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Are Ultra-wide monitors worth it for PC gaming?
- Thread starter entremet
- Start date
I love my ultrawide but there are a lot of games where the cutscenes that have black bars. How much would that bother you?
OP
OP
I have friend with one that I'm jelly of pretty much every time I see it. If you're thinking of sim gaming, it's a definite upgrade over a traditional monitor imo, though I've never play flight simulator on it. Only racing games where it's a genuinely lovely experience.
I have the alienware aw3420dw. Got it mostly for productivity but after gaming on it, don't think I could go back. Beautiful image
IMO they're the definitive PC gaming experience. Other than VR, nothing is more immersive or worthwhile.
Yeah, ultrawide is good times. I think G-Sync or some kind of variable rate tech is more important though, so hopefully you have the cash for both.
Please note that official ultrawide support is kinda limited so you won't be using it as often as you'd like. It's more of a feature for your desktop and the games are a nice bonus.
Please note that official ultrawide support is kinda limited so you won't be using it as often as you'd like. It's more of a feature for your desktop and the games are a nice bonus.
It's absolutely amazing for any productivity task. It's also spectacular for games that support the resolution. For games that don't support it, it's less ideal. As someone who has had one for 6 years, I won't go back. Awaiting that new 144 hz 38" AW panel in November if I can swallow the price.
I use my LG 34GN850 mostly for productivity tasks but when gaming it's great, especially when playing at 144hz since it has G-Sync support. Not cheap but worth it.
They're a mixed bag. I have the 34" alienware and I like it but a couple thoughts
They can be expensive
21:9 Support is spotty and black bars suck
The picture is not as good as high-end TVs
When it's good it's good but I probably wouldn't buy another one
They can be expensive
21:9 Support is spotty and black bars suck
The picture is not as good as high-end TVs
When it's good it's good but I probably wouldn't buy another one
I think it's worth it. Got mine a year ago and love it ever since.
Keep in mind that a lot of games don't support it natively and requires editing an config role, while some games just don't do it at all. Even for games that supports it the FOV and UI gets messed up.
So prepare to do some tweaking every now and then. Often I'd just play them in a 1080p window.
Keep in mind that a lot of games don't support it natively and requires editing an config role, while some games just don't do it at all. Even for games that supports it the FOV and UI gets messed up.
So prepare to do some tweaking every now and then. Often I'd just play them in a 1080p window.
This is so disappointing. It's 2020. How is it that support for 3440 x 1440 resolutions is still a problem?
Ultrawide adoption is very low. Like 2-4% low. You can check over here: https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/Steam-Hardware-Software-Survey-Welcome-to-Steam
I have the LG 34GN850-B; G-Sync/Freesync, 160Hz, IPS and less than $1000 if you're in the States (I paid two fortunes in Canada, but it was worth it)
Most modern games support it really well. Especially PC exclusives or PC focused games. For example, the Baldur's Gate 3 early access supports it superbly, with cinematics and cutscenes and UI all taking full advantage. Game looks phenomenal in ultrawide... most games do.
It's not universal though, but I can count in one hand the number of games I've had issues with and most of them can be resolved with community fixes.
Video cinematics and game cutscenes tend to be the biggest issues, especially coming from console ports, unless the devs care, and sometimes they do... (I've seen a lot of dev shops with ultra wide monitors for developer stations) But, I mean they're just 16:9 in those cases. It's not a big deal. When they do these right, it's a treat though.
Also, great for productivity. I love programming on it.
It's not universal though, but I can count in one hand the number of games I've had issues with and most of them can be resolved with community fixes.
Video cinematics and game cutscenes tend to be the biggest issues, especially coming from console ports, unless the devs care, and sometimes they do... (I've seen a lot of dev shops with ultra wide monitors for developer stations) But, I mean they're just 16:9 in those cases. It's not a big deal. When they do these right, it's a treat though.
Also, great for productivity. I love programming on it.
Same, love it.
As others have noted, most modern games support ultrawide, though some still have black barred cinematics.
Lots of old games will require some tweaks if it's possible at all, though if you're not afraid of diving into config files or installing community patches, it's really not a big deal to get things patched up.
I recently switched to ultrawide last month. I am loving it.
So far, just about every recent game that I've played/tested has had support, although many do have black bars during cutscenes. Its not a big deal to me and its not like a regular monitor would offer some advantage there, my periphery would just be filled with the white wall behind my monitor instead of the black bars. 🤷‍♂️
So far, just about every recent game that I've played/tested has had support, although many do have black bars during cutscenes. Its not a big deal to me and its not like a regular monitor would offer some advantage there, my periphery would just be filled with the white wall behind my monitor instead of the black bars. 🤷‍♂️
LOL Most new games have 3440 x 1440 support. No Idea where the above poster gets his info because I can't even remember the last new game I bought with out it.
But to answer the question. 100% worth it. Will never go back.
Spotty? Really hasn't been my experience. What games have you played recently that didn't work just fine (outside maybe pre-rendered cinematics and cutscenes?).
Got one 2 weeks ago and I love it, though yes there can be some tweaking involved as not every game natively supports it as already stated. Totally worth it though IMO
how are you finding the curve? it seems so extreme. i was thinking about a g7.
It's been a little more than 4 years since I started using ultrawides.
29" 1080p 75 Hz both at work and home. I just got an Alienware (AW3420DW), 34" 1440 120 Hz.
It is amazing. My PC is in the living room and I can freely choose comfy couch (LG C9) or monitor. Unless it is a game my SO is interested, I will choose the monitor.
29" 1080p 75 Hz both at work and home. I just got an Alienware (AW3420DW), 34" 1440 120 Hz.
It is amazing. My PC is in the living room and I can freely choose comfy couch (LG C9) or monitor. Unless it is a game my SO is interested, I will choose the monitor.
Yes. A thousand times yes. Compatibility is pretty good these days. Prices have fallen. And it makes a huge difference to immersion. Plus it's great for general desktop usage.
Absolutely. I've been using an ultrawide for 5+ years now. Will never go back. Also, yes there are games that don't handle ultrawide the best, but thankfully you can drop to a 16:9/16:10 resolution in windows to get around that.
Ultrawide or death!
Ultrawide or death!
In my opinion most new games support FoV sliders and the correct resolution which make ultra wide screen seem fantastic. Star Wars Squadrons and MS Flight Simulator have stood out, but sometimes especially in DOTA 2 and a few other games that just stretch things , it's infuriating. Most esports games don't support it. On some rare instances (and for older games) everything just breaks. Also, I have a dell ultrawide and the picture quality is crap.
love it for productivity shit though.
love it for productivity shit though.
Didn't see it mentioned, but make sure you have a GPU that can push the extra pixels.
support is getting better, but some of the most widely played games (e.g. overwatch, valorant, fall guys) do not have ultrawide support. it is something to be aware of. i personally think it's worth it, but if a lot of your playtime consists of any of those unsupported games then you might think about it some more
Absolutely worth it. 32:9 is even better!
Fall guys does have 32:9/21:9 support. Just need a small hex edit. Really easy to do. Overwatch/Valorant don't support it. Those are really the only two games I can think of that don't support Super Utlrawide, let alone standard 21:9 ultrawides
Fall guys does have 32:9/21:9 support. Just need a small hex edit. Really easy to do. Overwatch/Valorant don't support it. Those are really the only two games I can think of that don't support Super Utlrawide, let alone standard 21:9 ultrawides