IN THIS WONDERFUL world of working
from home, finding the right monitor to
maximize your productivity is pivotal. You
can have the best system on the planet,
but if you’re still staring at a 22-inch
screen from 2009, it might be about time
you ditched the aging tech, and boosted
your monitor real-estate to something a
little more modern, and with quite a lot
more breadth.
We’re big supporters of ultra-wide and
multi-screen setups here at Maximum
PC, and have had a lot of hands-on time
with the 21:9 form factor as a result.
We’ve tested everything from the very
budget-oriented panels from the likes
of Acer, AOC, and MSI, to the absolute
high-end Asus ProArt screens and LG’s
fantastic 38-inch panels.
So why do we recommend it? Well
simply put it allows you to do so much
more than what you can on a traditional
24-inch or 27-inch 16:9 monitor. For many
the idea of two screens makes a lot of
sense—twin 27-inch monitors can easily
help you separate multiple documents,
programs and tasks, and allows you to
game on a single screen if you so desire.
It’s affordable because you can take an
older screen and pair it with a newer
one. The only problems lie with the fact
that they take up a lot of desk space, and
there’s that thick bezel in between the
two panels, no matter what you do.
You can get 54-inch screens these
days, effectively merging those two
27-inchers, but the reality is that’s still a
massive display to have on your desk. 34
inches on the other hand seems to be the
middle-child of the productivity monitors
right now, and the sweet spot, if you’re
looking for something both to game on
and spend your working hours with.IN THE SWEET SPOT
Take this ViewSonic Elite XG350R-C as
an example. It’s slightly larger than your
standard superwide, coming in at a 35-
inch diagonal. But it also comes with a
high-contrast 2500:1 curved (1800R)
MVA panel that’s perfect for vibrant color
work; a 100Hz refresh rate for buttery
smooth desktop and gaming usage; a
crisp 1440p resolution, giving you the
same pixel density as the best 1440p
27.5-inch monitor; and FreeSync (and
therefore G-Sync) as standard—all for an
incredibly impressive $660. That’s a lot ofThe perfect home office gaming monitor?
ViewSonic Elite XG350R-C
9
VERDICT Viewsonic XG350R-CILLUMINATING Pristine color
accuracy; great price point;
hyper-versatile.
FADED HDR a bit pointless; thick bezel.
$660 http://www.viewsonic.comSPECIFICATIONSResolution 3440 x 1440
Pixel Density 107 PPI
Panel Type 35-inch 8-bit VA
Maximum Refresh 100 Hz
Contrast 2500:1
Response 3 ms G2G
Display Inputs DisplayPort, HDMI
VESA Mount 100 x 100
Warranty 3 Yearsscreen for not a huge amount of outlay. So
what’s the catch?
Well honestly not a lot. Colors are
crisp and accurate, and the contrast is
fantastic as a whole. It does theoretically
support an HDR mode, but we found it
quite dull, and there doesn’t seem to be
an expanded color gamut, which makes
you question why that HDR10 spec was
included at all. Although you won’t be
missing out on much, as HDR on PC is still
somewhat underdeveloped. On the whole
the stand and ergonomics are fairly
clean. The Elite branding isn’t too obtuse,
and what little RGB lighting there is you
typically forget exists after about 5-10
minutes of use. The only thing we would
say is the bezel is rather thick. You’ve got
a big half-inch plastic border running
around the entirety of the panel itself,
which detracts from the aesthetic appeal.
We’re starting to see a lot of these
prices drop for this form factor too.
In fact, you can pick up a fairly similar
screen from the likes of Asus for about
$80 less, although the color accuracy
doesn’t quite match what you’ll find
here. ViewSonic has a nack for producing
precision-perfect panels, and the XG350R
is no exception to that. Despite the fact it’s
branded as a gaming monitor by design,
when it’s side by side with a $1,000 Asus
ProArt 34-inch screen the difference is
very difficult to perceive. –ZAK STOREYmaximumpc.com SEP 2020 MAXIMUMPC 69