Gaming and watching movies at 4K has a long way to go before it becomes mainstream, if indeed it ever will. However, with four times the resolution of today’s standard high-definition screens, gaming at 4K offers some enormous potential. This guide takes a look at the demanding hardware requirement for such a setup.

For veteran gamers, it hardly seems long ago that 1920×1080 became the standard resolution in both games and movies. While 1920×1080 is a huge step up from the 4:3-ratio screen resolutions which were mainstream less than a decade ago, the increase to 3860×2160 is something else again. Offering four times the resolution over today’s full high-definition standard, gaming and movies at 4K offers the potential for an unprecedented level of detail. You’ve probably already seen 4K presentations being showcased on extremely large and expensive screens in electronics stores, but the reality is that 4K still has a long way to go before it becomes the norm.

If you’re looking to build a future-proof desktop computer for gaming at 4K, you’ll need to have a huge budget typically in the region of $4,000 to $5,000 including the screen. This guide takes a look at the hardware you need as well as the current problems with gaming at 4K.

Problems with 4K

As previously stated, 4K is certainly nowhere near becoming mainstream, which is largely due to the fact that it is pretty unaffordable for the vast majority of us. Though you don’t need to run anti-aliasing at high levels when gaming at 4K, you’ll still need dual graphics cards, a 4K monitor and plenty of processing power and memory in order to play modern games at the highest settings.

Because 4K has yet to take on, support for the resolution is still limited. Some 4K monitors and TVs are actually comprised of two separate LCD panels, which can cause problems with certain games and software. Most modern video games are only optimized for standard high-definition resolutions, and their default interfaces can get so small at 4K to the extent that they become almost unusable. With smaller 4K screens, you’ll also start having a problem with tiny text and icons.

For the aforementioned reasons, 4K gaming is very much something for enthusiasts, in spite of what hardware manufacturers might try to tell you. This fact shouldn’t necessarily put you off, however. After all, prices are constantly decreasing, and while 4K gaming certainly won’t become the norm in the near future, it does offer a great potential in certain games at least.

4K Monitors

The first thing you’ll need is a 4K monitor, and there really still aren’t a lot to choose from. To appreciate the benefits of 4K, you’ll also need a much bigger monitor. While most 1920×1080 desktop displays come in 22″ and 24″ varieties, these physical sizes are completely unsuitable for resolutions of 3860×2160. On such screens, everything will be so tiny as to make your desktop almost unusable.

The smallest 4K monitors currently available are 28 inches in diagonal size, but to really see the benefits, you’ll need a display of 32″ or greater, and such monitors typically cost upwards of $3,000. 4K home entertainment systems tend to cost far more, usually coming in 82″ varieties. Another consideration is that 4K monitors need to use different connectors, such as DisplayPort, because of the far higher data bandwidth involved.

Dual GPUs

Unsurprisingly, you’ll need a beast of a system to be able to play modern games at 4K, particularly if you want to use the highest settings. Currently, there is no single graphics card which is capable of running more demanding games at their highest settings at such resolutions, and even dual graphics cards will struggle in certain situations.

Taking the infamously demanding Crysis 3 as an example, you’ll have absolutely no hope of achieving playable frame rates even with a single AMD Radeon 295X GPU at 4K, and even using the dual Radeon 290X2 graphics card, costing around $1,800 as of August, 2014, will struggle to deliver smooth frame rates. The GeForce GTX Titan-Z dual GPU boasts 12 gigabytes of memory as opposed to the Radeon 290X2’s 8 gigabytes, and will deliver slightly better frame rates in such cases, but it will also set you back $3,000.

One of the main problems with 4K gaming is that it requires an enormous amount of video memory. Ultimately, if you want to play all current games, including Crysis 3, let alone up-and-coming video games, at their highest settings, you’ll really need to have two or even three top-end graphics cards working together in SLI or Crossfire. Keep in mind that the most expensive graphics cards currently on offer are already two-in-one configurations – the Radeon 290X2 and nVidia Titan-Z both contain two graphics cards in one unit.

Another consideration is connectivity itself. Because of the far greater bandwidth required by 4K, your graphics card will need to have a DisplayPort. DisplayPort is capable of 3860×2160 resolutions delivered at 60 frame per second (i.e. a 60Hz refresh rate). The standard DVI port, let alone the now largely obsolete VGA port, are completely incompatible with such displays.

Other Requirements

Even building the cheapest 4K desktop computer, you’ll likely end up spending more on the graphics card(s) and monitor alone than most gamers spend on an entire system. Fortunately, the other components in your computer, such as the CPU and RAM, don’t have quite such a significant effect on gaming, but it is still important not to compromise too much, lest a bottleneck end up causing significant problems.

For your 4K dream gaming machine, you should still expect to spend at least $300 on an Intel Core i7 processor or better and another $75 or more on 8GB of memory. You’ll also need a high-quality power supply, ideally delivering about 1,000 watts, to power such a configuration. Other standard features of any gaming PC, such as a decent motherboard offering excellent overclocking options and a solid state drive are also essential.

Such powerful hardware also requires extremely powerful cooling, and if you want to have any hope of overclocking your CPU and/or graphics cards to a significant level, you’ll ideally want to invest in water cooling systems for both components.

Conclusion

Opting for a pair of high-end graphics cards is sometimes cheaper than going for a single dual GPU such as the Radeon 290X2, but for best results, and to future-proof your system until 4K gaming becomes mainstream (if it ever does, that is), you’ll be looking to run two dual GPUs together or three or four single GPUs. On the other hand, the most economic 4K gaming solution currently available should cost around $3,000, but the sacrifice in screen size will greatly diminish the benefits.

In conclusion, 4K gaming remains far too expensive for most of us, but if money is no object, you’ll experience some jaw-dropping results in some of today’s most visually appealing video games. However, another option is to go for a multi-monitor setup comprising three 1920×1080 displays, which provides the benefits of lower hardware requirements and better immersion.

Multi monitor setup – Image credit: luxtica.com