34” Ultrawide Monitor Recommendations?

digitalbanana · 3 Oct 2018 at 12:17

Hi all,

I am looking to buy a nice new Ultrawide monitor primarily for gaming, and having done some initial research there appear to be a multitude of different factors and articles each with different recommendations for “the best ultrawide monitor”. I do not have an immediate need to buy one so am happy to wait 2-3 months if an amazing option is on the horizon, but as always could wait for the next best thing (already been mulling this over for a year or so) and never end up buying. Therefore thought I should just bite the bullet…

What Ultrawide monitors do you guys recommend at the moment, or very near future? Not looking to spend over the odds - but want something that will remain ‘current’ for a decent period before I have to upgrade. I’ve listed some requirements below…most of the games I play are FPS, RTS, Simulations (i.e. Destiny 2, Fortnite, Frostpunk, Surviving Mars, Star Citizen, Elite Dangerous, etc.). Looking for the best picture quality for my 1080GTX, and will likely upgrade to a better card (i.e. 2080+) / processor end of next year.

Requirements (in priority order):

34/35” Ultrawide (IPS Panel?)
HDR support
100hz+
G-Sync (Is this even worth it?)
Slim stand (will be on a narrow-is desk, but happy to change desk if needed for the right monitor!)
USB-C Connectivity (low priority, but would be good to use my MacBook with it)
Speakers

Any recommendations or insight would be appreciated!

smsmasters · 3 Oct 2018 at 21:03

Asus PG35VQ since you want HDR otherwise AW3418DW.

3YOB · 4 Oct 2018 at 00:24

"HDR Support" is kind of vague. There were 2 flavors: Dolby Vision (no monitor can support this yet, no TV's can even meet the full bandwidth yet) and HDR10. Now VESA has some standards with HDR400, HDR600, HDR1000.

BenQ EX3501R has "HDR Support" via software and meets most of your list with 100Hz and USB-C.
Samsung 34CJ79 is also pretty close without the HDR support.
Both are VA panels and implement Freesync, but not Gsync.

I would just get a monitor arm to eliminate the stand issue.

The PG35VQ is most likely HDR1000 due to Gsync HDR module acceptance, but haven't seen it officially called out yet in the spec. This monitor will be pricey.
I believe the upcoming LG GK950-F will be HDR400 and 144Hz.

Stu · 4 Oct 2018 at 16:29

In reality there are not many options. You have a preference for high-end Nvidia GFX cards, so you really should be getting a GSync monitor.

If you want to buy now - Alienware AW3418DW
If you want to spend < £1000 - Alienware AW3418DW (was £800 in summer sale, might be in Black Friday sale, additional Dell discount codes possible)
If you can wait a couple of months and happy to spend up to £1100 - Alienware AW3418DW or LG 34GK950G (expected Nov/Dec)
If you want the best, happy to wait at least 6 months (probably), and happy to spend over £2000 - Asus PG35VQ (release expected at some point in 2019)

aoaaron · 5 Oct 2018 at 20:38

Stu said:
In reality there are not many options. You have a preference for high-end Nvidia GFX cards, so you really should be getting a GSync monitor.

If you want to buy now - Alienware AW3418DW
If you want to spend < £1000 - Alienware AW3418DW (was £800 in summer sale, might be in Black Friday sale, additional Dell discount codes possible)
If you can wait a couple of months and happy to spend up to £1100 - Alienware AW3418DW or LG 34GK950G (expected Nov/Dec)
If you want the best, happy to wait at least 6 months (probably), and happy to spend over £2000 - Asus PG35VQ (release expected at some point in 2019)

Pretty much bang on. Wish the AW or LG had HDR.

kmetek · 6 Oct 2018 at 09:09

which best budget 34'' UW for me?

i5 2500k
8gb ram
r9 280x

Sky01454 · 13 Oct 2018 at 15:57

kmetek said:
which best budget 34'' UW for me?

i5 2500k
8gb ram
r9 280x

I am pretty sure this is thread hijacking which is not allowed. I used a 280x while waiting for my 980ti when I moved to an ultrawide and the 280x cannot handle it. I would upgrade you system rather than the monitor.

kmetek · 16 Oct 2018 at 17:24

ok thanks sorry.

aaronhowe · 25 Oct 2018 at 10:32

Stu said:
In reality there are not many options. You have a preference for high-end Nvidia GFX cards, so you really should be getting a GSync monitor.

If you want to buy now - Alienware AW3418DW
If you want to spend < £1000 - Alienware AW3418DW (was £800 in summer sale, might be in Black Friday sale, additional Dell discount codes possible)
If you can wait a couple of months and happy to spend up to £1100 - Alienware AW3418DW or LG 34GK950G (expected Nov/Dec)
If you want the best, happy to wait at least 6 months (probably), and happy to spend over £2000 - Asus PG35VQ (release expected at some point in 2019)

Given that the Asus PG27UQ is currently £2200 I think the PG35VQ is going to be closer to £3000 if not more. I like the thought of an HDR ultrawide but certainly not at that price so the big question to the OP is do you have a budget in mind and are you willing to potentially spend triple for HDR as that's essentially all you're getting for the money (I've ignored 200HZ refresh as nothing we have GPU wise could drive that many frames anyway).

Legend · 25 Oct 2018 at 12:39

aaronhowe said:
Given that the Asus PG27UQ is currently £2200 I think the PG35VQ is going to be closer to £3000 if not more. I like the thought of an HDR ultrawide but certainly not at that price so the big question to the OP is do you have a budget in mind and are you willing to potentially spend triple for HDR as that's essentially all you're getting for the money (I've ignored 200HZ refresh as nothing we have GPU wise could drive that many frames anyway).

The PG27UQ and X27 weren't really intended for the mass market though. If they go the same route with the PG35VQ and price it at £3K they will sell so few. It could be that the reason for the long delay is attempts to bring that cost down. We shall see in due course obviously, but I think they will want to actually sell more than a mere handful of these.

aaronhowe · 25 Oct 2018 at 22:19

Legend said:
The PG27UQ and X27 weren't really intended for the mass market though. If they go the same route with the PG35VQ and price it at £3K they will sell so few. It could be that the reason for the long delay is attempts to bring that cost down. We shall see in due course obviously, but I think they will want to actually sell more than a mere handful of these.

What makes you say they weren't intended for the mass market? I can't see why else they'd produce monitors like as they'd only be useful for gamers with those specs (200hz refresh).
I agree though that it's all speculation at this point and I'm sure we'll find out soon enough if the current release dates don't shift again. Fingers crossed you're right as I'm sure there'll be some very unhappy campers if the price continues on the steep upward trend especially given how long everyone has been waiting for it.

Legend · 26 Oct 2018 at 02:11

aaronhowe said:
What makes you say they weren't intended for the mass market? I can't see why else they'd produce monitors like as they'd only be useful for gamers with those specs (200hz refresh).
I agree though that it's all speculation at this point and I'm sure we'll find out soon enough if the current release dates don't shift again. Fingers crossed you're right as I'm sure there'll be some very unhappy campers if the price continues on the steep upward trend especially given how long everyone has been waiting for it.

The mass market can't afford £2000 monitors lol! They haven't sold in great number and from what I've heard, they weren't expected to. They knew it would be a niche product.