21:9 | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Wed, 08 Sep 2021 18:08:34 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png 21:9 | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Diablo 2: Resurrected will not support 21:9 after all https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/diablo-2-resurrected-will-not-support-219-after-all/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/diablo-2-resurrected-will-not-support-219-after-all/#respond Wed, 08 Sep 2021 18:08:34 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=530946 If you have an ultra-wide display and were hoping to play Diablo 2: Resurrected in full 21:9 aspect ratio, then we have some bad news. This week, Blizzard announced that it has removed 21:9 support from the game due to issues.  During the technical alpha, players with ultra-wide displays found that AI failed to sense …

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If you have an ultra-wide display and were hoping to play Diablo 2: Resurrected in full 21:9 aspect ratio, then we have some bad news. This week, Blizzard announced that it has removed 21:9 support from the game due to issues. 

During the technical alpha, players with ultra-wide displays found that AI failed to sense the player and trigger attacks due to the wider field of view. While the player can attack further away enemies at the edge of the screen, the AI won't register the attack and move closer to the player either. This poses a major issue for ranged characters in game, as enemies can be picked off from a distance without any aggro being generated.

Due to this, there will not be full 21:9 support in Diablo 2: Resurrected. However, Blizzard isn't forcing ultra-wide display owners to run the game in 16:9 with black bars either. Instead, the developers slowly trimmed back the aspect ratio to the point where the AI enemies at the edges of the screen would still notice the player.

Through this process, Blizzard was able to to get 19:9 aspect ratio working. The studio also says that it will “continue to watch” discussions around 21:9 support and explore possible solutions that don't impact gameplay in the future.

KitGuru Says: This is unfortunate news, but at least Blizzard was able to find some middle-ground between 16:9 and full 21:9. What do you all think of this news? Do you use an ultra-wide display currently? 

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iiyama adds a 34-inch ultrawide gaming monitor to Red Eagle lineup https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/monitors/matthew-wilson/iiyama-adds-a-34-inch-ultrawide-gaming-monitor-to-red-eagle-lineup/ https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/monitors/matthew-wilson/iiyama-adds-a-34-inch-ultrawide-gaming-monitor-to-red-eagle-lineup/#respond Mon, 13 Apr 2020 10:43:48 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=461739 The iiyama G-Master Red Eagle monitor series is getting an ultra-wide upgrade this month. This week, the 34-inch G-Master GB3461WQSU monitor has been announced, with a 3440×1440 IPS panel, 144Hz refresh rate and FreeSync Premium support. The 34-inch IPS panel covers 100 percent of the sRGB colour range, giving users the benefit of colour accuracy …

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The iiyama G-Master Red Eagle monitor series is getting an ultra-wide upgrade this month. This week, the 34-inch G-Master GB3461WQSU monitor has been announced, with a 3440×1440 IPS panel, 144Hz refresh rate and FreeSync Premium support.

The 34-inch IPS panel covers 100 percent of the sRGB colour range, giving users the benefit of colour accuracy and wide viewing angles. Using the HDMI input, you will get a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz, while DisplayPort offers a full 144Hz. Thanks to FreeSync, you can also avoid screen tearing and ensure a smooth experience without locking to the 144Hz refresh rate.

Low Frame Rate Compensation (LFC) is supported too, so the usual minimum threshold for FreeSync is even lower, bringing stutter and tear-free gaming to a wider range of users.

Other features include 13cm of height adjustment, OverDrive, Black Tuner, Blue Light Reduction, custom gaming modes and ‘HDR ready' viewing. Pricing has not been announced yet, but the iiyama G-Master GB3461WQSU Red Eagle should be available in the UK within the next few weeks.

KitGuru Says: Ultra-wide gaming has come a long way over the last five years and 21:9 displays have also improved quite a bit, delivering 144Hz native refresh rates. Are any of you planning on upgrading your monitor this year? Are you planning on going with an ultra-wide?

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Monster Hunter World will be getting official ultrawide support soon https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/monster-hunter-world-will-be-getting-official-ultrawide-support-soon/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/monster-hunter-world-will-be-getting-official-ultrawide-support-soon/#respond Tue, 22 Jan 2019 14:44:16 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=401790 Capcom had a stellar year in 2018 thanks to Monster Hunter World. The PC version of the game launched back in August and has consistently been amongst the top played games on Steam. The game will continue to get updates this year, with the next patch set to add in official 21:9 ultrawide support. Up …

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Capcom had a stellar year in 2018 thanks to Monster Hunter World. The PC version of the game launched back in August and has consistently been amongst the top played games on Steam. The game will continue to get updates this year, with the next patch set to add in official 21:9 ultrawide support.

Up to this point, Monster Hunter World has been playable in ultrawide with a third-party tool. As part of the game's 5.1 update, official support for ultrawide monitors will be added in, so modding will no longer be necessary. The only downside is that cutscenes will continue to display in 16:9, so it won't be a completely perfect fix.

Aside from ultrawide support, this patch will also add additional options for the Vignette effect in the graphics options menu. Instead of just having ‘on' or ‘off', PC players will be able to adjust between high, normal and off. A push to talk option is also being added for in-game voice chat.

These changes all come ahead of Monster Hunter World's larger 2019 updates. For starters, a Witcher crossover is coming this year, allowing hunters to take on the role of Geralt for a series of special quests. Later on in the year, World will be getting its first full expansion called ‘Iceborne'.

KitGuru Says: As an ultrawide monitor user, I'm definitely looking forward to this patch. Are many of you still playing Monster Hunter World regularly? I'll be grinding my way through some more hunts to prepare for the Witcher crossover in a few months time. 

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Monster Hunter World launches to mixed reviews on Steam https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/monster-hunter-world-launches-to-mixed-reviews-on-steam/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/monster-hunter-world-launches-to-mixed-reviews-on-steam/#respond Thu, 09 Aug 2018 18:08:36 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=382550 The day has finally arrived, Monster Hunter World has finally landed on PC, eight months after the console version. The good news is, the game runs and plays quite well with a keyboard and mouse, the bad news is that plenty of players are in fact having issues- with DRM interference being one of the …

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The day has finally arrived, Monster Hunter World has finally landed on PC, eight months after the console version. The good news is, the game runs and plays quite well with a keyboard and mouse, the bad news is that plenty of players are in fact having issues- with DRM interference being one of the more widespread concerns.

It has been around two hours since Monster Hunter World unlocked on Steam. In that time, over 200 reviews for the game have stacked up and the overall consensus is ‘mixed'. I've had the chance to run the game for about an hour on a Core i7-8700K and a GTX 1080Ti. While this is far from a full performance analysis, I was averaging well above 60 frames per second at 1440p with high settings, so for me the game is running quite well, but others are having a less than ideal experience.

A number of Steam reviews are claiming that the game simply won't launch for them and results in a black screen or a crash to desktop. We don't have full confirmation on this but apparently this has something to do with the version of Denuvo in use and the number of CPUs it supports. Those with older Intel processors might face this problem and there have been a few complaints from Ryzen owners as well.

Others are pointing out that controller support is broken for them. The keyboard/mouse controls in this game seem fine to me, but obviously if you would prefer to use a controller, then be aware that there are currently some issues. If you own a 21:9 ultrawide screen (like I do), then do note that there is no ultrawide support at this time and you will be playing with black bars at either side of the screen.

Currently Capcom lists two known issues on the Monster Hunter Steam Community Hub:

  • Game not launching on certain PCs: There's an issue where the game will not boot on specific CPU or GPU model. Dev team is aware of it and are currently investigating the matter. A patch will be released as soon as they identify and fix the problem.
  • Issues with multi-GPU configuration: There is a known issue where the game may not work correctly when SLI or Crossfire is enabled. If you encounter these issues, please disable the multi-GPU setting within the Nvidia or AMD Control Panel.

So if you are looking to pick up Monster Hunter World and you don't have the most up to date hardware in your PC, then maybe hold off for a patch. Other issues like broken controller support and lack of 21:9 still need to be addressed by the Capcom team.

KitGuru Says: While the lack of 21:9 support is less than ideal, I can at least get Monster Hunter World running nicely on my PC with the latest drivers. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for many others. Have any of you tried Monster Hunter World yet? How is it running for you?

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Upgrading to high-end ultrawide- is it worth it? https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/monitors/matthew-wilson/upgrading-to-high-end-ultrawide-is-it-worth-it/ https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/monitors/matthew-wilson/upgrading-to-high-end-ultrawide-is-it-worth-it/#respond Wed, 27 Jun 2018 13:57:34 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=377864 The Acer Predator X34 is a highly recommended monitor, but it is also very expensive and comes with its own unique set of drawbacks. Today I'm sharing my experience in making the jump to 21:9. Was it worth the money?

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While my PC has changed many times over the last few years, one thing about my setup has remained the same – my monitors. For years, I've used two 16:9 displays, with my main monitor being a 1440p/144Hz ASUS ROG Swift and my secondary being an Acer 4K/60Hz. As a tech enthusiast, I'm always looking to try something new and there has been a boom in popularity for 21:9. I didn't want to compromise too heavily on refresh rate or resolution, so I went out and picked up an Acer Predator X34.

The Acer Predator X34 is a highly recommended monitor, but it is also very expensive and comes with its own unique set of drawbacks. I know many of our readers are considering switching to 21:9, so today I'm going to share my experience and give some advice to those thinking about making the jump. I use this monitor for both work and play, so productivity and gaming will be our two main focus points.

Productivity:

While a multi-monitor setup works wonders for many people trying to be more productive, it had the opposite effect for me. I'd often find myself getting overly absorbed by things occurring on my second monitor, constantly pulling me away from my main task. It was time to simplify and go back down to one monitor. I'm not a big fan of 3840×2160 at 28-inches without scaling, but scaling also means that you lose valuable screen space. My solution for this was to ditch 16:9 entirely and give 21:9 a shot. In order to make the switch worth it, I needed a few key things – high resolution, a larger screen size, and colour accuracy for when I am called on to edit photos. The Acer Predator X34 hits all of these points, with a 34-inch IPS panel and 3440×1440 resolution.

Immediately after switching to the Acer Predator X34, I found it much easier to organise my work flow. The 34-inch screen size is ideal for my desk, and the 3440×1440 resolution is perfect for keeping all of my main applications organised and readable on one display. I can now have my emails open in one corner at all times, and the news team's shared Wunderlist in a second window right underneath it. I also have two larger windows open at all times, one for writing articles, and another for research. Every tool I need for day-to-day work is now on screen at once, removing distractions.

For me, being able to easily see everything on one display has been a god send. Simply removing the need to turn my head between two displays constantly has been a huge step up. This solution might not work for everyone, but for me, this has been one of the best work-related changes I've ever made. I'm sure similar sentiments would be shared by others editing photos, video, or making music.

Gaming:

As I noted earlier, I didn't want to compromise too heavily on refresh rate or resolution when switching to 21:9. Fortunately, the Acer Predator X34 overclocks up to 100Hz, not every panel can hit this magical number but most of them can at least hit 95Hz comfortably. I picked my monitor up from Amazon and unfortunately, I didn't win the panel lottery. For the first few days, my X34 did sit at 100Hz, but it eventually started flickering, forcing me to lower the refresh rate down to 95Hz. I've been running this monitor at 95Hz for months now without any issues and while there was some initial disappointment at not hitting triple digits, I got over it pretty quickly. In reality, that extra 5Hz isn't going to be missed, and since I didn't have dead pixels or suffer from too much backlight bleed, I decided it wasn't worth the hassle of sending the monitor back and trying again.

When it comes to gaming, the trials and tribulations of 21:9 are well documented. Not every game supports ultrawide monitors well, but I can say that almost every new triple-A game I've tried since 2016 has supported it. If you are the sort of person that plays a lot of brand new games, then you should be able to jump in to ultrawide without worry. When it comes to older games, there are some tweaks you can make to force a game to run in 21:9 – the Flawless Widescreen tool includes a bunch of them – but at times, you may need to resort to more complicated methods.

An example of this would be The Witcher 3, which does render in 21:9 during regular gameplay. However, conversations with NPCs will always crop to 16:9, which is jarring and somewhat annoying at times. To get around this, I needed to use a hex editor and edit a string inside the .exe file for the game. Fallout 4 also required some tweaking but you mostly just need to dig through the game's .ini file to fix this one, which is a less daunting task.

Those are the two key exceptions. Outside of that, everything else I've played over the last year has included excellent 21:9 support and as someone who started falling out of love with PC gaming a little bit, this really rekindled my interest. Ultrawide gaming is an experience you can't get anywhere else, and it is a vastly improved experience over 16:9. Once you get used to that extra field of view, it is really difficult to go back. This goes for just about every genre, from competitive shooters like Rainbow Six, to immersive first-person titles like Prey. The extra field of view is also great for third-person games, like Assassin's Creed Origins, Gears of War 4 and The Division. I even prefer NBA2K on PC thanks to its ultrawide support.

One thing to consider is that in order to hit that high 100Hz refresh rate (or 95Hz in my case), you will need a good graphics card. 3440×1440 is less demanding than 4K, but it is more demanding than standard 1440p. On a GTX 1080 I found myself hovering around the 60 frames per second mark in most games at ultra settings, but making the jump to the GTX 1080 Ti gave me the boost I needed to fully appreciate games on this monitor. When next-gen graphics cards finally arrive, games will be even easier to run at this resolution, at lower price points too.

Conclusion:

Switching to ultrawide was well worth the investment for me. On the productivity front, it is easier to work with compared to 4K, and for gaming you'll be getting a unique experience that can't be replicated elsewhere. With that said, this first batch of high refresh rate 3440×1440 monitors aren't perfect, so there are a few things to consider.

There are plenty of well documented examples of the Acer Predator X34 or Asus PG348Q suffering from backlight bleed, and in some cases, not achieving their full 100Hz overclock. These are expensive monitors (I spent £850 on mine), and at that price, you might not want to play the panel lottery or make compromises at all, even if it is something as small as settling for 95Hz instead of a full 100Hz. Personally, I find the difference between 95Hz and even 144Hz to be extremely minimal but others might feel differently.

The other thing to consider is that 21:9 support is never guaranteed in games – while most titles I've played have supported it, you will still see plenty of 16:9 cutscenes and an increasingly small number of games may require extra tweaking. For me, the experience of playing in ultrawide is worth the tiny bit of extra hassle.

If you have the money right now and are itching to get your hands on something new, then I would recommend trying out ultrawide. However, it is worth noting that the Acer Predator X34 and Asus PG348Q are a couple of years old at this point. We already know that new ultrawide monitors are coming down the pipeline, including a 3440×1440 200Hz model from Asus. Once these new monitors launch, it is likely that we'll see fewer issues with refresh rates and backlight bleed, as the technology will have had a bit more time to mature.

KitGuru Says: Ultrawide monitors are excellent for both work and play, but the current batch of high refresh rate models aren't perfect. Have any of you been thinking about making the jump to 21:9? Will you be waiting for fresh new monitors to hit the market, or are you thinking of grabbing something already available? 

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Samsung unveils world’s largest QLED gaming monitor at Gamescom https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/monitors/matthew-wilson/samsung-unveils-worlds-largest-qled-gaming-monitor-at-gamescom/ https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/monitors/matthew-wilson/samsung-unveils-worlds-largest-qled-gaming-monitor-at-gamescom/#comments Mon, 21 Aug 2017 14:43:51 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=344702 Samsung's latest gaming monitor is a massive 49-inch 32:9 beast

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Earlier this year, we first began hearing about Samsung’s plans to launch a massive 49-inch mega-wide monitor, featuring a 32:9 aspect ratio. Now at Gamescom, Samsung is showing off its impressive panel, which sports the same QLED technology found in the company’s high-end TVs.

Over the last few years, 21:9 ultra wide monitors have become very popular. Samsung is taking things a step further with the CHG90 QLED Gaming Monitor, by jumping up to 32:9. The resolution in use here is 3840×1080, so this would be close to having two 27-inch 1080p monitors stitched together with no bezel.

Image Credit: Samsung

The Samsung CHG90 QLED monitor can be found at Samsung’s Gamescom booth this weekend. Aside from the huge 49-inch panel and 32:9 aspect ratio, this monitor comes with some other benefits, including a 144Hz refresh rate, HDR support and a 1800R curvature. There is a 1ms (MPRT) response time too, so if you’re looking for gaming features, this monitor has plenty of them.

For connectivity, the CHG90 comes with two HDMI ports, a DisplayPort and an Audio Out. For now, we don’t have details on pricing or a release date but hopefully we will hear more in the coming weeks.

KitGuru Says: I very recently spent some time with a 21:9 3440×1440 monitor and came away very impressed. I can only imagine how much wider 32:9 would end up being. What do you guys think of Samsung’s new mega-wide monitor?

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AOC C3583FQ 35-inch 160hz curved ultra-wide monitor review https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/monitors/orestis-bastounis/aoc-c3583fq-35-inch-160hz-curved-ultra-wide-monitor-review/ https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/monitors/orestis-bastounis/aoc-c3583fq-35-inch-160hz-curved-ultra-wide-monitor-review/#comments Fri, 11 Mar 2016 13:25:31 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=286586 Behind an unassuming name, the 35-inch AOC C3583FQ is a curved monitor that’s certain to be of interest to anyone who wants an ultra-wide display for gaming, without the budget to stretch to the high-end models. It’s the most affordable 21:9 screen we’ve yet seen, the refresh rate goes up to 160Hz, and perhaps most …

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Behind an unassuming name, the 35-inch AOC C3583FQ is a curved monitor that’s certain to be of interest to anyone who wants an ultra-wide display for gaming, without the budget to stretch to the high-end models. It’s the most affordable 21:9 screen we’ve yet seen, the refresh rate goes up to 160Hz, and perhaps most importantly, it has a really bright AMVA display that offers great IPS-like picture quality.

After many of our recent reviews of high-end displays, many readers have commented about the pricing. With some costing £1000 or more, you might end up spending as much on a display as you do on the rest of the PC.

What’s more, the term ‘G-Sync tax’ has come up a few times, and there is some truth behind it. The G-Sync hardware, for adaptive-sync support with Nvidia graphics cards, seems to inflate the price of monitors in a way that hardware for AMD cards does not.

We’re guessing it’s not price gouging on the part of any single manufacturer, since G-Sync displays seem to be more expensive across the board, so we presume the hardware is more complicated and has a higher wholesale cost. We do hope it becomes cheaper in time.

650px3

But if you still desire a 21:9 gaming display, you’re not forced to have G-Sync. The standard 60Hz screens still work fine with games, and any that offer a refresh rate beyond that will still have much smoother animation than you might be used to on a standard display, whether you have an Nvidia or AMD graphics card.

Of course, if you use AMD cards, it’ll be the FreeSync screens you want anyway, but this adaptive-sync technology doesn’t work in the same way as G-Sync. G-Sync is either on or off, and it doesn’t matter what frame rate you’re getting.

FreeSync works within a range, usually from around 35-45Hz up to the display’s maximum refresh rate. If your frame rate drops below that range, it’ll work like a standard display.

Enter AOC’s C3583FQ, an ultra-wide display with a 4ms refresh rate and a 2000R curvature, that has the potential to appeal to both AMD and Nvidia users alike with its 160Hz overclocked refresh rate, along with FreeSync support.

It has a maximum resolution of 2,560 x 1,080 and uses a VA panel. This sounds remarkably similar to the Acer Predator Z35 ultra-wide gaming display (Review HERE) which has the same native resolution along with G-Sync and a whopping 200Hz refresh rate, not to mention a much better physical design. Ultimately, given the high price, we found this screen somewhat disappointing, particularly in terms of its picture quality, which lacks the impressive brightness and razor sharp colours of most IPS displays.

The C3583FQ is slightly different though. It shares the same 2,560 x 1,080 resolution as the Z35, which is a bit on the large side compared with the more typical 3,440 x 1,440 on other 34-inch screens. And it’s also a VA panel, albeit the more advanced AMVA variant. Most VA panels haven’t blown us away with their picture quality so far, with a washed-out look, despite the excellent black levels. The AOC C3583FQ is of interest then, to see how it stacks up against the competition.

Additionally, the AOC C3583FQ has a serious price advantage over every other 21:9 curved screen on the market, coming in under £600.

This is a 35-inch display with adaptive-sync technology and a 160Hz refresh rate that costs less than most 60Hz ultra-wide displays. It’s almost half the price of Asus’ PG348Q (Review HERE) and significantly cheaper than the aforementioned Acer Predator Z35. AOC informed us before publishing that UK pricing will be around £550 inc vat.

That makes it worth a look at the very least, and potentially one of the most affordable ways to enjoy 21:9 widescreen gaming.

Specification:
Screen size: 35-inch
Native resolution: 2,560 x 1,080
Refresh rate: 160Hz
Response time: 4ms
Panel type: AMVA
Display inputs: 2x HDMI, 2x DisplayPort, 1x DVI, 1x VGA
USB hub: none
Tilt: yes
Raise: no
Swivel: no
Other: FreeSync (45Hz-160Hz)

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AUO to release two ultra-wide 3440×1440 144Hz monitors this year https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/monitors/matthew-wilson/auo-to-release-two-ultra-wide-3440x1440-144hz-monitors-this-year/ https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/monitors/matthew-wilson/auo-to-release-two-ultra-wide-3440x1440-144hz-monitors-this-year/#comments Thu, 28 Jan 2016 21:12:13 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=282367 With ultra-wide monitors becoming more and more popular, display manufacturers have been working hard to increase things like resolution and refresh rate in order to get gamers interested. Now, we are finally at a point where 3440×1440 ultra-wide monitors with 144Hz refresh are a viable option and we should have two out this year. While …

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With ultra-wide monitors becoming more and more popular, display manufacturers have been working hard to increase things like resolution and refresh rate in order to get gamers interested. Now, we are finally at a point where 3440×1440 ultra-wide monitors with 144Hz refresh are a viable option and we should have two out this year.

While high refresh-rate 3440×1440 monitors have been around for a little while, they have been limited to 100Hz so far, which will change this year according to a report from tftcentral, which shows that AU Optronics (an off-shoot of Acer) will have a 30-inch and a 35-inch QHD ultra-wide monitor with 144Hz refresh rate available in 2016.

Predator Z35_wp_game_02_678x452

This would push things beyond the bandwidth limitations of DisplayPort 1.2, which also means we may be seeing DisplayPort 1.3 this year on monitors. Both panels will be based on VA technology and with a release in Q2 or Q3 this year though we don't have any pricing information at this time, unfortunately. Other specifications of the panel seem to include a 3000:1 contrast ratio, 300 cd/m2 brightness a 2000R curvature and 172/178 degree viewing angles.

KitGuru Says: Ultra-wide monitors have become increasingly popular recently and while many gamers have been happy with the current 100Hz limitations, there will undoubtedly be some waiting for 3440×1440 models with a full 144Hz refresh rate. Are any of you planning on going ultra-wide this year? Will you be holding out for 144Hz 3440×1440 models? 

 

 

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LG shows off its CES lineup with new monitors and laptops https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/notebook/matthew-wilson/lg-shows-off-its-ces-lineup-with-new-monitors-and-laptops/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/notebook/matthew-wilson/lg-shows-off-its-ces-lineup-with-new-monitors-and-laptops/#respond Wed, 16 Dec 2015 14:00:16 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=278374 LG has gone ahead and revealed its lineup of products for CES 2016, which takes place early next month. New products that we can expect to see more of at the trade show next month include ultra-wide 21:9 monitors, 4K gaming monitors and a super light laptop for productivity. On the monitor side, there will …

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LG has gone ahead and revealed its lineup of products for CES 2016, which takes place early next month. New products that we can expect to see more of at the trade show next month include ultra-wide 21:9 monitors, 4K gaming monitors and a super light laptop for productivity.

On the monitor side, there will be two 34-inch 21:9 Ultra Wide monitors, one will be curved and partly aimed at the gaming market with a 3440×1440 resolution and FreeSync technology. The other is a flat ultra-wide monitor and is aimed at those who do a lot of photo or video work at their PC. There will also be two 4K monitors coming, measuring in at 27-inches and an IPS display. One of these monitors will come pre-colour calibrated and feature thunderbolt connectivity for professionals.

Monitor_24MP88-27UD88-34UC98_PC15Z9601-1024x553

Finally on the list, we have a new laptop- it's a thin and light, which LG claims is actually the lightest 15-inch laptop in the world. It will feature an Intel Skylake processor and come with Windows 10, focussing on productivity and portability.

We will be able to see more at CES, which takes place from the 6th to the 9th of January next year.

KitGuru Says: LG has revealed some of its upcoming 2016 products ahead of time. Will any of you be following the CES news in January? What do you think of LG's new monitor line-up? 

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Acer unveils 35’’ curved ultra-wide display with G-Sync, 200Hz refresh rate https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/monitors/anton-shilov/acer-unveils-35-curved-ultra-wide-display-with-nvidia-g-sync-200hz-refresh-rate/ https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/monitors/anton-shilov/acer-unveils-35-curved-ultra-wide-display-with-nvidia-g-sync-200hz-refresh-rate/#comments Sat, 05 Sep 2015 03:02:53 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=266333 Acer Group has introduced a new ultra-wide curved display for gamers, which boasts extreme size, Nvidia G-Sync adaptive refresh rate technology as well as up to 200Hz refresh rate. While Acer mentions 200Hz refresh, it should be noted that the such frequency can only be achieved with “overclocking”, a relatively new word in the world …

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Acer Group has introduced a new ultra-wide curved display for gamers, which boasts extreme size, Nvidia G-Sync adaptive refresh rate technology as well as up to 200Hz refresh rate. While Acer mentions 200Hz refresh, it should be noted that the such frequency can only be achieved with “overclocking”, a relatively new word in the world of displays.

The futuristic Acer Predator Z35 monitor is powered by an advanced 35” AMVA 8-bit RGB panel with 2560*1080 resolution and 178°/178° horizontal/vertical viewing angles, which is used for some other curved displays on the market. The panel has 2000:1 contrast ratio, 12ms response time and 4ms grey-to-grey response time.

The new Predator Z35 monitor fully supports Nvidia G-Sync technology, which matches monitor’s refresh rate with a GPU’s rendering rate on a frame-by-frame basis to provide smooth gaming experience, as well as the company’s new ultra-low motion blur (ULMB) backlight strobing technology.

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Acer Predator Z35. Image by AnandTech

The default refresh rate of the Predator Z35 monitor is 144Hz, but Acer claims that it can be increased all the way to 200Hz via overclocking. The company revealed that overclocking will be possible via built in display settings, but it did not tell whether all panels can handle 200Hz frequency. It also did not disclose whether overclocking procedure voids warranty. Despite of lack of details, the ability to increase refresh rate to 200Hz will attract a lot of attention from gamers.

The Acer Predator Z35 will feature DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI interfaces. It will also come with two DTS Sound 9W speakers.

The Acer Predator Z35 will be available in North America and EMEA in December with prices starting at US$1199.99 and €1099, respectively.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: While the AMVA panel used in the Predator Z35 is considerably better than any TN panel used in gaming displays with extreme refresh rates, its resolution is not very high by today’s standards. The overclocking feature also looks rather mysteriously for now, but it will be very interesting to find out more about it.

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Asus unveils 34” curved ultra-wide 100Hz IPS LCD with Nvidia G-Sync https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/monitors/anton-shilov/asus-unveils-34-inch-curved-ultra-wide-ips-lcd-with-nvidia-g-sync-and-100hz-refresh/ https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/monitors/anton-shilov/asus-unveils-34-inch-curved-ultra-wide-ips-lcd-with-nvidia-g-sync-and-100hz-refresh/#comments Thu, 03 Sep 2015 11:16:46 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=266131 Asustek Computer has unveiled the world’s first and only curved ultra-wide 34” display with 100Hz refresh rate and Nvidia Corp.’s G-Sync technology. The monitor with unique combination of features was designed specifically for gamers and will hit the market in the coming months. The Asus ROG Swift PG348Q comes with 8bit+Hi-FRC in-plane switching (IPS) panel …

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Asustek Computer has unveiled the world’s first and only curved ultra-wide 34” display with 100Hz refresh rate and Nvidia Corp.’s G-Sync technology. The monitor with unique combination of features was designed specifically for gamers and will hit the market in the coming months.

The Asus ROG Swift PG348Q comes with 8bit+Hi-FRC in-plane switching (IPS) panel with 3440*1440 resolution, 172°/178° horizontal/vertical viewing angles and 100Hz refresh rate. The monitor will be the first ultra-wide 34” curved display in the market that combines very high resolution, 100Hz panel as well as Nvidia G-Sync technology, which matches monitor's refresh rate with a GPU’s rendering rate on a frame-by-frame basis to provide smooth gaming experience.

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Asustek Computer did not reveal a lot of details about its ROG Swift PG348Q monitor, but it is logical to expect the new flagship Republic of Gamers display to have DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI interfaces as well as a USB 3.0 hub. The new ROG Swift also boasts with an ultra-thin frame as well as tilt, swivel, and height adjustments.

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The manufacturer did not reveal when exactly it plans to release its unique display, but it is likely that the product will become available in the coming months.

Asus did not disclose the price of its ROG Swift PG348Q monitor, but expect it to be over £1000/$1300/€1300, given its exclusive combination of features as well as lack of direct rivals.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: A 34” 100Hz IPS display with 3440*1440 resolution and Nvidia G-Sync seems to be a great choice for gamers, who also want to enjoy fine colours and viewing angles. The price of the product will naturally be prohibitively high, but 100Hz refresh along with G-Sync may be worth it for many gamers.

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Acer announces curved 34-inch IPS display with Nvidia G-Sync https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/monitors/anton-shilov/acer-announces-curved-34-inch-ips-display-with-nvidia-g-sync/ https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/monitors/anton-shilov/acer-announces-curved-34-inch-ips-display-with-nvidia-g-sync/#comments Fri, 24 Apr 2015 02:03:56 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=246470 Acer Group has unveiled the industry’s first curved monitor that supports Nvidia Corp.’s G-Sync technology. The new Acer XR341CKA/XR341CK display offers virtually everything a modern gamer can dream about, except support for ultra-high-definition resolution. Unfortunately, the monitor will only be available in August or September and at pretty hefty price. The Acer XR341CK/XR341CKA display utilizes …

The post Acer announces curved 34-inch IPS display with Nvidia G-Sync first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
Acer Group has unveiled the industry’s first curved monitor that supports Nvidia Corp.’s G-Sync technology. The new Acer XR341CKA/XR341CK display offers virtually everything a modern gamer can dream about, except support for ultra-high-definition resolution. Unfortunately, the monitor will only be available in August or September and at pretty hefty price.

The Acer XR341CK/XR341CKA display utilizes an advanced 8bit+Hi-FRC in-plane switching (IPS) panel with 3440*1440 resolution and 172°/178° horizontal/vertical viewing angles that is calibrated to accurately recreate colours across 100 per cent of the sRGB colour space. The monitor features 300cd/m² brightness, 100,000,000:1 contrast ratio and 4ms response time. The new display comes with a DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 1.4 interfaces; it also integrates a four-port USB 3.0 hub and two 7W speakers.

acer_XR341CKA_sm

Thanks to Nvidia G-Sync technology, the XCR341CK display can dynamically match its refresh rate with a GPU’s rendering rate on a frame-by-frame basis to provide smooth gaming experience. The curved shape of the screen should help gamers to immerse even deeper into virtual worlds of modern titles. One major drawback of the display is its 75Hz refresh rate. At present there are no curved IPS panels with higher refresh rates.

The Acer XR341CKA monitor will be available in North America in September with prices starting at $1299, in EMEA it will hit the market in August with prices starting at €1399. Exact specifications, prices, and availability will vary by country.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: A number of companies have introduced great displays with AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync technology this year so far. High resolutions, adaptive refresh rates and IPS panels clearly make all these monitors great for gaming. Do you, guys, plans to buy a new display this year? What are your preferences? Share your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.

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Samsung launches ultra-wide curved monitor and portable SSDs https://www.kitguru.net/components/ssd-drives/matthew-wilson/samsung-launches-ultra-wide-curved-monitor-and-portable-ssds/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/ssd-drives/matthew-wilson/samsung-launches-ultra-wide-curved-monitor-and-portable-ssds/#comments Tue, 06 Jan 2015 12:23:01 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=229119 Samsung has revealed its latest curved monitor, sporting the 21:9 ultra-wide format, which has been growing in popularity over the last year or so. The SE790C curved monitor has a resolution of 3440×1440 and a 3000R curvature, creating a more immersive viewing experience. This monitor is going to be marketed towards gamers, with a dedicated …

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Samsung has revealed its latest curved monitor, sporting the 21:9 ultra-wide format, which has been growing in popularity over the last year or so. The SE790C curved monitor has a resolution of 3440×1440 and a 3000R curvature, creating a more immersive viewing experience.

This monitor is going to be marketed towards gamers, with a dedicated ‘Game Boost' feature, which will adjust color and contrast depending on the current scene on display. It will have built-in speakers but as always, you are probably better off with your own pair. This monitor won't be cheap though, over in the US it will cost a hefty $1199.99.

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Elsewhere on the CES show floor, Samsung also revealed its new super small, portable solid state drives, which come in 250GB, 500GB and 1TB capacities. These SSDs are very small and made for those who need speedy external storage, the portability will cost you though, prices start at $179.99 for the 250GB model and going as high as $599.99 for the 1TB version. There is currently no release date listed for the monitor or the SSDs.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: The curved monitor looks nice but at that price, it is going to be off limits to many. It will be interesting to see how well the portable SSDs perform as well. What do you guys think of Samsung's two new products? 

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OCUK spurs production of LG ultra-wide 1440p monitor https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/monitors/matthew-wilson/ocuk-spurs-production-of-lg-ultra-wide-1440p-monitor/ https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/monitors/matthew-wilson/ocuk-spurs-production-of-lg-ultra-wide-1440p-monitor/#comments Thu, 06 Nov 2014 11:11:22 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=220634 If you are in the market for an ultra-wide 21:9 monitor then Overclockers UK has you covered as the retailer will be exclusively selling the LG 34UC97-P 34 Inch 3440×1440 curved LED monitor for the next few months. Originally, LG didn't plan to bring this monitor to the UK but OCUK purchasing manager, Andrew ‘Gibbo' Gibson, …

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If you are in the market for an ultra-wide 21:9 monitor then Overclockers UK has you covered as the retailer will be exclusively selling the LG 34UC97-P 34 Inch 3440×1440 curved LED monitor for the next few months. Originally, LG didn't plan to bring this monitor to the UK but OCUK purchasing manager, Andrew ‘Gibbo' Gibson, managed to convince them otherwise.

The screen has a 21:9 aspect ratio and a resolution of 3440×1440, showing 2.4 times more visual information at one time than a regular 1920×1080 monitor. Additionally, LG decided to go with an 8-bit +FRC  IPS panel, allowing for a 99 per cent sRGB color gamut rating. Due to the IPS panel, there is a slightly slower 5ms response time, rather than the 1ms response time you would find on a TN monitor, although the color benefits of IPS often outweigh this.

LG Super-Wide

The curved display nearly encompasses 180 degrees, allowing the user to cover nearly all of their peripheral vision, bringing users a new gaming and media experience. For connectivity, the screen has two HDMI ports, one DisplayPort connection and two Thunderbolt ports. There's also two USB 3.0 ports and some built-in speakers, which promise “deeper bass and crystal clear highs” with MaxxAudio technology.

This monitor will set buyers back £979.99 and won't be sold anywhere else in the UK until 2015.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: I've always been a fan of ultra-wide monitors, you'll need a fair bit of graphics horsepower to game at native resolution but this will also provide a lot more screen space for productivity purposes. What do you guys think of this monitor? Personally, I think it looks pretty sweet. 

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