Is 4K overkill on a laptop?
Is 4K overkill on an editing/design laptop? and/or is 4K overkill on a gaming laptop? Read on to find out!
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Is 4K overkill on a laptop? For most casual users the answer is yes, but for creative professionals, amateurs, and/or gamers who want the very best on a larger display, and are willing to spend the money on it – then perhaps not.
There’s no doubt that a 4K resolution still looks good; however, getting a 4K laptop has a few issues which may force you to reconsider.
Is 4K overkill on an editing/design laptop?
It really depends on your needs and budget. If you’re not going to be editing any native 4K footage / imagery, then probably not, given the additional asking price of 4K laptops.
Besides a hefty premium and a relatively smaller screen, there is another problem: the battery life. You will be unlikely to be able to work on the laptop for a long time without plugging it in. Having a high-resolution panel means it will consume battery significantly faster, and with a 4K panel, the reduced battery life is not in minutes; it’s in hours.
That being said, non-gaming 4K laptops are getting cheaper and cheaper, and if your creative output will benefit from native 4K resolution, particularly if it lets you earn more money to offset the cost, then absolutely it’s worth it.
READ NOW: Best 4K laptop
Is 4K overkill on a gaming laptop?
We wouldn’t recommend 4K gaming to most people unless they are willing to spend a small fortune. Generally, most users will be satisfied with a similarly powered laptop at 1440p/1600p resolution with a cheaper price tag and a better refresh rate, or a laptop for the same price but with a better GPU and CPU to maximise their FPS in-game. The FPS drop that will come from playing games at 4K just won’t be worth it unless you’ve got the latest RTX 4080 laptop or RTX 4090 laptop GPUs.
The other big problem is screen real estate. 4K is an excellent resolution for playing games and watching videos on larger display where you can appreciate it (particularly on the new 18-inch laptops), and where FHD (1080p/1200p) resolution may look dull, but it is not really worth it on a 15-inch or smaller gaming laptop. However, if you have the budget to go bigger, 4K gaming on a big display at the highest settings will be a sight to behold.
READ NOW: Best 4K gaming laptops
Other 4K laptop articles
Is 4K overkill on a laptop?
We hope this brief article has satisfactorily answered the question for you: Is 4K overkill on a laptop? Do be sure to take a look at our various other laptop and gaming laptop guides in the dropdown menu at the top of this page.
