According to the Steam Hardware Survey, about 11.48% use 1440p as their primary resolution. But, about 67 people still use 1080p resolution as their primary resolution. 1080p is definitely the default choice for many and it is still the mainstream option.
Nevertheless, an increasing number of people are opting for or upgrading to 1440p which is evident from the same Steam Survey. That should mean that 1440p gaming is better, right?
In short, yes. 1440p gaming is better because you get more resolution. More resolution means more details and pretty looking game. But, if you ask if 1440p gaming is worth it? The answer might become a little complicated.
Why is 1440p becoming more mainstream?
The reason for 1440p gaining popularity is decreasing prices of 1440p monitors and the improved capabilities of the hardware (graphics card).
The most popular graphics card which people use on their PC is the GTX 1060. It obviously can’t run games well at 1440p but if you look at the most popular graphics in the top 10, you will find RTX 3060 which can run games at 1440p.
RTX 3060 is not exactly a high-end card and it can still run 1440p games quite comfortably. I am playing Spiderman Remastered at 1440p and it is amazing. Many developers are focusing more on optimising the game to make it more efficient.
The price difference between a 144Hz 1080p monitor and a 144Hz 1440p monitor isn’t too much now. If you compare the LG Ultragear 1080p monitor to their 1440p monitor, the latter is just ₹5000 ($60) more.
If your hardware can support it, you can definitely opt for a 1440p monitor over a 1080p monitor. Of course, there are costlier options which have even better performance but for a decent 1440p monitor, you don’t have to break your bank.
All these factors combined, 1440p gaming is becoming more viable even for people on a budget.
Advantages of 1440p gaming
A 1440p resolution has more pixels than 1080p, 77% more pixels to be exact. Naturally, all your games at 1440p will look much better than on 1080p. One more thing that people miss is the reduced jagged edges.
Note: I chose FH 5 because of all the modern games, this is the one with the most visible jagged edges.
In Forza Horizon 5, at 2x Anisotropic Filtering, this is the difference between 1080p and 1440p. A 1080p display will have more jagged edges than compared to 1440p because there are more details to work with.
At 1080p, even with anti-aliasing turned on, you see jagged edges. Turning the AA to 8x or 16x takes a significant amount of graphics card performance and you might still have some jagged edges depending on the game.
Although this is a little subjective since different games handle this differently and the results may vary. Nevertheless, on average, jagged edges are more visible on 1080p than on 1440p with the same Anti-Aliasing settings.
1440p also enables you to work with larger screens. With 1080p, for the best experience, you are limited to 24inches. You get 27” 1080p monitors but it is not ideal because of the really low PPI. PPI is the number of pixels you see per inch on your screen.
You can see individual pixels quite clearly on a 1080p 27-inch display compared to a 1440p 27-inch display. With 1440p resolution, you can make use of displays up to 32-inches but 27-inch is the ideal size.
1440p is especially good for open-world action-adventure games like Horizon Zero Dawn, Elden Ring, etc which makes the whole world look more detail-rich.
Although 1440p is not for everyone. It has some downsides.
Downsides of 1440p
Even though the price of a 1440p monitor has come down significantly, you can’t find a 1440p monitor under a very tight budget. You won’t find a 1440p monitor for less than ₹20,000 ($250) if your budget is below that.
Although you can find a good 1080p monitor in that range. 1080p monitor is also more suitable for competitive players who need all the frames that they can get. For such players getting a 1080p with the highest refresh rate is more viable.
For running a game well in 1440p, you need an RTX 3060 at least, which costs ₹32000 to ₹36000 ($340 to $370). If you are building a budget PC for 1080p gaming, getting a 1440p will be too costly.
Although, with the use of upscaling technologies like DLSS and FSR, even lower-tier hardware can run games at higher resolution. DLSS and FSR are becoming a staple in all the new AAA titles with the latest Spiderman Remastered to support both of them.
Is 1440p gaming worth it?
There are some things to consider before we answer that. If your aim is high refresh rate gaming, getting a 1080p monitor with a 360Hz refresh rate will make more sense, especially if you are a competitive gamer.
A 1440p monitor with a refresh rate higher than 165Hz will cost significantly more. In such cases, 1440p may not be worth it because you won’t sit around and see how pretty the world is while playing Valorant or CS:GO.
On the other hand, if you play more open-world games and platformer, RPG, and turn-based games, you might benefit from a larger and higher resolution monitor. To enjoy an open-world game, you don’t need high frame rates. 60fps is enough for a good experience and you can enjoy the visuals of the game with higher resolution.
If your goal is to experience more visual details, 1440p is definitely worth it and there are some good monitors which are reasonably well priced.
Conclusion
Well, 1440p gaming is better than 1080p gaming, objectively. Because you get more pixels, more details and overall better image quality.
If you are looking for an enhanced experience for gaming and do not need high framerates, 1440p is a valuable upgrade. The difference going from 1080p to 1440p is significant. You will immediately notice the difference and it totally worth it to pay a little extra and experience enhanced visual quality.
If you are a competitive gamer, focus on higher refresh rate because higher resolution won’t matter much in your case.
4k monitors are significantly expensive and need RTX 3080 or higher to play games at 4k making it even costlier. 1440p gaming strikes the best balance between price and visual quality.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.