Can a 1080p laptop run 4K?

While you might think we only care about 1080p competitive gaming, make no mistake, we think gaming on a 4K monitor is truly outstanding. If you switch over, youll soon be captivated by the intense color and stunning visual experience.

Monitors running at a 4K resolution have four times the pixel count as a similarly sized 1080p monitor. This means youll not only experience great picture quality and image clarity but a tonne more desk real-estate too.

Much like the 1080p monitor, we decided to take the time to test and review the best 4k monitors available in todays market below is our number one pick, ticking all the right boxes when it comes to an immersive 4K display.

1080p Vs. 4K Monitor: The Difference

Choosing a new gaming monitor is never easy. These bits of kit cost a pretty penny, and with so many different options available, it can be really hard to make sure you get the best for your hard-earned cash. To see if gaming in 4K is worth it, lets go over the key differences between 1080p and 4K hopefully giving you the tools to make the most informed decision.

Screen Size

If youre looking to game at 1080p, then youre best off using a 21.5- 27 monitor. Anything thats larger than that and the pixel density starts to become poor for that particular resolution.

However, if youre looking to experience the absolute best graphics available on the market, then youll want a 4K gaming monitor. To really take advantage of the technology, you will need a monitor thats larger than 24. It may be possible to experience 4K resolution on a 24 monitor [you know, if you can actually find one to purchase], but at that size, the text will be very hard to read. When it comes to 4K gaming, ideally, a 27 or above is the preferred size.

In-Game Visuals

Heres one of our benchmarking videos for the RTX 2060 GPU. While this graphics card is powerful, its still not considered strong enough to take on the challenges that 4K introduces. That said, it still gives you a clear indication of the in-game differences between the two resolutions.

1080p may be Full HD, but 4K is Ultra HD and, much like Street Fighter, Ultra is always better [for picture quality anyway].

As you can see from the video above, when your graphics are set too low on a 4K monitor, the shadows dont look that great. Even so, it still displays outstanding color quality and image clarity.

Long Term / Future Proof

You still cant go wrong with investing in a 1080p monitor these days, mainly because they offer excellent refresh rates and response times two essential specifications when gaming on a competitive level. That being said, due to the recent drop in some 4K monitor prices, now might be the perfect time to purchase a monitor for single-player story-based gaming.

4K gaming has already caught on in the mainstream, so there are no worries about this type of technology disappearing any time soon. And since its still relatively new, you should be able to enjoy playing games in 4K without any worries about upgrading your monitor anytime soon. Sure there are 5K monitors out there, but we dont have the hardware yet to utilize those, which leads to our next criteria.

Hardware Requirements

Most decent graphics cards nowadays can run games at 1080p over 60 FPS in most AAA games.

But, if you wish to play AAA games in 4K resolution, youre going to have to invest in one of the higher performance GPUs. Think RTX 3080, for example. The computational power that is required to run 4K efficiently is much higher than what 1080p requires. Anything less than an RTX 3070 isnt going to be worth the investment.

Below are some of the cards we feel will run 4K games at varying degrees of performance:

GPU Series Cost

This means the price of a 4K monitor setup is much more than just a monitor purchase. You have to take into consideration the overall cost of the build if that requires upgrades.

Compatibility Issues

Much like graphics cards, almost any decent monitor you could get today, depending on the brand and features, is guaranteed to run in 1080p.

Moreover, almost all AAA games have native support in 1080p.

But if you get a 4K monitor, its not guaranteed that you can play all of your games in 4K.

This is especially true with older games, mainly because images are basically upscaled instead of being displayed in true 4K. And, of course, theres the possibility that the older game just doesnt have high enough quality art assets to take advantage of 4K.

This being said, almost all of your modern AAA game titles will support 4K.

Price

You can get a decent 1080p monitor for less than $200. Prices will vary though depending on the monitors refresh rate, adaptive sync technology, response time, panel technology, and brand.

On the other hand, while 4K monitors have drastically dropped in price from over $600 [and even up to $1000] down to around $300 $500 these days, they are still expensive compared to 1080p monitors. And thats before you even stop to consider advanced features such as refresh rate, adaptive sync technology, or response times.

Should I Get A 1080p Or 4K Monitor For Gaming?

It all boils down to preference and what youre using it for, really. If you play competitively or aspire to take part in esports, Id recommend a 1080p monitor. This should give you some benefits and advantages over the 4k display gamers out there and at a fraction of the cost too.

A 4K monitor may sound great, but the fact that it needs to be larger puts esports gamers at a disadvantage in the competitive sphere as anything larger than 27 can be problematic.

If youre not into competitive games and graphical quality is what truly matters to you, then a 4K monitor will definitely be a smart investment. With the popularity of 4K rising, its likely that this is going to be the new 1080p standard in the future.

However, there are several factors that you need to consider, including whether or not you have the hardware thats capable of displaying a 4K resolution. Youll also need to consider whether you want to get a TN panel or IPS panel.

But, if hardware and money arent an issue, get a 4K gaming monitor, the results are stunning and you wont regret it.