Curved vs. Flat Monitors 2022: Which One Is Better ...

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One of the first tech accessories you should consider when setting up a home office is an external display. Having a monitor will give you a larger canvas for your work, whether you&#;re taking notes while watching a lecture, copying data between spreadsheets, or editing photos and videos. If you&#;re using a laptop, and keep its lid open, having an external monitor lets you keep two screens on at the same time.

There are many factors to consider when choosing the right external monitor to use, but one of the most important is whether you&#;d like it to have a flat or curved panel. There&#;s no wrong answer, but we&#;ve broken down the differences between both types of external monitors below, so you can make the right decision for your needs. We&#;ve also recommended one monitor from each category, so you know the right one to get.

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What Are the Pros and Cons of Curved Monitors?

The biggest reason curved displays are popular is that they fill up more of your peripheral vision, which allows you to focus on your work instead of being distracted by what&#;s happening around you. If you&#;re watching or playing a game, this engrossing experience can be hard to beat. The downside to this style of monitor is that its curved display can catch light from more angles. The glare, which can make part of the screen more difficult to look at, negates the biggest advantage curved displays have over flat panel monitors. To be clear, flat-screen monitors can still be susceptible to glare, but it&#;s easier to set them up in an area where that will be less of an issue.

How to Find the Best Computer Monitor

Both flat and curved monitors are available in an array of sizes, but their shape changes as they get bigger. Flat panel displays generally have an aspect ratio of 16:9 or 16:10, which means their height and width grow at a pretty proportionate rate. The 16:9 aspect ratio is the standard for TVs, so you&#;ll be familiar with how a flat panel monitor looks regardless of its size. Curved monitors can have up to a 32:9 aspect ratio, which means they&#;re significantly wider than they are tall. This proportion allows you to spread more information on the screen, but also means it&#;ll likely take up the entire length of your desk.

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Flat panel displays have the ergonomic advantage over curved ones because you may have to turn your neck more frequently to focus on different parts of a large, curved monitor&#;s display, which can cause strain. The alternative is to sit further away from the monitor, which may not be possible if you&#;ve got a small desk or room. Flat panels also have the advantage when it comes to flexibility. Both flat and curved monitors can be height and tilt-adjustable, but some flat panels give you the option to turn their display vertically, which makes it easier to work on writing assignments (from articles to legal drafts) or to edit vertical video (say, for Instagram).

Flat Monitors vs. Curved Monitors: Which One is Better?

Despite their differences, both curved and flat panel monitors share a lot of similar features. Both styles are outfitted with the same types of inputs (commonly known as ports), which allow you to connect your computer to them without an adapter. Each can have a very high resolution to ensure you get an ultra-clear image, which will make everything from viewing photos to reading text easier.

If you have a large enough room, the right lighting conditions, and spend a lot of time editing horizontal video or playing games, getting a curved display is probably the way to go. The ultra-wide form factor may take some time to get used to, but you&#;ll end up with a larger area to view your documents, images, videos, and browser tabs.

If you&#;re more space-constrained, don&#;t have very much control over your room&#;s lighting, and stick to more general computing tasks like web browsing, writing, shopping, and watching video, it&#;s probably better to get a flat panel display. That&#;s especially true if you want an external display with a more familiar physical design.

1. Samsung 49-inch Odyssey G9 Monitor

Samsung designed the Odyssey G9 to match the natural curve of the human eye. This means you&#;ll get maximum immersion and minimal eye strain &#; even as you game over multiple hours. 

The screen itself is a full 49-inches featuring QLED technology which leads to bright, more vivid visuals as you game, stream or work. It&#;s also specially designed with gamers in mind. You&#;ve got NVIDIA G-Sync and AMD FreeSync for high-res graphics as well as a tear-free gaming experience &#; face little to no lag time on this gaming monitor. 

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Refresh rates run as high as 240ghz for smooth performance, even on the most combat-heavy games. There&#;s also HDR functionality, which means you&#;ll see every detail, down to the specks of dirt as you drift in Forza Horizon 5. 

Like the rest of your gaming setup, you can even customize the lighting of your new monitor through Infinity Core lighting. Plus, you can adjust this curved monitor&#;s height via the stand, although since it&#;s pretty wide you won&#;t be able to modify tilt. 

It&#;s not a feature you&#;ll miss though and since the aspect ratio is 32:9, you can have multiple tabs and windows open, allowing you to multitask seamlessly.

Buy Samsung 49-inch Odyssey G9 $799.99

2. LG 34WN80C-B 34-Inch Curved UltraWide Monitor

LG 34WN80C-B is the perfect example of what a curved monitor has to offer. The 34-inch WQHD (wide quad high definition) display supports 99% of the sRGB color gamut and HDR (high dynamic range). If you&#;re watching videos or playing games that support HDR, you&#;ll immediately notice a big improvement in color accuracy.

This monitor&#;s standout feature is its array of inputs, which include two HDMI ports, one DisplayPort, a USB-C port, two USB-A ports, and a headphone jack. If you connect your computer to the monitor with a USB-C cable, you can use the monitor&#;s USB ports to connect your accessories. If you&#;re using a laptop, the monitor&#;s USB-C port will also supply your computer with power. The ability to use an external display as a USB hub to save space is great and necessary with a monitor this big. Unfortunately, the 34WN80C-B does not have built-in speakers.

Thanks to a technology called Split Screen 2.0, you can virtually break the monitor up into two smaller monitors, which makes managing windows a little bit easier. You can disable this setting at any time, which you&#;ll want to do if you&#;re playing PC games.

Although curved displays aren&#;t as flexible as flat panels, LG designed the 34WN80C-B to be height and tilt-adjustable, so you can find a position for it that&#;s comfortable to use. That said, this monitor is 32.7 inches long, so you&#;re going to need a large desk and a lot of space to prevent neck strain.

If you have the room and have been curious about curved monitors, LG&#;s 34WN80C-B is a good choice. Its hardware features and physical design maximize the advantages of using this type of display while minimizing the downsides.

Buy LG 34WN80C-B 34-Inch Curved Monitor $619.00

3. Dell 32 4K PQE Hub Monitor

If you&#;re leaning more towards flat-screen monitors, go with this Dell 32-inch 4K monitor which delivers strong performance and hard-to-beat visuals. 

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This 4K monitor is packed with more than eight million pixels according to Dell, which should provide brighter more balanced visuals, no matter what angle you&#;re viewing this monitor at. You&#;ll also be able to tilt, swivel or adjust the height of your flat monitor to your liking. 

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This monitor even comes equipped with IPS technology for accurate color pictures, even during hours of streaming or working. And, with Dell Display Manager,  you can have multiple tabs open with ease, restore your work the second you log on and quickly access your data through shortcut keys. 

There&#;s a wide array of ports too, including a USB-C port, a display port, an HDMI port and regular USB ports as well. This way you can connect your monitor to your existing work-from-home set up easily. 

This monitor is also easy on the eyes, featuring thin bezels and Comfort View Pus, Dell&#;s technology for reducing blue light emissions.

Buy Dell 32-Inch 4K Hub Monitor $799.99

4. ASUS ProArt Display 27-Inch Monitor

The Asus 27-inch monitor also features a 4K display as well as HDR for detailed color visuals and crystal clear images when you stream, game or create presentations for work. (Note you can also grab this monitor in the 2K version if you&#;re looking to save a little cash). 

Like the Dell monitor, you can tilt, swivel or adjust the height to your liking. There&#;s also eye care for reduced strain on your eyes during long workdays. 

The ASUS ProArt was also designed with graphic artists and creators in mind. It&#;s Calman Verified which means it&#;s great for video editing and is probably one of the most color-accurate monitors you can find. You can even adjust the color configuration to your liking on this monitor.

Not sure what&#;s the best color configuration for you? Use the preset ProArt modes for automatic color-gamut adjustments for both photo and video editing.

As for the ports, you&#;ve got an HDMI port, a display port, a USB-C port and a generic USB hub for added connectivity.

Buy ASUS ProArt 27-Inch Display $399.00

You've probably noticed that many computer monitors today look a little &#; well, curvier. In gaming and office PCs alike, the new generation of curved monitors has started to displace the flat panels that we've known for years. Could it be that we've entered another evolutionary period for monitor form factors, like when we collectively left behind boxy '90s CRT monitors for flat panel LCDs in the mid-s?

On that front, only time will tell. For gamers in the market for a new monitor, however, there's a decision to make right now: Curved or flat? Both curved and flat gaming monitors have their advantages, so before you choose, it's worth learning what each option has to offer your gaming experience.

Curved vs. Flat Monitors: Head to Head

The fundamental question: What can a curved computer monitor offer your gaming setup that a flat monitor can't? On the flip side, what tradeoffs are you accepting when you choose a curved monitor?

Ultimately, factors like refresh rate and display resolution are far more important than curved vs. flat in determining a monitor's picture quality. That said, there are definitely differences worth knowing about &#; so here's the TL;DR:

• Curved Monitors
• Advantages
• More immersive game experience
• May reduce eye strain during gaming sessions
• Available in massive ultrawide sizes
• Support for wider aspect ratios
• Variety of curvature levels
• Drawbacks
• Less suitable for wall-mounting or multi-monitor setups
• More expensive
• Fewer varieties of panel technology

• Flat Monitors
• Advantages
• Lower price point
• More panel options available
• Easier to fit on a desk or mount on a wall
• Drawbacks
• Few ultrawide models
• May be less immersive than a curved monitor

Ready to dive a little deeper? Let's find out how these differences actually play out.

Curved Advantage: Improved Immersion

Immersion is how a game captures your imagination and makes you feel like you're truly part of its world. Thus, it's not surprising that increasing immersion is a priority for many gamers, and using a curved monitor is widely recognized as an effective way to do it.

Why do curved monitors have this captivating quality? First, their concave shape creates the illusion of depth, which brings them closer to the appearance of a real 3D space rather than a screen. In addition, the corners of a curved monitor screen are closer to the viewer's eyes, allowing your peripheral vision to stay in a more natural range as you play. The result: a truly absorbing PC gaming experience.

A curved monitor's immersive qualities can potentially benefit any game, but it's especially clutch for games that are all about atmosphere, such as horror games and RPGs. Curved monitors are also great for games with a first-person field of view, including racing games and first-person shooters.

Flat Advantage: Wider Viewing Angles

To get the most out of a curved monitor, you should be sitting directly in front of it, two to four feet from the screen, with your eyes pointing at the center. This is how most gamers sit in front of a monitor &#; so for many of us, it won't be a problem.

However, this doesn't work so well if other people will be looking at the screen from the top or sides. Those who aren't looking at the screen head-on may notice distorted colors and/or glare at the screen's edge. Again, this is generally a more important consideration for monitors in offices or classrooms than for gaming at home, but it's worth thinking about.

The viewing angle is also important if you're planning to use your monitor for general media viewing. If you want to use it to watch movies with friends, for instance, you might want to choose a flat monitor instead. A curved one may produce glare and distortion for people viewing from an angle. (This is why curved TVs never took off, and why a TV is generally a better choice than a monitor as an all-purpose media display.)

Flat Advantage: Wider Viewing Angles

A curved monitor can potentially reduce the eye strain associated with using a monitor for long periods of time &#; and if there's anyone known to do that, it's gamers! So it makes sense that many gamers find their curved monitors helpful in mitigating eye fatigue. Some smaller studies have even found scientific evidence for similar helpful effects on office tasks. (One can hope for more gaming-related studies soon!)

What's behind these effects? Most likely, it's because curved monitors make it easier for your peripheral vision to take in the whole screen without constantly looking back and forth to see the edges. All the same, take these benefits with a grain of salt, as any protective qualities of curved monitors haven't been studied in depth yet.

What's more, you should still take regular breaks from gaming to rest your eyes, even if you're using a curved monitor. In other words, it's not a magic bullet for gaming eye strain, but anecdotal evidence from many gamers suggests that it could be helpful and is unlikely to hurt. Plus, a curved monitor can be a smart pick if you're looking for a display that's as comfortable for work tasks as it is for gaming and provides you with plenty of screen real estate.

Flat Advantage: Lower Price

Flat monitors usually come at a lower price point than curved monitors. If you're on a budget and the features of a curved monitor aren't a high priority for you, going with a flat gaming monitor can definitely save you some cash. (That's more money in your pocket for a sweet gaming mouse or a monster graphics card.)

However, this fact can be a little misleading. Curved monitors tend to be larger than flat ones &#; sometimes much larger, as we'll see in a minute. Thus, a big part of why flat monitors cost less is simply that small, budget-friendly models are far more numerous in the flat panel category. So, although it's true that a curved monitor will usually cost more than a comparable flat panel, the biggest difference comes down to size and what you're looking for.

Curved Advantage: Ultrawide Displays

Another big advantage (and we mean a physically large one) of curved monitors for PC gaming: You'll have many options for ultrawide displays! These days, ultrawide monitors (typically defined as models with a display of 32 inches or larger) are all over the gaming scene, and the majority of these models feature a curved panel design.

That's not a coincidence. Curved panels are ideal for larger displays because they make them significantly more user-friendly and comfortable. A monstrous monitor like the 55-inch Samsung Odyssey Ark would make no sense as a flat panel. You'd have to sit so far away to see the whole thing that you might as well just get a TV. Instead, the monitor's curvature allows it to leverage its size for an incredibly immersive experience while remaining usable as a desktop monitor.

Flat Advantage: Smaller Footprint, Easier to Mount

Looking for a more compact style of monitor? A flat panel is often your best choice. For one thing, curvature makes the most significant difference in immersion and eye comfort at larger screen sizes. On a monitor of less than 30 inches, many gamers find that the difference between a curved and flat monitor is relatively minimal.

Curved monitors also have a somewhat bigger and bulkier footprint that can make them more challenging to fit on a small desk. Using a two-monitor or three-monitor setup? Flat monitors tend to be a more natural fit for these configurations. The flat form factor makes them easier to fit together at an angle, better for a wide range of viewing positions, and more convenient to position together on a desk. (That said, ultrawide curved monitors can provide nearly as much screen real estate, if working space is your primary concern.)

Finally, if you're planning to wall mount your monitor, a flat monitor is generally a better choice. When wall-mounting a monitor, most people are looking for a model that provides wide viewing angles and sits flush against the wall &#; a flat monitor, in other words. So, while it's still possible to use curved monitors for wall-mounting and/or multi-monitor setups, the form factor of flat panels tends to make them a better choice.

Curved Advantage: Higher Aspect Ratios

Trying to see the big picture &#; no, the really big picture? Curved monitors often support aspect ratios wider than the standard 16:9, including 21:9 and even 32:9 on the largest models. These incredibly wide ratios can give you a wider in-game field of view, offering a more immersive experience and a potential gameplay advantage.

However, the support for higher aspect ratios comes with a few important caveats. First, not every game offers native support for 21:9 or 32:9 ratios, which means you might find black bars on the far edges of your screen if you try to play a non-supported game on an ultrawide monitor. Console gamers should also be aware that no current-generation consoles support native ultrawide ratios. In most cases, you can still play your PS5 or Switch on an ultrawide monitor, but you'll probably be playing with the black bars.

Flat Advantage: More Panel Type Choices

Today's gaming monitors typically use either IPS or VA panels, both of which have their advantages and drawbacks. The differences between the technologies are complex, but here's the super-short version:

• IPS panels have a faster response time, better color accuracy, and better viewing from side angles. However, they're generally more expensive, and their lower contrast ratios can leave dark spaces looking washed-out.
• VA panels have a wider contrast ratio that produces much deeper blacks, and they're less expensive than IPS panels. Their downsides include narrower viewing angles and a potentially slower response time.

So, how does this apply to the flat vs. curved question? Due to differences in manufacturing technology, the majority of curved monitors available today are VA panels. Curved IPS monitors are available, but they often occupy the high end of the price spectrum even among curved monitors. Flat monitors, on the other hand, include a wide variety of panel types &#; IPS, VA, and otherwise.

In fact, a third type of panel, called a TN panel, is available only on flat monitors. TN monitors are an older technology that can't match IPS or VA in most areas of graphics, but they have an extremely fast response time that some competitive eSports players prefer. Meanwhile, the new and ultra-crisp OLED gaming monitors are largely flat, although we can probably expect to see more curved models as the technology matures.

Curved Advantage: Different Curvature Ratings

Finally, curved monitors offer several different options for exactly how curved you want your monitor to be. This isn't an advantage over flat monitors, per se, but it's definitely a useful feature worth knowing about when selecting a curved monitor.

Every curved monitor includes a rating that measures the monitor's degree of curvature. Basically, it's a four-digit number followed by the letter R, which refers to the monitor's radius if it were a complete circle. Thus, the lower the number, the more noticeable the monitor's curvature.

A R monitor, for example, has only a slight curve &#; perceivable, but not extreme. A R monitor, by contrast, has a significant curvature that looks genuinely futuristic. Generally, the more curved the monitor is, the more you'll notice both the benefits and drawbacks of curved monitors. A R monitor can offer an incredible level of immersion, but it will also likely have the narrowest viewing angles.

Ultimately, it's up to each gamer to decide whether a flat or curved monitor is a better fit for their needs. Whichever you choose, you don't need to go far to find the perfect display! Micro Center offers a full selection of curved screen monitors, plus dozens more gaming monitors of every size and spec.

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