The 6 Best Ultrawide Monitors - Winter 2020
Reviews

The best ultrawide monitor we've tested so far is the Dell U3818DW. It's a curved monitor with a 21:9 aspect ratio and a great 3840x1600 resolution that allows it to display most of your work or gaming arena, minimizing the need for scrolling. The monitor supports both Picture-in-Picture and Picture-by-Picture, which is great for multitasking using two PCs. Its ergonomics, considering the size, allow you to position the monitor comfortably by letting you adjust the height and swivel to your liking. This monitor has a decent overall picture quality and the image remains accurate even when you sit up close so you can immerse yourself into your gaming. It's more suitable for most bright rooms, as it can handle reflections well and can get decently bright to fight glare.

This is a flicker-free monitor with a great response time that displays fast-moving content with only little blur and a very low input lag that'll please most gamers. Unfortunately, it has a mediocre contrast ratio and blacks look gray when in a dark room, like with most IPS monitors. Also, the monitor lacks support for any variable refresh rate technology, which might be disappointing to some demanding gamers.

Overall, however, this is the best ultrawide monitor and delivers good performance in most uses.

When it comes to gaming ultrawide monitors, the Dell Alienware AW3418DW is the best ultrawide gaming monitor that we've tested so far. With a 3440x1440 resolution, a fast 100Hz refresh rate, and an excellent response time, it delivers a crisp image and clear motion with very little blur. There's something to be said about the movie-watching experience as well; as most modern movies are filmed in a 21:9 aspect ratio, movies fill up the screen from edge to edge, with no presence of black bars. The inclusion of NVIDIA's G-SYNC technology is truly the cherry on top, allowing near tear-free gaming without the use of vertical sync, which increases input lag.

As for ports, it doesn't have as many inputs as the Dell U3818DW, and doesn't support Picture-in-Picture or Picture-beside-Picture modes, which may be disappointing if you're looking for a more versatile monitor for a home office.

Lastly, like the majority of IPS monitors, this monitor doesn't look as good in a dark room due to the poor black uniformity. Overall, though, it's a great monitor and is our recommendation for the best widescreen monitor for gaming.

The LG 34GK950F-B is the best FreeSync ultrawide gaming monitor that we've tested so far. It has all the features of a great gaming monitor without the price premium of a G-SYNC variant. Excellent motion handling, excellent response time, outstanding low input lag, and the optional black frame insertion all contribute to a great gaming experience, where fast-moving objects are clear with minimal blur.

Like most IPS monitors, viewing angles are good; great for co-op gaming or if you like to sit close to the monitor. It has very good peak brightness and great reflection handling, so glare in a bright room shouldn't be an issue. HDR support is also present but doesn't improve the image quality all that much.

LG also provides a decent selection of ports, including a DisplayPort, two HDMI ports, and a USB 3.0 hub. The monitor sports a somewhat overused color scheme of red on black typical of gaming monitors; however, the red accents are mostly on the back and are fairly subtle.

Unfortunately, this monitor isn't a great choice for gaming in a dark room, though. The low contrast ratio causes blacks to look gray, and it has bad black uniformity. Overall, it's a great gaming monitor and is the best FreeSync ultrawide gaming monitor.