Ultra wide monitors, worth it?

mazz423

Hey polycount, lately I've been eyeing up some ultra-wide monitors, namely the dell and asus ones, and was wondering if any of you had tried working with one or using one day to day?

[ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dell-U2913WM-Widescreen-2560x1080-DisplayPort/dp/B00ADHLSMO/ref=sr_1_10?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1386089072&sr=1-10&keywords=2560"]Dell U2913WM 29 inch Widescreen LED Monitor (2560x1080, HDMI, DVI-D, DisplayPort 1.2, Mini DisplayPort, VGA, 4x USB 3.0): Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories[/ame]

[ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/MX299Q-Widescreen-Multimedia-SonicMaster-Technology/dp/B00DRPYQ9G/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1386089030&sr=8-8&keywords=2560"]Asus MX299Q 29 inch Widescreen AH-IPS LED Multimedia Monitor (2560x1080, 5ms, DVI, DP, HDMI, Full Panoramic Visual and Audio, Asus SonicMaster Technology): Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories[/ame]

They seem like they'd be really useful for working, but a potential hassle for the rest of the time as they run at a res of 2560*1080. Can't really think of that many games that support that or films that are widely available in 21:9.

however I'm still pretty interested and with christmas fast approaching I wouldn't mind capitalizing on any sales, so what do you lot think? Worth the investment? Or is it a pointless extravagance :P

NegevPro

My brother has one and while it is very nice, I personally think it can get annoying if using it too much. I've got a tri-monitor setup in which I have a single 27" as my main monitor, a 24" to my left for googling, and another 24" to my right which is in a vertical position to make coding easier.

For art, I'd say it's better to just have at least a dual monitor setup rather than having a single widescreen monitor.

What is your current setup like?

passerby

really i think i would just take duel 24inch screens over that

huffer

1080 vertical pixels is way too low. I'm not completely happy with my 2560x1440 (I would should have gone for 2560x1600) - I wish I had more space for menus and tools. If I were you I'd wait for 4K monitors. I hear Dell is about to ship a few, including an affordable one.

Navi271

I just bought one about a month ago. I got the ASUS PB298Q. It's pretty much the exact same as the ASUS you listed, AH-IPS, LED, 2560x1080, 5ms, DVI, DP, HDMI, speakers, except it has full adjustment, tilt, height, and swivel. The reasons I bought it are because it's really different and unique, I needed an upgrade, I wanted IPS, and it's a good alternative if you have 1 monitor and 1 cintiq, want more screen space, but your graphics card doesn't support a 3rd screen. This monitor acts as 2 small monitors put together without their frames in the middle. It really is something to behold when you first get it because it's SO wide!

However... It is very different and takes some getting used to. It's so wide that you're almost guaranteed to have IPS backlight bleed in a couple corners. It's not horrible because I don't even notice it anymore. The 1080px height (actually an upgrade for me) is small and then exaggerated because of the large width. While I haven't run into any times when I needed more vertical space, I can see it being a problem for some. For me, the ultra wide space and a cintiq gives me plenty of working area and is perfect for me right now.

Almost all new big budget games have support for this resolution, but the further back in time you go, the less support you'll get. You'll probably have to settle for 1920x1080 and black bars on the sides for older games. The new games I've been playing recently, Sim City and Battlefield 4, work great in this wide format. Steam games seem to be working as well. The only game I haven't had support for was Starcraft 2.

I looked into movies a little bit and found that you have to buy a 3rd party media player for your computer to get movies to work correctly on this monitor. I tried using a separate Sony Bluray player. I could not get the settings on the player correct. It would still have black bars on the top and bottom, like it would on a normal HDTV, and then stretch out the picture to the edges. It looked pretty stupid.

So is it worth it? Well, it depends on what you want from it and what you're looking for in your monitor. Let me know if you have questions. Sorry for the novel I just wrote...

mazz423

Thanks everyone for the info, it seems like what I was wanting out of it isn't quite what they deliver unfortunately. Might just go with a 2560x1440 in this case, to me the prospect of a 4K monitor sounds like overkill haha.

NegevPro right now I have a dual monitor setup of sorts, occasionally use my tv as a second monitor, but as anyone that has done that knows it sucks. Just limited for space on my desk really.

Navi271 Cheers! Really useful info in there, and that certainly seems to be a far superior model than the other ASUS. It does sound like what I wanted to use it for probably isn't the best use for it however, so I think I'll have to just stick it out with a higher res 16:9 monitor; oh how I hate 16:9 :P

almighty_gir

for a similar price, you'd be better off getting the 27" ultrasharp, 2560*1440 res, better bit depth etc.

Navi271

mazz423 - Glad I could help! Why the hate for 16:9? I mean sure, everyone and their mother use that ratio, but it works fine doesn't it?

almight_gir - I was actually looking at the 2560x1440 27" ultrasharp as another choice, but it was another $150. I'm sure I would still be very happy with it though.

Lamont

Never going back from 1920x1200...

I would do that ultra-wide for video...

Shrike

Ive seen them on IFA in berlin, and they have special snapping features as far as ive seen, seemed pretty convenient.
Protip: Yamakasi Catleap (and/or similar) on Ebay and ebay only, straight from Korea where the panels are made, dirtcheap, have no features whatsoever, but use absolutely fantastic 27" S-IPS 2550x1440 Panels, the same as apple uses in their 1000$ Cinema displays. Have mine for a year now and really happy with it.
Should be a level above the Dell panel, and 100-200$ cheaper.

mazz423

Navi271 I've just always been a fan of ultra wide films and things like that, 16:9's not so bad I guess haha

almighty_gir Ah cheers, looking like that might be the model for me.

Lamont I can picture it being great for films shot in that aspect ratio, just wish it was more commonly done these days.

Shrike Interesting, will keep note of the brand for the future. Trying to avoid Ebay for the time being though, whenever I'm spending this much on something I like to have a really good returns policy behind it in the event of some kind of fault.

Lamont

This is something my wife would use since she watches videos on the computer, and it is big enough to pose as a TV in a small room/apartment.

I can imagine it being used vertical for code... that would rock actually. (starts dreaming...)

almighty_gir

haha Lamont... my setup is:


Dell 27 - horizontal, on the left for 3dsmax, toolbag etc.
Dell 23 - vertical, in the middle for code, some websites, skype etc.
Cintiq 22HG - horizontal, on the right.

vertical code monitors are so lush.

Blaizer

These monitors are only goog for gaming imho.

Btw, i bought an asus 27" AH-ips blah blah blah for more than 350€ and i returned it due to several issues like light bleeding on the corners. I ended with a 24" benq VA monitor and has better image quality/constrast/blacks than the ips for just 150€!.

I can't stand the glow effect of the ips panels, to me are a shit that produces headaches.

EDIT: i would wait for a 32" 4K monitor.