MSI MAG342CQM 1500R Curvature 21:9 Aspect Ratio Narrow Bezel 1ms 3440 x 1440 (UWQHD) 144Hz Refresh Rate Tilt/Swivel/Height/Pivot Adjustment 34 AMD Freesync Gaming Curved Monitor, Black

I have only had the monitor for one day so this review will reflect that. I plan on updating this review in a month or so after some decent time has been put on it. Firstly, this is my first monitor upgrade in nearly ten years since I purchased dual Dell 22 P2211ht monitors-- and its astounding to see first hand, not just on YouTube reviews, just how far diplays have come in that time even on the low end of spectrum. The wow factor here is 10/10. 34 of screen space is much more impressive when it is on your desk. I have a sizeable desk, and Im now looking at side tables to put my full tower PC on. At the same time though, not having to swing my 22 forward on the vesa arm it was mounted on is saving valuable real estate and now its not as cramped feeling when I have my hotas or wheel out for sim racing/flight sims. I was concerned about the curvature coming from a flat panel but its actually very nice, feels natural and took less than an hour for it to feel like the new normal. Zero dead pixels on the display from what I can tell, no manufacturing defects-- a big relief after seeing some other reviews complain of those things. Ghosting/smearing is not really noticeable in my use case (sim racing) but is present. I got used to it pretty quickly and it doesnt bother me. Once Im in game I dont notice it. I dont notice any blacklight bleed but I dont play in pitch darkness, either. Other games can produce more noticeable effects. The color needed some adjusting. The OSD is functional and I had no issues adjusting contrast and brightness to tone down the oversaturation that was present out of the box. It does seem a bit washed out but still looks nice. I dont have a real need for HDR so I cant comment on that yet. The display is plenty bright, brighter than my old monitors. USB ports would be nice but this isnt a dealbreaker, my PC has plenty for my needs. Wish the RGB worked with mystic light or was at least adjustable since I dont really care for rainbow RGB. As far as build quality, it doesnt seem terrible but isnt premium. The stand is sturdy and while the plastic gives off flimsy vibes I was adjusting tilt and height just fine without anything other than plastic-y creaks and pops that seem slightly more pronounced than my previous Dells. I have a GTX 1070 (thanks, cryptominers!) so not too many games I play can make full use of the refresh rate but the ones that I could push there felt great. Very fluid and smooth. All in all, first impressions are very positive. A pretty big leap in technology for myself and I feel the price is fair. I can easily recommend it at the sub $500 price point and have zero regrets so far.

NO SPEAKER!!! NO SPEAKER!!! NO SPEAKER!!!

Picture quality wise this monitor is great. But it will randomly go out in a frozen black pic where even the power button will not work and unit needs to be unplugged. This happens 2-3 times per week. I am going to see if issue persists not that I have a new GPU for with monitor. If it does I will need this serviced as a defect. But when not randomly going out the pic quality and in game response is amazing. I am using stock display port cable that came with the monitor. If this issue resolves itself or if MSI make repairs smooth I will raise this rating.

I love this monitor. Expansive, Immersive, Fast response rate, Great picture quality, more functions than anticipated, and just a Wonderful product!

Great picture quality and awesome screen size. Definitely would recommend.