Chances are that by now you’ll have noticed how 1080p HD is considered yesterday’s news by anyone insistent on keeping up with the tech times. It’s also interesting to note that to a pretty large extent, the world seems to have wholly ignored, overlooked or decided to skip 2K HD and jump right into the arms of 4K Ultra-HD. From TVs to tablets to laptops, 4K are slowly but surely taking over as the new upper-end standard for those to whom pixel counts matter most

But here’s a question – is it really worth investing in a 4K laptop right now? What with there being so many cheap laptops on the market that get the job done, is it worth shelling out top-dollar for a 4K machine?

Well, to be honest, the answer all comes down to you – as in what you want and what you plan to use it for…not to mention how much you’re willing to spend.

Not Without its Benefits
There’s no disputing the fact that if and when you lay eyes on a stunning 4K screen, it’s an impressive sight to say the least. However, when you shrink 4K down to the size of a laptop screen, it’s something of a scientific fact that from a standard viewing distance, a good chunk of those extra pixels don’t make any difference at all – the human eye cannot pick them up. What’s more, if you don’t have perfect 20:20 vision, then you’re also looking at a scenario where all the extra pixels you paid for don’t count for anything at all.

To call 4K pointless or devoid of benefits would be nonsensical – it’s quite simply an unbelievable step forward. But in terms of justifying the costs for the time being at least, it’s all a bit of a grey area. You won’t find 4K machines in the average low-cost laptops sale so it’s a case of justifying the extra expense for the additional benefit you may or may not get out of it.

To sum up, 4K content is rather thin on the ground right now, which means it’ll be some time before you’ll be able to make full use of your new shiny 4K laptop. Where 4K streaming is available, you better have a colossally strong and reliable Internet connection to make it work.

To be honest, you might be better off scoring a bargain from a bog-standard laptop sale and holding out a bit longer – 4K will have its day, but generally speaking it’s not today.