New computer & monitor - 4k vs HD


#1

Mudbox, Maya rendering with MR, light AE/Premiere work and Syntheyes are what takes most power from my current rig (i7 930 2.8, 16 ram, 560 Ti). This will also be the software I will use going forward, on a student/hobbyist level. Also, some gaming would be fun.

Monitor, 28’’ UHD vs 32’’ HD.
I plan on spending about 5 min working with 4k footage the next 3 years but perhaps there are other benefits with 4k?
My current screens are two 23’’ and I have serious neck pain from moving my head sideways. I would also like to increase the distance from my head to the screens and that is why 32’’ sounds good but I don’t want to miss out on kewl 4k stuff.

28’’ UHD - $700
ASUS PB287Q Black 28" 4K UHD 1ms 10-bit HDMI Widescreen LED Backlight LCD Monitor height&Pivot adjustable 300 cd/m2 100,000,000:1
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236399

&

32’’ HD - $800
Acer B326HUL ymiidphz Black 32" 6ms HDMI LED Backlight LCD Monitor VA Panel 2560 x 1440 300 cd/m2 ACM 100,000,000:1 (3000:1)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009643

Computer
These are gaming rigs but should be a good start for my needs:

1
CM Storm Trooper Gaming Big Tower
XFX ProSeries XXX Edition 850W PSU
Intel Core i7-4790K
Cooler Master Seidon 120V
HyperX Fury DDR3 1600MHz 16GB Black
MSI Z97 GAMING 5, Socket-1150
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 980 4GB PhysX CUDA
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 980 4GB PhysX CUDA
HyperX 3K SSD 240GB 2.5" w/Watchdogs vou
Seagate Barracuda® 2TB
Samsung DVD Writer, SH-224DB
CM Storm Devastator - MS2K & MB24
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit
$3 800

2
CM Storm Stryker Gaming Big Tower
Corsair RM850, 850W PSU
Intel Core i7-5820K, Socket-LGA2011-3
Corsair H55 Hydro Series
MSI X99S SLI PLUS, Socket-2011-3
Crucial DDR4 2133MHz 16GB (4x4GB)
MSI GeForce GTX TITAN Z 12GB PhysX
HyperX Fury SSD 240GB 2,5"
Seagate Barracuda® 2TB
Samsung DVD Writer, SH-224DB
CM Storm Devastator - MS2K & MB24
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
$4 200

3
Cooler Master Cosmos II Ultra Tower
Corsair RM1000, 1000W PSU
Intel Core i7-5930K, Socket-LGA2011-3
Corsair H55 Hydro Series
MSI X99S SLI PLUS, Socket-2011-3
Crucial DDR4 2133MHz 32GB (4x8GB)
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 980 4GB PhysX CUDA
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 980 4GB PhysX CUDA
Crucial MX100 SSD 512GB 2,5" 7mm
Seagate® Desktop SSHD 2TB
Samsung DVD Writer, SH-224DB
CM Storm Devastator - MS2K & MB24
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit
$5 300

Comp nr 2 are on sale (by local standards) so if sli is not the way to go that single gpu setup should make sense?
Nr 3 just seems overkill but I don’t know, this is A LOT of money I’m putting into this and I am expecting it to perform for at least 2-3 years. I also don’t do a lot of rendering otherwise I guess dual sockets and xeon and words like that should be mentioned but hopefully there is no need, is there?

So, I’m leaning towards the 28’’ UHD with comp 2 (Titan Z GPU), but I barely know why. Comments would be lovely. Thanks!


#2

Either get a conventional 30" display with 2560x1600 px resolution from Dell, or even better NEC, or go with one of the higher end 4K displays that sport an IPS panel. The 28" Asus in the link has narrow viewing angles TN panel, which for your need is not ideal.
Best value for money the current 27" 2560x1440 displays from Dell etc with IPS panel.


#3

Just don’t buy the recent Samsung 4K that they released. The color is washed out, even after calibration. It looks terrible next to my Sharp PN‑K321 which is admittedly way more expensive but at least of professional grade.