Ultra Wide Monitors

RedXIV

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119153905#Comment_119153905

I put this on the previous page but may be useful for you:

Yep, went for the Samsung G9 after. I'm now ruined for life with amazing monitors. :D I'm only sitting maybe 2ft away from the screen because of limitations on the size of my desk and room but the curvature for that ( 1800) is perfect. I am constantly jumping between terminals, browsers and IDEs so having the real estate to do that on a single screen is incredible. I work on a mac so generally I've 3 browser windows side by side on one desktop and the other one is more focused on the code side of things. The monitor above the ultrawide is hooked up to my desktop so I usually just use it for something to keep me entertained during boring tasks (current enjoyment is the Olympic replays)

Genuinely dreading having to go back to single monitor for anything when we go back to the office. Ultrawide is amazing

Been almost a year now and can honestly say it's one of the few things I'd replace if it broke easily. It's too handy having all the space on a single screen. There are a few things I need to polish off on my setup but I'm (hopefully) building a house this year so it'll happen when I move

awec

Bit of a rambling monitor question here.

I currently have an Acer Predator XB271HU (the 27" 144hz one) that I use for gaming, and a bog-standard LG 27" 4k beside it for productivity. Most of the time I'm running on my MacBook (except for when I'm gaming, I switch the input on the Predator over to my PC but use the same keyboard and mouse, i.e. my position at the desk doesn't change). I also use the MacBook screen as well (don't have it in clamshell mode), so basically 3 screens.

The LG is on it's last legs, there is seriously backlight bleed in 3/4 corners.

One of the options I'm considering is replacing the 4k with an ultra wide, probably in the 32-38 size bracket. Am I mad? Is this a big downgrade? I like the idea of more horizontal space, I do a lot of dev work so space is great. However, I would need to keep the Predator on my desk in a position that I can use it to actually game and not have to have my head at some uncomfortable angle, and I'm wondering if this will just be too much horizontal space to be usable.

I also considered the likes of the G9 or any other 49" gaming monitor to just replace both of them, however my PC only has a 1070 and I don't think it'd have the grunt to cope? Like I don't think I can just run games only using the middle 1440 portion of the screen?

Any thoughts?

Cuddlesworth

From me and a friends different setups over the years, it's easier to do Dev work on a standard monitor orientated portrait with another monitor in landscape beside it for other productivity tasks or gaming. For me, a 34 inch ultrawide(1440 vert) and a 27inch(1440p) monitor are great, since they match perfectly with each other in pixel density and its not too wide where it requires actual head turning all the time to see something. Also, pretty much bang on 3 screens really.

awec

A 34" in portrait mode? Your neck must be in bits! 😁

RedXIV

I've a 1070 in my PC and it currently powers a G9 49" with a samsung 28" mounted above it.

Now i'm not a graphics nut so I haven't stressed this too hard with gaming but it hasn't had any problems playing games in either screen while the other is in flight too.

I use the 49" for dev work with my macbook and I'll never go back to multi-monitors, it's so handy to have so much space to get work done.

Jon Doe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119711363#Comment_119711363

You do know that it's not the screen size that stresses the GPU, right? It's the resolution... :/

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119711363#Comment_119711363

What resolution do you play with on the G9?

RedXIV

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119711400#Comment_119711400

Sorry I reread the comment and realised I didn't include the resolution :D

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119711805#Comment_119711805

I typically play at 1080 but I've definitely tried a few at 1440 but that's on the 28" monitor, I haven't tried to only run it in the middle of the ultrawide. I'll give that a bash this evening and let you know how I get on.

Icyseanfitz

Looking at finally getting one of these this black Friday or cyber Monday, be really grateful if anyone to throws up any deals they see up.

Found a Samsung g5 165hz for 350 so that's pretty high on the list right now.

Sinbad311

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119910190#Comment_119910190

298 on amazon.co.uk 32" model

Icyseanfitz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119910815#Comment_119910815

Can't seem to get your link to work

Sinbad311

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119911823#Comment_119911823

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09PNQK4GP/ref%3Dppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Try above pal :-)

Icyseanfitz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119913411#Comment_119913411

Thanks that works 👍 unfortunately looking for an ultra wide, although that is a great price and tempting

Grumpypants

Picked this up today €430. Really like it. 165hz, decent connectivity. Size is a bit of a change but I'm down from 3 to 1 monitors so the desk is much tidier.

https://www.did.ie/products/huawei-mateview-gt-34-3k-ultrawide-curved-monitor-black-53060214?currency=EUR&variant=41150402134204&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&gclid=CjwKCAiApvebBhAvEiwAe7mHSGECILuoei6EE7Sdx4s28UIwmLWVPDtf67DBqlADB2su5R2NkKWsjhoC97IQAvD_BwE

Icyseanfitz

Finding the HP x34 (1440p 165hz ips) for under 400, looks a good deal

Sinbad311

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119914227#Comment_119914227

Was about to pull the trigger on the x32 before I saw the G5 on sale. Great monitors if you believe the reviews!

Mr Crispy

Or get saving the 2K or whatever this will cost. 😲

https://wccftech.com/msi-teases-project-491c-worlds-first-super-ultra-wide-qd-oled-curved-gaming-display-240hz-panel/

Icyseanfitz

Wow, that's awesome. Same price as a 4080 🤣

Lumen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119914996#Comment_119914996

Yeah, but price aside, is it actually awesome? Our field of view is like 5:3 or something.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peripheral_vision

K.O.Kiki

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119923865#Comment_119923865

Games look great on UW, especially non-competitive ones.

Lumen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119925266#Comment_119925266

But why, and compared to what?

A 42" 4k 16:9 offers the same width view with more height, and if you want the letterbox look (and/or want to drive fewer pixels) then you can use a custom resolution.

I'm not being obtuse, I'm curious as to why someone would spend as much or more on an 1440p U/W when a large 4k 16:9 monitor or TV is more flexible.

Icyseanfitz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119925463#Comment_119925463

Well I suppose the way I look at it is that I can get a 165hz uw 34inch for under 400, can I get a decent high refresh 4k tv for the same cost? If so please leave a link 👌🙂

Mr Crispy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119925463#Comment_119925463

I partially agree with this. I only have a 34" UW because I wanted the image quality of QD-OLED. However the 42" 16:9 is just too big for my workspace - it's significantly wider and taller than a 34" UW, and I don't have the deepest desk either. Had a 32" 4K QD-OLED been available at the same time, I'd have much preferred that. Of course, we're talking higher prices here in general, so this ignores the value of either.

I think people rate UW because it gives certain games a more cinematic feel (RDR2 eg), but in terms of first-person shooters (and even some third person games) I much prefer the more natural aspect ratio of 16:9.

Lumen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119925588#Comment_119925588

That's interesting. The width of the 34"UW QD-OLED is 815mm compared to 932mm for a 42" OLED, so 58.5mm wider on both sides.

I have a 32" 4k display and it's not ideal for anything really. I have to use resolution scaling on my Mac to get the menus readable for work, and the pixel density is unnecessarily high for PC gaming.

So I have this idea that a 42" OLED represents some kind of nirvana. This is what I'm referring to with letterboxing for UW on a 16:9 display.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W70spCF2bfk&t=270s

Mr Crispy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119926105#Comment_119926105

I definitely think the 42" will work for some people, but much depends on how far you sit from the screen. My desk is quite shallow at 70cm, so a 42" just doesn't work there (tried it with a 43" TV and it's just way too close).

Lumen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119926478#Comment_119926478

I'm waiting on an HDMI converter so I can try working on my 55" LG C2, but there's an interesting bias apparent in favouring width over height. Why is that? I'm not saying it's wrong - think about IMAX vs cinema - the reason cinema is wide aspect is possibly due to seating arrangements, but the couple of times I've watched films on IMAX I've found the experience sort of super-immersive but not at all relaxing. So I choose ultrawide for entertainment even though it takes up less of my field of view, and most people at the cinema don't enjoy sitting up front, because there's too much...looking up? Like, left-right good, up-down bad?

I wonder whether our working/playing environments are working against us the same way that a cinema layout does.

Like, if you had a shallow desk, just deep enough for the keyboard and mouse, and then wall-mounted a TV so that the bottom was lower than the desk, and tilted up a bit, would that be good? All comfortable human activity (reading, cooking, crafting) is done looking down.

I might try FancyZones (described here) to see if a letterbox layout might work for productivity, i.e. use the top and bottom zones of my OLED as widget areas.

Apologies for dragging the thread off-topic a bit, I'm planning on getting a new monitor next year and still haven't decided whether UW or big 16:9 is the right move.

Flinty997

Watching this with interest.

My 2 cents you need the height for productivity mostly. So imo it depends which between productivity or games & media do you want to prioritize. Then how you organize your real estate. I think a UW is too wide for how I use my desk.

Mr Crispy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119926900#Comment_119926900

It's an interesting conversation! Preference is part evolution, part conditioning I guess?

For example, Hollywood going widescreen was really only an attempt to combat the impending threat of colour TV. Was there a demand for it before or did the studios create the demand? Either way, audiences embraced it and it became the norm. I mainly associate these newly introduced formats with westerns (rightly or wrongly) - big sweeping landscapes from the likes of Huston, Hawkes etc. Maybe subconsciously that's why I mentioned Red Dead as looking great on UW (although I don't rate it as a great game)!

But as immersive as Hollywood wanted to make cinema feel, you were still only ever there as an observer whereas games make us a participant. So there's a trade off between what looks good and what actually feels better from a gameplay stance. UW can help in big open areas where enemies attack on your level. So cinematic, yes, but more importantly a wider FOV lets you see more of what's going on on the horizontal (actually didn't Blizzard omit UW resolution support in Overwatch because they felt it conferred too much of an advantage vs those using 16:9?). On the other hand, I cut my PC gaming teeth on early FPSs but I don't think UW would have helped with either immersion or gameplay with those early corridor shooters - extra FOV would have just meant more wall to look at! But that probably means that nostalgia/conditioning is playing a part in determining what type of screen I enjoy playing on.

Interesting idea about tilting a monitor upwards. I suppose it might introduce issues with glare from ceiling lights although that's easily remedied. I was always under the impression that ergonomically speaking, the top of the monitor should be at eye level though. But that could be a misconception.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119926975#Comment_119926975

Productivity wise, I do rate the UW I must admit. I do a little video editing and it's great having the extra timeline on screen. And having multiple docs open side by side feels more natural to me than one above the other. Maybe that's because we read left to right (or right to left) rather than top to bottom. But absolutely - personal use case should definitely be your number one priority when choosing a display (or displays, plural). Check out r/battlestations on reddit - there'll be pretty much every conceivable combo of monitors going, including using a secondary one in portrait mode. Obviously the young me wouldn't have thought that possible when I was gaming on bulky CRTs back in the 90s. 😂

Another plus point for UW (3440 x 1440 especially), is that it's easier to run than 4K. Less GPU grunt needed!

Anyway, this turned into a huge ramble. Just dumped a train of thought out there, apologies thread!