The HP OMEN 34c is a budget-friendly ultrawide gaming monitor. It has a 34-inch screen with a 1500R curve and a 3440x1440 resolution, and it competes with other similar monitors like the Dell S3422DWG and the Gigabyte G34WQC. It's focused on gaming with a 165Hz refresh rate and supports FreeSync variable refresh rate (VRR) technology to reduce screen tearing. It supports OMEN Gaming Hub so you can customize settings and take advantage of some extra features to improve your gaming experience. It's barebones besides that and only comes with two HDMI 2.0 ports and one DisplayPort 1.4 input, as it lacks a USB hub.
Our Verdict
The HP OMEN 34c is good for most uses. It's very good for gaming as it has a 165Hz refresh rate, VRR support, and low input lag, but there's smearing with fast-moving objects, and it lacks HDMI 2.1 bandwidth. It's also good for office work and content creation as its 34-inch ultrawide screen is ideal for multitasking, but it takes time to get used to its curvature, and it has narrow viewing angles that make the image appear washed out from the sides. Lastly, it's good if you want to sit back and watch content thanks to its high contrast ratio, but it lacks a local dimming feature, and it fails to make highlights pop in HDR.
- 34-inch ultrawide screen.
- Great peak brightness.
- Good reflection handling.
- High contrast ratio.
- Excellent accuracy before calibration.
- Narrow viewing angles.
- Limited ergonomics.
- Curved screen may take time to get used to.
- Motion is blurry.
The HP OMEN 34c is good for office use. Its ultrawide 34-inch screen offers plenty of space to multitask and has good text clarity. It also gets bright enough to fight glare if you want to use it in a well-lit room and has good reflection handling. Unfortunately, it's a bad choice if you need to share your screen with someone else as it has limited ergonomics and narrow viewing angles, so the image looks washed out from the sides. Its curved screen makes it more difficult to view when sharing your screen with someone else, as it's meant to sit directly in front of.
- 34-inch ultrawide screen.
- Great peak brightness.
- Good reflection handling.
- Good text clarity.
- Narrow viewing angles.
- Limited ergonomics.
- Curved screen may take time to get used to.
The HP OMEN 34c is very good for gaming. It has a 165Hz refresh rate with FreeSync VRR and G-SYNC compatibility to reduce screen tearing. Its input lag is very low for a responsive feel, and it also has a decent response time, but there's smearing and blur with fast-moving objects. Luckily, it's good if you want to use it in a dark room as it displays deep blacks. Unfortunately, it has limited compatibility with gaming consoles and modern graphics cards as it lacks HDMI 2.1 bandwidth.
- 34-inch ultrawide screen.
- 165Hz refresh rate.
- FreeSync VRR and G-SYNC compatibility.
- Low input lag.
- Motion is blurry.
- Lack of HDMI 2.1 bandwidth.
The HP OMEN 34c is good for media consumption. It has a high contrast ratio that displays deep blacks, and the black uniformity is decent, but it lacks a local dimming feature to improve either of those. Its ultrawide format is ideal for watching widescreen movies, but not with someone next to you, as it has narrow viewing angles, and the stand offers limited ergonomics.
- 34-inch ultrawide screen.
- Great peak brightness.
- High contrast ratio.
- Decent black uniformity.
- Narrow viewing angles.
- Limited ergonomics.
- No local dimming feature.
The HP OMEN 34c is good for media creation. Its ultrawide format helps you see more of your video timeline at once or multitask more, and it has good text clarity. It also has excellent accuracy, so you won't need to get it calibrated unless you need perfectly accurate colors. It has a few downsides, though, as its curved screen makes straight lines appear curved. It also has narrow viewing angles and limited ergonomics, making it difficult to share the screen with a coworker or client.
- 34-inch ultrawide screen.
- Great peak brightness.
- Good reflection handling.
- Excellent accuracy before calibration.
- Narrow viewing angles.
- Limited ergonomics.
- Curved screen may take time to get used to.
The HP OMEN 34c is decent for HDR. It has a great native contrast ratio that makes blacks look deep next to bright highlights, and it has decent black uniformity. However, without a local dimming feature, neither of those are improved, and small highlights don't pop against the rest of the image. It displays a wide range of colors in HDR, but it doesn't get bright enough to make all colors look vivid and saturated.
- 34-inch ultrawide screen.
- High contrast ratio.
- No local dimming feature.
- Not bright enough for highlights to pop.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 34-inch HP OMEN 34c, which is the only size available for this monitor.
| Model | Size | Panel Type | Resolution | Max Refresh Rate | Curve |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34c | 34" | VA | 3440x1440 | 165Hz | 1500R |
Our unit was manufactured in June 2023; you can see the label here. We tested this monitor with firmware 1.50.4.0.
Popular Monitor Comparisons
The HP OMEN 34c is a good budget-friendly ultrawide gaming monitor that has things you'd expect to find in a gaming monitor, like VRR support and low input lag. However, it doesn't excel at anything, and its smearing and motion blur are disappointing if you play fast-paced games with a lot of moving objects. While it's a slight upgrade to other budget options like the Gigabyte G34WQC, it still isn't as well-rounded as the Dell S3422DWG, which gets brighter in HDR and has better console compatibility.
See our recommendations for the best 34-49 inch monitors, the best curved gaming monitors, and the best ultrawide gaming monitors.
The Dell S3422DWG and the HP OMEN 34c are similar ultrawide gaming monitors, but there are a few differences. While the HP has a slightly higher 165Hz refresh rate, the Dell has a quicker response time, leading to less motion blur, but each monitor has smearing with fast-moving objects. The Dell is also better to use with gaming consoles as it can downscale a 4k image, which the HP can't do. Lastly, the Dell has a few extra features, like a USB hub, making it the better choice if you need more USB ports to plug in your devices.
The HP OMEN 34c and the Samsung Odyssey G50D S27DG50 are different types of gaming monitors. The Samsung is a 27-inch monitor, while the HP has a wider 34-inch screen, offering a more immersive feel. They also use different panels, with the Samsung having wider viewing angles and the HP having a higher contrast ratio for deeper blacks in dark rooms. While the Samsung has blur with fast-moving objects, it has less black smearing than the HP.
The Gigabyte G34WQC and the HP OMEN 34c are similar monitors in specs and performance, but there are a few differences. The HP delivers slightly better image quality thanks to its improved image accuracy and wider range of colors in HDR. The HP also has a bit better motion handling, but each monitor has issues with that anyway. However, the Gigabyte is more versatile if you want to use it for console gaming as it downscales 4k signals, which the HP can't do.
The Samsung Odyssey G55T C34G55T and the HP OMEN 34 are both good ultrawide gaming monitors. They share many similarities, but there are a few differences too. The HP gets brighter, so it's better to use in a well-lit space, and it has better ergonomics that make it easier to adjust. The HP also has better motion handling, but each monitor has smearing with fast-moving objects. One plus that the Samsung has is that it downscales 4k signals, which the HP can't do, making it a better choice for console gaming.
We buy and test more than 30 monitors each year, all of which we purchase ourselves, without cherry-picked units or samples. We put a lot into each unbiased, straight-to-the-point review, and there's a whole process from purchasing to publishing, involving multiple teams and people. We do more than just use the monitor for a week; we use specialized, custom tools to measure various aspects and deliver objective, data-driven results. We also consider multiple factors before making any recommendations, including the monitor's cost, its performance compared to the competition, and whether it's easy to find.
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