There have been loads of new monitor bulletins over the course of this week’s CES tech jamboree, however none have been extra terrifying than MSI’s Optix MEG381CQR. This curved 38in ultrawide show is one among a number of new gaming screens coming from MSI this yr, however it is going to be the primary to include Human Machine Interface parts, or HMI for brief. It’s not fully clear what profit the HMI parts will convey to your gaming expertise – to date, MSI have solely talked about with the ability to show real-time system data on the small devoted LCD show beneath the principle show (one thing most diagnostics apps do anyway) and utilizing the “exclusive knob design” within the backside nook of the monitor to optimise your PC.
The factor I’m extra involved about is the very fact it appears to be like like a Portal turret in disguise. This is one monitor I don’t wish to be left alone in a room with.
I imply, have a look at that factor. It has a laser turret protruding one aspect, and an all-seeing digital camera poking out the highest. I jest, after all, however it’s unnerving all the identical, particularly when its stand appears to be like like a helicopter rotor blade that would begin spinning and disembowel you at a second’s discover.
So what are these bits on the highest and aspect truly for? To be sincere, I don’t know. MSI made no point out of them of their press launch, nor did they acknowledge them of their CES press convention, as an alternative focusing solely on the unusual diagnostics knob, which is pictured above. Perhaps the Portal turret brainwashed its host to disregard these blatantly deadly options and keep it up with out remark. Who can say. Whatever they’re, I’m deeply suspicious of them.
In all seriousness, although, the remainder of the Optix MEG381CQR’s specs are pretty mundane. Its large 38in ultrawide display screen has a 3440×1440 decision and a 144Hz refresh charge, and its IPS panel has a lightweight curve to it, with a curvature radius of simply 2300R. It additionally helps VESA’s DisplayHDR 600 commonplace, so it ought to provide a good HDR expertise in addition to wonderful color accuracy. After all, in contrast to VESA’s DisplayHDR 400 commonplace which doesn’t require any form of minimal DCI-P3 color gamut protection, the 600 spec requires a show to hit no less than 90% of this HDR-grade gamut, so its color accuracy ought to be fairly high notch.
The RGB LEDs alongside the underside, in the meantime, help Steelseries’ GameSense, very like MSI’s present Optix MPG27CQ monitor, so go and have a learn of that evaluation to learn extra about it. In brief, you possibly can both use them to sync up your lighting schemes with different Steelseries peripherals you would possibly personal, or use them to show sure bits of information in supported games, similar to your well being bar in CS:GO, for instance.
Thankfully, MSI’s different new displays are significantly much less scary. The most fascinating one is the Optix MAG342CQR (pictured beneath), which is the world’s first 1000R curved gaming monitor. This has a way more pronounced curve than its 38in MEG cousin, and 1000R is outwardly the identical curvature radius as a human eyeball.
This ought to make the curve really feel like much less of a pressure in your eyes, in line with MSI, so you possibly can keep it up taking part in games for longer. Personally, I’ve by no means discovered a curved monitor to be a ‘strain’ on my eyes when taking part in games, however I’m not going to argue with the makers of the HMI dying machine up there.
As for the MAG342CQR’s different specs, it’s one other 3440×1440 show, albeit in a smaller 34in panel. This one solely helps VESA’s DisplayHDR 400 spec, sadly, however given MSI’s earlier monitor report with handsome shows, I’d think about its total color accuracy will nonetheless be fairly high notch.
There’s no phrase but on when both show will come out, or how a lot they may value, however offered I don’t get burnt to a crisp by the MEG381CQR’s laser turret within the meantime, I’ll let you realize as quickly as attainable.
For extra information from this yr’s CES, try our CES 2020 tag.
