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More Widescreen than Widescreen: Six Ultra Widescreen Monitors tested

Back in the early 2000s, people had square-ish LCD screens, which morphed into widescreen monitors around ten years ago. They were sharper, wider displays that offered more screen space than their predecessors.

If you’ve heard of 1080p, you know these screens already – they’re everywhere, from computer desks to living rooms the world over.

But by now widescreen monitor tech is ten years old, and it’s time for something new. Enter Ultra-Widescreen, a monitor format that extends the X axis of your viewing area by quite a margin, allowing you to see much more of, well, everything.

We went on a mission to round up six Ultra-Widescreen monitors from the six top brands in the country, and the result is what you’re reading. We’ve put all six through their paces, and will sum up what you need to know about them so you’re armed with the right information when you hit the shops.

But before we get to that, there are a few things you should know about these monitors, because some of what they offer may be unfamiliar if you haven’t been keeping up with the tech in your spare time, and it’s vital to knowing what you’re buying, and why.

On to the info!

Wider than wide

The “aspect ratio” of a monitor is the mathematical relationship between its height and width, as well as the relationship between the number of pixels along its X and Y axes. 1080p monitors and TVs typically have 16:9 aspect ratios; Ultra-Widescreen monitors are different because they feature 21:9 aspect ratios, a number that indicates the top edge of the screen is a lot longer than those of 16:9 1080p screens.

The result is monitors that are wider than “Widescreen” implies, and hence the “Ultra” in their description.

The extra screen space means you get a wider view of your games and more space for your applications. Our favourite use of the monitors on test was running applications side by side, which really helped with our productivity as finally, both applications didn’t appear cramped and were thus fully accessible. That’s something 1080p screens can’t match.

Curved vs. Flat

Before we tested these screens, we were sceptical of the appeal of curved screens, but having used them for a few weeks, we’re convinced – curved is the way to go.

The curve serves to keep the edges of the screen closer to your eyes than flat screens do, and while that admittedly sounds like PR hype, we found it to be true.

The one flat screen we tested, LG’s 34UM67, genuinely left us feeling like we were looking off into the distance when casting our eyes towards the edge. The curved edges of the other screens kept things much closer, a view we liked a lot more. Just be prepared to pay for it, is all.

G-Sync vs. FreeSync vs. Vsync

These two technologies are different implementations of the same idea – that of synchronising the refresh rate of the screen to your graphics card’s output so that game graphics are silky smooth – but they come from two different companies.

G-Sync comes from graphics card maker NVIDIA, and only works with NVIDIA’s graphics cards. FreeSync is from rival card maker AMD, and, you guessed it, only works with AMD cards at the moment.

FreeSync monitors tend to be cheaper, however, as they use an open standard whereas NVIDIA’s G-Sync tech is proprietary, and requires a license which is an extra cost. It sucks, but there you have it.

Acer Predator Z35 Curved 35-inch Gaming Monitor

Price: R24 000

Acer Predator X35
Acer Predator X35

We’ll start off with one of the most promising, yet ultimately disappointing, monitors we had on test. Acer’s Predator X35 seemed to have everything we want: a huge 35-inch diameter, a curved IPS panel, G-Sync (since our test rig uses an NVIDIA GTX970), a 144Hz refresh rate, and Acer’s Predator design is killer – this monitor looks the part of a badass gaming screen.

Plus it tilts, is height adjustable and has HDMI and DisplayPort inputs. Sounds good so far, right?

Wrong, because only has a resolution of just 2560 x 1440, which doesn’t appear quite as sharp as we’d like at this size, although it is marginally better than the standard 2560 x 1080 that other manufacturers have gone with. Backlight bleed – that is, light escaping around the edges of the display – reared its ugly head, which contributed to a slightly washed-out look of whatever’s on-screen.

We also saw considerable ghosting – game graphics leaving behind a visible trail when they move – something we haven’t seen much of since 2008.

These could be overlooked if the monitor had a reasonable price tag, but R24 000 is not what we’d call reasonable. Not for this.

The techie bits

  • Size: 35 inches
  • Resolution: 2560 x 1080 (21:9)
  • Response time: 4ms
  • Refresh Rate: Up to 144Hz, G-Sync
  • Inputs: HDMI, DVI-D, DisplayPort
  • Adjustability: Height, tilt

Scores

  • Physical looks: 10
  • Features: 10
  • Screen performance: 4
  • Value for money: 4

Overall: 7

Dell UltraSharp 34 Monitor

Price: R16 700
dell-ultrasharp-34-monitor-u3415w

Ah, now this is more like it. Dell’s UltraSharp 34-inch monitor offers an appealing combination of gorgeous looks, life-like colour reproduction, high resolution clarity, input options and performance. It’s the cheapest of the curved screens on test, and while it’s not specifically marketed as a gaming monitor, having used it for weeks now we’re confident any gamer will be happy with it, despite the absence of G-Sync or FreeSync.

Dell went with a nearly bezel-less design and made heavy use of black plastic and grey metal in its design, giving the screen a decidedly smart, corporate look. It also tilts, is height adjustable and it swivels without turning the base.

But it’s the fact that its native resolution – the resolution at which it looks its best – is a very high 3440 x 1440. That makes everything from text to game graphics look razor-sharp, but the trade-off is it has a maximum refresh rate of 60Hz, meaning if your graphics card puts out more frames per second than that, you’ll see no benefit.

It also doesn’t support either G-Sync or FreeSync, meaning this isn’t really a monitor intended specifically for gaming. But at this price, it’s worth gaming on anyway and just sticking to regular old VSYNC to keep your games smooth.

The techie bits

  • Size: 34 inches
  • Resolution: 3440 x 1440 (21:9)
  • Response time: 5ms
  • Refresh Rate: 60Hz
  • Inputs: HDMI, DisplayPort
  • Adjustability: Height, tilt, swivel

Scores

  • Physical looks: 10
  • Features: 10
  • Screen performance: 8
  • Value for money: 7

Overall: 8.8

LG 34UM67 Flat 34-inch Monitor

Price: R9 999

LG 34UM67_2

The cheapest of the monitors in our roundup comes from LG, although “cheap” in this instance still means a rather hefty R9 999. For that money you get a 34-inch, flat ultra widescreen monitor, with a rather plain 2560 x 1080 resolution and a tilt-only stand that offers only one rather inconvenient height adjustment option – physically unscrewing the base and re-attaching it at the second of two positions.

The monitor itself produces bright imagery with no ghosting at all in games, and adjusting the built-in settings via the OSD menu and the little joystick controller located beneath the centre of the screen is delightfully easy.

LG went with AMD’s FreeSync tech, making it an option for AMD gamers with a R10k budget looking to go the ultra widescreen route, although like Dell’s UltraSharp, it’s limited to a refresh rate of just 60Hz via HDMI. Should you be an AMD gamer with a recent graphics card that has a DisplayPort output, you’ll get the benefit of a 75Hz refresh rate that’s only accessible over DisplayPort connections and with FreeSync enabled.

We definitely noticed the flatness during the testing period. While inoffensive if you haven’t had the pleasure of being surrounded by the curvy goodness of Dell’s UltraSharp 34 or the gently arcing embrace of BenQ’s excellent XR3501, it’s quite jarring if you have. Curved screens were just that much nicer to look at, and the 34UM67’s flatness left us a bit cold.

While a serviceable screen for sure, LG’s 34UM67 ultimately proved to be quite plain in looks and features, and lacks that “special something” that would otherwise earn it an unqualified recommendation.

The techie bits

  • Size: 34 inches
  • Resolution: 2560 x 1080 (21:9)
  • Response time: 14ms
  • Refresh Rate: 60Hz (75Hz via DisplayPort & FreeSync)
  • Inputs: HDMI, DisplayPort
  • Adjustability: Height, tilt

Scores

  • Physical looks: 7
  • Features: 7
  • Screen performance: 8
  • Value for money: 10

Overall: 8

BenQ XR3501 Curved Gaming Monitor

Price: R 24 449

BenQ_XR3501_top_front

Sjoe. For almost 25 grand, you’d be justified in expecting the monitor you’re about to buy to be gob-smackingly amazing. Sadly, that’s not the case with BenQ’s XR3501. It’s a pretty solid 35-inch monitor, to be sure, but in our opinion after extensive use, we have to say it’s not worth the asking price because BenQ didn’t stuff it with absolutely every feature we’d have expected, given the cost.

First, the good stuff. It’s very curvy, and wraps nicely around the viewer’s face to immerse them in games. It’s also one heck of a looker with its V-shaped stand, slim bezel and chrome finishes.

There are a respectable number of inputs: two HDMI 1.4 ports and two DisplayPorts (full-sized and mini). Lastly, it’s a 144Hz panel, so it supports super-powerful gaming rigs that put out frame rates above the 60fps level.

Going on this alone, you’d be right in thinking the XR3501 sounds quite good. While that is true to a point, there are some downsides to keep in mind.

The biggest omission is that it doesn’t do G-Sync OR FreeSync, so you’re stuck with just v-sync. The next is its resolution – 2560 x 1080 is just “okay”, and not what a high-end, R25k monitor should offer. For this price, we’d expect 3440 x 1440 and the sharper visuals that brings.

So while the monitor itself isn’t bad, per se, it’s overpriced for what it offers.

The techie bits

  • Size: 35 inches
  • Resolution: 2560 x 1080 (21:9)
  • Response time: 5ms
  • Refresh Rate: 144Hz
  • Inputs: 2 x HDMI, 2 x DisplayPort
  • Adjustability: Tilt only

Scores

  • Physical looks: 9
  • Features: 7
  • Screen performance: 9
  • Value for money: 4

Overall: 7.2

Samsung S34e790c 34-inch Ultra WQHD Curved LED Monitor

Price: R16 999

Samsung S34e790c Top Front

This screen from Samsung ticked a lot of the right boxes for us. It’s in a far more affordable price range than the other curved screens on test, it boasts probably the nicest overall image quality of the lot and the resolution is appropriate for a screen of this size.

The screen’s blacks are incredibly black, and whites are gorgeously bright. Whatever you’re doing with the screen, be it working, watching movies or playing games, everything looks pin-sharp and colours are utterly gorgeous.

The only missing feature is some form of sync tech, and ideally we’d have liked a refresh rate of 120Hz and above instead of the 50Hz (HDMI) and 60Hz (DisplayPort). It’s an understandable omission here, though, as the graphics processing power needed to drive the screen’s 3440 x 1440 resolution at speeds of >60Hz would be out of reach for most gamers.

It seems monitor makers choose one or the other: they go with high refresh rates and low resolutions, or high resolutions and 60Hz refresh rates, most likely in an attempt to please the biggest number of potential customers.

We loved our time with Samsung’s S34790c, and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it as the screen with the best combination of performance, looks, features and value.

The techie bits

  • Size: 35 inches
  • Resolution: 2560 x 1080 (21:9)
  • Response time: 5ms
  • Refresh Rate: 144Hz
  • Inputs: 2 x HDMI, 2 x DisplayPort
  • Adjustability: Tilt only

Scores

  • Physical looks: 10
  • Features: 8
  • Screen performance: 10
  • Value for money: 9

Overall: 9.2

ASUS ROG Swift PG348Q

Price: R28 500
ASUS_PG348Q_01

This 34-inch curved, ultra-wide beast is being touted as the Republic of Gamer’s flagship monitor and once you sit down and get to using it, you can see why.

Let’s get this out of the way first. Despite being marketed as a “gaming monitor” the PG348Q has incredible colour accuracy. The monitor has a 100% sRGB colour gamut, a 1 000:1 contrast ratio as well as 10-bit colour, which as you know means it handles billions – not millions – of colours. The result of this is the most colour accurate monitor out of the box we’ve seen.

If sRGB isn’t your cup of tea however, the display is fully customisable and features GameVisual which enhances saturation and sharpness to make images crisper, clearer and brighter, though not as colour-accurate as the sRGB mode.

Unlike some ultra-wide monitors which have a 2560 x 1080 resolution the PG348Q boasts a 3440 x 1440 native resolution which is absolutely beautiful to behold while watching movies or playing games, as it keeps everything nice and sharp. The monitor can also be overclocked to 100Hz, and with G-Sync support included, screen-tearing, ghosting and the like are a distant memory for NVIDIA gamers.

Gaming at this sort of bleeding edge doesn’t come cheap though, and you’ll have to part ways with R25 999 to make the PG348Q your own. It’s a lot to ask, but going on our time with it, it’s well worth the investment.

The techie bits

  • Size: 34 inches
  • Resolution: 3440 x 1440 (21:9)
  • Response time: 4ms
  • Refresh Rate: Up to 100Hz, G-Sync
  • Inputs: HDMI, DisplayPort
  • Adjustability: Height, tilt

Scores

  • Physical looks: 10
  • Features: 10
  • Screen performance: 10
  • Value for money: 6

Overall: 9

Conclusion

Going on score alone, which is a reflection of everything a monitor has to offer and weighs those features against its asking price, Samsung’s excellent S34e790c screen is the winner here. But there’s another monitor we’d take if given the choice (and a whack of cash): the ASUS Republic of Gamers PG348Q.

That’s because we’re gamers here at htxt.africa, and that monitor offers everything we need: a fast refresh rate, G-Sync support to eliminate tearing in games, a high resolution that keeps everything pin-sharp, and killer looks.

The Samsung, meanwhile, provides some really good bang for your buck, but falls a bit short for gaming when squaring off with the ASUS due to its lack of FreeSync/G-Sync.

After spending so much time in front of ultra widescreen monitors, we can only conclude that an Ultra Widescreen monitor is a brilliant buy. If you love being immersed in your games and you enjoy operating apps side by side, they’re phenomenal, and no matter which you go for, we’re sure you’ll be pleased.

 

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