If unbranded Samsung VA panels sound good and you like the idea of a 3440×1080 or 3840×1080 screen, Kogan has a couple of gaming monitors that might tempt you.
There’s two ultrawide monitors available as of today: a $649 34″ 21:9 screen, running at 100Hz off a Samsung VA panel and a maximum res of 3440×1080. The specs note that the response rate is 16ms (7.8ms in OD, which is presumably some kind of overdrive mode), but the panel does support FreeSync and sports an 1800R curve (same as the curve on the recent Samsung quantum dot monitors).
On the flashier side is the absurdly large 49″ 32:9 HDR screen, which has a 144Hz refresh rate and a quoted “OD 4ms response time”. Without the overdrive mode enabled, you’re looking at a 8ms response time. It’ll set you back $999 for this one, and comes with FreeSync support as well.
The 34″ 100Hz screen is available now, while the larger 49″ model won’t ship until October 5. It’s worth noting that the 49″ screen will supposedly hit 99% of the sRGB colour gamut, whereas there’s no such specification on the 34″ offering.
Kogan’s 34″ model also only has a maximum brightness of 250cd/m2, while the HDR-enabled 49″ has a maximum of 320cd/m2 — not enough to reach the bottom tier of VESA’s DisplayHDR spec, which requires a minimum 400 nits of brightness. (The full DisplayHDR requirements are here.)
So if you’re grabbing one of these, just note that you’re not going to get the best HDR experience. The response times won’t be fantastic in twitch shooters like CS:GO or Quake Champions either, although for someone who wants ultrawide spreadsheets to sit alongside some EVE Online that’s another matter entirely.
More info about the 49″ screen can be found here, and here’s the listing for the 34″ 100Hz model.
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