What ultrawide monitor should I get?
January 11, 2022 9:41 AM Subscribe
I'd like to get an ultrawide monitor but am struggling with how to choose from the wide range of features and prices. What would you recommend?
I'll use it primarily for office work with a PC and maybe occasionally watching video. I think I want a 34" ultrawide, but it's hard to choose because the range of bells and whistles is huge and I don't know how much different acronyms matter (IPS? HDR?). What resolution? I'd appreciate any advice.
I'll use it primarily for office work with a PC and maybe occasionally watching video. I think I want a 34" ultrawide, but it's hard to choose because the range of bells and whistles is huge and I don't know how much different acronyms matter (IPS? HDR?). What resolution? I'd appreciate any advice.
There are four main factors to consider when buying a PC monitor:
- Size. Generally bigger is nicer, but it has to be a reasonable size for your room and viewing distance. 34” is a good “normal” size for an ultrawide.
- Resolution. This is how many pixels the display shows, and will determine how sharp the picture is. More is better, but will also increase the cost a lot in many cases. “WFHD / WFHD+ / 1080p / 1200p” is probably the minimum to consider, and is a bit pixel-y by modern standards. “WQHD / WQHD+ / 1440p / 1600p” is a good middle-ground, and is likely to be the best value-for-money. “UW4K / UW5K / WUHD / 4K / 5K” will be super-sharp and great to look at (especially for details like fine text), but expect to pay significantly extra.
- Display panel type. This is the “IPS” vs “VA” vs “TN” jargon, and determines the quality of the picture, accuracy and vibrancy of colour, and how much the colour/brightness distorts when you look at the screen at an angle rather than head-on. Generally speaking, IPS is the best (and most expensive), but for your purposes a VA display would also work (these aren’t so good for fast-paced gamers but fine for watching video). I would not recommend a TN display, as these are cheaper/older tech, and noticeably poorer quality.
- HDR. This allows for a richer set of colours and greys, and is particularly noticeable when watching movie or game scenes with lots of detail in a dark setting — the blacks and dark-greys are more distinct. I would recommend getting HDR if possible, but don’t let it be a blocker to an otherwise-excellent monitor within your price range.
The above aren’t all neatly aligned unfortunately, so you might well find a higher-resolution monitor with a low-quality screen that’s in the same price range as a medium-resolution monitor with a high-quality screen. If you don’t have the budget for best-of-everything, then you’ll need to consider which of the above is the most important for you and the things you will use it for. There’s no “wrong” answer, it’s rather subjective.
As for brands, both Samsung and LG have a good reputation, but you can find good quality monitors for lots of other brands too, so just keep to the above priorities (and read reviews of specific monitors that you’re considering, to check for any gotchas).
Everything else can mostly be ignored. There’s lots of nice-to-have features, but the above four factors will generally outweigh them all.
posted by rtfmf at 10:16 AM on January 11, 2022 [3 favorites]
- Size. Generally bigger is nicer, but it has to be a reasonable size for your room and viewing distance. 34” is a good “normal” size for an ultrawide.
- Resolution. This is how many pixels the display shows, and will determine how sharp the picture is. More is better, but will also increase the cost a lot in many cases. “WFHD / WFHD+ / 1080p / 1200p” is probably the minimum to consider, and is a bit pixel-y by modern standards. “WQHD / WQHD+ / 1440p / 1600p” is a good middle-ground, and is likely to be the best value-for-money. “UW4K / UW5K / WUHD / 4K / 5K” will be super-sharp and great to look at (especially for details like fine text), but expect to pay significantly extra.
- Display panel type. This is the “IPS” vs “VA” vs “TN” jargon, and determines the quality of the picture, accuracy and vibrancy of colour, and how much the colour/brightness distorts when you look at the screen at an angle rather than head-on. Generally speaking, IPS is the best (and most expensive), but for your purposes a VA display would also work (these aren’t so good for fast-paced gamers but fine for watching video). I would not recommend a TN display, as these are cheaper/older tech, and noticeably poorer quality.
- HDR. This allows for a richer set of colours and greys, and is particularly noticeable when watching movie or game scenes with lots of detail in a dark setting — the blacks and dark-greys are more distinct. I would recommend getting HDR if possible, but don’t let it be a blocker to an otherwise-excellent monitor within your price range.
The above aren’t all neatly aligned unfortunately, so you might well find a higher-resolution monitor with a low-quality screen that’s in the same price range as a medium-resolution monitor with a high-quality screen. If you don’t have the budget for best-of-everything, then you’ll need to consider which of the above is the most important for you and the things you will use it for. There’s no “wrong” answer, it’s rather subjective.
As for brands, both Samsung and LG have a good reputation, but you can find good quality monitors for lots of other brands too, so just keep to the above priorities (and read reviews of specific monitors that you’re considering, to check for any gotchas).
Everything else can mostly be ignored. There’s lots of nice-to-have features, but the above four factors will generally outweigh them all.
posted by rtfmf at 10:16 AM on January 11, 2022 [3 favorites]
IPS is a technology (in-plane switching) used in LCDs. It is the best currently available technology for LCDs; it blocks the most light, so you get darker blacks (less baclight leaking through). You want it.
HDR is high dynamic range. Basically, there is a standard range of brightness most monitors can display and which most content is authored for. High dynamic range allows colors that are brighter than that. This allows more realistic fire, glows, sunlight, etc. in games and overall more realistic video. You also get more detail in shadows. Some streaming services support it and some games too. You'll have to make sure your computer's video card supports it.
VRR is variable refresh rate. This allows games to push higher frame rates (usually with somewhat less detail) in high-motion scenes for more fluidity, while using lower power for scenes with less motion or static scenes. Again your video card must support it and the game too.
If you are using the monitor for typical productivity tasks, or if you don't have a compatible video card, you don't need HDR or VRR, but it might be nice to have them if they're not too expensive, as it will future-proof the monitor to some extent.
posted by kindall at 10:21 AM on January 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
HDR is high dynamic range. Basically, there is a standard range of brightness most monitors can display and which most content is authored for. High dynamic range allows colors that are brighter than that. This allows more realistic fire, glows, sunlight, etc. in games and overall more realistic video. You also get more detail in shadows. Some streaming services support it and some games too. You'll have to make sure your computer's video card supports it.
VRR is variable refresh rate. This allows games to push higher frame rates (usually with somewhat less detail) in high-motion scenes for more fluidity, while using lower power for scenes with less motion or static scenes. Again your video card must support it and the game too.
If you are using the monitor for typical productivity tasks, or if you don't have a compatible video card, you don't need HDR or VRR, but it might be nice to have them if they're not too expensive, as it will future-proof the monitor to some extent.
posted by kindall at 10:21 AM on January 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
On a somewhat different level, you can also think about whether you might have any call or desire to frequently use the built-in menus (say, to change screen brightness through the monitor rather than through the computer) and, if so, how accessible those menus are. Being able to change brightness with a single physical button press in easy reach is a different experience than having to tap multiple zones on the bezel to accomplish the same thing, for example.
Some monitors also have things like built-in blue light filtering, usb ports, etc.
posted by trig at 10:48 AM on January 11, 2022
Some monitors also have things like built-in blue light filtering, usb ports, etc.
posted by trig at 10:48 AM on January 11, 2022
Response by poster: I'm going through this process myself, so I can share some links when I get back to my desk. What sort of computer/OS/graphics card do you have? It's important to know what sort of connection you'll be using to connect the monitor, as well as what sort of resolutions it can support.
Thanks for the questions. I have a Lenovo X1 tablet running Windows 10, and in the device manager I see a display adapter called Intel UHD Graphics 620 (presumably this is the graphics card)? I have a dock so I can connect to a monitor with USB-C, DisplayPort, or HDMI. Is there an easy way to find out what resolution my computer can support?
posted by medusa at 11:08 AM on January 11, 2022
Thanks for the questions. I have a Lenovo X1 tablet running Windows 10, and in the device manager I see a display adapter called Intel UHD Graphics 620 (presumably this is the graphics card)? I have a dock so I can connect to a monitor with USB-C, DisplayPort, or HDMI. Is there an easy way to find out what resolution my computer can support?
posted by medusa at 11:08 AM on January 11, 2022
Intel UHD 620 is the built-in graphics (aka "integrated") used on some 8th generation Intel CPUs. I picked 3 to compare that all had the UHD 620 and they all say they support 4096x2304@24Hz over HDMI and 4096x2304@60Hz over DisplayPort (scroll down the page a bit to see this, under Processor Graphics).
posted by glonous keming at 11:19 AM on January 11, 2022
posted by glonous keming at 11:19 AM on January 11, 2022
Response by poster: Another point I forgot to raise (sorry for the threadsitting): how much does being curved matter for ultrawide monitors?
posted by medusa at 11:59 AM on January 11, 2022
posted by medusa at 11:59 AM on January 11, 2022
I generally recommend prioritizing the two following things, as a baseline:
- 178 degree nominal viewing angle (this will restrict to displays featuring IPS and VA); anything less is a TN display that will have significant color shifts even modestly off-angle
- 100% sRGB coverage (this means colors will basically reflect what they “should” be)
Any display meeting those will be acceptable for most use cases.
I am a big fan of HDR (look primarily for DCI-P3 coverage and VESA 600+ certifications) as the extended gamut really makes photos and games look better but it’s a “nice to have” and not a “must have.”
I am not a fan of the curved display trend but that’s a personal taste thing. A display that is curved will probably have better contrast and color balance off-axis (due to the reduced angle you’re looking at it at), but takes up more space and makes it harder to use for imaging and CAD type of applications.
I have a LG 34WK95U, which is great, but your computer won’t drive it (it’s limited to driving 1440p ultrawides). You can probably also ignore refresh rate because your computer most likely can’t go past 60Hz as well. I don’t think 1080p is even close to enough for monitors this size, though, so you probably want to stick with 1440p (or QHD ultrawide). The 34WP65C looks like it might be a reasonable midrange solution if you want a step up in quality from the basic options.
posted by doomsey at 1:14 PM on January 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
- 178 degree nominal viewing angle (this will restrict to displays featuring IPS and VA); anything less is a TN display that will have significant color shifts even modestly off-angle
- 100% sRGB coverage (this means colors will basically reflect what they “should” be)
Any display meeting those will be acceptable for most use cases.
I am a big fan of HDR (look primarily for DCI-P3 coverage and VESA 600+ certifications) as the extended gamut really makes photos and games look better but it’s a “nice to have” and not a “must have.”
I am not a fan of the curved display trend but that’s a personal taste thing. A display that is curved will probably have better contrast and color balance off-axis (due to the reduced angle you’re looking at it at), but takes up more space and makes it harder to use for imaging and CAD type of applications.
I have a LG 34WK95U, which is great, but your computer won’t drive it (it’s limited to driving 1440p ultrawides). You can probably also ignore refresh rate because your computer most likely can’t go past 60Hz as well. I don’t think 1080p is even close to enough for monitors this size, though, so you probably want to stick with 1440p (or QHD ultrawide). The 34WP65C looks like it might be a reasonable midrange solution if you want a step up in quality from the basic options.
posted by doomsey at 1:14 PM on January 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
May not be totally relevant, but why an ultrawide, and not multiple monitors? Don't want the border in between?
posted by kschang at 6:36 PM on January 11, 2022
posted by kschang at 6:36 PM on January 11, 2022
I personally find an ultrawide a lot easier to use than 2 monitors, because you can split it in half or in thirds whereas 2 monitors are not wide enough to be split into 4 and too wide for halves.
posted by doomsey at 7:01 PM on January 11, 2022
posted by doomsey at 7:01 PM on January 11, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by genrand at 10:08 AM on January 11, 2022