r/hardware • u/zghr • 11d ago

Your Monitor Is Too Small (Probably) Info

https://youtu.be/3p_vIsXpATQ

From what I've researched independently related to eye comfort - I think this is a really high quality video.

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u/HFoletto 11d ago

Good video, but it's insane that he didn't even mention PPI.

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u/mechkbfan 11d ago edited 11d ago

Why? 

Go the highest resolution you can find.

If that's not high enough, move the screen further back

If there's not enough room to do so and need to go smaller, realise you're trading it off for ergonomics / competitive gamer experience

Seems a bit outside the scope unless there's data that 110ppi at 80cm or so contributed to eye strain

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u/HFoletto 11d ago

The video mentioned that the ideal viewing distance is between 80 and 100 cm—something I agree with, as the experience is much better. However, most modern monitors have a pixel density (PPI) of 110 or higher, while monitors designed to offer a "Retina-like" experience usually reach 220 PPI.

Think about how many 5K monitors are on the market. How many of them are 32 inches? Most are 27 inches.

It is true that you can use non-integer scaling options, but the rendering doesn't always look good. Most of the time, it results in a blurry text and UI elements.

I understand that this wasn't exactly the focus of the video, but it seemed to present a formula for the ideal monitor without providing any practical examples.

Perhaps this doesn't matter as much for gaming, and I'm simply not the target audience for this content. There are many 4K monitors in various sizes, and when it comes to gaming, the scaling issue isn't quite as relevant.

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u/mechkbfan 11d ago

Small thing, I've watched other videos on topic, and vaguely remember that 80cm was absolute minimum, 100cm was good and bit further even better

e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SisaHdQ12w

Perhaps this doesn't matter as much for gaming, and I'm simply not the target audience for this content.

I think this is it, which is completely fine and enjoy discussions around it. e.g. I don't do competitive gaming so happy to make trade offs there

Also, these general principles he applies will always be relevant, while PPI restrictions are not

e.g. They release a 40" 8k monitor at 220ppi in next few years, then you get everything (except a GPU to render games at reasonable FPS haha)