What it's like to use one of the world's first 8K monitors

Dell recently released the world's first consumer-targeted 8K monitor, and we've been wondering what it's like. 

4K TVs and monitors already offer incredible sharpness and detail. We've only recently begun to appreciate them, now that prices have become reasonably affordable and the amount of 4K content has gradually increased.

So what more could 8K possibly offer?

YouTubers Linus Sebastian of Linus Tech Tips and Marques Brownlee both had some time to play around with Dell's 8K monitor to share their reactions. Here's what they had to say: 

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The 8K resolution on Dell's UP3218K monitor means it has four times as many pixels as a 4K monitor, which already has four times as many pixels as a 1080p one.

That means an 8K monitor has more than 33 million pixels.

Most monitors need just one cable to connect to a computer. To work best, Dell's 8K model needs two.

You can use one single DisplayPort (DP) cable, but you'll get a less-than-optimal experience.

Dell's 8K monitor can refresh 8K images at 60Hz, which means it will redraw each of its 33.2 million pixels 60 times a second. That allows it to display ultra-smooth videos and games. But transfering all that information requires some serious bandwidth between the computer and the monitor.

A single DP cable just doesn't have enough capacity to pass along that much data. So if you use just one DP cable, the monitor will slow down its refresh rate to 30Hz. That's still perfectly smooth for most people, but if you're going to spend $5,000 on a monitor, you'll probably want to take advantage of all its capabilities.

To get 8K resolution at 60Hz, you'll need to a graphics card in your computer that has two DP ports. Oh, and Dell's 8K monitor won't run on just any old DP cables. It requires the latest DisplayPort 1.4 cable to work properly.

Dell tunes its 8K monitors before shipping them to ensure they have the best color accuracy. Each monitor comes with its own individualized calibration report to show you how it's tuned.