MONITORS
ISSUE392|COMPUTER SHOPPER|OCTOBER 2020 71
THERE’SONLYSOmuch performance that
can be wrung out of existing displaypanel
tech. The Optix MPG341CQR suggests MSI
knows this: instead of trying to set new
standards forimage qualityand gaming
responsiveness, this hulking ultrawide
monitor defines itself by averitable wealth
of hardware features and software tools,
from mouse bungee and camera mount
attachments to afacial-recognition camera
that helps the software switch between
different profiles fordifferent users.
NEWTOYS
More on these shortly,but first the basics:
the Optix MPG341CQR uses an ultrawide 34in,
3,440x1,440 VA panel, running at 144Hz and
gently rounded with a1800R curvature.
It certainly looks like apremium gaming
monitor,with RGB lighting strips on the rear,
and the metal stand does an excellent job of
keeping that gigantic 34in screen nice and
steady.Itprovides agoodmix of height, tilt
and pivot adjustment too, and you can
VESA-mount the screen, as long as you’ve
got astrong enough wall.
There’s avery decent smattering of video
inputs, including two HDMI ports, one
DisplayPort and even aUSB Type-C port; this
can carry DisplayPort but isn’t afull-fat
Thunderbolt 3connector.That’s still fine for
occasionally plugging in alaptop,and it’s
joined on the rear by aUSB3 port, an optical
S/PDIF connector –arare high-end bonus for
audiophiles –and aUSB Type-B port. The
concealment of these ports makes them
harder to reach, but thankfully there are
another two USB3 ports on the leftside,next
to separate 3.5mm mic and headphone jacks.
The Optix MPG341CQR also employs the
finest –which is to say, least fiddly –ofOSD
controls, the joystick. This sits on the back,
though not so farout of reach that it’s a
stretch to use,and makes it very quick to
flick through the OSD’s various menus.
These are sensibly laid out, and are filled
with all the toolsyou’d need and expect.
The arsenal of extras starts small, with
the mouse bungee.This clips on to the
monitor’s underside near either the right
or leftcorner,and helpfully holds a
mouse cable to stop it dragging around
on the desk or falling down behind the
back. While the clip-on fastening system
feels loose at first, in practice it held firm.
The camera mount is another neat
addition. It looks like aball head tripod
mount, but clips tightly to anywhere along
the Optix MPG341CQR’s topedge,allowing
MSI OptixMPG341CQR
★★★★★
£860•Fromwww.amazon.co.uk
VERDICT
Thiscurvedultrawideisexpensive,buthasstrong144Hz
gamingcredentialsandanextraordinaryrangeoffeatures
you to attach aDSLR
to use as awebcam
alternative.Although
this is farmore of a
niche feature –mainly
forprofessional,
enthusiast and aspiring
livestreamers –it’s been weell executed.GONE SOFT
As long as the Type-B
cable is attached, the
Optix MPG341CQR can alsoobe managed
by desktop software insteaddoffthheOOSSD.
Thisisamanualdownload,butmouse
controlandthesheerbreadthofoptions
make it easily worth the effort.
Hook up another source device,for
example,and Gaming OSD 2.0 will make it
easy to set up either picture-in-picture
(PIP) or picture-by-picture (PBP) viewing
modes, and the Split window group of
settings is particularly brilliant fordesktop
multitasking. This quickly snaps up to five
different application windows intoaneat
layout of your choosing.
This software is where you’ll set up the
facial recognition camera, although in
practice,we’re sad to sayitdoesn’t work
well at all. The camera’s low position and
viewing angle means taller users must lean
down to get in view,and even then, the
recognition process takes several seconds of
awkward staring before it makes apositive
match. Since you have to load the software
anyway, it’s ultimately faster to select a
profile by simply clicking on it.
As forthe more fundamental issue of
image quality,the Optix MPG341CQR copes
well, even if some of MSI’s official numbers
are,toput it charitably,ambitious.
The default User profile covers a
respectable 93.1% of the sRGB colour gamut,andwhilecolouraccuracyisn’tideal–we
measuredanaveragedelta-Eof3.2–there
areworseproblemsforagaming,non-
professionalmonitortohave.Peakbrightness,
sadly,fallsshortofthe400cd/m^2 needed for
true HDR400 capability: the Optix
MPG341CQR only got to 316cd/m^2 ,and its
measured contrast ratio of 2,010:1 is hardly
the 3,000:1 promised by MSI. In themselves,
these results are fine (especially contrast
ratio,acharacteristic strength of VA panels),
but that’s all the more reason forMSI to
resist inflating them.
Enabling the HDR profile helps the Optix
MPG341CQR come closer to fulfilling the
advertised specs, albeit worsening
performance in other areas. The sRGB
coverage,contrast and brightness all get a
boost in this mode –upto95.4%, 2,259:1 and
358cd/m^2 respectively –but crucially,thatlast
result still isn’t enough to enable true HDR
content. Colour accuracy also suffers abig
blow,with average delta-E rising to 7.4.
At least gaming performance is
consistently good. Both FreeSync and
G-Sync work effectively,the grey-to-grey
response time of 4msisnicely sharp,and
although there is asmidgen of regular
ghosting on fast-moving objects, it’s
relatively minor and can be ignored
if you’re not actively looking forit.EXTRA EXTRA
On the whole,MSI’s unusual approach
to the Optix MPG341CQR ends up
largely successful. Forpure gaming
enjoyment it doesn’t match the LG
27GL850’s value,but this isn’t just a
screen: it’s bristling with functions and
neat little hardware bonuses.
Even the innovations that don’t
work out so well –mainly the camera –are,at
the veery least, admirable failures in acorner of
the PC hardware market that’s usually all too
hhaappppyyto coast along on the same old ideas.