Gaming monitors come in various shapes, sizes, resolutions, aspect ratios, and panel types. One category that has seen an explosion in popularity in recent years is the ultrawide category, with the most popular resolution being Wide Quad High-Definition (WQHD). While traditional 16:9 aspect ratio QHD monitors have a 2560 x 1440 resolution, UWQHD stretches the resolution horizontally all the way to 3440 x 1440 (21:9 aspect ratio). There are even some superwide monitors available, taking the Double Quad High-Definition (DQHD) moniker, delivering a 5120 x 1440 resolution (32:9 aspect ratio).
Most of these monitors are curved, giving you a more immersive viewing experience for such wide panels. They use varying technologies, from VA to QLED to OLED. You’ll find many monitors in the 34-inch size class, although some behemoths can measure up to 49 inches across for those with more desk real estate.
Below is a list of the best ultrawide gaming monitors currently available based on our in-depth testing and reviews. If you're looking for a more traditional aspect ratio, check out our lists of the best gaming monitors and best 4K gaming monitors.
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| Acronym | Resolution | Aspect Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| UWQHD | 3440 x 1440 | 21:9 |
| UWQHD+ | 3840 x 1600 | 21:9 |
| DQHD | 5120 x 1440 | 32:9 |
| WUHD | 5120 x 2160 | 21:9 |
Quick List
Best Overall Ultrawide Gaming Monitor
This ultrawide does almost everything well and has the added bonus of a vibrant QD-OLED panel with a large color gamut. With a UWQHD resolution, 165 Hz refresh rate and excellent build quality, it is an excellent companion for productivity and gaming tasks.
Best 200Hz Ultrawide Gaming Monitor
The LG UltraGear 45GR75DC is a 45-inch class ultrawide monitor with a DQHD resolution, VA panel, and a 200Hz refresh rate. The gaming monitor impresses with its bright panel and accurate colors and is a top pick for enthusiasts looking for an immersive gaming experience.
Best Budget Ultrawide Gaming Monitor
Ultrawides don't always have to break the bank, and that's where the ViewSonic Elite XG350R-C comes into the picture. It offers a UWQHD resolution, 100 Hz refresh rate, and offers 35 inches of screen real estate. While its specs won't wow hardcore enthusiasts, it's perfectly suited for entry-level gamers.
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Best Bendable Ultrawide Gaming Monitor
The Corsair Xeneon Flex offers a wild take on gaming monitors, allowing you to adjust the curvature manually to your liking. Whether you like a curved or flat display, the Xeneon Flex has you covered.
Best Ultrawide Mini LED Gaming Monitor
The ViewSonic Elite XG341C-2K combines a VA panel and a Mini-LED backlight with 1,152 dimming zones. The use of VA technology gives it a 3,000:1 native contrast ratio before even taking into account the local dimming. You can also crank the refresh rate to 200 Hz (when overclocked) and can hit a maximum of 1,400 nits brightness in HDR mode.
Best Budget Ultrawide Gaming Monitor Under $500
The Gigabyte GS34WQC is a no-frills 34-inch 3440 x 1440 gaming monitor that is light on features but big on performance. Its VA panel delivers excellent contrast, while color is accurate out-of-the-box. And it does it all with a street price of around $280.
Best Mega-Ultrawide Gaming Monitor
The Philips Evnia 49M2C8900 is a massive monitor with massive appeal, thanks to its brilliant OLED panel, which delivers crisp, colorful, and accurate images straight from the factory. It even includes a remote control and a surprisingly good four-speaker audio system, but be warned that it will set you back $1,499.
Best Ultrawide Gaming Monitors in 2024
Best Overall Ultrawide Gaming Monitor
The AW3423DFW is a 34-inch ultra-wide monitor with a 3440 x 1440 resolution and an 1800R curvature. But the spec that is most likely to garner the most attention (and praise) is the Quantum Dot OLED (QD-OLED) panel. As a result, you can expect ink blacks and rich colors across the board.
The build quality is excellent– an Alienware hallmark – as is the video processing, which is sure to be a big hit with gamers.
The AW3423DFW doesn't come cheap with a street price of over $1,000, but if you own a GeForce RTX 4090 or RTX 4080, you owe it to yourself to try matching it with a widescreen display of this caliber.
Read: Alienware AW3423DW Gaming Monitor Review
Best 200Hz Ultrawide Gaming Monitor
The UltraGear 45GR75DC stands out from the pack thanks to its Double QHD or DQHD resolution, fast refresh rate (200Hz), excellent contrast via its VA panel, and brightness levels top the competition. In addition, the LG has infused the monitor with excellent build quality that we expect in this class.
The UtraGear 45GR75DC is definitely not aimed at budget gamers thanks to its street price of around $900. But you're still getting a lot of bang for the buck with this 45-inch behemoth. Just make sure that you have the desktop real estate to handle it.
Read: LG UltraGear 45GR75DC Review
Best Budget Ultrawide Gaming Monitor
Currently going for $660, the ViewSonic Elite XG350R-C is cheaper than many other 35-inch ultrawides and those with fewer features (there’s even RGB lighting on the back of the XG350R-C). But what you’ll really love about the XG350R-C is its vivid and accurate color that makes textures pop, skin tones look natural, and everything looks more realistic.
If you want life-changing HDR or to use HDR with Adaptive-Sync, look elsewhere. But in addition to a 21:9 aspect ratio, the Elite XG350R-C employs an 1800mm curve radius that engulfed us with solid image quality, making for an immersive ultrawide experience.
Read: ViewSonic Elite XG350R-C Review
Best Bendable Ultrawide Gaming Monitor
The Corsair Xeneon Flex is a unique offering in the premium gaming monitor segment. It features a bendable OLED panel that can convert from a flat panel to one with an 800R curve using two handles that spring out from the sides of the chassis. This arrangement gives the Xeneon Flex the best of both worlds when it comes to panel types.
In addition to the excellent contrast and color that come with using an OLED panel, the monitor also features a fast 240Hz refresh rate. You'll also find support for AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync.
However, we must mention that the 3440 x 1440 resolution isn't exactly the best with a panel this large (45 inches). So pixel density suffers, and we would have liked to have seen better HDR performance.
With that said, the novelty of the "transforming" display might be worth Xeneon Flex's $1,700 street price if you're looking for an attention-getting centerpiece for your gaming PC setup.
Read: Corsair Xeneon Flex 45WQHD240 Bendable OLED Review
Best Ultrawide Mini LED Gaming Monitor
The ViewSonic Elite XG341C-2K ticks a lot of the right boxes when it comes to gaming monitors. Not only does it have a 3440 x 1440 resolution with a native 165 Hz refresh rate, but it can also be overclocked to 200 Hz. It is both AMD FreeSync (to 165 Hz) and Nvidia G-Sync compliant and has good build quality.
However, the Elite XG341C-2K stands out with its VA panel with Mini LED backlighting. This gives the monitor rich colors out of the box, incredible contrast (which we would expect from a VA panel), and an eye-searing maximum HDR brightness of 1,400 nits. And thanks to Mini LED backlighting, the Elite XG341C-2K has 1,152 dimming zones versus the fewer than 400 that we typically see with a FALD panel.
There are a couple of gotchas, though, regarding the Elite XG341C-2K. For example, brightness controls are locked on when using Active-Sync, and Active-Sync can't be enabled at all when taking advantage of the overclocked 200 Hz refresh rate. However, if those are manageable for your gaming priorities, the Acer Elite XG341C-2K is an excellent choice for ultrawide gaming monitors in the under $1,500 price segment.
Read: ViewSonic Elite XG341C-2K Review
Best Budget Ultrawide Gaming Monitor Under $500
If you’re in the market for a bang for your buck value in the gaming monitor market, the Gigabyte GS34WQC is definitely worthy of your consideration. Let’s get this out of the way first: you’re not going to find an OLED or IPS panel, and you certainly won’t get Mini LED backlighting. However, you get a 34-inch VA panel with a 3440 x 1440 resolution and a native refresh rate of 120 Hz (overclockable to 135 Hz).
As is the case with most gaming monitors released these days, you get AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync support, and it is compliant with displaying HDR10 content. You get a 1500R curve, and the port allotment is decent (two HDMI 2.0 and one DisplayPort 1.4).
Thanks to its VA panel, contrast is excellent (we measured 3,781:1), overall color accuracy was excellent, and calibration was honed in from the factory. However, you won't find superfluous features like LED lighting, and you won’t even find USB ports for your peripherals or built-in speakers. However, you get a sub-$300 price tag, which is a key selling point for budget-conscious gamers.
More:Gigabyte GS34WQC Gaming Monitor Review
Best Mega-Ultrawide Gaming Monitor
With OLED panels invading every facet of the gaming monitor sector, it should be no surprise that they pop up in even the largest offerings. That’s definitely the case with the Philips Evnia 49M2C8900, which has a massive OLED panel stretching an impressive 48 inches. So what do you get with your $1,500 investment into widescreen gaming bliss?
Well, for starters, you get a resolution of 5120 x 1440 and a maximum refresh rate of 240 Hz, which is impressive for an OLED panel of this size. Philips lists the response time as an OLED-typical 0.03 ms, and you get a maximum brightness of 450 nits in HDR mode (250 nits in SDR). Regarding connectivity, you'll find two HDMI 2.1 ports, one each for DisplayPort 1.4 and USB-C. In addition to a 3.5 mm headphone jack, Philips gives you four surprisingly good-sounding 7.5-watt speakers with DTS tuning.
The end result is a monitor that provides accurate color without the need for calibration out of the box. Video processing is also top-notch, and you even get a remote for controlling the Evnia 49M2C8900 all the way across a room (for when you want to use it as a large-screen TV for watching movies and TV shows).
No product is completely perfect, and the Evnia 49M2C8900 is let down by some crushed details when viewing HDR content. We can't forget the $1,499 asking price, which is likely above the budget of many enthusiasts. However, it's hard to scoff at that price if you have the budget (and desk space) to accommodate this impressive OLED beast.
More: Philips Evnia 49M2C8900 Review
Shopping Tips for Gaming Monitors
When trying to buy the best gaming monitor for your PC, consider the following:
- G-Sync or FreeSync? G-Sync only works with PCs with Nvidia graphics cards, while FreeSync only works with systems using AMD ones. You can technically run G-Sync on a FreeSync-only monitor, but performance isn't guaranteed. Even though not every gaming monitor is officially G-Sync certified by Nvidia, most of the units that we've tested support it just fine. For a detailed comparison of the two technologies' performance, see our Nvidia G-Sync vs. AMD FreeSync comparison article.
- Which resolutions? Some popular resolutions include UWQHD (3440 x 1440), DQHD (5120 x 1440), 5K Ultrawide (5120 x 2160), and Super Ultrawide (3840 x 1200). Whereas a traditional 4K (3840 x 2160) monitor would allow you to fit two documents side by side comfortably, a 5120 x 1440 monitor would up that count to three.
- What panel tech? For image quality, IPS < VA < OLED. IPS displays have slightly slower response times but better color than VA monitors. The best gaming monitors for contrast are VA, but VA also has slower response times. Displays with OLED panels are expensive but are much more colorful.
- Refresh rate? Higher numbers mean smoother images and the ability to see fast-moving targets better in games. Gamers should look for 100 Hz at the bare minimum, along with the lowest available response time. However, some monitors on our list offer even higher refresh rates at up to 240 Hz.
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