After a year packed full of excellent but similar 32-inch 4K OLED gaming monitors, we’re excited to find something different from Corsair: The company’s latest OLED monitor cuts the resolution and expands the wingspan. The Corsair Xeneon 34WQHD240-C QD-OLED ($1,199) is a 34-inch 1,440p gaming monitor that sports a dazzling screen that’s Nvidia G-Sync Compatible and has AMD FreeSync Premium. An ultra-slim bezel with a slight 1,800mm curve gives the all-white monitor a commanding presence on any desktop as well. It is also a top performer, earning an Editors’ Choice award for high-end curved gaming monitors. Design: An OLED for the Big-Screen GamerWeighing 33 pounds, Corsair’s newest 34-inch monitor doesn’t look or feel much bigger than a 32-inch one. At least not at first glance, anyway, as the additional wingspan gives the monitor a more intimidating figure once it’s placed on your desk. Its slight curve bends the monitor to just 1,800mm, or 1800R, barely curving the screen at all. This R-value represents the radius measurement in millimeters of a circle that a hypothetical ring of these monitors would create placed edge to edge. (The lower the millimeter count and the R-value, the tighter the curve is.)
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(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Curved monitors are not new to the gaming monitor space, but with the exception of larger ones like the LG 45 UltraGear OLED Curved Gaming Monitor, which bends to 800mm, we rarely see OLED monitors bend with tight radii. The Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 bends at a similar 1800mm, while the Alienware AW3225QF 4K QD-OLED curves to just 1,700mm. A slight bend is meant to correct visual distortion rather than provide full immersion, matching the curvature of your eyes to reduce eye strain while still enhancing your visual experience. The Xeneon is nearly all white, except for the bezel and the stand, a rarity among gaming monitors. Personally, I like white devices, so the Xeneon immediately gets points in my book for offering an out-of-the-ordinary color scheme. As you turn the monitor around, you immediately notice the ultra-slim bezels and square reverse side. This is a similar design to the Corsair Xeneon 27QHD240, one of my favorite OLED monitors of last year. I find this latest Xeneon’s outward-facing ports to be easier to use, as they’re evenly placed and run up the monitor vertically rather than tucked under the monitor. The downside is, of course, a less tidy back of the cabinet.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Speaking of ports, the Corsair offers a wide variety: one DisplayPort 1.4, one DisplayPort over USB-C with 65W of power delivery, another upstream USB-C with 15W of power delivery, two HDMI 2.1 ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and four USB-A ports. This opens up many possibilities for both entertainment and productivity, especially if you’re the type of person to take advantage of the monitor’s picture-in-picture and picture-by-picture modes. The USB hub also provides virtual KVM functionality when connected to multiple PCs. Turning to the screen itself, the Xeneon’s OLED panel is, of course, the main attraction. As you may already know if you’re in the market for a $1,000 gaming monitor, OLED screens outclass IPS displays in almost every category, including power efficiency, color gamut, and viewing angles. It’s the only display technology that provides true blacks, with the black pixels actually turned off to create zero-light zones and maximum contrast. Paired with correctly implemented HDR, dark scenes are transformed while colors pop with eye-catching vibrancy. It’s a treat when you’re playing games that have been tweaked for the curved-screen aspect ratio.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
As for the Xeneon specifically, Corsair uses Samsung’s QD-OLED panel (the QD stands for Quantum Dot). The dots are microscopic molecules that emit light of specific wavelengths (colors) when illuminated. When compared with regular OLEDs, QD-OLEDs theoretically achieve better color accuracy, brightness, and HDR performance. We’ll put these claims to the test in our next section.Testing the Xeneon 34WQHD240-C QD-OLED: Impressive Results To determine what this monitor is really capable of, we tested color gamut, brightness, color accuracy, and contrast ratio using Calman monitor calibration software, a Murideo Six-G signal generator, and a Klein K-10A colorimeter. We then compared the results with those of four similar OLED models: the Corsair’s 27-inch cousin, the 34-inch Philips Evnia 34M2C8600, and two larger curved-screen OLEDs—the Acer Predator X45 240Hz and LG 45 Ultragear OLED. In our first test, we measure the monitor’s brightness in its default picture mode over an SDR signal. Under these conditions, it managed an average brightness of 245 nits (candelas per square meter), slightly lower than the curved screens mentioned above, but comparable with other 32-inch OLED monitors we’ve reviewed, including the MSI MPG 321URX QD-OLED (245 nits) and the AW3225QF (238 nits). Moving over to HDR brightness, we saw a similar story, with the 34WQHD240-C more than doubling to 618 nits of brightness, about the same as Corsair’s previous OLED, the Xeneon 27QHD240 (637 nits).
We also measured peak HDR brightness of 1,028 nits at a 2% sample size. (We measure sustained HDR brightness at a 10% window size, but to measure peak brightness, we drop the test size down to 2%.) This fits with Corsair’s promise of 1,000 nits of brightness, and overall, the HDR brightness is applied pretty well here.Turning our attention to the monitor’s color-gamut performance, we see the OLED panel continue to do what OLEDs do best. It spanned 151% of the sRGB color gamut, 96% of Adobe RGB, and 97% of DCI-P3 in our tests. Those are great ratings, but note the greater-than-100% sRGB coverage can result in some potential oversaturation and color inaccuracies when viewing sRGB images. Its 27-inch cousin and the Predator X45 also have this potential.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Color accuracy on the Xeneon 34WQHD240-C QD-OLED fares a bit worse than the competition, with a Delta E measurement of 2.5. The higher the Delta E, the more colors tend to stray from their intended hue. But 2.5 isn’t necessarily a bad number, and you can likely get it even lower with proper calibration. Keep in mind that our testing is done without calibration. The rated contrast ratio is an astounding 1,500,000:1. The contrast ratio indicates the difference in luminance between the brightest white and darkest black that a monitor can produce, which can make a difference in picture quality. OLED panels tend to hover between 1,500,000:1 and 1,000,000:1. So, for example, 1,000,000:1 means that the brightest white is one million times brighter than the darkest black. These are astronomical numbers and ones that are particularly hard to quantify and compare with close, side-by-side comparisons. Media and Game PerformanceFor gaming monitors, response time is king, and any form of input lag can make or break a purchase. To quantify that, we use an HDFury Diva HDMI matrix to measure the monitor’s input lag and play a handful of games from our library to see if any noticeable blemishes like screen tearing appear. First, the input lag results: We measured less than 1 millisecond (ms) of lag—a result that’s key to enjoying first-person shooters and action games that rely on split-second reflexes. Gaming monitors with low input lag have become the norm, with very few monitors showing any detectable lag at all. But even monitors that show some input lag, like the Evnia 34M2C8600, are perfectly playable, especially if you prefer single-player games.To prevent screen tearing, the monitor features AMD FreeSync Premium and Nvidia G-Sync compatibility. I spent some time with Returnal and Concord on the big curved screen, both of which support the aspect ratio and look really good on OLED displays. While not a 4K resolution, the quality of the OLED panel more than makes up for the lack of 4K pixel density. Verdict: Gorgeous From Panel to PortsThe Corsair Xeneon 34WQHD240-C QD-OLED arrives at a time when OLED panels have matured into the ideal gaming monitor technology. While expensive, the Corsair Xeneon is a big screen that’s well worth your money. We might recommend a few 4K OLEDs over it, like the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM or the Alienware AW3225QF 4K QD-OLED. But if you’re looking for a curved-screen OLED, you can’t go wrong with Corsair’s, and that’s why it earns our Editors’ Choice award.
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About Zackery Cuevas
Analyst, Hardware
I’m an Analyst and ISF-certified TV calibrator focused on reviewing computer accessories, laptops, gaming monitors, and video games. I’ve been writing, playing, and complaining about games for as long as I remember, but it wasn’t until recently that I’ve been able to shout my opinions directly at a larger audience. My work has appeared on iMore, Windows Central, Android Central, and TWICE, and I have a diverse portfolio of editing work under my belt from my time spent at Scholastic and Oxford University Press. I also have a few book-author credits under my belt—I’ve contributed to the sci-fi anthology Under New Suns, and I’ve even written a Peppa Pig book.
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