Corsair marked a brand new milestone in foldable expertise not too long ago by saying the world’s first gaming monitor the place you possibly can modify the curvature to your liking. That is all due to a brand new LG panel that’ll additionally grace upcoming gaming TVs, but it surely has us questioning… why? The flexibility to bend a monitor to your will is a formidable feat and also you’ll actually be the envy of your pals till the wow-factor wears off, however does the function offer you a bonus over static options?
As its identify suggests, the Corsair Xeneon Flex 45WQHD240 is equally kitted out to the most effective gaming monitor. It’s a 45-inch ultrawide gaming monitor with a 1440p decision and 240Hz refresh charge. It additionally packs 0.03ms response time, a 1,000nits brightness, and is the model’s first OLED panel. I discover it way more vibrant than the Corsair Xeneon 32UHD144, however with OLED gaming displays releasing left, proper, and centre, the true headliner is its potential to bend.
The way it works
Bending the monitor works by grabbing the retractable handles both facet of the show and pulling them nearer collectively. Since we received our fingers on a prototype mannequin, issues would possibly change earlier than it hits the market, however at present the method isn’t the smoothest.
The display screen is kind of stiff, which means you tread the nice line between manhandling the monitor to flatten or bend it, whereas not placing any strain on the display screen itself. Corsair assures us that the show is strong, however very like my first experiences with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, it’ll take a while earlier than my abdomen stops sinking and bending turns into second nature.
There aren’t any stipulations to bending it, which means you don’t have to flick the ability off earlier than you begin folding. Corsair features a crunch-like click on that permits you to know if you’ve reached your 800R curve restrict, which could add to your worry of breaking it however serves to do the other. You’ll most likely wish to pop your gaming headset off to do that, although, because it’s not tactile and the sound is definitely drowned out by chatter.
Who’s it for?
Stefan Quiring, Corsair’s European junior PR specialist, tells us that the Flex is “a special use-case” in that you would be able to immerse your self in UI parts whereas curved, very like he does taking part in Forza Horizon 5 in cockpit mode, or choose to flatten the display screen if you work. The rationale behind that is that “it’s easier to follow a line of text on a flat screen” with out the distortion or shadows that curved brings with it – or so we’re informed.
Whereas I frequently pull my monitor nearer to compensate for my competitively worn eyes once I play Rainbow Six Siege, I’ve by no means felt the urge to swap my display screen from flat to curved or vice versa – and I frequently work from the identical gaming PC I play on. Even after getting into Grasp Chief’s footwear in Halo Infinite, I nonetheless really feel as if the Corsair Xeneon Flex solutions a query nobody actually requested – however there may be science behind it.
Conforming to the form of your eyes, curved displays supply higher immersion with a greater perceived subject of view as a result of it lessens the distorted edges that include flat screens. After we use the time period ‘distorted’ right here, it’s not in regards to the high quality of picture {that a} monitor produces on the outer edges of the show, however slightly how your peripheral imaginative and prescient sees the picture if you’re targeted on the centre of the display screen.
Picture credit score: ViewSonic
You pressure much less to interpret the peripheral pictures, which means much less fatigue and extra consolation when gaming. That is notably true of FPS video games, because it makes your peripheral imaginative and prescient extra dependable so that you concentrate on the central crosshair slightly than your eyes darting across the display screen to seek out the enemy.
The downsides to curved screens are few and much between, however the principle factor is that they’re not fairly as pleasant for teams. The curves make gathering across the monitor that rather more troublesome to see what’s occurring, distorting what you’re watching or taking part in until you’re positioned instantly in entrance of it. Additionally they aren’t fairly pretty much as good at dealing with textual content on the display screen in comparison with flat choices, because the font can warp and trigger your eyes to pressure extra when studying. And eventually, they’re tougher to place in your gaming desk to keep away from glare from the home windows and RGB lights round your room, given the floor space faces a number of totally different instructions directly.
Is the Corsair Flex price it?
The Corsair Xeneon Flex’s worth squarely lies in its price ticket, which we don’t but know. Corsair has already lower prices by making this a handbook course of slightly than motorised – additionally avoiding a doubtlessly pointless level of failure – but it surely’s possible the brand new function will include an added premium hooked up. It doesn’t matter what the fee finally ends up being, nonetheless, it makes some concessions you won’t be proud of.
First is the dearth of mounting choices, because the Flex expertise limits you to the stand it comes with. Fortuitously, this stand features a swanky hub of ports which can be extra accessible than these shoved behind the show and Corsair is engaged on a proprietary resolution to allow you to clamp the monitor to your desk, however it may be a deal breaker for those who don’t like two ft protruding and into your mouse pad.
You’ll additionally wrestle to suit the Flex right into a multi-monitor setup, as you don’t need something obstructing the handles that let you bend the curve. You possibly can stack them above, and also you won’t even see the necessity for a second display screen given this one’s a whopping 45-inches, however that’s down to private choice.
If you will get previous these obstacles, then credit score the place it’s due as no gaming monitor on the market ticks all of the packing containers that the Corsair Xeneon Flex 45WQHD240 does. It’s vibrant, speedy, clean, and one-of-a-kind. Nonetheless, competitors is heating up from LG UltraGear, Asus ROG, and Samsung Odyssey. Every part rests on that ultimate MSRP, and the $1,499.99 USD price ticket latched onto the LG UltraGear 48GQ900 for decrease specs doesn’t fill us with confidence that this will likely be attainable for anybody however professionals.
