Review on AOC CU34G2X: Ultimate Immersive, Frameless Ultrawide Screen for HD Gaming and More! by Zach Gopalan

Pros: - Such a price! $450 for these features is a steal. The resolution of 3440 x 1440 at 144 Hz is amazing. The increase in screen real estate in games and desktop usage is phenomenal. Freesync works almost flawlessly in most of the games I've tested. This monitor is factory calibrated and AOC even includes a calibration report. Mine was calibrated in SRGB mode as were most others. They claim that Delta E is less than 3, with an average of 0.51. I don't have the equipment to test this statement, but to the naked eye it seems very accurate. Contrast is about what you'd expect from a VA panel, which is always a good thing. Bright enough for us. who like to use their computer in brightly lit rooms. - This monitor has 10-bit color depth, although 8-bit dithering may be possible (which is still great). - Excellent uniformity. There are no gray uniformity issues and the screen brightness is very even. More features than most monitors! Always good to see. - If you like the black bezel insert, this monitor has it. - Only 1 screw is required to install the stand and it attaches to the monitor without tools. - Has all the useful monitor settings you could want. .- Standard power cord! Of course, this is a small point, but it's a very nice convenience. Technically, basic HDR support is a plus. Cons: HDR support on this monitor doesn't do much, 400 nits isn't very bright for HDR, there's no local dimming, and Windows support is terrible. Max brightness will likely introduce fewer errors than HDR adds. While black uniformity is better than most monitors (especially curved monitors), it still has very little haze, mainly on the left and right edges of the display. .- Reaction time. I don't consider myself a person who often sees halos, but I can see some of them on this monitor. Setting the overdrive to medium eliminates most of this, but if you're more sensitive to ghosting you'll likely notice it anyway. If you set it hard, you'll get overshoot, but not as much ghosting. AOC's decision to continue using 4 buttons at the bottom of the display for the OSD is extremely unfortunate. A joystick would be much better. You can get around this somewhat by downloading the G-Menu software from their website, but you don't need to install any software to easily change the settings. The structure is mostly made of plastic. I don't think it's a deal breaker and it feels sturdy by plastic standards, but it's worth mentioning. Viewing angles aren't as good as an IPS display if you often work off-center or use multiple monitors. .- BFI noticeably dims the monitor and cannot be used with Adaptive Sync. If you need both features, the ASUS VG27AQ lets you do it, although this display isn't ultrawide.