Experience with UHD on 31.5" without scaling

Hardware Hub
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I’m in the market for a new monitor and want something with UHD resolution for all my multitasking needs.

However I am worried that 31.5" will be slightly too small to use without scaling, so I was wondering if any of you have experience using UHD on a ~30-inch without scaling - is it completely acceptable, slightly too small or barely usable?

Ideally I should just go to a shop and experience it for myself but I haven’t had much luck finding these sort of monitors at display in local stores. The ones I’ve seen run OS X but I’m going to use Win7 and Linux with i3wm.

My vision is fine and I am aware that something like browsing isn’t an issue, I can just zoom to whatever size I fancy, but I definitely don’t want to have to turn on scaling.

I’m specifically interested in 31.5" because EIZO has a nice monitor at that size and at a reasonable price (FlexScan EV3237). If they made a 43" I’d go get that but they don’t.

Thanks!

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40" 4k was tough for certain text with me sitting around 2-3 feet away from it. that was with no scaling.

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Ouch… That suggests 31.5" is too little though I tend to be no more than 1½ - 2 feet away :no_mouth:

How is your vision if I may ask?

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i wear contacts so not stellar but im not blind

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Thanks. I’m starting to believe I would be somewhat annoyed by the tiny pixels on UHD / 31.5"… Hmmm, damn.

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More variables should be defined than just screen size and resolution. Eyesight has a large part of it which is subjective. Some people natrually like smaller sharper text and others like it larger. It also depends on how far away you sit from your monitor. If you sit 3ft away from a 31.5in 4K screen it might be too small. I have a 32in 4K monitor (pictured below in the center) and I love it. I had the same reservations as you did before getting it. Then I got it and really like the sharpness. I sit approx 2ft away from the screen. Hate to say it but I would try it and see how you like it. I went from a 43in 4k screen to the 32in with two 25in on each side and found that to work the best.

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Sweet setup! Spotting some Bayerdynamic cans too, great taste! :star_struck:

There’s certainly a lot of variables, I tend to sit fairly close to the monitor and I like it super sharp and crisp.
I use my 14" 2560x1440 ultrabook without scaling but I wouldn’t want to work for extended periods of time on 210 PPI, I use it almost exclusively for browsing - but I guess 140 PPI for the 31.5" UHD might work… Hmm…

I can buy it and try it for two weeks, guess I should do that and see how it works out!