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[Update: WOW! Thanks for all the useful feedback! Plenty of information on the TV-as-a-monitor side of things (but feel free to add more!) Would very much appreciate it if folks could provide some input as to what has worked for them in using a laptop to drive a 4K display. I'd consider a used system. Would, ideally, like something that costs in the ~$300 range, but am resigned to the fact I may have to kick out more like ~$750. What graphics adapter do you have. Is it an integrated model (e.g. Intel HD 630) or discrete card? What model? What troubles, if any, have you had with getting proper drivers (windows OR Linux/Debian/BSD/etc.) Could you get the full 60 fps or were you limited to 30 fps? See below the fold for details on my current system and what my needs are compute-wise. --Bytram]
Summary: I need more screen space.
Which means I'll need a new (to me) laptop (portability++) which can support more pixels. I want a system that is Linux/BSD friendly. I don't have a whole lot of money to spend, so I'm hoping I can draw on the experience of my fellow Soylentils to help point me in the right direction. I'd like to avoid overspending, but I don't want to find that I've boxed myself into a corner for making an ignorant mistake.
I used to follow the bleeding edge of technology, but I've now firmly moved into the "I want it to just work" camp.
Current Display: I have a 24-inch, 1920x1200 computer monitor. The majority of my display is taken up my Internet Browser (Pale Moon) which generally has 50+ tabs. It is flush with the top of my screen and covers the entire display except for a ~2 inch margin on the sides and 3 inches on the bottom. That overlays my HexChat IRC (Internet Relay Chat) which runs across the bottom 1/3 of my screen. The remainder of the screen has corners of command windows poking out as well as various utilities like an analog clock, performance monitor, connection monitor, etc.
TV as Monitor: Over the past few months I've seen the prices for 4K (3840x2160) televisions plummet. I've got my eye on a TCL 43S517 43-Inch 4K Ultra HD Roku Smart LED TV (2018 Model) which Amazon has on sale for $349.00 with free shipping.
As I see it, I could get a display with better dot pitch than what I have now, and much more screen real estate, for relatively little money.
The vast majority of what I do is command line based, be it in a Windows (7 Pro X64) CMD.exe command window, or an occasional PuTTY session into Soylent's Servers. I do not do any video gaming. My only video needs are an occasional short clip from YouTube, or a DVD (I have neither cable TV nor do I stream video with Netflix or their ilk; no Blu-ray, either). Internet access is currently via a tethered LTE cell phone.
Current computer: Thanks to the generosity of a fellow Soylentil, my current system is a Dell Latitude E6400 with a Core 2 Duo P8700 (1.8-2.5 GHz) with 8GB RAM and a 500GB 7200-rpm WD Black disk drive. Video is handled by a NVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M.
New Laptop: My current is not going to cut it. So, I'm also on the lookout for a new (to me) laptop. I don't need much in the way of compute power. I figure pretty much any i3 or i5 should be more than enough for my computing needs. And, an Intel integrated graphics chip should be up to the task given a recent enough generation, but I'm not sure how current a model I'd need. I'm further confused by the different connection schemes and versions. I've found this page on Intel. What will I need? HDMI 1.4? Display Port 1.2? Other? Would I be able to run both a 4K monitor @ 60Hz and my existing 1920x1200 display?
With the increasing trade war rhetoric, I'm getting nervous there may be a price spike in the not too distant future. Further, I sense merchants are clearing out the current stock in anticipation of the holiday season, so I'm thinking the time is right for me to take the plunge and upgrade.
Conclusion: So, what have your experiences been using a 4K television as a computer monitor? What 'gotchas' have you run into? What things did you learn the hard way that you wish someone had told you about beforehand? What driver problems have you encountered? Did you have any issues with Linux/BSD drivers? What worked for you?
(Score: 4, Insightful) by RamiK on Friday September 21 2018, @01:11AM (7 children)
You don't stream; You don't game; You use DVD and won't use BluRay; You tether LTE for Internet access; Your use case is... IRC.
You know what? Forget about 4k, 2k or even 1080p. Try a $30 720p 19". Get a 5$ "usb vga adapter" off ebay or something if you can't find an empty port...
4k IRC...
*RamiK slaps martyb with a large trout
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(Score: 2) by martyb on Friday September 21 2018, @01:33AM (4 children)
I gotta admit you had me chuckling all along with that one, culminating with a guffaw!
You did happen to omit mentioning the browser window, though, which takes up about 75% of my screen real estate.
As for getting another 1080p, I currently run a 1920x1200 TYVM. I wouldn't mind using m current monitor in addition to the 4K monitor. I'd prolly use it to collect all my monitoring applications (CPU usage, I/O, analog clock, CPU speed, internet connection, etc.)
Thanks for the laugh!
Wit is intellect, dancing.
(Score: 2) by RamiK on Friday September 21 2018, @10:43AM (3 children)
Happy to amuse :)
But I was sorta serious recommending dual monitors. One for the IRC and stuff and the other for the browser is quite a lot. I admit I'm not sure about cards and can't recommend a specific monitor though... Still, it's a fairly common setup. No?
Just my 2cents really.
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(Score: 2) by martyb on Friday September 21 2018, @03:26PM (2 children)
Nothing says I have to discard my old laptop when I get a new-to-me one. I might just use my current setup (laptop w/ 1920x1200) for, say, just IRC and e-mail. Use the new one for actual hands-on stuff. makes it a little harder to cut-n-paste between programs on the other system, but might be tractable nonetheless. Thanks for the ideas!
Wit is intellect, dancing.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 21 2018, @03:58PM (1 child)
Somebody else recommended you Synergy, but I don't think they mentioned, in addition to letting your mouse seamlessly control the cursor of the next computer over, it can also do clipboard synchronization. It's really indispensable for any setup with two computers on one bench.
(Score: 2) by martyb on Saturday September 22 2018, @03:25AM
A great many things happen just once, but getting two different people who enthusiastically recommend the same thing? Well, that tells me I *really* need to take a look at it! Thanks for the recommendation!
Wit is intellect, dancing.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Friday September 21 2018, @03:07PM (1 child)
I still have my 5 to 10 yr old 32" 720p LCD Sony TV that I've been using as my main Monitor essentially the entire time. Recently, my previous generic 720p 32" TV died and I got a replacement for the Mrs. The replacement was a 39" 720p for $200. I paid $600 for the generic it replaced and $600 for the Sony I'm currently using. TV prices are good right now. Though, I would like to get a 32" Freesync compatible monitor to go with my RX480. Then again, I kind of want to replace my RX480 with a Vega. I'd also like to get the wireless adapter for my HTC Vive. So, really I have no idea what I want. Since, I'm not going to be affording all three.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Friday September 21 2018, @03:14PM
Funny fact, the bezel on the 32" made it the same size as the 39" that replaced it. My wife literally asked me, if the new screen was smaller than the old one. The old LCD looked and felt like a behemoth. The new LCD even though it had 7" more screen real estate, was slimmer and lighter.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"