IDF 2014: Affordable 4K Panels and AIOs
by Ganesh T S & Mahendra Lodha on September 11, 2014 10:25 AM EST
At Computex earlier this year, Intel had talked about 4K panels becoming more affordable (monitors around $400). The 4K All-in-Ones using those panels were on display at IDF. We grabbed a few photographs and they are linked in the gallery below.
The PLS panels have great viewing angles. Importantly, they also support full 60 Hz refresh rates even at the maximum resolution (UHD). Consumers worried about the usage of TN panels and lower refresh rates to hit the advertised price point have nothing to fear. Since Intel is pushing this effort, it makes sense that they first concentrate on the All-in-One (AIO) market which helps them sell their CPUs. The AIO models should go on sale soon, and Intel expects that Samsung will push these 23.6" panels into monitors very soon. The AIO models that were on display were high-end configurations with i7 processors and expected to come in around $1000, but cheaper models with less powerful CPUs are also on the way. [ Update: The systems on display are highly customizable Thin Mini-ITX-based AIOs. The 4K AIOs are anticipated to begin at prices of $999, but the systems on display (as configured with a 4th Gen Intel Core i7-4770S and Intel SSDs) were closer to the $1500 mark. In particular, the system in the gallery above is a Mitac M980, which will be available as a whitebox system to distributors and other OEMs]
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
40 Comments
View All Comments
Stochastic - Thursday, September 11, 2014 - link
I'm still having a hard time getting excited about 4K displays. Until Windows DPI scaling works perfectly and/or popular apps are updated for high-DPI use, there's going to be a ease-of-use penalty to switching to higher-resolution panels. If we're talking about gaming, we simply don't have the GPU muscle currently to drive 4K worth of pixels at a sustained 60 FPS. Personally I find G-sync/Freesync 144 Hz panels more exciting.inighthawki - Thursday, September 11, 2014 - link
I feel the same way. To me, 96DPI at the distance I sit from my display has always been more than fine, so pixel count for me has always been about improving screen realestate. 4K is a resolution I'd like to see on a 32+" display, and set at 100% scaling. That might be a nice monitor :)And it's hard to get excited about 4K panels when you have things like 144Hz GSync panels that are just loaded with so much cool tech, that you forget about pixel counts.
Laststop311 - Saturday, September 13, 2014 - link
benq makes a 32 inch 2560x1440 that gives the same dpi as 1920x1080 @ 24 inches. Works perfectly at 100% scalingSpunjji - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
Good for you. 96dpi looks awful to my eyes and I find "cool tech" to be irrelevant after owning the same monitor for 6 months+.With that said, give me a 4k monitor with Freesync / G-sync and I'll be a happy panda.
hojnikb - Thursday, September 11, 2014 - link
Exactly. I would be more excited to see some 120hz+ IPS panels. you just can't get those right nowsaliti - Thursday, September 11, 2014 - link
I would find affordable OLED monitors more exciting than any IPS.sheh - Thursday, September 11, 2014 - link
IPS (or IPS-like?) at 144Hz: http://techreport.com/news/27019/au-optronics-pane...nathanddrews - Thursday, September 11, 2014 - link
My dream is a 28"+ 4k 120Hz display with adaptive refresh, but that won't be possible until after DP 1.3 arrives. Until then, I'll be not-so-patiently awaiting the delayed Acer Predator XB280HK: 28" 4K60 G-Sync.Friendly0Fire - Thursday, September 11, 2014 - link
You've got my full attention there. I had never heard of this screen until now.nathanddrews - Thursday, September 11, 2014 - link
Acer announced it [XB280HK] back in May, telling people it would be shipping in June, but it didn't happen. I've been keeping tabs on it ever since and it sounds like it is actually shipping as of this week, but I have yet to see a review or a place to buy it.I don't have a super high-end system, but I expect that I'll be able to play 4K at reasonable frame rates with my GTX 980 - G-Sync being the equalizer for any and all dips below 60fps. Ideally such a display would also be capable of 120/144Hz @ 1080p or 1440p. I guess we'll find out when it hits shelves.