.

Every gamer has their preferences regarding screen resolution and the type of games they love. It will come down to your personal preferences and your budget on this one.

Wrapping Up

1080p and 1440p compete on parallel lanes. As you can see, there are instances where sticking with 1080p is better than upgrading to 1440p. And there are times where opting for a high-resolution monitor will benefit you extensively.

Everyday computing does better on 1440p, but watching is nice on a 1080p display if you are dealing with 1080p content on a small screen. On the other hand, 1440p gives you more workspace for picture editing.

It all depends on what you plan on doing with your display.

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