1440p 16:9 or 1440p 21:9?

[Cameron Tony]

Hey guys, I'm about to make an expensive decision on a display for my setup but don't know what trigger to pull. I have narrowed my search down to two different monitors:

 

• Dell's Alienware AW3418DW (21:9) https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/alienware-34-curved-gaming-monitor-aw3418dw/apd/210-amsv/monitors-monitor-accessories

 

OR

 

• ASUS Swift PG279Q (16:9) https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236660

 

I currently have a 240hz 1080p display and I have been looking for a nice 2k gaming display to add in tandem. The whole purpose of this next purchase is for immersive gaming, not so much competition. What are your guy's opinion on 21:9 and gaming? Does anyone have any bad/good experiences with it? Do you guys like these monitors? Any feedback is hugely appreciated. I know this is somewhat of picking between apples and oranges due to the aspect ratio change but that is why I have been so indecisive. Thanks guys!

 

P.S I have sufficient hardware i.e 1080ti

 

[Cereal5]

I have an asus MX34VQ (UW 100Hz), and I like it. It has nice colors, especially coming from a TN panel. The 100Hz is fine but seems very slow compared to my previous monitor... Which was a PV278Q, the TN version of the PG279Q. 144Hz g-sync. I gotta say I like that more, mostly cause I play a lot of FPS games, and the jump down to 100 Hz was very noticeable. Going down from a 240 Hz monitor it will look like a slideshow probably lol (I know the Alienware is 120 Hz(I think)). But it has very good immersion. However I’d still take a 144 or 165 Hz IPS 16:9 1440p monitor.

 

its really just personal preference

[Phentos]

As an ultrawide gamer over the last couple years, I'll have to say that unless you're very willing to overlook the notion of having to tweak many of your games to have good support for it, that the novelty of 21:9 could wear off quickly. If you are willing to overlook that, then the immersion that you feel when playing a game that has at least good support for UW is second to none. IMO even more so than VR.

 

Personally I play a lot of games that have piss poor support for 21:9 like Monster Hunter World, Fallout 4, and Skyrim SE so I am strongly considering switching back to 2560x1440 at 144hz. MHW's ultrawide support is non-existent and the tweaks to force it cause massive performance degradations and screw with the menus, and Fallout 4 and Skyrim SE suffer from ghastly UI stretching that can only be fixed by UI replacement mods that are not perfect. The UI replacement mods also prevent the Creation Club elements from being shown in Skyrim SE, which is an issue for me since I use the Survival Mode CC (got it for free).

 

If you tend to play games that have poor support, then I would skip it.

[Cameron Tony]

4 minutes ago, Cereal5 said:

I have an asus MX34VQ (UW 100Hz), and I like it. It has nice colors, especially coming from a TN panel. The 100Hz is fine but seems very slow compared to my previous monitor... Which was a PV278Q, the TN version of the PG279Q. 144Hz g-sync. I gotta say I like that more, mostly cause I play a lot of FPS games, and the jump down to 100 Hz was very noticeable. Going down from a 240 Hz monitor it will look like a slideshow probably lol (I know the Alienware is 120 Hz(I think)). But it has very good immersion. However I’d still take a 144 or 165 Hz IPS 16:9 1440p monitor.

 

its really just personal preference

That seems to be what I'm leaning towards as well. The switch from TN to IPS will be awesome. But yeah, I'd have to agree with you on that. Thank you!

[Cameron Tony]

4 minutes ago, Phentos said:

As an ultrawide gamer over the last couple years, I'll have to say that unless you're very willing to overlook the notion of having to tweak many of your games to have good support for it, that the novelty of 21:9 could wear off quickly. If you are willing to overlook that, then the immersion that you feel when playing a game that has at least good support for UW is second to none. IMO even more so than VR.

 

Personally I play a lot of games that have piss poor support for 21:9 like Monster Hunter World, Fallout 4, and Skyrim SE so I am strongly considering switching back to 2560x1440 at 144hz. MHW's ultrawide support is non-existent and the tweaks to force it cause massive performance degradations and screw with the menus, and Fallout 4 and Skyrim SE suffer from ghastly UI stretching that can only be fixed by UI replacement mods that are not perfect. The UI replacement mods also prevent the Creation Club elements from being shown in Skyrim SE, which is an issue for me since I use the Survival Mode CC (got it for free).

 

If you tend to play games that have poor support, then I would skip it.

Support has been a big concern of mine as well. It seems as if the hardware is just a bit ahead of the games currently being put out, so I might just wait a year or two, and by that time there will be much better options and selection variety in the ultrawide market. I appreciate the detailed response, it helped a lot!

[Cereal5]

Ultrawides have been our for quite a while... I think people just don’t care. I don’t see support changing much any time soon cause UWs are really a niche thing if you think about it. Most people don’t even know what they are. A lot of games end up stretching a lot at the sides. It’s fairly noticeable and quite annoying. But the extra screen real estate gives you some more to look at than other people so it can be an advantage

[FloRolf]

I like my 34" UWQHD a lot, especially compared to my old 24" FHD. 

The thing about it that really gives the immersion though is the size. So imo for the most immersion you should rather get a 30-32" 4k although that is at an even higher performance hit. 

 

UW is great for work as well though so if you are not just gaming it's probably the better choice. 

[JoostinOnline]

18 minutes ago, Cameron Tony said:

Support has been a big concern of mine as well. It seems as if the hardware is just a bit ahead of the games currently being put out, so I might just wait a year or two, and by that time there will be much better options and selection variety in the ultrawide market. I appreciate the detailed response, it helped a lot!

A big part of it is is just that most people don't want it. I sit close enough to the screen that I just can't see ultrawide without turning my head. It's also a much higher resolution, so I'd have to turn my settings way down to render it.

 

It's great if you enjoy it, but ultra wide has been out for a very long time and doesn't appeal to most people.

[Cameron Tony]

16 hours ago, JoostinOnline said:

A big part of it is is just that most people don't want it. I sit close enough to the screen that I just can't see ultrawide without turning my head. It's also a much higher resolution, so I'd have to turn my settings way down to render it.

 

It's great if you enjoy it, but ultra wide has been out for a very long time and doesn't appeal to most people.

That is true, but what I meant by waiting a year or two was just waiting for the specs and games to adjust. 120hz on a stock $1500 panel is subpar to say the least. I ended up picking the 16:9 panel, hope it goes as well as I think it will.