Ultrawide Monitor Questions

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  MagicMushroom on 01/04/2020 - 18:05

  2560x1080 UW displays that are 29" or lower

  29" ultrawide is about the same height as 23" 16:9 monitor + more space on the sides, so already quite small and not much demand there I believe.

  Have a look here for more monitors https://au.pcpartpicker.com/products/monitor/#r=344001440&so…

  Also, have a look at used market? Monitors are usually in great condition. e.g. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Samsung-CF791-Series-C34F791WQN-…

  • 

    trankillity on 01/04/2020 - 21:28

    Great tip on the PC Part Picker website. Didn't realise there was such a comprehensive comparison site!

    True about the used market too. My old monitor is 8 years old and still going strong, so not surprising that they keep well.

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  Switchblade88 on 01/04/2020 - 18:17

  VESA desk mount arm recommendations

  I've got my 34" on a cheap ALDI gas mount one. Had to crank the tension right up for the weight, but does the job nicely. You'll want a completely separate one for your laptop as you won't have enough space/clearance around your ultrawide!

  how does playing @ 16:9 feel on a UW monitor?

  EUGH GROSS lol

  Once you go wide, you can't stand black sides! I would never compromise the extra screen space for DLSS, or anything else now. Even with Game Pass games that have locked aspect ratios, it's fairly common to find a memory fix program (usually on WSGF) to re-enable UW resolutions thankfully.

  Almost all of them are 34"

  If you're going for an ultrawide, then 3440x1440 @ 34" 100Hz would be the highly recommended minimum - which would be 108ppi. For comparison, a 34" is generally equivalent to a 27" monitor with additional physical/pixel width if that's what you're used to on your Dell. DON'T settle for 2560x1080!

  As for brands, I got the Kogan Freesync one for under $550 delivered (Couldn't tell you my panel type) but I've heard good things about the X34P on reddit. Although I'm sure you know too lol

  • 

    scrimshaw on 01/04/2020 - 18:20

    the Kogan panel is VA. Which is the most common type of panel for budget ultrawide gaming displays. VA and IPs displays have better viewing angles than TN, so you will never see a TN panel used in an ultrawide (as you will get bad color uniformity)

  • 

    trankillity on 01/04/2020 - 21:32

    +1

    Fantastic tips! Thanks for the heads-up on WSGF fixes too as I'm a GamePass subscriber, so that would frustrate the heck out of me.

    You've definitely convinced me to jump up to 3440x1440. Just need to work out if I want to splurge for the X34P or save a few hundred and get the Kogan. I've been using IPS for years already though, so not sure if I could deal with the change to VA.

    And yes, good stalking of me on Reddit ;)

    • 

      Switchblade88 on 01/04/2020 - 22:23

      If you can tell the difference & have experience between IPS and VA (which I don't have experience in) then the X34P would probably be better.

      For me, I purchased the Kogan specifically due to confirmed G-sync compatibility for Nvidia cards at the lowest price point. It's the best monitor I've ever owned.

      Also, I'm running this with a Techfast PC with a GTX 1660; I'll comfortably sit on 65-85 fps on most games (e.g. GTA V) on high. I'd think your mobile 2060 should exceed this without a problem - although no G-Sync is a real bummer.

      And yes, good stalking of me on Reddit ;)

      Haha it wasn't intentional, I promise!

      • 

        trankillity on 01/04/2020 - 22:38

        So thanks to this fun OzB post, looks like I can pick up this 27" LG 144hz HDR IPS monitor for ~$807. Problem being that it's the same diagonal dimension as my current monitor, just stretched to UW. Pixel density is higher too. Just not sure if the physical dimensions would be too small, or if I could deal with it.

        • 

          Zazer on 02/04/2020 - 00:26

          +1

          @trankillity: Mate would highly recommend the X34P over anything else. It’s the best value 1440p IPS UW compared to the alternative Dell and LG’s. I went with the LG myself for double the price but a mate has the X34P and we’d be hard pressed to tell the difference. UW is fantastic, and whilst I wouldn’t say you can’t go back, it’d take a lot to convince me to. You mentioned earlier about playing with black bars - honestly the people who say it’s terrible don’t do it. I play Overwatch which unfortunately locks to 16:9 and you’re forced to have black bars. Initially it bugged me but now I’m used to it, it’s literally just black so you focus on the centre of the screen and the bars are in your peripheral, you forget about them. It’s almost amusing when I play Overwatch, I’ll be so focused on the 16:9 window that I’ll forget the display extends past it, and when I close it I’m always surprised by my desktop jumping into view.

          Anyway went on a bit of a tangent but feel free to ask any other questions :)

          • 

            trankillity on 02/04/2020 - 07:33

            @Zazer: Yeah, the 1440 LG is definitely out of my price range (and doesn't even seem to be stocked anywhere in AU anymore), so well and truly leaning more towards the X34P. The Kogan one sure is tempting for the price, but I tend to prefer mid-high level in terms of quality, and Kogan would be lower level.

            Time to keep my eyes peeled for a deal on the X34P, because at $1100 it's still a little out of my price range!

            • 

              Zazer on 02/04/2020 - 15:56

              @trankillity: Yep if you're used to IPS I wouldn't recommend going for the Kogan VA panel. The X34P goes on sale every so often, typically down to $999 so just keep a look out.

        • 

          trankillity on 02/04/2020 - 07:28

          @trankillity: Never mind, just realised it's not an ultrawide, and I'm a dingus.

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  Gnostikos on 01/04/2020 - 19:29

  +1

  I've been using the LG 29UM58 for a few years now. It's discontinued, so the current-generation equivalent would be either the 28WL500-B or the 29WK500.

  I got it for the same reasons you've mentioned, namely that I didn't need a gigantic 34" Ultrawide and the fact that the 2560x1080 resolution is a lot less taxing on your GPU for gaming (in fact I noticed virtually no difference in FPS compared to a 1920x1080 monitor), whereas the 3440x1440 resolution which is the default for 34" Ultrawides would require me to upgrade my entire PC to achieve decent frame-rates (although there are some 34" models which still run at 2560x1080, but obviously that would look terrible in terms of PPI).

  I also can't get over the immense scaling/DPI/font readability issues that still persist at 4K or near-4K resolutions on Windows 10, across dozens and dozens of programs I use and on many websites as well, whereas the 2560x1080 resolution presents no scaling issues whatsoever since the vertical height is the same as Full HD, which most programs were inherently designed to be compatible with.

  how does playing @ 16:9 feel on a UW monitor?

  Not preferable, especially if you're stretching the aspect ratio to fit the screen.

  Any good VESA desk mount arm recommendations, especially any with a second arm that can be used as a laptop (2.6kg) mount/stand?

  See my post here.

• 

  trankillity on 06/04/2020 - 06:50

  +1

  Just wanted to update and say thanks to everyone for the help! I managed for get the X34P at Umart for $1149, which was only about $150 more expensive than it's been in the last 12 months.

  Had to pick up a new USB-C to DP cable though as I was previously using a USB-C hub that only supported 4K@30hz. Was pleasantly surprised to find that the USB-C DP Alt mode on my laptop does actually support G-sync!

  Everything's been glorious since then! Now I just need to wait for standing desks to drop in price/be back in stock.