Gigabyte Launches the M32U 4K Gaming Monitor

[preseznik]

I don't think 55" is reasonably usable at desk viewing distances regardless of the resolution - it'll still cause severe neck strain if you are to have even the faintest hope of making use of the whole display. At 1m viewing distance (which is a bit longer than the recommended arm's length, typically 70-80cm) the focal area of human stereoscopic vision (where visual acuity is sufficient to read etc., which is 30°) is ~50cm across. Our central field of view, where our eye is focused, is ~10° wide, or less than 20cm across. Our near peripheral vision covers ~60°, or ~120cm at 1m. A 55" TV is 122cm wide. That means that at 1m - which is a bit too far for eye strain and comfort - you're at any time focused on just 1/6th of the width of the display at any given time, can see less than half of it with reasonable sharpness, and can just see the rest in binocular peripheral vision (assuming your head is pointed towards the middle of the display). Monocular peripheral vision spans way beyond this, but having a monitor in peripheral vision is ... kind of useless unless its job is to show a huge blinking alert or something similar. That means you'd need very significant neck rotation - up to 30° to each side - to make full use of a 55" TV as a monitor. If that kind of movement is maintained frequently for hours at a time, you're likely looking at a serious neck injury in a bit of time. There are those "lucky" enough to avoid that, but I still don't see how using a 55" TV as a monitor is anything but very uncomfortable.

Also, of course, 8k gaming is really stupid. Even 2160p gaming is. There are barely any combinations of screen size and viewing distance where there is a perceptible difference in visual quality between 1440p and 2160p - they exist, but they're rare. There are no such combinations for ... 4320p? - you'd either be sitting too far away to notice, or so close that you're not seeing the whole display. Not to mention the 4x increase in render complexity from an already ridiculously taxing 2160p. There might be exceptions, like extremely slow-paced games (Anno, Civilization, etc.), but ... is there any real benefit still? I sincerely hope 4320p gaming will never, ever be a thing. It's just unnecessary and wasteful. We're reaching a reasonable point of diminishing returns in gaming resolution with 2160p for any practical monitor size.

I've been using my LG CX 55'' on my desk since launch and a 4k Samsung 55'' for a few years prior to that. Regular depth computer desk, too.
You're just wrong.
It's super comfortable and it's annoying having to go to anything smaller (at work, LAN parties, for example).
No "neck rotation", ever, in all of these years.

 

[Valantar]

I've been using my LG CX 55'' on my desk since launch and a 4k Samsung 55'' for a few years prior to that. Regular depth computer desk, too.
You're just wrong.
It's super comfortable and it's annoying having to go to anything smaller (at work, LAN parties, for example).
No "neck rotation", ever, in all of these years.

So... your eyes are on stalks? You're actually saying you don't have to rotate your head whatsoever to focus on the edges of your monitor? Because with the human field of vision and a normal desk viewing distance (arm's length, 80cm-ish), that isn't practically possible without severe eye muscle strain. Now, you might not be sensitive to neck strain, and if so, good for you. However, your experience is not universal, and poor monitor ergonomics is a major cause of serious long term stress injuries in necks and backs, so I would caution against making any type of recommendation without taking this into account. Your recommendation might literally hurt someone.

 

[Mussels]

So... your eyes are on stalks? You're actually saying you don't have to rotate your head whatsoever to focus on the edges of your monitor? Because with the human field of vision and a normal desk viewing distance (arm's length, 80cm-ish), that isn't practically possible without severe eye muscle strain. Now, you might not be sensitive to neck strain, and if so, good for you. However, your experience is not universal, and poor monitor ergonomics is a major cause of serious long term stress injuries in necks and backs, so I would caution against making any type of recommendation without taking this into account. Your recommendation might literally hurt someone.

I did it for years with a 40" screen, then found 55" too big in the same setup
Console ported games for example, the UI and HUD are designed to work with that size

The odd person can handle it, comes down to use case. 27-40" seems to cover 99% of peoples size preferences and physical setups.

 

[Valantar]

I did it for years with a 40" screen, then found 55" too big in the same setup
Console ported games for example, the UI and HUD are designed to work with that size

The odd person can handle it, comes down to use case. 27-40" seems to cover 99% of peoples size preferences and physical setups.

Yeah, and depending on desk size and use case even 40" can be pushing it. Of course, as I said above this is highly individual. For a general recommendation I'd never go above 32" unless I knew the person had either a very large desk or specific use case where they could make use of that without issue.