***21.9 Ultrawide Thread***

Caporegime
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Size & Resolution Comparisons


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PPI (Pixels Per Inch) comparisons, essentially how sharp content looks i.e. clarity:
  • 24" 1920x1080 = 91
  • 27" 2560x1440 = 108
  • 32" 3840x2160 = 137
  • 40" 3840x2160 = 110
  • 25" 2560x1080 = 111
  • 29" 2560x1080 = 95
  • 34" 2560x1080 = 81
  • 34" 3440x1440 = 109
  • 35" 2560x1080 = 79
25" 21.9 has the same vertical height of a 20" 16.9 monitor

29" 21.9 has the same vertical height of a 23" 16.9 monitor

34" 21.9 has the same vertical height of a 27" 16.9 monitor


The 21.9 Experience


A quick video demonstrating 21.9 in action against 16.9:


And a more in depth look at the 2560x1080 29" experience along with the 34" 3440x1440 experience.


Gaming


As you can see in the video above, with 21.9 you get significantly more FOV at the sides than any 16.9 display. Here are some screenshot comparisons:

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Thanks to zachwang and chris3013 for these screenshot comparisons.


From my own experience, a lot of games support 21.9 very well, however, not all do and thus we have to rely on end users to fix/implement proper 21.9 support in a few games.

AWPC has a good thread regarding what supports 21.9 and what doesn't along with workarounds.

There is also now a dedicated youtube review channel for 21.9 support in games!

On top of that, we also have a steam community group which lists all the games that have native 21.9 support.

A good thread covering 57 games and their 21.9 support.


One fantastic program for 21.9 screens (and even useful for 16.9 users) when it comes to games not having proper 21.9 support is flawless widescreen, however, DO NOT use this with MP games as it will likely be seen as a cheat due to how it works and possibly get you banned. This program will also include other little tweaks such as removing FPS cap.

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Some user game benchmark figures for 2560x1080 and 3440x1440 res.

You can help improve this list by posting your performance figures here.


Media


Most films are shot in the 21.9 format thus when watching these films on a 16.9 display, you get black bars at the top and bottom:

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Of course there are a good amount of films, which are shot in 16.9 format so when you watch these on a 21.9 screen, you will have black bars at the sides.

There is only one type of film that is problematic for 21.9 screens and that is imax as they switch from 21.9 to 16.9 throughout the film i.e. Nolan's films, you can get non imax versions for most films if you really want though and even when zoomed in, it isn't too bad tbh, quality is still great and most of the time, you wouldn't even notice that the film is zoomed in.

All TV shows are shot in 16.9 format.

I use MPC with madvr for media.

MPC HC with madvr has now solved the issue with films that are shot in both imax and 21.9!

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With this, you no longer need to zoom in manually or worry about zooming in and back out etc. again.


Wallpapers


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A lot of 4k (3840x2160) wallpapers will look fine on 21.9 displays, you just need to use the "stretch" option

Useful extensions for 21.9


Do you like watching youtube at the side whilst browsing the forums or doing some work etc.? Well this is perfect for 21.9 displays!

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Floating youtube extension (thanks to sal<xxx for finding this)

Tired of black bars on the sides AND top/bottom of youtube videos when in fullscreen, then you need this chrome extension

That extension also has support for amazon video and netflix, here is another netflix chrome extension if the above one doesn't work


Links to 21.9 monitor discussion threads

Every single 21.9 monitor is listed here.

A thread/poll on who has gone 21.9 and what they think.


16.9 users fancy trying out 21.9? Then follow this!


Nvidia users

1. Open NVIDIA Control Panel and click "Customize..."
2. Check box "Enable resolutions not exposed by the display"
3. Click "Create Custom Resolution"

Use following resolutions

4k Ultrawide: 3840x1620
1440p Ultrawide: 2560x1080
1080p Ultrawide: 1920x810

4. Aspect Ratio should be set to either "Aspect Ratio" or "No Scaling."

AMD users

1. Right click the desktop and open the AMD Catalyst/Vision Control Center.

2. In the upper-right corner, select "preferences". Make sure "Advanced View" is selected.

3. From the tabs on the left-hand side, select "My Digital Flat-Panels."

4. From the list that drops down, select "HDTV Support (Digital Flat-Panel).

5. There should be a list of "HDTV modes supported by this display." Choose the one relative to your monitor's native specifications. Since my monitor's native specs are 1920x1080 @60hz, I choose "Add 1080p60 format to Display Manager (NTSC)."

6. Click the green apply button.

If you now see one or two resolutions listed in the "Predefined and Custom HDTV Formats" section, you may be ready to go. Open the game and see if your native resolution is now listed.

If you're still not seeing anything, or if you'd like to add a new resolution, continue on.

7. You should now be able to click the "Add" button next to the list of "Predefined and Custom HDTV Formats." Go ahead and click it.

8. From here, you can create a custom resolution. When you're done, click accept.

9. Click the green apply button again.
If that doesn't work, try out CRU
 
Last edited:
Associate
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-lurks-

Went from 2x 25UM65-P to a 27" 4K recently, needless to say I really miss the 21:9 display, especially for racing games, but 25" wasn't really doing it for me.

If 3440x1440 were more reasonably priced I would jump from 4k to them in an instant.
 
Caporegime
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Yeah 25" 21.9 is just too small for vertical height, 29" is the absolute minimum that you need to appreciate the 21.9 format imo.

Speaking of size, I have just added a section comparing the resolution and size of 21.9 and their equivalent 16.9 monitors for the height dimension.

We should hopefully see the 34" price drop again over the next few months....

EDIT:

I will also add PPI comparisons.
 
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Soldato
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Nice work Nexus, just got my Dell U3415W and it's absolutely jaw dropping, both for desktop and gaming...

Have some stars :)
 
Soldato
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Great stuff Nexus. You might like to add this as well (surprised there's so many) http://************.com/parts/monitor/#r=344001440,256001080.

That's largely LG's fault for having many very similar models with the same panel but slightly different aesthetics or ports. :D

And I approve of this thread, great idea Nexus. As you can see I really enjoy the 21:9 experience and I implore anybody to give it a go as a PC gamer.
 
Associate
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Great thread idea Nexus.

21:9 really is a format worthy of sitting alongside 16:9. We just need new games and applications to support the aspect ratio. Hopefully over time that support will increase.

Gotta spread some ultrawide love
 
Soldato
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You sir, have my attention.

I've been looking at the U2715 and 2515 for quite a while wondering which to go for. But now I am even more torn because these look wondrous...
 
Caporegime
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Thanks guys, glad you all like the thread :)

Great stuff Nexus. You might like to add this as well (surprised there's so many) http://************.com/parts/monitor/#r=344001440,256001080.

Done.

That's largely LG's fault for having many very similar models with the same panel but slightly different aesthetics or ports. :D

Yeah it is quite frustrating how many models LG release... why can't they just release 1 good monitor that has everything :/ I am expecting them to re-release the 29um67 along with a better stand etc. in the next month or 2.
 
Soldato
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Nice work Nexus, just got my Dell U3415W and it's absolutely jaw dropping, both for desktop and gaming...

Have some stars :)

I really love my Dell 34" as well, really fabulous monitor. Means my plex server had to have my "old" 30" dell 4:3 too....L
 
Soldato
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It's funny that for all the excitement surrounding 21:9 @ 1440p, there are basically two panels... the curved and straight 60Hz ones used in the LG/Dell/AOC monitors, which have been rehashed and overclocked in the upcoming Acer/Asus models... then you have the Samsung VA panel, again 60Hz. The only one remotely worth getting excited about is the Acer X34 G-Sync, rumoured to be 100Hz... which I imagine the Asus ROG 34" will also feature. The Freesync version is the only option for AMD owners, but tops out at 75Hz, so that's somewhat 'meh'. There are more options at 1080p, but I had one myself for a day and returned it. Coming from 16:9 1440p, the extra width couldn't compensate for the loss in vertical resolution for me.

We'll have to wait for the next gen GPU's with Display Port 1.3 for anything better than what's currently available/soon to be released.

:rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
Soldato
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It's funny that for all the excitement surrounding 21:9 @ 1440p, there are basically two panels... the curved and straight 60Hz ones used in the LG/Dell/AOC monitors, which have been rehashed and overclocked in the upcoming Acer/Asus models... then you have the Samsung VA panel, again 60Hz. The only one remotely worth getting excited about is the Acer X34 G-Sync, rumoured to be 100Hz... which I imagine the Asus ROG 34" will also feature. The Freesync version is the only option for AMD owners, but tops out at 75Hz, so that's somewhat 'meh'. There are more options at 1080p, but I had one myself for a day and returned it. Coming from 16:9 1440p, the extra width couldn't compensate for the loss in vertical resolution for me.

We'll have to wait for the next gen GPU's with Display Port 1.3 for anything better than what's currently available/soon to be released.

:rolleyes:

I'm personally quite looking forward to the upcoming glossy Philips model (BDM3490UC). It's still 60Hz and no variable refresh rate or anything, but it's something a bit different. ;) I'm not sure if it's using a new panel I haven't come across yet. I think it's more likely that they've used that usual LG LM340WU2-SSA1, stripped off the matte surface and added a glossy surface. :)
 
Soldato
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I love my lg 29", just wish that there was more support for video content as it is really nice to find a video on youtube or anywhere else that just automatically fills the screen :)

I would love to get a 1440 variant, as I think that it would look amazing, although I would need even more graphics power to run it in a way that I would be happy :p

I have actually been considering getting a second 1080 model and running it above my current monitor like I saw someone have on here before
 
Associate
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Hi again,

I was wondering if any of you have tried the Dell U3415W at all?

I've gone through three Acer B276HKs at the moment and I've had to RMA two of them, with the third going back on Monday, I am tempted to spend an extra £240 on the Dell (at the expense of being called crazy by literally everyone I know) - But I'd like an honest opinion on whether the 34" UW monitors are drastically better than features such as G-Sync and 144Hz, please!

I've personally never used 144Hz, or G-Sync, and my experience with UW has been fairly limited, although I love the about of real estate on a 4k display.

Thanks for any help you can provide.
 
Caporegime
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Dell 34"

- better customer service
- looks great + has a superb stand, build etc.

However,

- still just as likely to have bleed issues as the others
- higher response times and quite a bit more input lag than the other 34" screens

I would advise trying the AOC 34" or LG instead, even though CS isn't as good or if you spend a bit more and look around you could consider the samsung 34" too, it is a VA panel so:

- not quite as sharp looking as the IPS
- better blacks/contrast ratio so things will pop more especially in dark content
- very little risk of having bleed/glow issues
- very responsive for a VA (iirc less input lag than the IPS screens) but response time when it comes to dark to bright and vice versa transitions aren't as good

Depends entirely on the end user when it comes to 144hz, gsync etc. if you are:

- very sensitive to motion clarity i.e. when you pan the camera in games quickly you don't like the smeary/blurry look
- very sensitive to screen tearing and want pure smoothness in games and you aren't satisfied with in game vsync or windowed borderless mode to do this
- can maintain at least 100FPS most of the time to make proper use of 144HZ

Then you might prefer the gsync, 144hz screen.

If you:

- want just an incredibly immersive experience
- better viewing angles
- better image quality in pretty much every way
- considerably more real estate (see my res. image comparison)

Then get the 21.9 34" screen
 
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