Check out this 34-inch 144Hz quantum dot FreeSync display on sale for $390
I normally peruse Monoprice's website when I'm on the hunt for cables—HDMI, DisplayPort, Ethernet, and so forth—but every so often, I'll stumble across an intriguing deal on a PC peripheral or monitor. As is the case today, I found a 34-inch curved ultra-wide gaming monitor on sale for $389.99.
That's $110 below its list price, and generally a good bargain this class of display. I can't speak from hands-on (eyeballs-on?) experience with this particular monitor, but it's encouraging that the spec sheet lists a panel manufactured by Samsung (LSM340YP05). It's a VA screen with quantum dot technology.
Dark Matter by Monoprice 34-Inch Curved Monitor | 3440x1440p | 144Hz | Quantum Dot | FreeSync | DisplayHDR 400 | $499.99 $389.99 at Monoprice (save $210)
This is a big, ultra-wide gaming monitor with a fast refresh rate and FreeSync support. And while Monoprice might not be a household name in the land of monitors, the VA panel on this model is manufactured by Samsung.
At 34 inches, this is a big display. It fills the screen real estate with a 3440 x 1440 resolution (21:9 aspect ratio). You also get a relatively fast 144 refresh rate with this model, along with FreeSync support to prevent screen tearing (when paired with a Radeon GPU).
The spec sheet also lists this as being DisplayHDR 400 certified. I wouldn't buy this specifically for HDR content, as its max brightness of 400 nits isn't going to do HDR justice the way a monitor with a 1,000 nits brightness would (brightness matters when it comes to LCD monitors).
It does offer a wide color gamut, though, with 99% coverage of the sRGB color space. The response time is listed as 4ms gray-to-gray, or 1ms if using the MPRT metric.
Overall, this looks like a nice monitor at a very good price.