The 4 Best UltraWide Monitors for Gaming (2024)

If you haven't gamed on a curved monitor before you literally don't know what you're missing. You get peripheral screen real estate and some of the highest refresh rates in the business. This Alienware is our favorite that we've seen, and it's the one we'd recommend to most people.

It's a manageable size at 34-inches and a modest price for the hardware you're getting, which is a 3440x1440 pixel Quantum Dot OLED screen with HDR, NVIDIA G-SYNC, and a 175 Hz maximum refresh rate. The result is a monitor that's just stunning in person—looks amazing, handles games well, and fits most desk spaces. It's a well-designed monitor that makes it easy to get the most out of your Steam library.

That said, this monitor isn't just for gaming. Unless you've got the real estate two separate monitors, you are going to need something multi-purpose. This Alienware was more than capable handling standard work and Adobe software with its Creator Mode.

Go a slight step up from that Alienware monitor and you'll find yourself firmly in Samsung's wheelhouse. Samsung's Odyssey monitors are next-level, some of our absolute favorites. That's why we're including not one, but two of them here.

This first one impresses most when it comes to refresh rate. The Odyssey G93SC is one of the fastest gaming monitors on the market with its 240 Hz refresh rate support. This makes it fast and responsive. Though it's tough to hold that 240 Hz when playing online, when played locally, this monitor produces some of the most beautiful, smoothest gameplay we've seen.

It's form factor is mighty impressive as well. The nearly 50-inch curved screen lets you bask in the glory of Samsung's true black HDR. And this is one of the thinnest monitors we've ever seen in the wild and the fact that it is also one of the most crisp blows our minds. It may suffer from the lack of as many USB ports as a result, but that's really the only place we can ding this excellent gaming monitor.

To get the highest resolution ultrawide monitor out there, you'll need (yes, need) to shell out for this 57-inch dual 4K display. The Odyssey Neo G9 from Samsung uses Quantum mini-LEDs to power its radically detailed display that fully ensconces you. This monitor's curve is intense stuff for only the most dedicated gamers. The 1000R radius is nearly as fully curved as it goes, meaning this is as true-to-life as it gets. When you lean in, it really feels as though you've got full peripheral vision.

It's also a sharp, lightning-fast 240 Hz monitor, and it shares all the features that made the Odyssey G93SC such a no-brainer choice. What we found here was a beautiful picture and the best refresh rates in the game.

The Neo G9 is also a great choice for a home desktop where multi-tasking is the main priority. Having a dual-monitor's worth of screen that can be split any which way you like it is a solve to the productivity that some of us feel we only get from two screens.

If dropping a grand on a monitor isn't in your budget right now, we get it. We have an option for you that will cost less than a new gaming console. This 34-inch curved monitor from Dell will show you the majesty of a ultrawide display without all the bells and whistles of these other devices. It won't change your life in quite the same way but if you're looking at a monitor as a necessity—not a luxury—this could be the perfect one for you.

The big downside to this Dell monitor is its pretty bog standard 144 Hz refresh rate. It doesn't take full advantage of any fancy hardware you have running the latest and greatest games, but otherwise it's a pretty awesome monitor that will last at least a few years.

There's a few key ingredients to make the perfect monitor for you. These are our testing criteria.

Size: Both the size of your screen and the actual monitor itself matter. Knowing how much space you are working with is a great starting point for figuring out how big of a monitor you want. Screen size is important, but it's directly tied to cost. The more you want the more you will have to pay.

Display: How your games look on the screen is important. Resolution is one of the first things you should look into. Ultrawide monitors start at 3440x1440 pixels but go up from there. Whether the monitor is an OLED, miniLED, or UHD screen will also impact the picture quality. HDR and other advanced lighting techniques also have major ramifications on how your games will look.

Refresh Rate: Higher refresh rate means a smoother image. That's the long story short. A rate between 144 Hz and 240 Hz is what you will see for a gaming monitor. Not all games support the highest refresh rates of 240 Hz, but that's about where the technology currently tops out.

Whats' the difference between ultrawide and regular monitors?

Ultrawide monitors have a differnet aspect ratio than standard monitors. 16:9 has long since been the standard for computer monitors, but these "ultrawide" displays push that to 21:9, making for a wider, more cinematic-feeling monitor. They can be great for gaming, entertainment, and productivity.

Why did we only pick curved monitors?

There are two types of ultrawide monitors: flat and curved. Flat ultrawide monitors are simply a waste of money, whereas curved monitors are built around how our peripheral vision actually works, allowing you to see more of the screen that paid for by inch. Flat ultrawide monitors are often criticized for this reason. All of the best reviewed and most well-liked ultrawide monitors for gaming are curved, which is why we only picked them.

How is monitor curvature measured?

Curvature is referred to by a number followed by the letter R, to represent radius. Monitors can range from 4000R all the way down to 800R, but the ones we've selected as the best are all between 1800R (the unofficial standard for ultrawide monitors) down to 1000R. The LG Ultragear does have a curvature radius of 800R, but that's starting to get a little too tight for us.

At Esquire, we test and research every product and piece of gear before passing our expertise on to our readers.We test our monitors by using them the same way you would. We're not counting pixels or setting up a lab to try to compare them all at once, because no person would really benefit from that. Instead, we take the time to make sure they can withstand daily use and that all use cases are accounted for. In this case we focused on gaming, testing a range of titles across genres to see how each monitor looked in action.

From portable monitors to sound systems, we don't recommend anything to our readers that we wouldn't feel comfortable buying for ourselves or our friends and family.