The 5 Best Ultrawide Monitors - Fall 2021 Reviews

The LG 38WN95C-W is the best ultrawide monitor for office use we've tested; it's very good for office use, with a large, high-resolution screen great for multitasking. It has great connectivity, with a single DisplayPort, two HDMI ports, and a USB-C port. The USB-C port supports Thunderbolt 3, supporting higher power delivery and more bandwidth than the more common DisplayPort Alt Mode support found on most USB-C monitors.

It's a very good monitor, especially if your work requires accurate colors or a wide color gamut. It has exceptional gradient handling and excellent gray uniformity, so you don't have to worry about banding. It has perfect coverage of the sRGB color space used by most current web and desktop content and excellent coverage of the wider Adobe RGB color space.

It has great peak brightness, but sadly, it has just okay reflection handling, so direct sunlight might still be an issue. When you're not working, this is also a great monitor for gaming and a very good monitor for watching videos. However, it's not as good in a dark room, as it has a low contrast ratio and mediocre black uniformity. Overall, it's a great monitor for pretty much anything, and it should please most people.

The best ultrawide monitor we've tested with native FreeSync support for gaming is the LG 34GP83A-B. It's a rather simple gaming monitor with great gaming performance that rivals more expensive options, providing good value for its price. It's fairly well-built, and the 34 inch screen has a slight curve, bringing the edges more within your field of view.

Its IPS panel has wide viewing angles, so the image remains accurate when viewing from the sides, making it a great choice for co-op gaming. It has native FreeSync support, and if you have an NVIDIA graphics card, it's G-SYNC compatible to reduce screen tearing. Input lag is low for a responsive gaming experience, and it has a very quick response time for smooth motion. You can overclock its 144Hz native refresh rate to 160Hz with a DisplayPort connection.

Unfortunately, its dark room performance isn't good because it has a low contrast that makes blacks look grey, and it lacks a local dimming feature. However, if you want to use it in a room with a few lights around, it gets bright enough to combat glare, but its reflection handling is just okay. The 3440x1440 resolution also helps it display clear text. Overall, it's one of the best ultrawide monitors we've tested.

The best ultrawide monitor with native G-SYNC support that we've tested is the LG 34GP950-B. Having variable refresh rate (VRR) support in the form of native G-SYNC is advantageous for those with NVIDIA graphics cards as you can take full advantage of them. It also works with FreeSync, and even though it has a 144Hz native refresh rate, you can overclock it to 180Hz over a DisplayPort connection.

Motion looks incredibly smooth thanks to the outstanding response time, whether you're gaming at its max refresh rate or 60Hz. It doesn't have a backlight strobing feature to improve the appearance of motion, but you shouldn't need it either. Input lag is low for a responsive gaming experience. Like the LG 34GP83A-B, it has a 34 inch screen with a 3440x1440 resolution, delivering an immersive gaming experience, and it has a slightly curved screen so that the edges are more within your field of vision.

Unfortunately, its stand doesn't offer any swivel adjustments, and you can't rotate it in portrait mode either, but that's expected from an ultrawide monitor. It has an IPS panel with a low contrast, so blacks look gray, but that means it has wide viewing angles instead. Overall, it's the best ultrawide monitor with native G-SYNC support.

The best budget ultrawide monitor we've tested is the Acer Nitro XV340CK Pbmiipphzx. Like most 34 inch ultrawides, it has a 3440x1440 resolution and a 21:9 aspect ratio. It's decently well-built, and it comes with a stand that provides a good amount of ergonomic adjustments, including a full 360-degree swivel.

It has a 144Hz refresh rate and an excellent response time, which means fast-moving content looks smooth and clear. Input lag is extremely low, and it has both native FreeSync support and G-SYNC compatibility to reduce screen tearing. There's a backlight strobing feature to improve motion clarity, but it isn't usable while VRR is active and might cause image duplication. It's best suited for a moderately lit room since, even though it has good reflection handling, it doesn't get very bright, meaning glare might be an issue.

Unfortunately, it can't display a wide color gamut even though it supports HDR, and its mediocre contrast ratio makes blacks appear gray in the dark. Despite its budget price, there are extra features, like a USB hub with two USB 3.0 ports, a Picture-in-Picture mode, and built-in speakers. The backlight is entirely flicker-free, and there's also a blue light filter to help reduce eye strain. Nevertheless, it's a great ultrawide gaming monitor that won't break the bank.