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Samsung just unveiled the widest computer monitor you can buy — here's how it looks in person

Antonio Villas- Boas
Thursday 27 July 2017 11:09 BST
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(Samsung)

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When I first tried an ultrawide monitor in 2016, I was hooked because of its applications in both gaming and productivity.

Ultrawide monitors are a relatively new category of monitors that are, indeed, wider than regular ones. But on Friday, Samsung introduced the CHG90, the first monitor in the new "super ultrawide" category, and it's outrageously wide.

The CHG90 has an aspect ratio of 32:9. For comparison, ultrawide monitors have a 21:9 aspect ratio and normal monitors have a 16:9 aspect ratio.

The CHG90 is part of Samsung's gaming line of monitors that come with specs and features that gamers can appreciate, like quick response times and AMD's FreeSync 2 technology.

Check out the CHG90 and see for yourself how crazy this thing is:

 

Behold, the 49-inch CHG90 super ultrawide gaming monitor from Samsung. Samsung's marketing photo simply doesn't do justice to the CHG90's incredible super-ultra-width, so here it is displaying an Excel spreadsheet to help put it into perspective.

Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

Here's a look from a different angle.

Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

It's curved, which helps keep the CHG90's outer edges in your peripheral vision. Without the curve, you'd probably be turning your head constantly, which could get uncomfortable after a while.

Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

It has a 178-degree viewing angle.

Here's what a game looks like in the regular 16:9 aspect ratio.

Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

And here's what it looks like on the 32:9 CHG90 monitor.

Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

A video loop playing on the CHG90 that included some gameplay of "Battlefield 1" showed how the extra field of view on the CHG90 could give you an advantage, as you could spot enemies in places where regular 16:9 monitors don't reach.

I'll be sure to test that claim when I get my hands on a CHG90 for review.

Apart from the advantage of the extra field of view, its width and curves look as if they could suck you in for immersive gameplay.

Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

You could even play a game on one half on the screen and keep the other half open for something else.

Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

Samsung's CHG90 essentially is two full-size, full HD (1080p) monitors in one, making it great for multitasking.

Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

Its resolution is 3840 x 1080, which translates to double full HD. It's like having two displays, but without the gap between monitors.

Here are some of the CHG90's important specs and features:

Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

• The CHG90 uses a VA LCD panel, which is an ultrafast panel with a response time of only one millisecond. That might not mean much to someone who mostly uses computers for work, but gamers who play fast-paced games could appreciate the CHG90's minimal response time.

• It has a refresh rate of 144 hertz, which means each pixel can refresh 144 times per second, and makes for high-frame-rate gaming — if your graphics card can handle high frame rates.

• It uses quantum-dot technology from Samsung's HDTV lineup for better brightness and color accuracy than regular LCD monitors.

• It also features HDR10 for even better colors and contrast.

• It's the first monitor to feature AMD's FreeSync 2 technology, which helps your PC's graphics card communicate with the monitor for smoother gameplay without screen tearing or stuttering.

You can split up the layout of the screen with the CHG90's software, as Windows 10 doesn't have any settings or support for such a wide screen.

Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

Here's a closer look at Samsung's CHG90 software.

Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

The CHG90 costs $1,500, and it's available for preorder now.

Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

You can preorder the CHG90 monitor on Amazon and at local Micro Center stores.

 

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