Gaming at 4K: not anytime soon?

[Viper1]

Lafiel said:

well, 4k native resolution already is like having 4xFSAA at 1080p, because that's what FSAA does, render at a higher resolution and then downsize it to a smaller res

Viper1 said:

In fact, this is why we won't be seeing 4K resolution as a mainstream resolution for a very long time.    It's simply overkill for practically everyone.

You really need a 55" TV or larger to actually perceive a difference in resolution from 1920 to 4K.   Any TV/monitor sizes below will be largely indistinguishable (unless you sit 2 feet away from it).

yet photos taken in 4k clearly look much better than at 1080p or 720p (even when viewed on a smartphone screen)

there is a difference and it's obvious even at reasonable screen sizes

That's a different thing going on.   Look at what most camera's image resolution is these days anyway...16 megapixels or so.   That's twice as many pixels as 4K.   

But this has a lot to do with image sensor size, pixel air, ISO and much more.   I can take my 6 MP camera and take far better looking images than most of today's 16 MP point and shoot cameras an certainly better than any smartphone camera.   Resolution in 3D graphics on a TV and picture resolution are 2 similar but different beasts.