Check out this quick overview of new hardware we've recently received at the WSGF. We're going to start a new game performance analysis series - diving into how different GPUs perform in Eyefinity, 21:9 ultra-widescreen and 4k UHD. Let us know what games you'd like us to test first.
LG has announced a curved version of it's recently released 34" 21:9 ultra-wide panel. The 34UC97 is being billed as “the world’s first curved monitor with an extra-wide 21:9 aspect ratio". You can get the official press announcement form the LG UK Blog here. Below are pics of the panel, and three of them in a beautiful curved arc.
Based on two reports from Engadget, both LG and Samsung are poised to showcase 105" Ultra HD TVs sporting a 21:9 "ultra widescreen" aspect ratio. Both displays are curved, and sport a resolution of 5,120 x 2,160 - a total of 11.06M pixels.
By comparison a "4K UHD" display has 8.29M pixels, making these sets basically 5.3K UHD". By way of comparison, a 5x1-Portrait Eyefinity configuration has 10.4M pixels, and an aspect ratio of 25.3:9 - just wider than the 21:9 aspect ratio here. Recently announced 3440x1440 21:9 displays have 4.93M pixels (roughly 2.5 HD), and just under half the pixels of these new massive panels.
If you've got the money for one of these new displays, you can compare performance to any 5x1-Portrait Eyefinity benchmarks out there. Until this resolution makes its eventual way to PC displays, you can keep on the lookout for the 34" 3440x1440 panels which will require half the horsepower.
Leaked details showed up today on Guru 3D regarding the Dell U3415W panel. And LG version was also recently leaked.
Details on the Dell model include an IPS panel and a 3440x1440 21:9 apsect ratio based off of 1440p vertical, rather than the 1080p baseline for the current 2560x1080 U2913WM. The inclusion of the U would indicate the panel is in the UltraSharp family, and the inclusion of the W would continue the nomenclature of the "ultra Wide" naming convention. The lack of the M in the name would mean a departure from LED backlighting.
The exclusion of the LED backlighting would be a step back for the 21:9 series, but the increase in size and pixel count is a definite step forward. Hopefully we will end up with a U2415WM. The 3440x1440 contains 4,953,600 pixels, which is close to 2.5x HD. This puts the panel at a better performance place than Eyefinity or Surround which are 3x HD, and considerably less than 4k UHD which is 4x HD.
This is a video I've been wanting to to for a while, and it took me much longer to get finished than what I anticipated. But, it's finally here. In this video we take a look at consuming movies and media on the ultra-wide 21:9 panel (via Mac and PC). We also take a look at how "alternative" gaming and media sources (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, Apple TV an U-Verse) work with the ultra-wide panel.
See the full article for the list of topics and appliances, and their location in the video.
In a nice little bit of news, I was tipped off to the fact that Michael Dell (yes, THE Michael Dell) shared my "3 over 1" gaming rig on his Google+ page. He linked to my video of the 21:9 ultra-wide gaming reel. Pretty cool. You can see the post here.
Last week was a good week for monitor fans. TFT Central completed their review of the 21:9 Dell U2913WM, and updated their review of the new Dell U2713H.
Reviews:Dell U2913WM and updated Dell U2713H.
Over the past few days we have been working to add the proper data elements to our games database, so that we can log support for 21:9 2560x1080 monitors. We have also added elements for testing the 2560x1080 resolution, as well as fields for the 21:9 support method (native, .ini edit. etc), HUD placement and whether the 21:9 aspect ratio introduces any unique anomalies into the game play.
I received my Dell U2913WM just before Thanksgiving, and spent some time running a handful of games on it to see how they fared. Used the NVIDIA GTX670 for testing, and looking at how each game performed at 2560x1080. We looked at gameplay, menus, HUD and cut-scenes. See the full article for the list of games, and their location in the video.
I got wind that the Dell U2913WM 21:9 Ultra Widescreen was available for sale this morning, by way of a tweet this morning. It pointed out the DP 1.2 OUTPUT on the panel, and linked to the product page. In addition to the DP 1.2 output, it also has a Mini-DP input. This would be welcome to all the AMD users who have Mini-DP outputs, and the MacBook Pro users (like myself) who have Thunderbolt outputs.
I've got a panel on order, and will start testing games (and playing) as soon as it gets here. Expect a lot of news, videos and updates once we get the panel in house.
