Review: MONOPRICE's DARK MATTER 49in CURVED MONITOR Is Glorious
I know a few weeks ago we just reviewed a monitor from Monoprice, but here we are with another one. While the Crystal Pro Monitor gets the job done well enough and is a fine piece of hardware, there were some draw-backs and issues that were hard to ignore. However, the Dark Matter 49in Curved Monitor by Monoprice is a phenomenal piece to add to any person’s PC set-up.
The Dark Matter Monitor is a beast. When first opening it and lifting it out of the box, I couldn’t help but giggle and cackle at the wonderfully absurd size of the thing. After putting together the stand and monitor and then plugging it into my PC, the set-up with my PC was smooth and seamless, ready to play in less than a minute. Playing games like Destiny 2 and Mini Motorways were awesome because they took up the whole screen and truly immersed me in the experience from edge to edge. The crisp display, vibrant colors and fast refresh rate make it a stellar screen for whatever you’re doing. However, most games don’t function that well or at all in the ultra widescreen mode, so I would play with long black edges or in a window. But this leads to the real purpose of a wide display, multitasking. Having Discord on one side, your game in the middle and homework/work/YouTube/shopping on the other side is a dream come true.
This ultrawide dream is possible and feels so good too because of its curved style. I was never that impressed with curved TVs or monitors before, but I think it was because they were barely wider than normal screens that sat farther away from me. However, being up close to a very wide and perfectly curved screen is fantastic. I can see corner to corner with no issues and little work from my eyes. This curve is probably the thing that raises the price, but if you are ready to make that kind of an investment, then it can be totally worth it.
Let’s talk about that elephant in the room, high prices for a curve and wider screen. Monoprice is known for its competitive pricing compared to other outlets and brands, but it doesn’t mean that it isn’t something to consider. While it is on a considerable sale right now, it still stands as a purchase that can rival a PC or modern gaming console. While I found it to be worth the price because of the quality and performance, this is quite a luxury and not a huge gaming experience improvement overall.
Overall, the Dark Matter 49in Curved Monitor is an incredible display that is sure to make anyone jealous. Even though the cost is relatively low, it performs just as well as any high end screen I’ve seen and can totally envelope you. It looks amazing, works extremely well, and comes at a fairly reasonable price, what more could you ask for?
