The 5 Best Curved Monitors - Fall 2024

The best curved monitor we've tested is the Dell Alienware AW3225QF. It's a premium monitor focused on gaming that has a 4k QD-OLED display. It combines outstanding gaming performance with fantastic picture quality. Although you need a high-end graphics card to take advantage of its high 240Hz refresh rate, it provides a smooth and detailed gaming experience. It has a near-instantaneous response time, resulting in crisp motion, and it even has HDMI 2.1 bandwidth to take full advantage of modern graphics cards and gaming consoles.

Its QD-OLED panel makes it an incredible choice if you just want to sit back and watch HDR content. It has a near-infinite contrast ratio with deep and inky blacks in dark rooms, and it gets bright enough for highlights to pop. This monitor also displays a wide range of colors that look extremely vivid. One thing to note is that OLEDs risk permanent burn-in with constant exposure to the same static elements over time, so if that's a concern for you, check out the Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 S32BG85 instead. It uses Mini LED backlighting and doesn't risk burn-in, but its picture quality and motion handling are worse than the Dell.

Should you find the 16:9 format of the Dell Alienware AW3225QF too narrow and you prefer an ultrawide display, then check out the MSI MPG 341CQPX QD-OLED. With a 34-inch ultrawide screen, it offers a more immersive feel, and you can place windows next to each other without using more vertical screen space. Besides the fact that it has a lower resolution than the Dell and images aren't as detailed, it performs very similarly. It also has a QD-OLED panel with the same high-end picture quality and vivid colors.

It even has a few useful productivity features that the Dell doesn't have, like a KVM switch that makes it easy to switch between sources and use the same keyboard and mouse. Its USB-C port also supports 90W of power delivery, so you can display an image from a laptop and charge it with the same cable. Besides that, the MSI is incredible for gaming, thanks to its 240Hz refresh rate and sharp motion handling. However, if you don't need such a high refresh rate, you can also check out the Dell Alienware AW3423DWF. It's another QD-OLED that tends to cost less, but it lacks a few features, like a KVM switch and USB-C port.

If you don't need gaming features and want a curved monitor only for work, consider the Dell U4025QW. It has fewer gaming features and worse picture quality than both the Dell Alienware AW3225QF and the MSI MPG 341CQPX QD-OLED, but the differences don't have a big impact on productivity tasks. However, instead of high-end picture quality, it has a much bigger 40-inch screen with a 5k2k resolution and high pixel density, producing extremely sharp text. It has many productivity features that make it great for office use, and it doesn't risk permanent burn-in like the QD-OLEDs, either.

Its massive USB hub has two of its five USB-C ports supporting Thunderbolt 4. This lets you display an image from a compatible laptop and charge it with the same cable. It also has a few handy features, like Picture-in-Picture/Picture-by-Picture modes to display images from two sources simultaneously. There's also a KVM switch that makes it easy to switch between different sources and use the same keyboard and mouse, which is ideal for multitasking.

If you don't need a high-end display for gaming or an office-oriented monitor like the Dell U4025QW and you're on a budget, check out the Dell S3422DWG. It has the same 34-inch screen size, 1440p resolution, and 1800R curve as the MSI MPG 341CQPX QD-OLED, but the main trade-off is that it has worse picture quality, which is what you must expect if you want to save some money. Instead of the QD-OLED panel, it has an LED-backlit LCD panel, so highlights don't pop, and HDR colors aren't as vivid, but it has a good contrast ratio and gets bright enough to fight glare in a well-lit room.

Unfortunately, it has narrow viewing angles that make the screen look washed out from the sides, so it's not a good choice for co-op gaming. Luckily, the curved screen brings the edges closer to you, so the sides don't look too washed out when you're sitting directly in front of it. Despite being a low-cost option, it still delivers a good gaming experience. It has VRR support to reduce screen tearing, but fast-moving objects look somewhat blurry and have smears behind them. 

If you need a simple and cheap curved monitor, there are a few decent options, although most have a 16:9 aspect ratio and aren't ultrawide like the Dell S3422DWG. If you're interested in that, the Gigabyte GS27QC is a decent choice that works well for gaming. It's a step down in overall performance compared to the Dell because it doesn't get as bright, so it's better to use it in a dark room, and it displays deep blacks in dark rooms.

Besides that, it has a max 170Hz refresh rate that you can achieve over a DisplayPort connection, but like the Dell, fast-moving objects look blurry and have smear behind them. Though it works well with gaming consoles, without HDMI 2.1 bandwidth and a 4k resolution, it can't take full advantage of them. Unfortunately, the monitor isn't very versatile for other uses as it has narrow viewing angles, but this is the case for most curved entry-level displays anyway. It also lacks a USB hub to connect other devices.