is ultrawide really worth it?

Man of Honour
Joined
13 Oct 2006
Posts
90,819
21:9 is great and all but I could never adopt it as my main display (even with high Hz) - so I've gone best of both worlds with 21:9 IPS alongside 144Hz gaming G-Sync monitor.
 
Caporegime
Joined
4 Jun 2009
Posts
30,926
Well, technically our eyes can see far more than what we are unintentionally aware of.... It is called peripheral vision, in terms of focus, our eyes are probably better suited to the likes of 4:3 aspect ratio.... but we all know how **** it is looking at that or similar aspect ratios now.....

JhTPZi8.png

iOJPoLK.png
 
Associate
Joined
4 Jul 2018
Posts
5
It is very nice but for me personally I still prefer high fps to near enough anything with M+K. Still love my 165hz 1440p even after a year with 21:9 100hz. Struggled to get used to 80-100hz.

Why im now waiting for the 200hz 3440x1440 and a suitable card to run it.
This is why I'm going for the Alienware AW3418HW. 34" @ 1080p isn't great, but its fine for my view distance, and it's 166hz.
 
Associate
Joined
28 Aug 2014
Posts
2,204
surely the extra view at the sides in FPS would be beneficial? even though you are looking at "more" you will see things approaching from further away. no?

im looking to go UW aswell but the price of monitors that will be ok for me to upgrade to are a lot more than i paid for my 27" monitor 4 years ago. basically to have a screen the same height as 27" you want a 34" UW screen.
 
Associate
Joined
19 Apr 2017
Posts
92
I've had the Alienware for a few days now.

For competitive FPS, I agree the added FoV is a distraction. There's just too much eye scanning happening. However, you can run your games in 2560x1440 and your ultrawide becomes a 27" 1440p display (or 28" on 35" ultrawide). That's how I've been playing Fortnite. The downside is you're limited to 100-120Hz vs 144-165Hz on a 16:9 display.

For non-compatible games, again you can run 16:9 2560x1440 with black bars. I've also been playing Dead by Daylight, and while ultrawide is "supported", the game zooms in the image to fill the horizontal, rather than the horizontal FoV being expanded. Consequently, I also run this game at 2560x1440.

For the type of games you listed, though, and most singleplayer games, ultrawide is awesome.

Point being, it's possible to have the best of both worlds. However, I think I'll be returning the Alienware and waiting for one of the native 144Hz ultrawides. I'm primarily a FPS player and the slower 120Hz refresh is noticeable to me.

As you said, you only have had the Ultrawide monitor for a couple of days. It takes at-least a few weeks to get used to 21:9

And that's not true about competitive FPS. You will find that the majority of Pro Siege players use Ultrawides. And that is a very fast paced skill based FPS game.

But to answer OP's question... Yes Ultrawide is really worth it. I am never going back... 34" ultrawide is the optimal size for normal desk use and IMO is better than having two 27" monitors side by side.
 
Associate
Joined
29 Sep 2014
Posts
1,696
Location
Caithness , Wick
for first person shooters , im far and away a better player with an ultrawide … im far more visually aware , for something like PUBG First person it gives me the ability to scout easily , notice movement and gives me a better depth of surroundings. ultra wide is worth it . 21:9 trumps 16:9 in every way from movies to gaming to productivity.
 
Soldato
Joined
18 May 2010
Posts
12,749
Hi,

I currently have a 1440P 27 16:9 Freesync monitor with an AMD Fury Nitro

I want higher FPS and eventually will lose my desk so will need to use the PC with a TV anyway so thinking of downgrading to 1080P now and selling my 1440p monitor.

My question is, If I bought a 1080P widescreen will I get better FPS from my GPU than on a standard 1440p screen? If so what sizes do they go up in 1080p with Freesync can anyone recommend a good model?

Thanks
 
Soldato
Joined
6 Jan 2013
Posts
21,839
Location
Rollergirl
Hi,

I currently have a 1440P 27 16:9 Freesync monitor with an AMD Fury Nitro

I want higher FPS and eventually will lose my desk so will need to use the PC with a TV anyway so thinking of downgrading to 1080P now and selling my 1440p monitor.

My question is, If I bought a 1080P widescreen will I get better FPS from my GPU than on a standard 1440p screen? If so what sizes do they go up in 1080p with Freesync can anyone recommend a good model?

Thanks

2560*1080 (21:9) = 2.76
2560*1440 (16:9) = 3.6

You will get more fps as there's less pixels to push.
 
Soldato
Joined
3 Aug 2010
Posts
3,026
I do not understand the hype for ultrawides. Do they impress people that were stuck with tiny monitors for a long time? Why not get a 40" 4k monitor that will give you the same immersive width but also tons more vertical space?
 
Soldato
Joined
31 Dec 2006
Posts
7,224
I do not understand the hype for ultrawides. Do they impress people that were stuck with tiny monitors for a long time? Why not get a 40" 4k monitor that will give you the same immersive width but also tons more vertical space?

Valid, but part of the problem here is that there are no 100Hz+ 40" monitors available with G-Sync/Freesync. Numerous ultrawides are available with those options. You'd probably find many people with an ultrawide would gladly switch to a 40" with those features.

You can of course pick up a half decent 4K 40"+ TV for a less than half the price of an ultrawide, but you have to accept its limitations. Some people are fine with that, some people aren't.
 

Stu

Stu

Soldato
Joined
19 Oct 2002
Posts
2,737
Location
Wirral
Considering human FOV and typical games, and also considering a desktop setup (i.e. 2 foot viewing distance), I think a 40" TV is too big. A 40" TV is nearly 20 inches in height, compared to 13.4 inches high for a 34" UW monitor, which I think is probably outside your natural FOV and the central elements of game play will overly dominate your area of focus. Personally I think a 27 or 32 inch monitor is more appropriate for a desk setup, with a 34" UW being the same screen height as a 27" 16:9.

The counter argument will be that an UW is too wide and outside the area of focus... this is true, but this extra screen area at the sides provides the "immersive width" mentioned above. Following this logic, why not also have "immersive height" - in my experience, this has limited value in games because you will just see more sky and floor, whereas width provides more useful aspects of the game.

Just my opinion here, and not eloquently described, but you should get what I'm saying.
 
Soldato
Joined
31 Dec 2006
Posts
7,224
Considering human FOV and typical games, and also considering a desktop setup (i.e. 2 foot viewing distance), I think a 40" TV is too big. A 40" TV is nearly 20 inches in height, compared to 13.4 inches high for a 34" UW monitor, which I think is probably outside your natural FOV and the central elements of game play will overly dominate your area of focus. Personally I think a 27 or 32 inch monitor is more appropriate for a desk setup, with a 34" UW being the same screen height as a 27" 16:9.

The counter argument will be that an UW is too wide and outside the area of focus... this is true, but this extra screen area at the sides provides the "immersive width" mentioned above. Following this logic, why not also have "immersive height" - in my experience, this has limited value in games because you will just see more sky and floor, whereas width provides more useful aspects of the game.

Just my opinion here, and not eloquently described, but you should get what I'm saying.

It does ENTIRELY depend on your setup and preference... I have a 1440p UW which is 80cm away from my eyes. This is just perfect for me. 40" would be too much at that distance. My UW is on an arm bracket that extends it from the wall by about 20cm though, so I could get a flat bracket and place a 40" at 100cm, which would probably be OK. Of course, not everyone will be able to do that, it all depends how much space they have and what's comfortable. Some people just don't like big screens. Friend of mine still has a 24" and doesn't like anything bigger. Each to their own at the end of the day. :)
 
Associate
Joined
31 Jul 2018
Posts
45
Location
Banbury, Oxfordshire
I've owned both the PG279Q (What's the BLB on yours like?) and the Acer X34a. The only games I had issues with were some newer Telltale games, and watching films with black bars either side was annoying but Netflix has a Chrome extension to fix that. Other than that the gaming experience was amazing, and if a decent HDR ultrawide comes out i'll probably buy it.

I missed the extra Hz you get from the Asus but not sure this will be an issue with the Alienware.
 
Back
Top Bottom