Does 12K resolution exist?

Technically, 12K resolution does exist… currently mostly in prototypes and high-end professional use cases rather than consumer displays.

If you're an avid gamer and creator, you've probably been itching to take advantage of the latest display resolutions to bring your games to life and give your content a visual boost. So when the buzz around 12K resolution started making headlines, many were immediately excited. However, some were skeptical about whether it would actually exist.

12K resolution actually exists technically

The short answer is yes, technically 12K resolution does exist… currently mostly in prototypes and high-end professional use cases rather than consumer displays.

Specifically, 12K refers to a whopping 12,288 x 6,480, for a total of about 79 million pixels. To put that in perspective, 8K has 4X the pixels, while regular 4K only has 16X the pixels! However, this resolution provides a level of detail that is almost too impractical for many applications.

Does 12K resolution exist? Picture 1

But what does it take to actually run games or video content at this cutting-edge resolution? The current RTX 3090 can barely hit playable frame rates at 4K in many AAA titles, so it's understandable why 12K remains a pipe dream.

Based on years of experience building high-end gaming rigs, running graphically intensive games at 12K with decent frame rates will require massive GPU power equivalent to 4 or more of today's top GPUs. And even the highest-end current GPUs are unlikely to deliver 60 FPS consistently at 4K resolution!

Add in the cost of other cutting-edge components needed like CPUs and storage to handle the massive bandwidth demands of 12K footage, and you quickly get to a theoretical PC build that's close to $10,000 just to run a 12K display smoothly for modern games.

The Harsh Truth of 12K Displays and Content

The story around actually capturing or purchasing 12K content is no better. While some prototypes like the Dell UltraSharp 32 8K display prove that at least displays with this incredible resolution are possible, even if they come at a sky-high price, the broader ecosystem doesn't yet exist to support 12K end-to-end.

As a content creator, simply capturing readable 12K footage is nearly impossible these days. Even many professional cameras don't support recording beyond 6-8K quality. And those that do typically cost over $10,000, not to mention the terabytes of blazing-fast storage you'll need just to store 12K footage.

Costs involved in 12K video production

12K reference display: $20,000 and up
12K Camera: $10,000 and up
GPU for post-production: $3,000 and up
NLE 12K Software: $1,000 and up
1 hour of 12K footage storage: $5,000 and up

Total: $40,000 or more

Good luck trying to edit and render 12K video projects using standard consumer hardware and software! As the cost chart above shows, a full high-end 12K production workflow will cost at least $40,000 and require extremely specialized equipment designed specifically for ultra-high-resolution video. Out of reach for most average consumers!

When will 12K become viable for gamers and creators?

The reality today is that while 12K resolution displays technically exist, the cost and complexity of actually controlling them makes them impractical for most real-world use cases. Outside of advanced visual use cases in product design, architecture, medicine, etc., they remain curiosities rather than tools for general content creation and enjoyment.

As gamers and creators, however, it's possible to be optimistic about the 5-10 year timeline as technology advances. The rapid pace of advancements in gaming GPUs like Nvidia's new RTX 4090 gives us reason to believe that the processing power to drive smooth 12K displays will arrive sooner than expected.

And with the growing market around the need for high resolution for VR/AR content and even glasses-free 3D displays, hopefully we'll see rapid investment in making 12K capable tools more accessible to the prosumer crowd. While widespread adoption may not happen due to diminishing returns, semi-pro creators love any breath of fresh air!

For now, stay tuned to upcoming gaming tech events for any announcements of 8K and 12K display prototypes. Are there any promising developments that are more realistic than 12K for gamers and creators? It could be coming sooner than we think, as pixel counts beyond our wildest dreams become an option available to everyone.