*****UPDATE (12-10-2016): Still loving this awesome monitor (my wife, too!). I decided to repurpose my old regular-wide monitor as a second display ABOVE this monitor (because why not??? LOL) and learned that any dual-vertical desk-mount stand that supports "up to 27-inch" regular-wide monitors can also fit 34"ultrawide because they're the same actual height (I was previously tearing my hair apart looking for a "34-inch dual-vertical" stand but couldn't find any---go figure!).
Hope this helps y'all!!!*****
This monitor ROCKS! At under $400 (currently $349!!!), you CANNOT go wrong with this ultra-wide beast unless you're running a low-end graphics card (works great with my GTX 960).
When I first looked into ultra-wide monitors, I did all kinds of research and wished I had $1300 at the time for an Acer Predator X34 (currently $1,230) because that monitor was 3440x1440 (this LG 34UM68-P is only 2560x1080 but it's still absolutely gorgeous). I thought I would need the curve to get a better experience, too. But then I discovered I would also need a faster graphics card to handle 3440x1440 on top of the insane cost of the Predator X34---putting that dream on hold for at least another year or two.
So...I bought this monitor instead and honestly thought it would be "just okay". But when it arrived and I set it up, I was absolutely blown away. This monitor made me want to play games more now than I've had the urge for the past 10 years or more. It's so good, I bought a SECOND one for my wife.
Everyone has their own preferences in monitors but here's some of my discoveries with this monitor:
1) I don't care about curved anymore. Seriously! For productivity (I work with Excel a lot), curved monitors distort horizontal lines/spreadsheets to make them look weird and kinda bad, IMO. So much so for me, that I'm not sure I ever want a Predator X34 in the future. Lesson learned, I am sticking with FLAT ultra-wide monitors and would strongly recommend others do so if you use your computer for both gaming and productivity. If your computer is strictly a gaming machine (mine clearly isn't) then you'll probably appreciate a curved monitor.
2) I've heard it said that there isn't a graphics card currently on the market that can handle 3440x1440 games at ultra-high settings (though I've also read that the NVidia 1080 does come close depending on the game you're playing). This is because there is literally almost twice as many pixels going from 2560x1080 to 3440x1440. Since I never buy state-of-the-art graphics cards when they first come out (I usually wait a year or two for the price to drop), that means I am likely 2 years away from getting both a 3440x1440 monitor and the graphics card to handle it.
3) I absolutely love the preset window panes for this monitor (and you can customize it many different ways...I prefer 2 side-by-side panes but you can also do 3 side-by-side, 4 quad, 2 side-by-side w/3rd horizontal pane above or below, etc.). These window panes allow you to drag-n-snap your windows (web browsers, Word, Excel, etc.) automatically without having to manually resize everything (super awesome for productivity)! I don't know if all ultra-wide monitors do this (and very likely not) because this is an LG-developed software that comes with the monitor.
4) Gaming with extra field-of-view on the left/right sides really gives you an edge (as long as your game supports 2560x1080 resolution which games like Doom, The Division, Zombie Army Trilogy and even Fallout 4---with an INI file tweak---do). Once you game with ultra-wide resolutions, trust me...you will NEVER go back!!!
5) Watching movies on this thing...breath-taking. Most movie resolutions are 21:9 making them perfect for ultra-wide monitors (though most TV shows have yet to catch up with this ratio).
There are plenty of other ultra-wide monitors in both 2560x1080 and 3440x1440 but I love this particular monitor's features and price-point. Sure, there are better monitors out there...but they cost A LOT more and honestly...I'm not even sure I would see much difference (without buying that high-end, state-of-the-art graphics card as well). Maybe in 2018 but this is definitely GREAT (not just "good") enough until then!
| Standing screen display size | 34 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 2560x1080 |
| Max Screen Resolution | 2560 x 1080 |
