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Curved monitors

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Wirenut

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 6, 2016
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Does anyone use a curved monitor? If so, how do you like it?

I am not into gimmicks, but I think I may be able to take advantage of a curved monitor. I have never gotten to use one in real life, I should go take a look when I get time. But I would like to know how you guys feel about them first.

Currently a have a 27" Asus monitor with 2560 x 1440 resolution. Having a big monitor is great because I can open 2 windows next to each other, such as a PDF viewer with invoices next to QuickBooks when doing bookkeeping. The problem is that when something is off to the side, it is harder to see, and I end up tilting my head over to that side so that I am more in front of it. A curved monitor would keep the stuff on the sides facing me directly and also keep it the same distance from my eye as the middle of the display.

Does this work for you?
 
Do you do photo editing?
I've read that curved displays can distort the image.
Disclaimer: I don't -have- a curved display by which to confirm this.
And yes, I -do- think that "curved" displays -are- "a gimmick"...
 
I use a pair of top of the range Samsung 4K curved TVs. I know the S-word is a bit frowned on (for all sorts of good reasons) but I can honestly say that they're the best monitors I've ever used. Buttery smooth, instant response. Sadly, Samsung don't make curved screens at 43 inches any more, and 49 or higher is simply ridiculous on a desk. (43" is just right for me, as I run the Mac Pro at native 4K res and it's perfection at about 1 metre range for a monitor and lets me use all the screen real estate)
 
I just got a Dell 3818 curved monitor. It's freaking awesome! I do CAD and photo editing on it, no issues. Perfect size. By the way, I got it a B+H great price no sales tax and shipping.
 
I am using a Alienware 34 Curved Gaming Monitor: AW3418DW with my 2017 27" iMac. I like that the vertical viewing size exactly matches the vertical viewing size of the iMac, and the native text resolution matches the scaled text resolution of the iMac providing a continuous viewing surface to open several documents or windows side-by-side.

I also have it connected to a cMacPro 5,1 12-core with a 980ti video card for more serious computing and Windows games.

I find it quite nice for both applications. I think the curved display works well for computer monitors since your head/eyes are at the radius of curvature focal point to minimize eyestrain when scanning from the center to the edges. This doesn't work with curved TV sets where the viewer is considerably beyond the focal point.
 
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hfg said:
I am using a Alienware 34 Curved Gaming Monitor: AW3418DW with my 2017 27" iMac. I like that the vertical viewing size exactly matches the vertical viewing size of the iMac, and the native text resolution matches the scaled text resolution of the iMac providing a continuous viewing surface to open several documents or windows side-by-side.

I also have it connected to a cMacPro 5,1 12-core with a 980ti video card for more serious computing and Windows games.

I find it quite nice for both applications. I think the curved display works well for computer monitors since your head/eyes are at the radius of curvature focal point to minimize eyestrain when scanning from the center to the edges. This doesn't work with curved TV sets where the viewer is considerably beyond the focal point.
Click to expand...

I have been interested in the idea of a curved monitor as well and will check out that Alienware monitor. I thought using one with a program like Divvy could be useful
 
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johngrussell said:
I just got a Dell 3818 curved monitor. It's freaking awesome! I do CAD and photo editing on it, no issues. Perfect size. By the way, I got it a B+H great price no sales tax and shipping.
Click to expand...
How much did you pay? It look like they are charging $1113 right now, which is waaaay more expensive than elsewhere. In fact, Amazon just lowered the price to $814 (and ran out of stock).
 
I have 2 - LG 34" Thunderbolt 2 - 3440x1440.

They aren't "that much" curved when you sitting straight in front of them. At least not to me.
And they combine for just a little over 5' of side to side screen real-estate
 
FYI, you can pick up the Dell U3818DW at NewEgg.com for $849 right now with no tax and free shipping. Just apply promo code EMCPYPT59 upon checkout. They are also selling the LG 38UC99-W for $799 with promo code EMCXPYPS2. Note that sometimes these promo codes are targeted and can only be used if you're already on their email list.

I opted for the Dell to use with my 2018 MBP. It has a longer warranty and provides 85W of charging power through USB-C, as opposed to the 60 W on the LG. The actual display portion should be identical though since they use the same panels.
 
Wirenut said:
Does anyone use a curved monitor? If so, how do you like it?

I am not into gimmicks, but I think I may be able to take advantage of a curved monitor. I have never gotten to use one in real life, I should go take a look when I get time. But I would like to know how you guys feel about them first.

Currently a have a 27" Asus monitor with 2560 x 1440 resolution. Having a big monitor is great because I can open 2 windows next to each other, such as a PDF viewer with invoices next to QuickBooks when doing bookkeeping. The problem is that when something is off to the side, it is harder to see, and I end up tilting my head over to that side so that I am more in front of it. A curved monitor would keep the stuff on the sides facing me directly and also keep it the same distance from my eye as the middle of the display.

Does this work for you?
Click to expand...
So I personally use two Samsung 27” curved monitors (1080p).

I use the monitors for many things, including analytical work on Excel, Access and Other databases, as well as a lot of photo editing.

While to an extent it is a gimmick, I’d say I do notice it helps make it easier to see the outter edges of the monitors. The one major flaw however, is you get more color distortion on the outter edges due to the curved shape of the screen, especially on larger, dual monitor setups, although this well could just be specific to the model monitor I have.

I’m looking to one day upgrade to 4K monitors, and I can tell you personally I am not going to waste the money again on curves monitors.
 
For those with the Dell U3818DW and if you using a 2018 MBP how is it working for you given its not a native MacOS resolution? How did you configure it to get the best resolution without the text being fuzzy.
 
macMD said:
For those with the Dell U3818DW and if you using a 2018 MBP how is it working for you given its not a native MacOS resolution? How did you configure it to get the best resolution without the text being fuzzy.
Click to expand...
Not sure what’s native resolution is for Mac but I don’t get fuzzy font. If you mean it’s not retina then yes but the 110ish pixel per inch is same as pre 5k iMac which is quite good IMO. Unfortunately there’s currently no 4K or 5k curved monitor or I would’ve gotten one. To me when you get to 34”+ it’s good to be curved as a monitor.
 
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