[skep]

Hey all,

Bit of a novice when researching monitors so looking for a little help.

I’ve recently set up a home office and was going to have dual 24 inch IPS monitors…. but have since decided I prefer the idea of on 43 inch ultrawide curved monitor as this gives the same screen space as dual 24’s, but with less cables and no split in the middle. However, pretty much all the curved monitors I find are VA panels, unless I double my budget.

I’ve had one Samsung 34 inch ultrawide VA panel and it was awful, so has me reluctant to buy another VA panel display.

I’m not a gamer and the monitor will be used for general office work, MS Office, web browsing, emails etc, and also stock and currency trading.

This was the monitor I was looking at – the ASUS XG43VQ.

I would consider dropping to a 38 inch as 43 inch displays don’t seem too common. For what I intend to use the monitor for, do you guys think I’d even notice the differences between VA vs IPS on a curved ultrawide display? Or is the extra cash for IPS worth looking at?

Thanks, look forward to your replies 🙂

[PCM2]

Hi skep,

What was the model of Samsung 34″ UltraWide you used and why did you find it “awful”? Be aware that the 43″ VA UltraWides use similar Samsung SVA panel technology so they will share certain characteristics with the model you disliked.

[skep]

The model I bought before was the S34J550. What I didn’t like was the whole display had a yellowish tint to it, and when looking at the sides of the display when sat in the middle, the colours were really washed out. I had a 24 inch IPS monitor next to it and the colours were awful in comparison, really washed out. I did try to calibrate the colours to try improve things, but failed miserably (could of been my lack of skills in calibrating monitors).

If I did go for a display with an IPS panel, I think the LG ultrawide 38 inch recommended on this site might tick all my boxes.

[PCM2]

The yellow tint could probably have been counteracted by calibration. And it could also have been accentuated by your Dell monitor’s calibration. It could’ve been set to a relatively high white point and therefore have a cool tint which you became used to. Differences between the backlight sources can introduce some discrepancies, too. It’s also possible the Samsung’s calibration was so poor that correcting the tint would’ve involved some more extreme adjustment than slight a few colour channel tweaks.

At any rate, the loss of saturation you noticed towards the sides are typical VA colour consistency issues. As highlighted in our reviews and panel types article. They’re more pronounced on UltraWide models and certainly more pronounced on 43″ Super UltraWides. The curve doesn’t really do enough to counteract this so this isn’t something that was significantly worse on your previous VA UltraWide monitor just because it was flat. I agree that sticking with a 38″ IPS model like the LG 38WN75C featured as a productivity recommendation would be best.

The other thing to remember is that although you wouldn’t physically have as much width as 2 x 24″ 16:9 models (comparison with single displays to help visualise) you’d gain extra height. But you need to consider the boost in pixel density as well, so you’ll be getting more out of the space you do have. Instead of an effective resolution of 3840 x 1080, you have 3840 x 1600. So you don’t lose any horizontal pixels, you gain vertical pixels and have a nice boost in pixel density to work with. The 43″ Super UltraWides run at 3840 x 1200, so you actually have a lower pixel density, less physical height and worse resolution despite greater width.

[PCM2]

We’ll shortly be publishing our review of the BenQ EW3880R. This is an interesting alternative to the 38WN75C as it features a newer panel with significantly wider gamut for those who like extra vibrancy and saturation. The integrated speakers and subwoofer combo is also excellent and for somebody who uses the OSD a lot, the included remote is really nice. Won’t spoil the review ahead of time, but it’s a pretty solid performer in many respects.

For fans of curved monitors who want to go the IPS route but not go for an UltraWide, there are a few models on my radar. There isn’t enough information on these to form proper news pieces, but one of them is the Gigabyte M32UC which features a ~32″ ‘4K’ UHD IPS panel with 1500R curve and 144Hz refresh rate. And the Acer XR272U which should be a 27″ WQHD IPS with curved screen.

[PCM2]

Our news piece on the Acer XR272U P is now live. It has a 2900R curve, so only a gentle one. But it’s the first non-UltraWide curved IPS to be ‘announced’.

[PCM2]

And as for the Gigabyte M32UC, despite the initial box shot clearly showing ‘IPS’ this turned out to be a VA model. Which is interesting in itself given the specs, as a ~32″ ‘4K’ UHD model with high refresh rate.

[PCM2]

A relevant addition to this thread is the ASUS ROG Strix XG27AQV. It includes a 27″ QHD IPS-type panel with support for a 170Hz refresh rate and a gentle 2900R curve. So most likely using the same panel as the Acer equivalent.

[Author]

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