Harness the power of your PC with the ultimate monitors of the year - boost productivity, enhance immersion and truly experience your favourite games by upgrading to an ultrawide monitor.
As the name implies, ultrawide monitors are much wider than standard monitors, with an aspect ratio of 21:9 instead of 16:9. What is the benefit of an ultrawide monitor, you might wonder?
A bigger screen means more space, which sounds like a simple benefit, but it's more useful than you'd ever expect. Multitasking and browsing with an ultrawide monitor is a breath of fresh air compared to standard monitor sizes, giving you plenty of room to have several tabs open at once.
The best ultrawide monitors at a glance:
• Best ultrawide monitor overall: BenQ MOBIUZ EX3415R Ultrawide Curved Gaming Monitor - View at Amazon
• Best budget ultrawide monitor: LG Electronics 26-inch UltraWide Monitor 26WQ500 - View at Amazon
• Best budget ultrawide monitor for gaming: KOORUI 34 Inch Ultrawide Curved Monitor - View at Amazon
Finding a suitable monitor for your PC setup, however, can be something of a challenge. A great refresh rate and ultra-HD resolution might sound excellent on paper, but not every PC can handle such graphical heft. We're here to guide you in the right direction, breaking down a plethora of ultrawide PC monitors from simple budget screens to industry-leading displays to blow your mind.
Best ultrawide monitor overall
When it comes to the absolute cutting-edge monitors, few can truly compete with BenQ's MOBIUZ ultrawide curved monitor.
From the MOBIUZ's AMD FreeSync Premium technology to its HDR400 display for bringing out a gorgeous array of colours of your favourite games and television shows - the BenQ MOBIUZ steals the show on all fronts. It's decisively one of the best ultrawide monitors on the market.
Design-wise, there's a simple sophistication to the MOBIUZ's ultra-thin borders, 1900R curved screen and modern stand that gives users plenty of flexibility for viewing angles. If office-based remote work is what you had in mind for the BenQ MOBIUZ, then you'll find plenty of comfort with its ultrawide screen, ideal for having several tabs open at once without feeling cramped.
Rather uniquely, the BenQ MOBIUZ also has built-in speakers at 5W per side, which is excellent if you're in need of a space-efficient PC setup without hassling with cables. These speakers may be on the weaker side, but they're a welcome addition to an otherwise perfect monitor.
Pros
- Flawless screen
- Excellent adjustable stand
- Great refresh rate and response times
Cons
- Fairly weak built-in speakers
Best budget ultrawide monitor
Brace yourselves, office workers - LG's 26WQ500 ultrawide monitor is the perfect way to cut down on organisational confusion and start getting to grips with your workload. At 26 inches, the 26WQ500 actually isn't any larger than a typical 16:9 monitor. In exchange for a much wider display, its height is much narrower.
While, yes, this might not be ideal for some users who enjoy the standard 16:9 aspect ratio, for those needing better space while multitasking - LG's 26WQ500 UltraWide monitor is simply perfect. As for picture quality, LG's 26WQ500 has a wonderful full-HD display with plenty of colour and boldness despite its price.
Personal projects, binge-watching and even gaming never lack in vivacity thanks to an endless supply of clever technology that truly draws the eye.
Pros
- Perfect monitor for office work
- Great colour and picture quality
- Well-designed and versatile
Cons
- Fairly standard refresh rate
Best ultrawide monitor for gaming
KOORUI's 34-inch ultrawide curved gaming monitor delivers scale and visual awe in spades with its stirring ultrawide QHD display.
With a 1000R curved monitor screen, a 165Hz refresh rate and a head-spinning 1ms response time - KOORUI's 34-inch ultrawide display doesn't leave users short on true gaming potential and visual splendour.
Dramatically improving clarity whilst looking visually striking, KOORUI's ultrawide curved screen and gorgeous 1440p monitor display pair together impeccably, never halting our experience with input lag, screen tearing or dull visuals.
Although visually, the KOORUI ultrawide monitor is impressive, some users have found certain visual limitations with the KOORUI's backlighting. In particular, there have been some small complaints about the sheer brightness of the ultrawide monitor, leading to reduced contrast in particularly dark gaming scenes.
Be that as it may, KOORUI's visuals still routinely astound, and as for performance - you genuinely cannot want for anything better.
Pros
- Fantastic QHD picture quality
- Excellent refresh rate
- Curved monitor design is simply stunning
Cons
- Some complaints about backlighting
Best 5K ultrawide monitor
In a market dominated by QHD 1440p screens, the Dell UltraSharp 5K monitor is something of an enigma. With an aspect ratio of 21:9 and a resolution surpassing the excellent quality found of 4K monitor, users get the benefit of enjoying an enormously widescreen as well as a sublime 5K resolution.
For the coders, spreadsheet scanners and writers in need of quick multitasking on the fly and plenty of room to do it - Dell's UltraSharp U4021QW is the perfect size to tackle the working day. What's more, this formidable 40-inch monitor is nothing, if not large - giving you unprecedented scale for a PC monitor.
Gamers who enjoy an ultrawide PC experience may find some joy in the sheer size of the monitor, but as for its refresh rate - there's certainly something to be desired from the U4021QW's so-so refresh rate. Hitting the standard 60Hz mark, this fairly standard speed for a monitor as expensive as the Dell U4021QW is something of a disappointment, but it doesn't leave it completely unplayable.
As for colour and picture quality - the sheer beauty of the U4021QW is simply a marvel. Over one billion shades of colour, a resolution that surpasses an array of even pricier monitors and a 2500R curved screen - there's so much to appreciate with the Dell UltraSharp U4021QW 5K monitor, it's hard to decide where to begin.
Pros
- Exceptional picture quality
- Wonderful colour range
- Great design and build quality
Cons
- Standard 60Hz refresh rate
Best cutting-edge ultrawide monitor
For the ultimate gaming experience, Samsung rarely ever falters in delivering brilliant technology to deliver the most cutting-edge experience for users. The Samsung Odyssey Neo AG95 is far from the exception.
There are no obvious weaknesses when it comes to the Samsung Odyssey Neo AG95 - it's an enormous monitor at 49 inches, packed with quantum mini-LED technology, along with 240Hz and a 1ms response time. Gaming on the Neo AG95 is, therefore, quite brilliant on the Samsung Odyssey Neo AG95 curved gaming monitor.
Where picture quality is concerned, the Samsung Odyssey Neo AG95's billion shades of colour are simply remarkable. Never lacking in picture precision and true contrast aided by great local dimming, we cannot fault the picture quality of the Samsung Odyssey Neo AG95 for a second.
Pros
- Incredibly impressive gaming technology
- Staggering performance speeds
- Wonderfully designed
Cons
- Narrower than competing 5K screens
Do I need a stronger PC to run a high-resolution ultrawide monitor?
Higher-resolution monitors require more powerful PCs to run them, and this is especially true for gaming as it is an already highly demanding process, so ensure your PC hardware is powerful and up to date before attempting to run a 5K monitor.
Do widescreen monitors need to be set up differently from regular monitors?
Much like regular monitors, the output device should automatically detect the display's resolution and adjust accordingly.
Terminology
What is the refresh rate?
Refresh rate is the measure at which a new image appears on your display's screen per second. A standard display has a refresh rate of 60Hz (that's 60 new images per second).
A much faster refresh rate improves the smoothness of the monitor itself, giving general browsing, but most importantly gaming, a noticeable silky-smooth feel to the controls. More precise controls and smoother visuals can not only enhance your own enjoyment of the game but it can also improve your gaming skills.
What is response time?
A monitor's response time is the time taken for a request to be processed and displayed on the screen - pressing a button on a controller, for example, to see your player-character move in-game. The quicker the response time of the PC monitor, the sharper and more instantaneous the controls are.
What is radius rating?
A radius is the maximum viewing distance on a curved monitor. For example, a rating of 1800R means it has a maximum viewing distance of 1800mm or 1.8 meters.
What is sync technology?
Sync technology ensures that the output of your PC can be matched by the monitor itself, therefore, they are synchronised. Lacking sync technology can lead to screen tearing and all manner of performance issues, so if you're a gamer, investing in great hardware can save you plenty of grief in the long run.
Ryan Houghton is a tech writer and reviewer for What's The Best, specialising in PCs and gaming. He is a keen PC gamer and an avid reader.
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