A Battle For Your Gaming Dollar

I've been testing, analyzing, and reviewing PC and gaming displays since the early 90s and I've seen a lot of tech, fads, marketing, and trends come and go. For quite a while, I stuck with CRT displays way longer than most due to zero lag or latency, high refresh rates, accurate colors, and solid blacks at a relatively low price. With a period of tame, flat panel displays stuck at 60hz, we've finally been breaking out of that technical black hole with UltraWide monitors like the Acer Z35P at high refresh rates and crazy resolutions like 3440x1440 with GSYNC for smoother motion. Sadly, with all that has come with a huge price, literally. 

The Z35P is definitely a beast of a display with all the bells, whistles, and tweaks you could ever ask for yet it's not much different that other similar displays we've seen as of late, especially from Acer. While gaming on the Z35P at 35 inches on an UltraWide display is absolutely cinematic and breathtaking, with smooth motion and an immersive size that boasts big colors and decent blacks, one thing, IMHO, that really needs to be addressed is the lack of a flat, non curved version of the monitor. If you are gaming 24/7, sure, it makes total sense but doing day to day tasks on a curved monitor is not ideal or convenient in any manner. At least give consumers the option to choose between conventional flat displays and curved if wanted.

While the Z35P definitely has a lot of good things going for it like a VA panel, 4ms response time and GSYNC, the battle for gaming monitors is getting out of hand. While most components like SSD drives, CPUs, RAM, and other components have been decreasing in price yet increasing in capacity and performance, the price of 'gaming displays' has been going through the roof as in the case with this $1099 monitor. 4K HDR HDTVs of a larger size can be obtained for a lesser price so it's a bit disheartening to see this trend.

Hey, if you are cool with paying the price, I'd wholeheartedly recommend the Z35P to anyone in the market for a curved, UltraWide gaming display. It's gorgeous, solid, boasts a beautiful picture and games that support the 3440x1440 resolution are becoming more common. That being said, it would be awesome to see someone, like Acer, buck the trend and start offering these displays for a price that isn't quite so out of reach for most consumers. PC gaming has never been the cheapest trend but if I can buy four to five consoles or two larger 4K TVs for the same price of a display, things have gotten out of whack.