Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

MSI’s massive curved monitor may be a gamer’s dream machine

MSI has just unveiled an upcoming gaming monitor that looks like a real beast fit to dethrone any of the best ultrawide monitors currently on the market.

Dubbed “Project 491C,” the super-ultrawide display packs both a high refresh rate and some OLED goodness. LG has also unveiled the prices of some highly anticipated gaming monitors.

The world's FIRST super ultra-wide curved gaming monitor, with a 240Hz QD-OLED panel, is out there to ensure you enjoy a viewing experience far better than anything you’ve had before. Get ready for CES2023 for the debut of our Project 491C. #MSIxCES2023 #InnovationAward pic.twitter.com/tbTC8ognaD

— MSI Gaming (@msigaming) November 24, 2022

MSI took to Twitter to announce the monitor, but it kept the details fairly scarce. However, the little we do know is more than enough to recommend the display. Project 491C is going to be a 49-inch beast made in the super-ultrawide form factor. This isn’t a common monitor style for gaming displays, but seeing as the panel is curved, it could offer some next-level immersion in a lot of titles.

The panel itself adds to the impressive factor, seeing as this is a QD-OLED,it’s  almost bound to be bright and gorgeous. On top of that, MSI decked out the monitor with a high refresh rate of 240Hz. This isn’t MSI’s first venture into QD-OLED, but it’s a first when it comes to combining that panel with that high of a refresh rate.

MSI claims that this is the first such monitor in the world, and it has already received the CES 2023 Innovation Award. With CES 2023 coming up in January 2023, we’re likely to learn more about this display shortly.

So far, MSI didn’t make any mentions of the price or availability. One thing is for sure — this display won’t come cheap, so brace yourselves if you’re hoping to own it one day. On top of the (likely high) cost of the monitor, you’ll also need one of the best GPUs to make the most of this beast.

While MSI’s announcement wasn’t much more than just a quick teaser, LG has just come out with the pricing and release dates for two interesting displays of its own.

First unveiled at this year’s IFA, the LG UltraGear 45GR95QE is a 45-inch OLED display. Much like MSI’s upcoming offering, this one too has a 240Hz refresh rate and is curved. It’s more of a standard ultrawide though, with a 21:9 aspect ratio and a 3,440 x 1,440 QHD resolution. It will support both Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium. Alongside the 45-inch model, LG is also launching a 27-inch UltraGear OLED with a flat screen.

Both displays will be available to preorder starting on December 12 and will begin shipping on December 28 or later. The 27-inch version will cost $999, but the price for the 45-inch monitor is, unsurprisingly, a lot higher. You can expect to spend $1,699 if you want to own that model. This gives us a good idea of just how expensive MSI’s upcoming display might be — it most likely won’t be cheaper than the new LG.

Editors' Recommendations

Monica J. White
Monica is a UK-based freelance writer and self-proclaimed geek. A firm believer in the "PC building is just like expensive…
Alienware’s new second-gen QD-OLED monitors are stunning
The Alienware 32 4K QD-OLED on a table with a game on the screen.

The Alienware 34 QD-OLED took the world by storm. As the first really great OLED gaming monitor, it had little in the way of competition.

But in 2024, that's not true. And to keep its lead, Alienware has launched two new QD-OLED gaming monitors that take things even further. There is now a 32-inch 4K model (AW3225QF) and a 27-inch QHD model (AW2725DF), both of which use the second-generation QD-OLED tech from Samsung Display. I got to see both models in person at a preview event ahead of CES 2024, and I came away extremely excited for these new gaming monitors.

Read more
HP takes on Alienware and Samsung with its 4K QD-OLED gaming monitor
Two HP Omen Transcend monitors, showing the back and front.

There’s a massive wave of monitors heading to CES 2024, and the newest one from HP is going to gain a lot of attention.

The Omen Transcend 32 is the company’s latest 4K gaming monitor, and features a 31.5-inch 4K QD-OLED panel, presumably the same next-gen variant that was recently teased by Samsung. This is HP's first QD-OLED monitor, and it has a striking new design to boot.

Read more
I saw the second generation of Samsung’s QD-OLED gaming monitors
Fortnite running on the Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 at CES 2024.

Samsung is gearing up to release two new QD-OLED gaming monitors at CES 2024. We already knew about the 2024 Odyssey OLED G8 and Odyssey OLED G6 thanks to an announcement from Samsung last week, but I wasn't expecting to be so impressed by them. It's Samsung's first attempt at a traditional 16:9 QD-OLED monitor after the excellent Odyssey OLED G8 and Odyssey OLED G9 last year, and Samsung is coming out of the gates swinging.

If you missed the announcement, there are two monitors here. The Odyssey OLED G8 is a 32-inch display with a 4K resolution and a 240Hz refresh rate. The Odyssey OLED G6 is smaller at 27 inches but has a 1440p resolution and a speedy 360Hz refresh rate. Both are using a second-gen QD-OLED panel from Samsung Display that's certified with VESA's DisplayHDR True Black 400 and use a new anti-reflective coating.

Read more