Ultrawide monitor: flat vs curved?

I'm in the market for a new monitor and I wanted to get a ultrawide, I almost exclusively play videogames on my PC. I found some good candidates, but because of price I'm heavily leaning towards a flat panel instead of a curved one, namely AOC U34G3X.

Is a flat ultrawide panel much worse than a curved one for gaming? I've used flat panels since they started selling it, but the longer diagonal scares me a bit. I'm currently using a 27" flat panel.

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions!

HeavyRaptor ,

I think you have to decide on a panel type first. For mid-range you can get IPS or VA panels. VA generally hs nicer colours and better contrast but can have black level smearing.

I really wanted to avoid black level smearing so I went for a flat panel one as this was the only ips I could find in my price range. For high end there are some good VA panels with very low/not noticeable smearing.

This is probably a more important difference than flat vs curved.

bec OP ,
@bec@lemmy.ml avatar

According to my finances, I can only afford the bottom tier panels haha that's why I will get the AOC: inexpensive for the specs. I'm not too fussy about colors and greys, as long as I can get a decent picture by using a color profile plus gamma/contrast settings. As I said, my PC is for gaming, so I don't need accurate colors etc. as long as it doesn't look awful I'm good!

bandario ,
@bandario@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

I bought this monstrosity and I have been ridiculously happy with all aspects apart from its HDR functionality.

The KVM switch works really well. GSync and Freesynch both work well. It's far easier to drive this resolution than I thought it would be.

Great value given the features and size.

https://aoc.com/us/gaming/products/monitors/ag493ucx2

bec OP ,
@bec@lemmy.ml avatar

Amazing monitor! Costs as much as my whole PC upgrade though haha and I don't think I could fit it on my current desk!

HidingCat ,

At a tech-based non-profit I worked at, we got a lot of donated stuff, including a number of 34" ultrawides. I ended up liking them more than I expected. I think they'll be fine for gaming, provided your GPU can deal with the resolution.

bec OP ,
@bec@lemmy.ml avatar

Ultrawide has always been something I wanted, I love (well, at least I think I do, since I haven't tried it) the extra field of view they have and the superior immersion they provide! With this $300 ultrawide I'm considering I can finally try it!

The GPU I'm getting manages 60 to 120 fps at 4k at high-ultra in many different games, 2160p is 1.67x ultrawide 1440p pixels, so it should provide 90-180 fps at ultrawide 1440p give or take, so that should be covered!

DScratch ,

I have the Samsung Odyssey G8 curved oled ultra wide.
It’s incredible for content and gaming, but it has almost like chromatic aberration for text due to the pixel layout.
I can deal with that, but my partner hates it. See if you can view one in stores if you’re thinking of spending goofy money.

bec OP ,
@bec@lemmy.ml avatar

That's another great monitor that I would totally get if I had the money, but unfortunately it isn't the case haha thanks for the input though!

Know_not_Scotty_does ,

I have a 34" curved one at home and a 34" flat one at work. I do CAD work on both from time to time.

The curve was annoying initially because straight lines looked curved but once I got the monitor to the proper height, it went away.

At work, the straight one bothers me now because the edges of the monitor are farther away than the center and it makes everything look smaller when snapped to the sides.

I prefer the curved one now.

bec OP ,
@bec@lemmy.ml avatar

Makes sense! Apart from the edges issue, which I reckon shouldn't bother me as much as it bothers you, since I'm going from flat to flat, do you think there would be other bigger issues/annoyances with a flat screen that I wouldn't have with a curved screen? If not, I guess I'm basically set on the AOC I mentioned in the OP, since it's very cheap and has everything I need!

Thanks!

Phony6819 ,

I was looking for a big UW, and likely would have gone with a slight curve, but went with a 42” 4k 16:9 (flat) instead. Basically as wide as most UWs I was looking at, but with extra space top and bottom. Gaming on it can be kind of a cinematic experience. Just another thought for you!

bec OP ,
@bec@lemmy.ml avatar

That's great, thanks for the reply! So, you don't have issues with such a large screen that you think a curved one wouldn't have?

If your 42" is great for gaming, I don't see how my 34" can't! Well, unless you don't use it at a traditional desk setup, but like a TV istead

Phony6819 ,

Not at all! Worst case, just move it a little farther from you. Mine is mounted on the wall that my desk sits up against. With my slide out keyboard tray, I’m around 3.5’ from it.

bec OP ,
@bec@lemmy.ml avatar

That's great, glad to hear that! I will sit a bit closer, but my monitor is also going to be smaller! Can't wait to play on it

CameronDev ,

I have a curved widescreen, and i regret it a bit. If you have any lights anywhere behind you, there will be glare. There is no escaping having a spot of glare somewhere on the screen.

bec OP ,
@bec@lemmy.ml avatar

Oh, yeah, I can totally see that. A flat screen would cause fewer issues with lights because, well, it's flat and uniform; a curved one would be a bit more difficult to position in this regard

Sh0ckw4ve ,

I'm glad someone already advocated for flat, but I'll advocate for curved. I found that with even a 27 inch non ultrawide flat if you're too close the screen feels like it's curving the opposite way (obviously isn't but that's the experience). What's key here is how close you sit to the monitor. Flat screens are great from a distance. Curved is great for immersion, but you need to sit in a sweet spot to fully take advantage.

I don't end up doing any of my coding full screen so that's not any issue for me. neither an issue for any design work personally even if I full screen my work.

bec OP ,
@bec@lemmy.ml avatar

I guess I'm sitting at the right distance since my flat 27" feels just right, I think the distance between me and the screen is around 65+cm. I haven't played on a curved screen ever, but I can imagine that the curvature helps a lot with immersion; issue is, the cheapest curved monitor I can find with comparable specs is almost twice as much, and I can't stretch the budget that far!

Thanks for the insight, though! Appreciated

Carighan ,
@Carighan@lemmy.world avatar

I went the easy maximum-compatiblity route:

  • 3 monitors
  • Middle is 1440p, sides are 1080p
  • All 16:9
  • Bought specifically so the real per-pixel size is ~identical to minimize perceived object size changes across monitors.

I end up using it with the game on the middle monitor, the right is the browser, the left is chats.

bec OP ,
@bec@lemmy.ml avatar

I'm not that social and play SP games almost exclusively, so three monitors would be overkill and definitely over budget (the ultrawide I want to buy is $300 converted); even if I wanted to keep my current monitor, finding two 1080p that would match its ugly colors and all other stuff would be a huge hassle, and I'd still have to bear the ugly side bezels on the middle monitor. A ultrawide sounds like a better choice in my case!

Thanks for the input though!

Alinor ,

I use the Acer Predator Z35, curved widescreen. I'm very happy with it, but I've never tried a flat widescreen.

bec OP ,
@bec@lemmy.ml avatar

That was what I wanted to get, incredibly gorgeous monitor with amazing specs, but way too expensive for me right now!

BlovedMadman ,
@BlovedMadman@lemmy.world avatar

I have a flat panel ultrawide, for me, curved was a pain in the ass when your dealing with straight lines, you need to be in the hot spot where the viewing angle is perfect. Excel can be a headache with a curved monitor, as can photo and video editing as things can look warped and shit when your not sat in the ideal position.

bec OP ,
@bec@lemmy.ml avatar

Thanks for the insight! I forgot to mention that I use my PC for gaming and web browsing for the vast majority of the time. Apart from this, I take it there aren't big drawbacks to a flat ultrawide?

BlovedMadman ,
@BlovedMadman@lemmy.world avatar

Just get an IPS with as high of a refresh rate as you can.

I went from a 24" 1080p display to a 32" 1440p ultrawide and quickly discovered that my aging PC can't do 1440p on anything other than low in most games. Something to keep in mind.

bec OP ,
@bec@lemmy.ml avatar

I'm also upgrading other parts of my PC, and already researched what it will be capable of (should be able to get 100+ fps @ 3440*1440 high-ultra details on most games I play).

Thanks anyway!

BlovedMadman ,
@BlovedMadman@lemmy.world avatar

What graphics card are you going for? I'm in the process of specing out my next PC but the graphics card is causing me a headache

bec OP ,
@bec@lemmy.ml avatar

After a long debate I think I'm almost certain it will be a RX 6800XT, as I don't really need the extra nVidia bits like Ray Tracing, and also price per performance is a bit better with AMD cards (at least in my country, since the 6800XT gets more FPS than a 4070 while costing 10% less). Also not very fond of nVidia after the various stuff they pulled with the release of 40-series cards, and last but not least, I'm going to switch to Linux permanently and AMD drivers are a tad better in that regard. Your mileage may vary a lot from mine haha so if you want RT, and can find nVidia cards at more reasonable prices, I think a 4070/4070ti should be good enough for ultrawide 1440p, especially with DLSS

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