Widescreen Gaming Forum

Hello all

I have been going back and forth for a while now, trying to decide between multiple monitors or a single ultrawide. After some thought, I think I've decided to go with a single ultrawide. Mainly due to cost and limited room in my office. I will be playing Wildstar and the hope is that an ultrawide will allow me to move my UI elements to the far left and right sides of the screen, thus clearing up my playing area and making my gaming experience more enjoyable.

That being said, I don't know too much about ultrawides. Surprisingly, I've had trouble finding information on Google. That's where I hope you guys can help out. Below are some general question that I have. Feel free to add too and make suggestions as you see fit.

1. How is MMO gaming on ulstrawides? I've watched some videos on YouTube but it's still hard to get a good idea of how it feels. Everyone's experience is probably different but I would love to get the opinions from some folks who have gamed on ultrawides before.

2. As mentioned above, the plan is to drag most of my UI elements to the far left and right of the screen. a) How noticeable will the extra screen space really be? b) Could moving the UI to the edges possibly cause eyestrain? IE-constantly scanning from one end of the screen to the other.

3. How are the screen sizes measured? The most common sizes appear to be 25" and 27". Does that mean they will have the same height as a normal 25" and 27" windscreen? That would make sense, but the max resolution sizes seem to go against that theory.

4. Recommendations for a brand/model? Looking to stay below $350.00

All help and suggestions are much appreciated.

Nexrus wrote:1. How is MMO gaming on ulstrawides? I've watched some videos on YouTube but it's still hard to get a good idea of how it feels. Everyone's experience is probably different but I would love to get the opinions from some folks who have gamed on ultrawides before.

It's a bit different for each game - as you would expect. I haven't played Wildstar, but I have played a few others. WOW automatically puts the UI elements at the outer edges, as does Guild Wars 2. I don't remember the default behavior of LOTRO, but I do remember that the UI is fully customizable and you can do what you want with it.

Nexrus wrote:2. As mentioned above, the plan is to drag most of my UI elements to the far left and right of the screen. a) How noticeable will the extra screen space really be? b) Could moving the UI to the edges possibly cause eyestrain? IE-constantly scanning from one end of the screen to the other.

a) Very. b) No.

Nexrus wrote:3. How are the screen sizes measured? The most common sizes appear to be 25" and 27". Does that mean they will have the same height as a normal 25" and 27" windscreen? That would make sense, but the max resolution sizes seem to go against that theory.

They are measured diagonally from opposite corners. I haven't seen 25" or 27". I've only seen 29". They have about the same height at a 22" monitor. They are 2560x1080.

The newer 21:9 panels are 35", have 3440x1440 pixels, and have the same height as a 27" panel.

Nexrus wrote:4. Recommendations for a brand/model? Looking to stay below $350.00

I haven't kept up with pricing. I have the Dell U2913WM. It retails for $699. I've routinely seen it with discounts of $150 - $250. I saw one sale - one time - that got the price down to $350.

The 35" panels are running close to a grand. It will be a while before you find anything under $350.