HD resolution 720 vs fhd 1080p vs 1440p vs 4k: everything you need to know

One of the dilemmas when purchasing a new PC monitor is the resolution of its panel, the most common are 1080p monitors although there are still many 720p units and it is increasingly common to find 1440p or the most modern 4k. In this situation, many users are lost . What exactly do these numbers mean?

What is the resolution of a screen? What do 720p, 1080p, 1440p and 4k mean?

Resolution is the number of dots (pixels) that make up the image on a digital screen, both horizontally and vertically, the most common resolutions are:

• 1280 × 720 (720p, HD) 1920 x 1080 (1080p, FHD) 2560 x 1440 (2k, WQHD) 3840 x 2160 (4k, UHD)

For example, on a 720p monitor the image is made up of 1280 pixels horizontally and 720 points vertically, the higher the number of pixels, the higher the quality and definition of the image. Of course, the image quality includes many other factors such as the quality of the panel itself, brightness, contrast and others. Something to keep in mind is that the higher the resolution, the greater the demand on our hardware, especially the graphics card, which will have to do much more work to represent the scene on our monitor. The latter is one of the biggest concerns of gamers since a drop in the performance of their graphics card can cause an excessive loss of image fluidity in game sessions. In the most serious cases, what is known as " a slide show ”that makes it impossible to enjoy a video game.

We recommend reading our guide on mobile screen resolutions.

Surely you are thinking that a 1080p resolution on a 20-inch monitor is not the same as a 60-inch one, indeed. At this point we have to talk about pixels per inch (PPI), this is the value that will really mark the image quality that a screen is capable of offering. PPI relates the resolution of a screen to its size to be an indication of the image definition it is capable of offering. The following table shows the PPI values ​​for the most common resolutions on 24-inch and 27-inch monitors.

Resolution	Pixel count	PPI on 24 inch monitor	PPI on 27 inch monitor
1280 × 720 (720p, HD)	921, 600	61	54
1920 x 1080 (1080p, FHD)	2, 073, 600	92	82
2560 x 1440 (2k, WQHD)	3, 686, 400	122	109
3840 x 2160 (4k, UHD)	8, 294, 400	184	163

We recommend our guide to the best PC monitors.

720p monitors are almost a thing of the past, currently 1080p are the most used for their magnificent relationship between image quality and cost, although they will inevitably follow the same path as 720p and will eventually disappear. Currently the sweet spot for a 24-inch monitor is 1080p resolution and for a 27-inch monitor it's 1440p resolution. 4K monitors are experiencing a huge increase in popularity, mainly because they are becoming more affordable for the majority of users and there is no doubt that they are the future.

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