An ultrawide monitor provides more real estate than a standard widescreen monitor, and this can improve your productivity and boost your workflow. The increase in peripheral vision also makes content consumption and gaming more immersive. With that said, here is our list of the best ultrawide monitors that you can buy today, including our top picks for gaming, productivity and more.
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Best Ultrawide Monitor Comparison Chart
Alienware AW3423DW
Best ultrawide monitor for gaming
The Alienware AW3423DW sits at the top when it comes to the best ultrawide gaming monitors. What separates it from the rest is its QD-OLED panel, which displays perfect and deep blacks for the best picture quality. QD-OLED is a new technology that surpasses LG’s WOLED panels, at least when it comes to brightness. With improved brightness, it can deliver unmatched HDR gaming where the colors pop.
Aside from its QD-OLED panel, the Alienware AW3423DW has a max refresh rate of 175Hz, and it also supports G-SYNC and FreeSync. In addition, it also has a fast response time and minimal input lag, for those that play competitive games online. If you are looking for an ultrawide monitor for gaming, there’s no better choice than the Alienware AW3423DW. That said, it is quite expensive, and as of this writing, getting your hands on one can be difficult due to shortages.
LG 40WP95C-W
Best ultrawide monitor for office work and productivity
Any ultrawide monitor can be used for work or productivity, but the LG 40WP95C-W brings a lot to the table that makes it one of the best. For starters, it has a 40-inch screen, so it offers more screen real estate than the 34-inch and 38-inch options. Also, it has a resolution of 5120 x 2160. It’s pretty much a wider 4K screen, so you can open multiple windows at the same time without the screen getting cramped.
The LG 40WP95C-W is color calibrated and has excellent sRGB accuracy. This is particularly useful for professional designers and those that require accurate colors with their project. The max refresh rate is 72Hz, which is not that much when compared to gaming monitors, but still better than the 60Hz that you’ll find on most professional monitors. This increase in refresh rate makes the LG 40WP95C-W suitable for casual gaming as well.
GIGABYTE M34WQ
Best value ultrawide monitor
If you are a value hunter and you don’t really want to pay a premium, the Gigabyte M34WQ is an affordable and versatile ultrawide monitor that can be used for gaming and productivity. The Gigabyte M34WQ is a 34-inch IPS ultrawide monitor with a resolution of 3440 x 1440 pixels and a max refresh rate of 144Hz. It doesn’t have the beautiful QD-OLED panel of the Alienware and the screen real estate of the LG, but for the money, you’ll actually get more with the Gigabyte as it only costs a fraction of those two.
The Gigabyte M34WQ is designed primarily for gaming, as reflected by its 144Hz refresh rate and VRR support. However, it also makes for a good productivity monitor due to having a built-in KVM switch and support for USB-C connectivity.
MSI MAG301RF
Best budget ultrawide monitor
For those on a tight budget, the MSI MAG301RF is pretty much your best option if you absolutely must have an ultrawide monitor. It’s a 30-inch IPS ultrawide monitor with a resolution of 2560 x 1080 pixels and a max refresh rate of 200Hz. At 30 inches, its full HD resolution is not a problem. Text and images are still sharp, clear and detailed.
Its smaller size can actually help you when it comes to competitive gaming since most of the screen is within your field of view. Also, it’s not as demanding as 3440 x 1440 monitors, so you don’t need the best graphics card to enjoy the monitor to its full potential. Other notable features of the MSI MAG301RF include G-SYNC and FreeSync support, crosshair overlays, OSD timer and a 1MS response time.
Samsung Odyssey Neo G9
Best super ultrawide monitor
There are only a few super ultrawide monitor options available in the market, and sitting at the top is the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9. This is the best 49-inch ultrawide monitor for us due to its excellent feature set. The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 is basically two 27-inch 1440p monitors combined into one, so it will take up a lot of desk space. However, in exchange for its massive size, you get the best immersion while gaming.
You don’t have to worry about its size since it has an aggressive 1000R curvature, so you can still see the edges with your peripheral vision. With its 240Hz refresh rate, it offers smooth gaming. That said, it requires top of the line hardware since it is hard to drive with its 5120 x 1440 resolution. If you do have the hardware for it, there’s no other monitor that can offer the same level of immersion.
Aside from gaming, the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 also excels as a productivity monitor. As mentioned above, it’s basically two 27-inch 1440p monitors side-by-side, but without the bezels at the center to obstruct your view and distract you. It can improve your workflow and productivity since you can open multiple windows at the same time.
Verdict
There are many excellent ultrawide monitor options no matter how much your budget is.
Alienware AW3423DW
Best overall ultrawide monitor
LG 40WP95C-W
Best ultrawide monitor for professionals
For the best overall ultrawide monitor, our pick is the Alienware AW3423DW mostly due to its beautiful QD-OLED panel. It delivers the best picture quality, and with its 175Hz refresh rates, it also gives you smooth performance. For professionals, the LG 40WP95C-W is our recommendation. With its 40-inch display and 5120 x 2160 resolution, your productivity and workflow will be given a boost. For super ultrawide monitors, the default recommendation is the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9, and we agree with that.
For those that value price to performance, the Gigabyte MW34Q and the MSI MAG301RF are both excellent picks.
FAQs
The Dell Alienware AW3423DW is our pick for the best curved ultrawide monitor due to its beautiful QD-OLED panel and excellent performance.
Yes. Think of ultrawide monitors as widescreen monitors with added screens on both sides instead of widescreen monitors with the top and bottom cut off.
If you have the money and you want the best, it’s worth it. However, for a lot of people, it’s just too expensive.
It depends on the resolution. Ultrawide monitors with resolutions of 3440 x 1440 or 5120 x 1440 are not as demanding as 4K since they don’t have as many pixels to drive. However, an ultrawide monitor like the LG 40WP95C-W, with its 5120 x 2160 resolution, is more demanding as it has more pixels than standard 4K (3840 x 2160 pixels). You just multiply the horizontal pixels with the vertical pixels to get the total.