Monoprice 44394 40-inch Crystal Pro 144 Hz gaming monitor review: Jumbo size at a surprisingly low price

40-inch ultrawide QHD IPS flat panel with 144 Hz, Adaptive-Sync, HDR 400 and wide gamut color

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Monoprice 44394
(Image: © Tom's Hardware)

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As a 40-inch 21:9 flat screen, the 44394 is unique. My database only has curved screens for comparison, so I picked the less expensive examples. There is Philips’ 34M2C7600, ASRock’s PG34WQ, Monoprice’s 42772 and 38035 and AOC’s CU34G3S.

Pixel Response and Input Lag

Click here to read up on our pixel response and input lag testing procedures.

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Monoprice 44394 Crystal Pro
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The comparison is a bit unfair as most ultrawides run at 165 Hz, though the 38035 is a tad slower at 120 Hz. Panel response usually goes in step with refresh rates, with the 42772 being an outlier. It’s one of the few 165 Hz screens that can draw a full white field in six milliseconds instead of seven. That’s a small but visible difference. The 44394 has a less effective overdrive than the rest so visually, there is a bit more blur. How this affects gameplay will depend on what you’re playing and how fast you are with the mouse. Faster movements will show more blur.

The 44394 makes up for a lot of this with very low input lag. It handily beats the other screens in this test. Usually, higher refresh rates mean lower lag but not universally. The 44394 is a very quick and responsive screen.

Test Takeaway: Low input lag gives the 44394 a very responsive and precise feel. The moving image is a bit softer than the competition though, so you’ll have to consider your own gameplay to decide how much this is a factor. For my casual skills, there was no problem. But better gamers than me will want to use a monitor with a better overdrive and a higher refresh rate.

Viewing Angles

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The IPS monitors that come across my test bench seem to get better with each new model introduction. The 44394 looks fabulous from the sides with just a 10% light falloff and almost no change in color. Gamma remains consistent, meaning detail is equally visible on-center and at 45 degrees offset. Two players could easily share this large screen, and both would get a solid picture. This is excellent performance.

Screen Uniformity

To learn how we measure screen uniformity, click here.

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

A value-priced jumbo monitor doesn’t have to sacrifice quality control. My 44394 sample had visually perfect screen uniformity in the black field pattern test. 8.07% deviation is comfortably below the visible threshold, and it beats the competition. While this is a sample-specific result, you can expect a good screen when you buy your 44394.

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Christian Eberle
Christian Eberle
Contributing Editor

Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors. Christian began his obsession with tech when he built his first PC in 1991, a 286 running DOS 3.0 at a blazing 12MHz. In 2006, he undertook training from the Imaging Science Foundation in video calibration and testing and thus started a passion for precise imaging that persists to this day. He is also a professional musician with a degree from the New England Conservatory as a classical bassoonist which he used to good effect as a performer with the West Point Army Band from 1987 to 2013. He enjoys watching movies and listening to high-end audio in his custom-built home theater and can be seen riding trails near his home on a race-ready ICE VTX recumbent trike. Christian enjoys the endless summer in Florida where he lives with his wife and Chihuahua and plays with orchestras around the state.