Your guide
- Best Ultra Wide Monitors 2018
- Ultra Wide Monitor For Work
- Best Ultra Wide Monitor G-sync
- Best Ultra Wide Monitor For Macbook Pro
- This is one of the best 34 inch monitor for Mac mini or Macbook pro. It also sports a separate Game Mode that assures optimal settings and viewing for various categories of games like first person shooter or real time strategy games.
- It’s kind of expensive, but this ultra-wide monitor can significantly boost productivity, so it’s totally worth it – it’s one of the best monitors you can buy today, as long as you have.
- Thorin Klosowski
After spending 10 hours researching monitors and then 25 hours testing five, we found that the Acer XR342CK Pbmiiqphuzx (yes, that’s the full model name) is the best ultrawide monitor. The 34-inch, 3440×1440-pixel display is as color accurate as we’ve seen in an ultrawide. The display’s wide resolution makes it an excellent replacement for a dual-monitor setup, provided you’re willing to pay between $600 and $700.
Our pick
We’ve compiled this buyer’s guide for you Mac users out there looking for the best monitor for MacBook Pro and MacBook Air in 2019. Can I use an external monitor for my MacBook Generally, you can use an external monitor such as a 4K monitor or a 4K Ultra HD TV with the following Mac computers.
Acer XR342CK Pbmiiqphuzx
The Acer XR342CK is the most accurate 34-inch ultrawide, with a pixel count high enough to replace two monitors. Its 100 Hz refresh rate and FreeSync compatibility also make it a great choice for gaming.
Buying Options
*At the time of publishing, the price was $700.
The viewable space of the Acer XR342CK is just short of what you get from two 24-inch 1080p monitors. This monitor is huge, and the adjustable stand lifts, tilts, and swivels. Its two HDMI ports and DisplayPort offer plenty of ways to connect devices, and the four-port USB hub lets you easily keep cable clutter to a minimum. The XR342CK is the only ultrawide in this price range with a USB-C port that outputs 60 W, so you can connect and charge a modern MacBook Pro or Windows laptop with a single cable. And it supports a few nice-to-have features such as a faster-than-normal 100 Hz refresh rate and AMD’s FreeSync (it also works with Nvidia cards in our testing), which makes it an excellent choice for gaming. But the picture-by-picture mode on this Acer model doesn’t work as we expect, making the XR342CK a bad choice for two-computer setups. Although this model has an HDR mode, we recommend leaving that off because it makes everything look worse. And its three-year warranty doesn’t cover pixel failure like the warranty for our runner-up, the Dell U3419W, does.
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Runner-up
Dell U3419W
If you need to connect two computers to an ultrawide, the Dell U3419W includes a KVM switch and a functional split-screen mode.
Buying Options
*At the time of publishing, the price was $770.
If the Acer isn’t available, or if you want to connect two computers to one monitor, get the Dell U3419W. It’s as color-accurate as the Acer and has a similar selection of ports but typically costs more. Alongside a USB-C port that provides up to 90 W of power to a connected laptop, the U3419W has two upstream USB ports so you can connect two computers to the built-in KVM switch. (The USB-C port also works as an upstream port.) This Dell model’s picture-by-picture mode is much better than that of the Acer monitor, making the U3419W the more useful option if you’re replacing a two-computer, dual-monitor setup. Like Acer, Dell offers a three-year warranty, but Dell’s covers more, including replacing the monitor if a pixel dims or burns out.
Everything we recommend
Our pick
Acer XR342CK Pbmiiqphuzx
The Acer XR342CK is the most accurate 34-inch ultrawide, with a pixel count high enough to replace two monitors. Its 100 Hz refresh rate and FreeSync compatibility also make it a great choice for gaming.
Buying Options
*At the time of publishing, the price was $700.
Runner-up
Dell U3419W
If you need to connect two computers to an ultrawide, the Dell U3419W includes a KVM switch and a functional split-screen mode.
Buying Options
*At the time of publishing, the price was $770.
The research
Why you should trust us
I’ve written about and tested computer hardware for nearly a decade. In that time I’ve worked on 4K monitors and dual-monitor setups. I spent two months working on an ultrawide monitor to get a feel for what—if any—productivity improvements you might see from using an ultrawide monitor.
Our monitor guides benefit from the expert advice of Wirecutter senior staff writer Chris Heinonen—AnandTech’s former monitor guru and the guy a number of other reviewers go to for display-testing advice. He helped us figure out the best hardware and software to use for our testing, and he designed the evaluation process.
Who this is for
Ultrawide monitors are useful for multitaskers who like to have multiple application windows open side by side, for anyone who’s looking to replace a dual-monitor setup with a single monitor, or for anyone who likes to have a ton of information on screen at once. That said, a good ultrawide costs more than two typical monitors. On top of that, all ultrawides have minor but noticeable color and backlight issues, and their curved screens can cause problems for some kinds of professional work.
Whereas a traditional monitor has an aspect ratio of 16:9—16 horizontal pixels for every 9 vertical pixels—an ultrawide is 21:9. That aspect ratio makes the monitor much wider than a normal monitor, giving you more horizontal screen real estate to work with. On an ultrawide monitor, you can have three full-size browser windows open side by side. If you work in massive spreadsheets with a lot of columns, you can see more of those columns at once. If you’re working with video, or any other format with a timeline, you can see more of that timeline on the screen. We found ultrawides perfect for the type of research-intensive work we do, where we often have dozens of tabs open across several browser windows.
The experience isn’t always perfect, though. Full-screen mode in some apps, such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs, looks absurd, with massive blank space on the sides. Videos on sites like YouTube don’t scale properly to the wider display, sometimes showing black bars on the top, bottom, and sides.
A pair of our 24-inch monitor picks gives you more horizontal pixels (3840×1200) for around $200 less than a single ultrawide.
If you currently have a dual-monitor setup, an ultrawide isn’t inherently better. Many people like the visual separation they get from two monitors. An ultrawide is one huge screen, and although many ultrawides support a picture-by-picture mode that simulates two monitors, the effect is not the same as having two monitors, where you can turn one off to focus on a task. The picture-by-picture mode also often requires some troubleshooting to get a computer to work with the unconventional resolution.
An ultrawide monitor can offer a more immersive experience in games, provided the game you’re playing supports it. Gaming ultrawides with refresh rates of 144 Hz or higher are a category of their own, but regular ultrawides can still be used for gaming, especially if they support AMD’s adaptive sync technology, FreeSync, which prevents screen tearing in games; Nvidia has a similar feature called G-Sync but it requires special hardware in the monitor and it’s usually supported only in more expensive gaming-specific models. FreeSync can work with either Nvidia GPUs or AMD GPUs, while G-Sync works only with Nvidia cards.
If screen real estate is all that matters to you, an ultrawide isn’t cost-effective. A pair of our 24-inch monitor picks gives you more horizontal pixels (3840×1200) for around $200 less than a single ultrawide. But two monitors take up more physical space and require more cords, and their bezels prevent them from matching the seamless visuals of an ultrawide.
Most ultrawide monitors are curved, allowing you to see the whole screen without turning your head. This design makes ultrawides inaccurate for certain precision tasks that require straight lines, such as drawing, photo editing, or similar design work. We asked one of our photo editors to use one for a day, and although he liked the additional screen space, he found the curve too distracting when editing. For that type of work, a 4K monitor is likely the better option.
Ultrawide monitors usually use IPS panels with excellent viewing angles, but with the monitor’s curve, you may find little pockets of odd color variations if you don’t keep your head directly centered (which is how we tested each monitor’s color accuracy). For example, on every monitor we tested, blacks and whites appeared as a washed-out gray in the corners. The effect never bothered us during the workday, and we never noticed it when playing games, but the backlight bleed might be noticeable during dark scenes in a dark room. We also found that notifications in macOS—which appear in the top-right corner—often appeared washed out and hard to read if we didn’t sit perfectly. When you get your monitor, we suggest loading up this YouTube video in full-screen to see if the bleed bothers you.
Make sure to measure your desk before you get an ultrawide monitor. These monitors are massive: A 34-inch model, for example, consumes 32 inches of horizontal desk space and up to 10 inches in depth.
How we picked
What makes an ultrawide monitor great isn’t all that different from what makes a regular-size monitor great.
- Resolution: Unless you’re using your monitor exclusively for gaming or movie watching, an ultrawide should have a resolution of 3440×1440 or higher. The text on every 2560×1080 ultrawide we tested was pixelated and hard to read, and the lower resolution negates the extra screen space that makes an ultrawide appealing. 4K- and 5K-equivalent ultrawide monitors aren’t widely available yet.
- Size: Most ultrawide screens are 34 or 35 inches diagonal. You can buy a smaller option, but we found that below 34 inches the advantages aren’t noticeable enough to justify the higher price. If you need something smaller, you’re likely to be happier with the resolution and picture quality of a 27-inch 4K monitor or a 24-inch monitor than with a lower-resolution 29-inch ultrawide monitor. On the other end of the spectrum, we’ve seen 38-inch ultrawides as well, but they require a lot of desk space and are much more expensive, often more than $1,000.
- Panel: Ultrawide display panels come in two varieties: IPS (in-plane switching) and VA (vertical alignment). IPS is the better all-around choice, with accurate color reproduction and solid viewing angles. VA panels have better contrast ratios but suffer from significant color issues when viewed from an angle, which is problematic for a curved display. With few exceptions, 34-inch ultrawide monitors are curved slightly so that they bend inward toward you. The curve is measured by the radius; the smaller the radius value, the higher the monitors curve. For example, a 4000R monitor is barely curved, and an 1800R is more noticeably so. Most ultrawides are 1800R or 1900R.
- Color accuracy: Monitors that come calibrated from their manufacturers have better color accuracy than ones that don’t. And since most people don’t calibrate their own monitors, out-of-the-box color accuracy is key. For the best image quality, a monitor should cover as much of the sRGB color gamut as possible; the more gamut coverage a monitor provides, the wider the range of colors it can accurately represent. No ultrawide we tested offered amazing color accuracy—if accuracy is key to the type of work you do, we suggest skipping an ultrawide for now.
- Price and value: An ultrawide monitor with a 3440×1440 resolution typically costs between $600 and $800. When you pay less that that, you end up with a lower resolution, an HD display, or a smaller screen size. Spend more, and you’re paying for features you might not need, like a larger screen, G-Sync, or refresh rates over 75 Hz.
- Design and adjustability: Most ultrawides are over 23 pounds, so we expect one to have a strong, sturdy stand with some kind of cable-management feature and relatively thin bezels around the display. The stand should be adjustable up and down so you can align the monitor ergonomically; a good ultrawide also supports forward and backward tilt, as well as swivel from side to side. VESA support is useful if you plan on mounting it on a monitor arm. And the general look of a monitor shouldn’t draw too much attention.
- Ports: An ultrawide monitor should have at least one HDMI 2.0 port and one DisplayPort 1.2 or newer. This article on How-To Geek is useful for determining which ports to look for. If you have a newer MacBook Pro or other laptop with USB-C ports, it’s nice to have a USB-C port on the monitor, since USB-C allows for the transmission of video, data, and power on a single cable.
- USB hub: If you want to minimize the number of cables sitting on your desk, a USB hub in a monitor can make your workspace more organized. With a hub, you can plug a few USB devices, such as a mouse, keyboard, and hard drive, into the monitor and then run a single USB cable to the computer. Some monitors have KVM switches, so you can connect two computers to the same monitor and switch between the connected USB devices depending on the input.
- On-screen display: The monitor’s on-screen display should make changing brightness, contrast, and other settings easy; customizing any additional features a monitor might have, such as a KVM switch or adaptive sync, should be simple too. The buttons should be easy to access.
- Screen splitting: Ultrawides have a split-screen mode that helps them simulate the dual-monitor setups they’re meant to replace, but the mode is useful only if you connect two computers. Due to the nonstandard resolution, we had mixed results getting this feature to work on the monitors we tested.
- Warranty and customer service: A warranty policy that protects your purchase from pixel defects is important to consider. Three-year warranties are standard for ultrawide monitors, but some companies offer less-expansive coverage. Responsive customer service is important if you do have issues.
We combed through monitor manufacturer websites, such as those of Acer, Asus, BenQ, Dell, HP, and LG, and collected a list of 50 monitors worth considering. We then eliminated any models that didn’t meet our criteria and separated out the majority of more expensive “gaming” monitors for a later article. That left us with five models to test in 2018, namely three 3440×1440 models (Acer XR342CK, Dell U3417W, and LG 34UC88-B) and two lower-resolution, 2560×1080 models (LG 25UM58-P and LG 34WK650-W). In early 2019, we tested two new models (an updated version of Acer’s XR342CK, and Dell’s U3419W).
How we tested
Most people don’t change their monitor settings—and even fewer calibrate their displays—so default performance is critical. We worked with Chris Heinonen, senior staff writer for Wirecutter, to test the color accuracy of each monitor’s display using two measuring devices, the i1Publish Pro 2 spectrophotometer and the i1Display Pro (which is better at measuring black levels than the i1Publish Pro 2). We used customized tests in the CalMAN 2017 software calibration suite.
The CalMAN tests produce DeltaE 2000 numbers for each screen that show how close the displayed color is to what it’s supposed to be; the lower the number, the better. A DeltaE value under 1.0 is perfect. Under 2.0 is good enough for print-production work. Ratings above 3.0 mean you’d probably see a difference with your naked eye.
Color gamut, or the range of colors that a device can accurately represent, is also important—color accuracy doesn’t mean much if your screen shows only a portion of the colors meant to be displayed—so we used our CalMAN tests to determine how much of the sRGB color gamut each monitor’s screen could reproduce. The ideal score is 100 percent. Our numbers don’t go past that because reporting numbers larger than 100 percent can give the impression of full gamut coverage even in cases where that isn’t true—for example, if the monitor displays many colors outside the gamut without displaying all of the ones inside it.
For each round of tests, we adjusted the monitor’s brightness to 140 cd/m²—a good value for everyday use—and set its contrast as high as it could go without losing white details. We left every other setting at the default value. While we tested for picture quality, we used each of our finalists for a few days to get a feel for their features.
Our pick: Acer XR342CK Pbmiiqphuzx
Our pick
Acer XR342CK Pbmiiqphuzx
The Acer XR342CK is the most accurate 34-inch ultrawide, with a pixel count high enough to replace two monitors. Its 100 Hz refresh rate and FreeSync compatibility also make it a great choice for gaming.
Buying Options
*At the time of publishing, the price was $700.
With its 3440×1440, color-accurate, 34-inch IPS screen, the Acer XR342CK Pbmiiqphuzx is the best ultrawide monitor. It usually costs less than $700, the stand lifts, tilts, and swivels, and it has plenty of ports, including a USB-C port. But you’ll have to deal with Acer’s lackluster warranty, which doesn’t cover common problems like dead pixels, as well as a poorly designed on-screen display that makes it easy to press the wrong button.
The Acer XR342CK monitor’s panel has an overclocked 100 Hz refresh rate, faster than the Dell U3419W display’s 60 Hz. This isn’t very noticeable for desktop use, but you can see a difference in video games. Unlike the Dell, the Acer has FreeSync support, which makes it a fantastic option if you play games. We tested the XR342CK with both an AMD graphics card and a Nvidia graphics card, and FreeSync worked in both cases without issue. FreeSync’s low frame-rate compensation turned on as expected in graphics-intensive titles like Shadow of the Tomb Raider, while the adaptive sync worked fine in higher frame-rate titles like Overwatch. This makes it one of the most affordable, best options for gaming as well as basic productivity. The XR342CK also has an HDR compatibility mode, but in our tests the mode failed to make HDR-compatible content look any better and usually made everything look worse.
The XR342CK’s contrast ratio was 851:1, the second closest to our target of 1000:1 of any ultrawide we tested. The U3419W came in at 947:1, but we didn’t notice a difference between the two when we placed them next to each other. Best remote access for mac to listen to audio. A poor contrast ratio is most noticeable when you’re watching dark scenes in movies, and the Acer and Dell monitors both performed admirably (except in the corners, where ultrawides exhibit higher-than-usual amounts of backlight bleed).
We tested color quality by analyzing DeltaE 2000 values, which indicate how far away a displayed color is from what the color should be. A value under 1.0 is nearly perfect, while under 2.0 is sufficient for print-production work; around 3.0, you begin to see a difference between the screen and a reference photo.
The XR342CK had a gamma of 3.4979, a higher result than we like to see; it could cause some shadows to appear too dark. The Dell U3419W performed better than the Acer XR342CK with a value of 2.3464, though the difference won’t matter to most people. The LG 34UC88-B was noticeably darker with less pop in the colors.
As for grayscale color error, the XR342CK’s average DeltaE 2000 value was 1.3237, which is excellent. This score—the best of any ultrawide monitor we tested—means that its colors are neutral, lacking a blue, green, or red tint. Colors don’t appear washed out, and there’s not much of a difference between brighter highlights. The Dell’s DeltaE 2000 value was higher at 2.6654, but anything lower than 3.0 is still perfectly fine for most people.
On our ColorChecker test, which assesses values through more than 100 colors, the XR342CK had an average DeltaE 2000 value of 1.8035, very similar to the Dell’s value of 1.7552. It had some red and orange peaks, which means that images with lots of red and orange tones may look less accurate than others, but that effect wasn’t noticeable when we used the monitor. It covers 99.19 percent of the sRGB color gamut, similar to what we saw on the Dell.
The Acer XR342CK usually sells for under $700, about the same price as the Dell U3419W, but around $150 more than the LG 34UC88-B. The Acer’s improved colors, adjustability, and wider selection of ports make it worth the extra money over the LG, and its color accuracy and USB-C port make it better for most people than the Dell.
You can adjust the height of the Acer XR342CK up and down within a 5-inch range, tilt it forward and backward, and swivel it left and right. The Dell U3419W offers the same adjustments, but the vertical range is a half inch less. The Acer’s quasi-futuristic three-point stand adds to the overall depth of the monitor, so you’ll need a deep desk to fit it comfortably. The Dell’s stand, in contrast, is much smaller, so you can push that monitor farther back on a desk. Both monitors have an area to route cables through the stand, and Acer includes a panel to cover up the inputs on the back if you can’t handle the idea of ports being potentially visible to passersby. The XR342CK is VESA compatible if you want to connect it to a mount or monitor arm; Acer also includes a wall-mounting bracket it you don’t want to deal with the stand at all. On the back of the monitor you can install an optional headset hook, which gives your headphones a permanent place to live when you aren’t using them.
Most of the ports on the XR342CK are standard for ultrawide monitors, but the USB-C port is especially handy for owners of a MacBook Pro or other ultrabook that charges via USB-C. Photo: Rozette Rago
The three-point stand takes up a lot of space but prevents the massive monitor from wobbling. Photo: Rozette Rago
An optional headphone stand on the back can help keep your desk organized.Photo: Rozette Rago
Most of the ports on the XR342CK are standard for ultrawide monitors, but the USB-C port is especially handy for owners of a MacBook Pro or other ultrabook that charges via USB-C. Photo: Rozette Rago
The three-point stand takes up a lot of space but prevents the massive monitor from wobbling. Photo: Rozette Rago
The XR342CK includes most of the ports you need on the back, facing down, including two HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2A, and a DisplayPort output if you want to connect it to another monitor. On the rear are four back-facing USB ports for connecting USB devices, such as a keyboard, mouse, or storage device. With the USB Type-C port you can connect a laptop (such as a MacBook Pro or Dell XPS 13) to the display with one cable that can also charge the laptop. The USB-C port outputs 60 W of power and also connects the computer to the XR342CK’s USB hub. The XR342CK doesn’t have a USB-A upstream port, so if your computer lacks a USB-C port you’ll need a USB-A–to–USB-C cable. Acer includes an HDMI cable, a DisplayPort cable, and a USB-C cable in the box.
The XR342CK has some oddball features that most people will want to turn off, such as a color-changing ambient light below the display; although you can select the color, the novelty wears off quickly. The XR342CK also has built-in speakers, but we found them too heavy in the bass with thin highs. They’re inadequate for listening to music or watching TV shows or movies, but they’re fine for system sounds or the occasional YouTube video.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
As on every ultrawide we tested, we saw a lot of backlight bleed on the Acer XR342CK, especially at the corners.
Acer offers a three-year limited warranty under which it will either repair or replace the unit at its discretion. Unlike Dell and some other monitor companies, Acer doesn’t offer a bright-pixel or dead-pixel policy, so you should check for dead pixels as soon as you get your monitor and return it to the retailer if necessary. And although Acer offers phone and chat support, its support library, forums, and documentation aren’t as detailed as Dell's.
The on-screen display of the XR342CK provides easy access to adjustments for brightness, color, and other settings; although you can adjust hue, saturation, and color temperature, we found that the display was accurate out of the box. The controls reside on the back of the monitor and consist of three buttons and a joystick. In our tests, the joystick was responsive and made it easy for us to move between menus, but the buttons on the back weren’t perfectly lined up with the digital menu, so more than a few times we found ourselves turning the monitor off when we meant to select the first on-screen display option.
The picture-in-picture (PIP) mode on the XR342CK works just as it does on a TV: You can make one input the primary image and overlay another in a corner. We didn’t have as much luck with picture-by-picture (PBP). When we connected two computers to the Acer monitor, PBP mode was awful and unusable. First enabled, it retained the original aspect ratio, producing two, tiny ultrawide ratios for us to squint at. When we changed it to read the inputs as full-screen, it stretched the resolution out, squishing everything into an unreadable mess. On both Mac and Windows, we were unable to force the 1720×1440 resolution (half the width but the same height as the full-size 3440×1440) required to make this mode work. After some finangling, we did get the corresponding mode working on the Dell and LG ultrawides, but neither of those competitors provided a smooth experience.
Runner-up: Dell U3419W
Runner-up
Dell U3419W
If you need to connect two computers to an ultrawide, the Dell U3419W includes a KVM switch and a functional split-screen mode.
Buying Options
*At the time of publishing, the price was $770.
If the Acer XR342CK is unavailable, if you want to connect two computers and display them side by side, or if you want a monitor with a KVM switch so you can use the same peripherals with both computers, the Dell U3419W is a good option. It offers the same size, resolution, and 1900R curve as the Acer but is typically a little more expensive. The U3419W is just as adjustable, it has a ton of ports for connecting multiple computers, including a USB-C port that can output up to 90 W of power, and Dell’s warranty is more comprehensive than Acer’s.
As on the Acer, the Dell’s IPS panel offers excellent viewing angles, but it has a lower, 60 Hz refresh rate. This is the standard for most monitors, though if you plan on playing games the 40 Hz difference between the Acer and the Dell is noticeable. The Dell also lacks FreeSync, so if you play games, the Acer is a better choice. We had the same backlight-bleed problems with the U3419W as we did with the XR342CK (and with most ultrawide monitors that we’ve tested so far).
The Dell has a contrast ratio of 947:1, very close to the Acer’s 988:1. The Dell’s DeltaE gamma value was excellent at 2.3464, better than the Acer’s 3.4979. Its DeltaE grayscale color error was 2.6654, higher than the Acer’s 1.3237, but still an accurate result and most people won’t notice the difference between the two.
The Dell performed well in our ColorChecker test. It had a good DeltaE value of 1.7552, slightly better than the Acer, and it was capable of rendering accurate colors in skin tones, sky, and other naturally occurring hues. Like the Acer model, this Dell monitor covers more than 99 percent of the color gamut. And like the Acer and LG ultrawides we tested, the Dell has visible backlight bleed that’s most noticeable in its four corners.
The Dell is usually more expensive than the Acer but still within the range we expect for this size and resolution of ultrawide monitor. Their adjustability is similar as well; on the Dell you can adjust the height within a 4½-inch range (half an inch less than the Acer), tilt the monitor forward and back, and swivel it left and right. Like the Acer, the Dell is VESA compatible, so you can attach it to a wall mount (an accessory that Dell doesn’t include, unlike Acer) or a monitor arm. The Dell is well-built, and its stand is small, taking up less desk depth than the Acer’s stand. A hole in the stand’s center allows for cable routing, and overall the stand has a simple design, especially next to the Acer monitor’s aggressive-looking three-pronged stand. The Dell’s simple gray and black plastic looks more subdued and professional than the Acer.
When it comes to ports, the U3419W has a USB Type-C port, DisplayPort 1.2, and two HDMI 2.0 ports. The back also includes an audio output, two USB 3.0 ports (plus two more USB 3.0 ports on the side of the panel), and two USB 3.0 upstream ports so the monitor can operate as a KVM switch (you can also use the Type-C port for this), sharing the USB ports between two computers. The Acer model can’t do this at all. Dell includes an HDMI cable, a DisplayPort cable, a USB Type-C cable, and a USB 3.0 upstream cable in the box.
The on-screen display of the Dell is much better than that of the Acer and easier to use. The buttons are located at the bottom on the right side, and unlike on the Acer, they’re properly lined up with the on-screen display so you don’t accidentally select the wrong thing. Navigation is easy to understand and use, and adjustments for hue, saturation, brightness, and contrast are readily available.
PIP works the same as on the Acer, but we had much better luck with the Dell in the PBP mode. Using the full-screen option in the Dell’s on-screen display menu and this workaround from the Dell forums, we were able to finally get two Windows computers, as well as a Windows computer and a Mac, to display side by side as two 1720×1440 displays taking up the full screen.
It includes two speakers, but as on the Acer, they’re thin sounding and unusable for music, movies, or games.
Dell offers a three-year warranty and has a much better policy than Acer for replacing the panel if you run into issues during the warranty period, promising to do so even if a single pixel is dim.
What to look forward to
The LG 34WK95U-W is the first 5K ultrawide, with a 5120×2160-resolution display. But it comes with a hefty retail price of $1,500. We plan on testing it, but due to its massive resolution it doesn’t work with many computers.
The Samsung C34J791 34-inch 1440p ultrawide was announced at the CES 2018 trade show and is now available. Its Thunderbolt 3 port, fast 100 Hz refresh rate, AMD FreeSync, and VA panel suggest that it’s better suited for gaming and media consumption than productivity, but we plan to test it in our next update.
The competition
There aren’t a lot of 34-inch, 3440×1440 ultrawides available. And many models are specifically for gaming and include additional features that add to the price but aren't essential for most people.
Our previous pick, the Acer XR342CK bmijqphuzx, looks identical to the current Acer XR342CK model we recommend, but has a different panel with a 75 Hz refresh rate. It’s still a great monitor; if you can find it on sale cheaper than the newest version, it’s still worth picking up.
Our previous runner-up, the Dell U3417W is still a great monitor, but Dell tells us it won’t be available for long. It lacks the USB-C port of the U3419W and has a blue tint but is otherwise very similar.
The LG 34UC88-B is an affordable 34-inch ultrawide monitor, but it was the least color-accurate model we tested, and it had the fewest ports. The gamma was high, so shadows appeared too dark and highlights seemed washed out.
The Dell U3415W is the precursor to the U3417W and U3419W and it tends to be well reviewed by the likes of PCMag, Engadget, and Tom’s Hardware. It’s not clear how much longer this model will be available, though, and we weren’t able to get one to test alongside the U3419W.
LG’s 25UM58-P was too small—and its resolution was too blurry—to use for any type of work. The benefits of an ultrawide monitor don’t start showing up until you hit the 3440×1440 resolution found on 34-inch models.
We found the 2560×1080 resolution of the LG 34WK650-W unusably blurry for any type of work. At 34 inches, a 1080p screen isn’t a good investment, as the lower resolution means you don’t get the benefits of the added screen space you’d expect from an ultrawide monitor. This size and resolution combination is fine for games or media consumption, but you should skip it for work.
The BenQ EX3501R is typically $100 to $200 more expensive than the Acer XR342CK and the Dell U3419W, and its 100 Hz refresh rate and VA panel are better suited for games or movies than for general work.
Sources
- Alan Henry, How Using an Ultrawide Monitor Boosted My Productivity (and Can Boost Yours), Lifehacker, July 1, 2016Lots A bit Under 120 GB 5 It it important to have sleek, stylish and compact computers??? Which mac is best for me quiz.
- Jarred Walton, LG 34UM67: UltraWide FreeSync Review, AnandTech, March 31, 2015
- Daniel O’Keeffe, Ian Cumming, Mehdi Azzabi, Eric Bousquet, Dell U3417W Monitor Review, Rtings.com, March 13, 2018
We love multiple monitor workstations, but “Ultrawide” displays, packing resolutions that rival two or three panels side-by-side, are looking better and better these days. After all, having more than one monitor doesn’t automatically make you more productive. Here’s how these new ultrawide monitors differ from a dual-screen setup, and when you might consider buying one.
What Are “Ultrawide” Monitors?
Ultrawide monitors are traditionally any display that’s about 21:9 aspect ratio, designed to have a similar aspect ratio to traditional movie theater screens. Depending on the size of the display you get, you’re looking at screen resolutions of around 2560-pixels or 3440-pixels wide by 1080-pixels or 1440-pixels high, in display sizes from 29” to 34” diagonally. That’s a ton of horizontal working space, sometimes more than you might get by jamming two or three displays together. Plus, a single, ultrawide monitor gives you a seamless working (and gaming) experience without bezels in between windows or documents, and without multiple connectors to your computer’s video card to drive all of those displays together.
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Essentially, the dream is to have one display on your desk (or maybe two) with more working space than three or four smaller displays combined, all using a single (or two) connectors on your video card. Ultrawide displays also allow you to run native resolutions on current-generation video cards (and for gamers, even run games on your current graphics card) without having to upgrade to cards with more power, more ports, or in some cases, two or three cards just to make everything work smoothly.
Of course, that’s the promise. The reality is a little more complicated, but that doesn’t mean ultrawide monitors don’t live up to it in some cases.
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Who Makes Ultrawide Monitors?
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Dell, LG, AoC, and ASUS all make ultrawide monitor options, but there are usually one or two specific models per company to choose from. While there are a lot of players, there aren’t always a lot of models to choose from. Here are a few leaders in the field:
- LG 29UM65 29” LED Display ($400)
- LG 34UM95 34” LED Display ($914)
- LG 34UC97 34” Curved LED Display ($1200)
- Dell UltraSharp U2913WM 29” LED Display ($510)
- Dell UltraSharp U3415W 34” Curved LED Display ($1180)
- ASUS MX299Q 29” LED Display ($400)
- ASUS PB298Q 29” LED Display ($400)
- AOC Q2963PM 29” LED Display ($350)
- NEC Display MultiSync EA294WMi-BK 29” LED DIsplay ($615)
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These are just some current popular models, and there are likely a few we’ve missed (and others that have came on the market, sold for a while, and vanished in favor of an updated version.) One thing though, all of the 29” displays are aggressively priced along with other budget monitors around the same size (usually in the 27” range), but the 34” displays can get pretty expensive. We expect that for flagship models, but it can be a bit of a sticking point if you’re looking to upgrade your workspace for less than it might cost to buy or build a new PC.
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Can Ultrawide Monitors Make You More Productive?
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The question we set out to answer is whether or not ultrawide displays are better than dual-monitor setups for productivity (or just about anything else.) Well, the first thing to remember is that the number of monitors you have doesn’t matter when it comes to productivity. It’s the actual real estate those monitors offer that matters, and how you use it. If you have two or three tiny displays and you still scroll and struggle to work with the documents, spreadsheets, and web pages you need to read, they’re not helping you. Instead, one, really large display that can accommodate all of that information cleanly (or rotating it so it’s vertical) would be a bigger boon for you.
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29” ultrawides almost universally come in 2560 x 1080 varieties. That’s great, but that screen resolution isn’t anything you can’t get with a standard 30” 16:9 display (or better yet, a 16:10 display). Plus, we’ve established that great, huge monitors don’t have to cost a ton of money. Unless you’re just a huge fan of the 21:9 aspect ratio at 29”, it doesn’t seem to make that much sense. When you can spend the same (or save a little) and get one or two larger displays for the same (or more) real estate. Plus, in order to keep costs down, many of the 29” ultrawide panels we checked out ditch useful features like a tilt/swivel stand, VESA mount, or extra video inputs in order to keep things affordable.
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34” is where things get interesting though. At 34”, you start to have more than enough room to work, and resolutions like 3440 x 1440 give you enough space to open up three or four browser windows, documents, or applications side-by-side or tiled without text getting too small to read and menus impossible to navigate. Plus, since the 34” ultrawides are usually flagship models, they include all the ports and connectors you’d ever need, VESA-compatible mounting, auto-rotating and fully adjustable stands (again, on Dell’s, LG inexplicably decided against it), and more. Here’s Linus from Linus Tech Tips explaining how this LG 34” became his daily driver. Using a 34” ultrawide is a lot like that feeling you had the first time you put two monitors on your desk and marveled at how much room you had to work.
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A note for gamers: We’ve talked about setting up triple-monitor gaming setups before. Ultrawides still come with the same in-game challenges that an AMD Eyefinity or NVIDIA Surround gaming setup would have, but you don’t necessarily need a new or more powerful graphics card to drive an ultrawide setup. With two or three standard monitors, your graphics card (or cards) have to drive each monitor with decent refresh rates. With an ultrawide, you only have to worry about powering one (and connecting one.) Of course, 3440 x 1440 is a lot of pixels, so low-end cards will still strain, but a decent bang-for-the-buck graphics card should do, and you probably won’t need two cards or multiple connectors (which also means less cable clutter!) Of course, not every game supports widescreen resolutions. Many will break (or add huge black bars on the sides), but the Widescreen Gaming Forum is a great place to dig into those issues, and they have a database of widescreen-friendly games.
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The Bottom Line: If You Have the Cash, They’re a Great Alternative to Multiple Monitors
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At the end of the day, ultrawide monitors can be great. They may even be the future of traditional workspaces. However, the benefits of an ultrawide monitor only really appear once you get over 30”, or bigger and wider than most people already work with one or two displays. The difference is pretty stark—gamers and movie fans will love the full surround experience without bezels in the way, and productivity hawks will love being able to keep multiple applications up side by side or tiled without actually having to resize anything to make them all usable at once.
Plus, if you like having your displays angled a little on either side of your desk (like I do), those curved displays are especially nice. Don’t take my word for it though, here’s a review from Linus Tech Tips of that LG 34” curved ultrawide we mentioned above. Every direction you glance your eyes are more center-on than if you had a flat display that wasn’t angled towards you, so everything feels a little more wrap-around and natural-looking. Of course, that brings us to the biggest drawback, at least for now: price.
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Read more Read Ultrawide monitors are still a significant price premium, especially for those great 34” models that feel so great to use. The 34” LG above is $900, and the curved model is $1200. Both get you 3440 x 1440 pixels of working space. A pair of these great 27” Monoprice displays will cost you $920 ($460 each) and give you 5120 x 1440 pixels of working space (2560 x 1440 each.) That’s still a near-$300 premium for an ultrawide, and those aren’t even the cheapest 27” available at Monoprice, either.
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Even so, if you have the money to get an ultrawide—especially one of the curved models—it can make work and play a whole new experience. If you’re on a budget though, or don’t like the idea of spending as much on a monitor as you would on a whole new computer, you may want to just grab a pair of 27” displays, call it a day, and keep the change in your pocket. For now, that is. After all, prices come down and competition heats up (not to mention haven’t even talked about 4K/5K and what it might mean for ultrawide monitors,) and that means big savings for you and I.