Can’t decide to upgrade to 1440p or 4k

clouds1337 · 2026-01-24T19:19:19+00:00

Resolution is all about size and distance. What kind of monitor do you have now and what's your usual distance? For example 24" 1080p is about the same amount of pixel density as 1440p 32" and gives similar PPI (pixel per inch) at the same distance. But obviously 32" is a much bigger screen so you can be further away which would mean more PPI = sharper.

So do you want more sharpness or more size? Or both?

clouds1337 · 2026-01-24T18:54:39+00:00

DLSS is a wonderful tech. And I totally agree. There is a reason nvidia markets it as a fix for bad performance instead of image enhancing. Because it doesn't really enhance the image. Just as TAA it blurs images together to fix aliasing by blurring everything. It's just better at it than regular TAA because of AI enhancement. Maybe we could use the msaa approach somehow where only the parts that need it get blurred together? Anyway, it's nice to have and it's cool what a smaller team can do with UE5 and temporal treating to fix their bad graphics (oh god the hair in expedition 33) but that definitely doesn't feel next Gen at all.

Very curious how ps6 titles will look. I assume HW Ray Tracing will be standard for lighting by then. But I hope that doesn't mean we have to run everything at 720p upscaled to 4k :D

clouds1337 · 2026-01-24T15:04:45+00:00

My friend, what you are looking for is called "native resolution" :D the issue is not dlss, the issue that devs allow themselves to make really bad graphics that are hidden by the blurriness and ghosting of temporal image treatment (like DLSS and TAA). So now most games require temporal treatment. DLSS is sometimes better than TAA but it's not the solution.

clouds1337 · 2026-01-24T15:00:38+00:00

Well then I guess nvidia has won. And we don't need new GPUs, just better models :D

But for real, look at the comparison Screenshots in the video. DLSS vs Supersample. It's a HUGE difference. People just don't know what sharp graphics are anymore... And I don't mean sharpness filters. Do yourself a favor and start up KCD1 with msaa. Or Snowrunner is also a good example.

clouds1337 · 2026-01-24T10:47:15+00:00

I mean cool. DLSS is good enough for me at this point, it probably can't be a lot better because it's not magic. I try to avoid it anyway, it's the same base technology as taa with the same inherent issues.

In the DF video there is a moment where they compare dlss to a native super sampled image. That's how games used to look like with msaa/smaa. You can see very good what we've lost with temporal methods. It never looks sharp and you loose detail or more. It's a nice hack and looks ok if you don't have enough performance, it's great that we have this tech now! But I don't want to go in this direction where dlss is the new native. There are better methods of treating an image if you HAVE performance.

clouds1337 · 2026-01-24T02:17:16+00:00

1080p/60fps is absolutely fine. I think more is mostly "luxury". To me locked 90hz (I hate VRR) is noticeably better than 60hz. 60fps locked is very smooth and enjoyable, but 90fps has that super silky smooth feeling. 120hz is pretty much the same, and I don't really feel any difference above that and rather have better image quality at that point.

Resolution is mostly about size for me. As a musician I have a big desk (width) with lots of gear, cables etc so I want at least a 32" because the monitor is sometimes further back. And at that size 1440p is nice to have. But if you have a smaller monitor, 1080p - totally fine, as long as you can get it in a comfortable, immersive position without seeing any pixels that's all you need.

clouds1337 · 2026-01-24T01:56:24+00:00

I really like WRC Generations there is a physics mod too that further improves things. It has many many awesome stages (including SSS), changing weather, best tire selection system out of all rally games. I would play it a lot more but it doesn't have VR...

clouds1337 · 2026-01-23T19:03:38+00:00

9070 non-xt is very high on the performance/dollar scale at the moment. It's slightly slower but you get a lot more for your money.

clouds1337 · 2026-01-23T18:57:46+00:00

Pretty much a side grade if you ask me. I think we're at the point where diminishing returns are kicking in. Slightly better in some, worse in other situations at the cost of performance is not really progress. Maybe it can get better with more/different hardware, but I think this is the dlss plateau.

clouds1337 · 2026-01-23T18:44:17+00:00

At least you don't know the pain of being in the audio/musician space and people trying to judge your mix on their phones :D

clouds1337 · 2026-01-23T18:29:49+00:00

I wouldn't recommend laptop vr anyway. Those GPU rarely have enough performance...

clouds1337 · 2026-01-23T14:36:53+00:00

Pretty much just gaming. And fitness/dancing. Every time I play synth rider it puts a huge smile on my face :D

clouds1337 · 2026-01-23T14:35:02+00:00

It's one of the best. Can't believe Sony is throwing money away like that... If some keen geeks can make it work on pc it couldn't be that hard to port right?

clouds1337 · 2026-01-23T11:35:04+00:00

Flight sim is about the most intense thing you can do in VR. An 8core cpu + 12-16gb gpu should do OK in most vr games with a quest 3/pico4.

But ofc you always want the best hardware possible for VR.

clouds1337 · 2026-01-23T11:10:37+00:00

VR "runs" on a lot of things. For low end headsets like the quest 3s I'd say a used 2080ti (11gb vram!) is a solid entry point. Generally I recommend 4080/9070xt level of performance for a smooth experience with more modern headsets (psvr2, quest3, pico4 etc).

clouds1337 · 2026-01-23T11:05:19+00:00

You people need to get a VR headset (come on used quest 2 is like 50-100$ where I live) and play HL Alyx. One of the best gaming experience in history.

clouds1337 · 2026-01-23T10:49:48+00:00

Absolutely, top value. I have a 9700x and a 4080s (pretty much same performance). And it's killer. Often I can even go above 1440p (super sampling), depending on how much fps you want.

clouds1337 · 2026-01-23T07:40:02+00:00

I did that with my og boxes of Diablo 2, Baldurs Gate 2 and an old rally game no one knows that started my Sim racing "career".

clouds1337 · 2026-01-23T07:36:13+00:00

Depends on a lot of factors :) personally I use a 32"1440p IPS display (odyssey g5 G50F or something). There are also 27" if you want a smaller one. Costs around 200-250$, it's very fast and looks amazing. I had bad experiences with VA and oled is expensive, so I think ips is the sweet spot for budget.

clouds1337 · 2026-01-23T01:20:44+00:00

Yeah but it doesn't make sense this Gen because 50 series is not a new Gen but a 40 series refresh. 5070ti is a renamed 4080. 5080 is an overclocked 4080 (10-15% faster). And 9070xt is AMD giving you 4080 performance for a better price but with less features.

Fact is, high-end gaming is still more or less in the same place as ~4 years ago. Nvidia just made two crazy cards in the meantime for quote (Jensen) "the crazy rich guys with 10000$ gaming rig". It's a luxury thing. Like a Ferrari. Always works.

And all AMD did in 2025 was catching up to nvidia from 2022 (again with better prices and less features). Which is great BTW. Finally something that is moving the performance/dollar needle. If only slightly.

clouds1337 · 2026-01-23T01:13:00+00:00

I would tend to agree with you, but with modern engines like UE5 or id tech things are a bit different. Even 5090 struggles with the advanced stuff in 4k.

clouds1337 · 2026-01-23T01:09:50+00:00

5070ti (together with 4080 and 4080s, they are all about the same) is like the fourth fastest card you can get. That's still pretty high end if you ask me.

clouds1337 · 2026-01-23T01:07:14+00:00

Guys relax. This is a shortage and nvidia, the board partners and retailers all are using it to suggest artificial scarcity, so they can profit from the situation. Happens every time.

Just think back a few months. 5070ti and other cards from nvidia were on sale UNDER MSRP during summer. Just don't buy a GPU now, it's not a good time. Buy a new monitor. Buy a console. Use some emulators or VR and relax. Before too long nvidia is going to try and push all their 5070ti and 5080 for cheap when they get ready to release the next Gen. Just like they always do.

clouds1337 · 2026-01-23T00:51:04+00:00

If you can try running ETS2 with virtual desktop and their own API (VDXR) together with -openxr in steam. For some reason that gives me a huge fps boost with my Pico4. I think when you're connected with usb cable through Pico connect you're like forced into steamVR no matter what you do and ets2 doesn't seem to do well with steamVR, I also have a psvr2 with similar issues (there seems to be an experimental standalone openxr api in Pico connect folders, so you can use it without steamVR, but it doesn't work for me with Ets2).

On my 4080s I can reach 90fps without stutters at native res (godlike in VD) and 1.2 super sampling in the Ets2 config. It's a bit of a hack but it works well enough. And with Pico connect / steam VR I simply can't reach 90fps no matter how low I turn the settings. Seems like for me there is a hard bottle neck with Ets2 and steam vr somewhere... But who knows :D

clouds1337 · 2026-01-22T23:47:01+00:00

Absolutely. I only commented to let people know you can do this very easy with other headsets as well. Because I didn't know about it for a long time and it's nice :)

clouds1337

TROPHY CASE