Wondering about adjusting to a curved monitor

[Wallaceman105]

I'm considering going for a curved monitor at the center of my 3-monitor setup later this month, because my friend told me that you can experience wider FOV's in games more easily.

My other friend warned me that there'd be an adjustment period switching to a curved monitor

I'm wondering if these are true, and I'm open to reccomendations (looking for 1440p / 144Hz w/ freesynch)

[DailyProcrastinator]

1 minute ago, Wallaceman105 said:

I'm considering going for a curved monitor at the center of my 3-monitor setup later this month, because my friend told me that you can experience wider FOV's in games more easily.

My other friend warned me that there'd be an adjustment period switching to a curved monitor

I'm wondering if these are true, and I'm open to reccomendations (looking for 1440p / 144Hz w/ freesynch)

if you are looking to get a 34" ultra wide (UW) or wider then curved is a lot better of an experience in my opinion. I went from using 2x 25" displays to a single 34" UW and I got to experience a flat screen UW prior, the curve helps with the viewing angles and there really is no adjustment process. I felt more immersed and a curve with such a wide screen just feels natural. 

 

I have a second UW with slightly less of a curve and I prefer the one with more curve. Keep in mind unless you are looking at a 49" UW the curve is not that aggressive. 

[shoutingsteve]

What resolution are you looking at getting?  keep in mind, you could always get three monitors and wall mount them to be curved.  I have three and I am super happy with it.  The middle is just 1920x1080, but the left is 1080x1920 (vertical is nice when reading documents).  The right is 1920x1080 while using it normally but the actual hardware is 2560x1440, so when I game, I bump it up to that.
Take away:  it is a bit more labor intensive, but you have more flexibility getting three monitors instead of one.
Also, it sounds like you are trying to add a curved monitor to your current setup.  Check your GPU's specs to make sure teh total area of your desktop is achievable by your graphics card.  You wouldn't want o buy a setup that makes everything wider than your GPU can process.

[Wallaceman105]

Just now, TheDailyProcrastinator said:

if you are looking to get a 34" ultra wide (UW) or wider then curved is a lot better of an experience in my opinion. I went from using 2x 25" displays to a single 34" UW and I got to experience a flat screen UW prior, the curve helps with the viewing angles and there really is no adjustment process. I felt more immersed and a curve with such a wide screen just feels natural. 

 

I have a second UW with slightly less of a curve and I prefer the one with more curve. Keep in mind unless you are looking at a 49" UW the curve is not that aggressive. 

Gotcha, but does the same apply to 27'? That's the size I'm probably going for, so I don't have to buy a new mount

[Wallaceman105]

8 minutes ago, shoutingsteve said:

What resolution are you looking at getting?  keep in mind, you could always get three monitors and wall mount them to be curved.  I have three and I am super happy with it.  The middle is just 1920x1080, but the left is 1080x1920 (vertical is nice when reading documents).  The right is 1920x1080 while using it normally but the actual hardware is 2560x1440, so when I game, I bump it up to that.
Take away:  it is a bit more labor intensive, but you have more flexibility getting three monitors instead of one.
Also, it sounds like you are trying to add a curved monitor to your current setup.  Check your GPU's specs to make sure teh total area of your desktop is achievable by your graphics card.  You wouldn't want o buy a setup that makes everything wider than your GPU can process.

Like I said, 1440p @ 144Hz is my goal, and then I'll have a 1080p75Hz on both sides of it. I'm also planning on upgrading my gpu around the end of the year, once both brands new cards are out and a little tuned up

[DailyProcrastinator]

8 minutes ago, Wallaceman105 said:

Gotcha, but does the same apply to 27'? That's the size I'm probably going for, so I don't have to buy a new mount

A standard 27" 2560 x 1440 display will have a different feel if curved compared to a UW. From the times I have stood in front of a display that was smaller than 29" with a curve I felt like it made no difference, if anything it ads a weird viewing angle if you are not looking straight at the center of the monitor. I would say this is down to preference, but I personally do not like curved monitors under 29".

[shoutingsteve]

so your total width would be 1920+2560+1920= 6400 pixels.  total height would be 1440.

Based on your profile, your graphics card (Radeon RX 580) can do 7680 x 4320...

Ok, so you're fine.  But at least I care enough to check for you...

<wanders off into the distance>

[Wallaceman105]

3 minutes ago, TheDailyProcrastinator said:

A standard 27" 2560 x 1440 display will have a different feel if curved compared to a UW. From the times I have stood in front of a display that was smaller than 29" with a curve I felt like it made no difference, if anything it ads a weird viewing angle if you are not looking straight at the center of the monitor. I would say this is down to preference, but I personally do not like curved monitors under 29".

Ok, that makes sense. I'll try to see one in person first then, thanks!

1 minute ago, shoutingsteve said:

so your total width would be 1920+2560+1920= 6400 pixels.  total height would be 1440.

Based on your profile, your graphics card (Radeon RX 580) can do 7680 x 4320...

Ok, so you're fine.  But at least I care enough to check for you...

<wanders off into the distance>

saved me a 2am google, my man, you're a hero 

[DailyProcrastinator]

2 minutes ago, Wallaceman105 said:

Ok, that makes sense. I'll try to see one in person first then, thanks!

I find that on a smaller curved monitor if you look at it from an angle towards the sides it can really cutout clarity and basically make it blackout the angle parts of the screen. At this size and being curved I would say IPS is a must. Again just personal preference. IPS already has superior viewing angles to mitigate this issue, 90% of the time this won't matter if you are looking head on. But just some insight for you!

 

[Wallaceman105]

6 hours ago, TheDailyProcrastinator said:

I find that on a smaller curved monitor if you look at it from an angle towards the sides it can really cutout clarity and basically make it blackout the angle parts of the screen. At this size and being curved I would say IPS is a must. Again just personal preference. IPS already has superior viewing angles to mitigate this issue, 90% of the time this won't matter if you are looking head on. But just some insight for you!

 

I appreciate it! I'm mostly going to use it for Overwatch, that's my main game these days, so if IPS is needed for curve to look good, I'll probably just stick to a flat TN panel for the response time.

[DailyProcrastinator]

9 hours ago, Wallaceman105 said:

I appreciate it! I'm mostly going to use it for Overwatch, that's my main game these days, so if IPS is needed for curve to look good, I'll probably just stick to a flat TN panel for the response time.

Yeah I'd recommend a flat TN panel for your use case as well, at 27" curved is not needed.