MSI Prepares QD-OLED Gaming Monitor Lineup for CES 2024

MSI has announced six QD-OLED monitors — two curved screen and four flatscreen — which will be showcased during CES 2024. MSI is better known for its motherboards and graphics cards, but it clearly wants to make an early first impression with its new monitor range two months before the show. 

MSI's two incoming curved 1800R monitors

MSI will have two curved-screen OLED models — the 34"-inch MAG 341CQP QD-OLED and the 49" MPG 491CQP QD-OLED. Both monitors have a curved radius of 1800mm with 0.03 grey-to-grey response time. Both monitors will have ClearMR 9000 and DisplayHDR True Black 400 certification. As a part of MSI's in-house features, these monitors will use OLED Care 2.0 which promises to minimize the risk of OLED burn-in. The rest are gaming-centric features — Smart Crosshair, Night Vision AI, Optix Scope and 'MSI Gaming Intelligence.' Both monitors will have HDMI 2.1 ports with full 48 Gbps bandwidth, 120Hz, VRR, and ALLM for console games. These monitors also have a USB Type-C port.

What separates these two curved models are the sizes and a few specifications. The refresh rate on the 34" model is 175Hz and the 49-inch variant's refresh rate is 144Hz. The MAG 341CQP is a more wallet-friendly option but the MPG 491CQP is a pretty attractive high-end curved monitor with a 32:9 aspect ratio. Comparing specifications on paper, it is comparable to the Samsung 49" QLED monitor.

It is interesting to see MSI's new curved monitor variants using 1800CR as it explained via its blog in 2021 that 1000R has a more natural curve which would help players stay focused while gaming, especially on sims like Microsoft Flight Simulator. But the preference for the curved radius depends on the size of the monitor as well as the distance from its user, their preferences, and their main usage (between gaming and productivity). Curved radius is something curved monitor buyers should look at as it enhances immersion for a better experience. Regardless, it's good to see longer curved monitors. 

2K and 4K QD-OLED 27" and 32" monitors 

There are also two size variants with two sub-variant versions of these flat-screen monitors. Both the 32" models (MPG 321URX and the MAG 321UPX) have UHD 4K display with up to 240Hz refresh rate. The smaller 27" variants (MPG 271QRX and the MAG 271QPX QD-OLED) have 360Hz refresh rate but with WQHD 2K monitor resolution. All of these monitors use QD-OLED panels with 0.03 GTG response time.

Pricing of these monitors and other specifications have not yet been revealed at the time of writing.

The new future is pretty clear. It is safe to assume other manufacturers will show their QD-OLED monitor level during CES 2024. Alienware did already showcase two of its upcoming curved model displays during Twitchcon 2023. This is good as it is a healthy indication that QD-OLED monitors will become a more mainstream standard with a variety of both mid-range and higher-end options.