I have only had the monitor for one day so this review will reflect that. I plan on updating this review in a month or so after some decent time has been put on it.
Firstly, this is my first monitor upgrade in nearly ten years since I purchased dual Dell 22" P2211ht monitors-- and it's astounding to see first hand, not just on YouTube reviews, just how far diplays have come in that time even on the low end of spectrum. The wow factor here is 10/10.
34" of screen space is much more impressive when it is on your desk. I have a sizeable desk, and I'm now looking at side tables to put my full tower PC on. At the same time though, not having to swing my 22" forward on the vesa arm it was mounted on is saving valuable real estate and now it's not as cramped feeling when I have my hotas or wheel out for sim racing/flight sims.
I was concerned about the curvature coming from a flat panel but it's actually very nice, feels natural and took less than an hour for it to feel like the new normal. Zero dead pixels on the display from what I can tell, no manufacturing defects-- a big relief after seeing some other reviews complain of those things.
Ghosting/smearing is not really noticeable in my use case (sim racing) but is present. I got used to it pretty quickly and it doesn't bother me. Once I'm in game I don't notice it. I don't notice any blacklight bleed but I don't play in pitch darkness, either. Other games can produce more noticeable effects.
The color needed some adjusting. The OSD is functional and I had no issues adjusting contrast and brightness to tone down the oversaturation that was present out of the box. It does seem a bit washed out but still looks nice. I don't have a real need for HDR so I can't comment on that yet. The display is plenty bright, brighter than my old monitors.
USB ports would be nice but this isn't a dealbreaker, my PC has plenty for my needs. Wish the RGB worked with mystic light or was at least adjustable since I don't really care for rainbow RGB.
As far as build quality, it doesn't seem terrible but isn't premium. The stand is sturdy and while the plastic gives off flimsy vibes I was adjusting tilt and height just fine without anything other than plastic-y creaks and pops that seem slightly more pronounced than my previous Dells.
I have a GTX 1070 (thanks, cryptominers!) so not too many games I play can make full use of the refresh rate but the ones that I could push there felt great. Very fluid and smooth.
All in all, first impressions are very positive. A pretty big leap in technology for myself and I feel the price is fair. I can easily recommend it at the sub $500 price point and have zero regrets so far.
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This item: MSI Optix MAG342CQR 1500R Curvature 21:9 Aspect Ratio Narrow Bezel 1ms 3440 x 1440 (UWQHD) 144Hz Refresh Rate Tilt/Swivel/Height/Pivot Adjustment 34" AMD Freesync Gaming Curved Monitor, Black
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This Item  MSI Optix MAG342CQR 1500R Curvature 21:9 Aspect Ratio Narrow Bezel 1ms 3440 x 1440 (UWQHD) 144Hz Refresh Rate Tilt/Swivel/Height/Pivot Adjustment 34" AMD Freesync Gaming Curved Monitor, Black | Recommendations  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | $299.99 | $299.99 | -15% $338.40 Typical: $399.99 | -21% $109.99 List: $139.99 | $369.99 | $299.99 |
| Delivery | Get it as soon as Wednesday, Oct 9 | — | Get it as soon as Tuesday, Oct 15 | Get it as soon as Thursday, Oct 10 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, Oct 15 | — |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Sold By | Amazon Export Sales LLC | Amazon.com | Amazon Export Sales LLC | Zero Edge Technology, LLC | Amazon Export Sales LLC | Amazon.com |
| display size | 34 inches | 34 inches | 34 inches | 24 inches | 34 inches | 34 inches |
| resolution | QHD Ultra Wide 1440p | QHD Ultra Wide 1440p | QHD Ultra Wide 1440p | FHD 1080p | QHD Ultra Wide 1440p | QHD Ultra Wide 1440p |
| display technology | — | LCD | 3440 X 1440 | LCD | LCD | LCD |
| hardware interface | hdmi | hdmi, displayport, 3 5 mm audio | displayport, hdmi, usb3.2 gen 1 | hdmi, displayport | usb, usb3.2 gen 1 | hdmi, displayport |
| viewing angle | 178 degrees | — | 178 degrees | 178 degrees | 178 degrees | — |
| mounting type | Wall Mount | Wall Mount | Wall Mount | Wall Mount | Wall Mount | Wall Mount |
| HDMI ports | — | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| model name | MAG342CQR, 1 MS, 144Hz, FreeSync | G34WQC A-SA-R | Gaming G3 Series Monitor | Z-Edge Curved Gaming Monitor | Gaming G3 Series Monitor | Nitro XZ342CU Vbmiiphx |
| refresh rate | 144 | 144 | 165 | 180 | 144 | 180 |
| voltage | 100240 volts | — | 34 volts | 12 volts | — | — |
| native resolution | 1440 x 1440 | 3440 x 144 | 3440x1440 | 1920x1080 | 3440x1440 | 3440x1440 |
From the manufacturer
From the brand
Videos
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Videos for this product
0:11
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Customer Review: Flickering like crazy at 144hz
Eevee
Videos for this product
13:38
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MSI Optix MAG342CQR Curved Gaming Monitor Performance
Digital David
Videos for this product
2:10
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MSI Optix MAG342CQR Gaming Monitor Stand Setup
Digital David
Videos for this product
0:54
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REVIEW: Really Solid Gaming Monitor
Scout Mochi and Lu
Videos for this product
0:11
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Customer Review: Defective does not run 144hz
Steve Ambrosio
Videos for this product
0:11
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Customer Review: Has some weird visibility issue on the edge
No one
Videos for this product
3:50
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RAPID REVIEW MSI Optix MAG342CQR Curved Gaming Monitor
Digital David
Videos for this product
0:13
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Customer Review: Great Looking Monitor, Terrible Quality Control
Alex L.
Inspiration from this brand
Nice monitor but...
Beautiful monitor, beautiful panel, sadly mine had a dead pixel near the center so i had to return. Although it was just a single pixel and you probably can just shrug it off, i expect a new $330 monitor to be in absolute perfect condition
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Top reviews from other countries
Leonardo S.
Es un buen monitor
Reviewed in Mexico on February 7, 2024Model: Optix MAG342CQRVerified Purchase
Leonardo S.
Reviewed in Mexico on February 7, 2024
Pros:
- Cumple con los 144hz que promociona y el adaptive sync funciona adecuadamente (si estas en PC tendras que cambiar los cuadros que da tu compu, no se configura automaticamente).
- Buen rango de colores, a comparacion de otros monitores que he tenido siento que este ha tendio la mejor gama de colores (nota que nunca he tenido un monitor "premium").
- Todos los juegos que pongo en 1440p se ven maravillosos. No he tenido problemas.
- Las patas de la base son de metal y los plasticos se sienten de buena calidad.
- Se ve muy bien con un PS5 (aunque ten en cuenta que el PS5 no soporta Ultrawide asi que tendras dos barras negras a los costados).
- Detecta el dispositivo que esta dando señal automaticamente.
Contras:
- El brillo es demasiado alto por default y no encontre la manera de ajustarlo sin apagar el adaptive sync y entre otras funciones. Pero te llegas a acostumbrar y con la Luz Nocturna de Windows no tengo problemas.
- Si el brillo default es muy brillante para ti, ni intentes habilitar el HDR en Windows, te va a cegar. El HDR no lo detecta mi PS5.
- No encontre la opcion de apagar el Halo de RGB trasero del monitor. Es un menor inconveniente, estaria tambien padre que se pudiese configurar a tu manera.
- El menu de ajustes es algo complicado de configurar y navegar. Si hay que dedicarle su tiempo para ajustarlo a tu gusto.
Es un buen monitor "Gamer" de entrada y realmente recomiendo que lo adquieras si no tienes el presupuesto de gastar mas de $6.5k (yo lo compre en $5.9k). Specs:
I7-8700
32GB
500 NVMe M.2
Nvidia 4070
Images in this review
leah higo
Really good monitor for the price.
Reviewed in Canada on September 9, 2021Model: Optix MAG342CQRVerified Purchase
Rakan
فيها عيب مصنعي شاشة سوداء
Reviewed in Saudi Arabia on September 21, 2024Model: Optix MAG342CQRVerified Purchase
Martin Pulido
Excelente monitor UltraWide
Reviewed in Mexico on July 30, 2024Model: Optix MAG342CQRVerified Purchase
azzamaka
اسوء شاشعه شريتها
Reviewed in Saudi Arabia on August 26, 2024Model: Optix MAG342CQRVerified Purchase
