All > MSI OPTIX 341CQR
MSI OPTIX 341CQR
Retail Price
$799.00
Lowest Price
$286.99
Release Date
September 2019
The MSI OPTIX 341CQR is a 34″ curved ultra-wide 144Hz gaming monitor that supports AMD FreeSync and NVIDIA G-Sync. It has a native resolution of 3440×1440 with features like changing latency mode, setting an alarm clock that flashes on the screen when it goes off, and 12 different OSD crosshairs.
Purchase Links
Overview
- General
- Value for Money
- Price
- Competition
- Features
- Display
- Performance
- Summary
- Positive
- Negative
General - The Optix is a 34" curved ultra-wide 144Hz gaming monitor that supports AMD FreeSync and NVIDIA G-Sync. It has a native resolution of 3440x1440 with features like changing latency mode, setting an alarm clock that flashes on the screen when it goes off, and 12 different OSD crosshairs.
Value for Money - MSI's Optix 341CQR is a high-refresh-rate ultrawide gaming display sold for $799. It has a wide range of features plus a low input lag, making it ideal for gamers. However, display-wise, the color results may not be suitable for creative professionals, with the HDR quality lacking. Overall, it's still one of the best values among 34" ultrawide gaming panels today.
PCMag - Chris Stobing
09/20/2019
Price - The Optix is an excellent gaming monitor with premium features that make it too expensive. The Optix is 32" wide from edge to edge screen and 21" wide stand. It cost $1103 CAD from Memory Express but has been hovering around $1,300 CAD on Newegg Canada, with the stock number fluctuating.
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
Competition - There are a few monitors with specs similar to the Optix, which doesn't compromise smooth motion and high resolution. At 32-inches, 3440x1440p, and 144Hz, it performs better than its main competitor, sold for $200, which has worse black levels.
IGN - Whitson Gordon
10/04/2019
Features - The Optix, sold at $799, is a bright, buzzy, fast, and ultrawide gaming monitor that is the closest to an ideal gaming monitor. The MSI Optix pushes each experience element to new heights with customization options, innovative approaches to dark scenes in gaming, and quick input-lag scores. It is a recommended monitor upgrade for gamers wanting a feature-rich monitor under 1,000. The 34" Optix has combined solid gaming performance with various features, adding up to an ultra-quick curved panel that excels in almost every aspect necessary to gamers.
PCMag - Chris Stobing
09/20/2019
Display - It's got a good display that doesn't pixelate images when stretched, and it has a built-in webcam that is usable for streaming. The Optix has a decent display that doesn't revolutionize the ultra-wide gaming monitor market, and some aspects are better than average but will be enough to satisfy some buyers.
1 Up Nerdcore
08/18/2020
Performance - The Optix is a huge monitor with a curve that comes from a flat 16:9, making it immersive. Performance-wise, it's great for productivity and work, and the 144Hz does make a difference in scrolling smoothness, and the text is very sharp. The contrast is also better than an IPS panel.
Mike_Litoris_MD
07/21/2020
Summary - The Optix has an HDR that's not useful and brings depth to Youtube demo videos, flickering G-Sync below 45FPS with 1080. Additionally, it works with Macbook, but the wattage is low, and it requires an adapter for the screen's USB inputs. However, there's only 1 port underneath. The webcam is bad, but enough for online meetings. It has no speakers but an audio output, a mic, a good aspect ratio, size, colors, and a high refresh rate.
d43monium
08/10/2021
Sources
Tags
- General
- Value for Money
- Price
- Competition
- Features
- Display
- Performance
- Summary
Sources
- YouTube
- PCMag
- Display Ninja
- IGN
Gear Seekers
09/03/2019
Hardware Unboxed
07/18/2019
PCMag - Chris Stobing
09/20/2019
PCMag - Chris Stobing
09/20/2019
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
IGN - Whitson Gordon
10/04/2019
PCMag - Chris Stobing
09/20/2019
1 Up Nerdcore
08/18/2020
Mike_Litoris_MD
07/21/2020
d43monium
08/10/2021
See All Sources
Build & Design
- Build
- Camera
- Curvature
- Design
- Dimension
- Ergonomics
- Joystick
- RGB LED
- Connectivity
- Size
- Positive
- Negative
Build - The Optix has a cord management built-in webcam, which tends to be geared toward gamers. Its build has different plastic finishes, including a glossy and matte section. Also, there's an RGB strip, and the overall construction is good and doesn't feel cheap. Additionally, the stand joins the stand legs to the pillar the legs and is made of sturdy metal. It takes up less space and is height, tilt, and swivel adjustable.
Hardware Unboxed
07/18/2019
Camera - It has a built-in 720p camera with a sensor and A.I. found in the middle of the bottom bezel. Performance-wise, it can operate as a basic low-quality webcam with added functionality such as adaptive brightness and contrast and facial detection. However, it doesn't work as an actual webcam and is only compatible with facial recognition software, meaning it can't be used for streaming and other things. Additionally, there's a cradle mount at the top to attach a webcam for such tasks.
Hardware Unboxed
07/18/2019
Curvature - The monitor has a 1800R curvature rating, which refers to the number of millimeters the curve would occupy if drawn out into a full circle. This degree of curvature is standard for 34" ultrawide monitors that provide an immersive experience for the user, as side viewing angles are not that great.
PCMag - Chris Stobing
09/20/2019
Design - For $800, the Optix is a gaming monitor with a headset hanger, camera mounting bracket at the top, a mouse bungee, ultra-thin bezels, and an RGB LED strip along the bottom that is configurable through MSI's Mystic Light engine. There's an anti-glare matte screen coating, which eliminates reflections, while the 1800R curvature further improves the viewing experience. MSI claims a "bezel-free" design, but in actuality though not entirely invisible, there's a 0.25-inch-thick strip of the bezel. Additionally, the stand has sharp angles and copper accents and is tilt, swivel, and height adjustable.
Dimension - The 31" Optix has a 21:9 ratio. The dimensions are 31.9" wide, 12.8" deep, and 22.2" wide, and it weighs 29.8 lbs.
PCMag - Chris Stobing
09/20/2019
Ergonomics - The Optix has a sturdy design with versatile ergonomics, including up to 100mm height adjustment, -5°/15° tilt, +/- 30° swivel, and 100x100mm VESA mount compatibility.
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
Joystick - The MPG341CQR has a five-way joystick that interacts with the on-screen display-settings menu. The menu is packed with gaming features.
PCMag - Chris Stobing
09/20/2019
RGB LED - The RGB LEDs can be found at the back of the monitor, which uses MSI's Mystic Light technology, and the five LED strips at the front, which uses SteelSeries' GameSense technology. Performance-wise, the LED strip can sync up with SteelSeries' GameSense software to display helpful visual cues corresponding to certain in-game statuses, such as in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, DOTA 2, and Minecraft.
Hardware Unboxed
07/18/2019
Connectivity - The ports and inputs in the Optix are 2 HDMI 2.0 up to 100Hz at 3440×1440, DisplayPort 1.4, a USB-C input with DP 1.4 Alt Mode, 3 downstream USB 3.0, 1 upstream USB port, headphones, microphone, and combined audio jacks. The on-screen display can be controlled through the directional toggle or hooked up via USB and use MSI's gaming OSD application, and all of the features can be controlled there. The audio ports process any signals sent or received through the HDMI or DisplayPort inputs.
Size - The 21:9 ultrawide format provided an extra horizontal screen space for better productivity and increased field of view in video games for a more immersive gaming experience.
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
Sources
Tags
- Build
- Camera
- Curvature
- Design
- Dimension
- Ergonomics
- Joystick
- RGB LED
- Connectivity
- Size
Sources
- YouTube
- PCMag
- Display Ninja
Hardware Unboxed
07/18/2019
Hardware Unboxed
07/18/2019
PCMag - Chris Stobing
09/20/2019
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
PCMag - Chris Stobing
08/20/2019
PCMag - Chris Stobing
09/20/2019
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
PCMag - Chris Stobing
09/20/2019
Hardware Unboxed
07/18/2019
Hardware Unboxed
07/18/2019
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
See All Sources
Display
- Adobe RGB Coverage
- Brightness
- Color Accuracy
- Contrast Ratio
- DCI-P3
- Display
- HDR
- Resolution
- Viewing Angle
- Positive
- Negative
Adobe RGB Coverage - The Adobe RGB coverage resulted at 80.2%, which is enough for creative pros who work in Photoshop or do any kind of work that needs color accuracy in Adobe's larger suite of creative software to consider as a daily driver and gaming panel in a home office.
PCMag - Chris Stobing
09/20/2019
Brightness - MSI claims 400 nits of brightness, but it only reached under 300 nits. The Optix's DisplayHDR 400 panel achieved 395 nits and 256 nits when switched to HDR mode. HDR 400 is the lowest of the HDR classes, so it's typical to see brightness levels in line with the HDR level that the manufacturer claims.
Hardware Unboxed
07/18/2019
Color Accuracy - Gaming monitors can't be expected to have the most accurate colors. However, Optix has a good out-of-the-box calibration that can be recommended for content creation. However, as far as consistency and uniformity are concerned, IPS models are still better. So, for color-critical work, there are better options, but the MSI's ultrawide monitor can create basic content.
Gear Seekers
09/03/2019
Contrast Ratio - The Optix offers a static contrast ratio of 3,000:1, which makes deep blacks stand out with a level of 0.38 compared to blacks on IPS and TN panels. Also, upon testing the Optix MPG27CQ, it scored above its rating of 3,000:1 with a result of 3,110:1. Both the panel technology and most of the bells and whistles found on the MPG341CQR first made their appearances on the MGP27CQ.
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
DCI-P3 - The Optix provides vibrant colors with 84% DCI-P3 color space coverage, 105% sRGB, 10-bit color depth support, and excellent factory calibration.
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
Display - The Optix has 1.07 billion display colors with a 3000:1 contrast ratio that covers 105% sRGB scale and 84% DCI-P3 color gamut, which is great for gaming but not for video or photo editing. Other panel-related specifications include a 400-nit peak brightness and 178-degree wide viewing angles. It also supports HDR and carries VESA DisplayHDR 400 certification. The Optix's curved VA panel sports a resolution of 3440x1440 with a super-smooth 144Hz refresh rate, 34" diagonal size, built-in FreeSync, and Nvidia G-Sync support. However, the Optix doesn't provide enough brightness or local dimming features to take advantage of HDR signals.
HDR - The DisplayHDR 400 certification was misleading and useless. For a noteworthy HDR viewing experience, a display needs local dimming, at least 90% DCI-P3 color gamut, and higher peak brightness, which the Optix can't provide though it does have HDR that can reach 400 nits.
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
Resolution - The Optix has a 3440×1440 resolution, resulting in a rich pixel density of 110 PPI, which means it can provide plenty of screen real estate, clear, and sharp details without scaling.
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
Viewing Angle - The Optix's viewing angles are expected for a panel of this type, which is not terrible but not as good as IPS panels. As long as the monitor is centered in front of the user, no major color shifts will be noticeable, and on an all-black screen, there's mild clouding in the corners.
IGN - Whitson Gordon
10/04/2019
Sources
Tags
- Adobe RGB Coverage
- Brightness
- Color Accuracy
- Contrast Ratio
- DCI-P3
- Display
- HDR
- Resolution
- Viewing Angle
Sources
- PCMag
- YouTube
- Display Ninja
- IGN
PCMag - Chris Stobing
09/20/2019
Hardware Unboxed
07/18/2019
Gear Seekers
09/03/2019
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
1 Up Nerdcore
08/18/2020
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
IGN - Whitson Gordon
10/04/2019
See All Sources
Features
- AI-Assisted Smart Filter
- G-Sync & FreeSync
- Modes
- Motion Blur Reduction
- Night Vision
- Screen Assistance
- Settings
- Positive
- Negative
AI-Assisted Smart Filter - The Optix has an A.I-assisted smart filter called Night Vision, which allows the monitor to adjust the screen's gamma dynamically, depending on the darkness of the scene in games. There's also an anti-motion-blur setting for fast-paced image smoothing.
PCMag - Chris Stobing
09/20/2019
G-Sync & FreeSync - The FreeSync synchronizes the monitor's refresh rate with GPU's frame rate, which helps eliminate screen tearing and stuttering with minimal effect on input lag at ~1ms. Also, it ranges 48-144Hz/FPS, and LFC is supported and works with compatible NVIDIA cards. However, some users experience brightness flickering when FreeSync/G-SYNC is enabled, although it only affects some units, and the brightness flickering is mostly present below 48FPS or when the frame rate fluctuates a lot. Note that the monitor's backlight is flicker-free and that an integrated low-blue light filter eliminates eye strain and headaches caused by prolonged screen use.
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
Modes - There's a Game Mode, and Pro Mode picture presets, which include FPS, RTS, RPG, Racing, Reader, Cinema, Designer, and two customizable profiles, as well as Picture in Picture and Picture by Picture.
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
Motion Blur Reduction - Motion Blur Reduction (MBR) in fast-paced games can strobe the backlight to reduce the perceived motion blur for better clarity. However, when enabled, it reduces the screen's maximum brightness. Further, it cannot be used simultaneously as the AMD FreeSync.
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
Night Vision - The Optix offers a Night Vision feature, which increases the visibility of objects in dark parts of games. The A.I. preset of this feature can increase visibility in the dark without overexposing the bright parts of the image.
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
Screen Assistance - Other features include Screen Assistance, overdrive modes including normal, fast, and fastest, zero latency for minimal input lag, refresh rate tracker, and eye saver mode.
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
Settings - The MSI Gaming OSD 2.0 can manage, profile, and program the monitors' in-menu settings. It includes options such as the brightness and contrast picture settings, Night Vision mode that lightens the black level, Screen Assistance setting that applies a crosshair to the middle of the display, and a Refresh Rate setting that displays the refresh rate in the corner.
PCMag - Chris Stobing
09/20/2019
Sources
Tags
- AI-Assisted Smart Filter
- G-Sync & FreeSync
- Modes
- Motion Blur Reduction
- Night Vision
- Screen Assistance
- Settings
Sources
- PCMag
- Display Ninja
PCMag - Chris Stobing
09/20/2019
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
PCMag - Chris Stobing
09/20/2019
See All Sources
Performance & Specifications
- Compatibility
- Gaming
- Display
- Specifications
- Positive
- Negative
Compatibility - There's a relative struggle to find 21:9 content on Netflix, but Potplayer can properly expand and match the file ratio.
Mike_Litoris_MD
07/21/2020
Gaming - The 34-inch size, 21:9 aspect ratio, and 1440p resolution of the Optix make for a fantastic gaming experience by being big and engaging without being too over the top. Performance-wise, with its 1440p resolution plus a 144Hz refresh rate, it has no issues when playing Overwatch or Doom. However, many games render cutscenes in 16:9 with black bars on the side. Most modern games support ultrawide aspect ratios for actual gameplay, making it worth stepping up from a traditional 16:9 monitor.
IGN - Whitson Gordon
10/04/2019
Display - The black and white levels were right where they should be, with the blackest and whitest squares barely distinguishable from the reference black and white. Gamma was slightly low at around 2.1, meaning the image may look slightly washed out. There was no visible banding on gradient patterns, but there's a bit of a screen-door effect on large areas of solid color due to the subpixel layout of the panel though it's subtle enough to go unnoticed.
IGN - Whitson Gordon
10/04/2019
Specifications - The Optix is a 34" VA panel with a resolution of 3440x1440, a 21:9 aspect ratio, a peak brightness of around 400 nits, and a curved display of 1800R. It also features RGB lighting, FreeSync technology, and Nvidia's G-Sync technology with a response time of 1ms. It supports 105% of sRGB color space and 84% of DCI-P3 color, which is acceptable for a VA panel. The viewing angle on the Optix is 178 degrees, with a 3,000:1 contrast ratio. Inputs include 2 HDMI 2.0 ports, DisplayPort 1.4 port, a 3-port USB 3.2 hub, jacks for headphones, and a microphone.
Gear Seekers
09/03/2019
See All Sources
Motion
- Ghosting
- Input Lag
- Refresh Rate
- Response Time
- Positive
- Negative
Ghosting - The ghosting in the Optix is on par with the LG 32GK850G-B. Still, it offers a crisp text. Some downsides are the buzzing noise at the top bezel, which is only audible at the highest refresh rate, and ghosting, where the overdrive feature could've worked better.
Kuiriel
07/21/2019
Input Lag - Input lag was good at around 3 and ½ milliseconds, which is within the standard range for gaming monitors.
Hardware Unboxed
07/18/2019
Refresh Rate - On average, the transition time was 4.57 milliseconds, with around 90% of all transitions falling within the refresh window. In general, the Optix is suitable for 144 Hz gaming. Also, it supports FreeSync, which works with both AMD and NVIDIA cards, with a low framerate compensation at 1 Hz minimum.
Hardware Unboxed
07/18/2019
Response Time - MSI's claims of 1 millisecond response time are not true in actual use, though it does have a backlight strobing mode, so it probably refers to that. Performance-wise, there's no prominent trailing behind fast-moving objects, and black smearing is visible in darker scenes.
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
See All Sources
Comparison
- OPTIX MPG341CQR vs ACER S7
- OPTIX MPG341CQR vs AOC CU34G2X
- OPTIX MPG341CQR vs Gigabyte M34WQ
- OPTIX MPG341CQR vs LG 34GK950F-B
- Positive
- Negative
OPTIX MPG341CQR vs ACER S7 - The Acer S7 has a 3840x2160 resolution, and while it isn't a true 4k, there's not much difference from Optix. The noticeable difference is the absence of the IPS glow and the grey in dark scenes on the Optix, as it has more uniform lighting in dark scenes. Also, the default scaling is better, at just 100% in the Optix, than at 144% on the S7.
Mike_Litoris_MD
07/21/2020
OPTIX MPG341CQR vs AOC CU34G2X - The AOC CU34G2X, for ~$450, is a 34″ 3440×1440 144Hz curved VA gaming monitor with identical image quality and performance but without the RGB lighting and gimmicky features of the Optix.
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
OPTIX MPG341CQR vs Gigabyte M34WQ - If you don't want to deal with black smearing and VRR brightness flickering, you should invest ~$100 more for the LG 34GP83A or the Gigabyte M34WQ for ~$500 instead. Both models use IPS panels, but the LG is more expensive due to the wider color gamut, faster response time, and curved screen.
Display Ninja - Rob Shafer
11/23/2020
OPTIX MPG341CQR vs LG 34GK950F-B - The LG 34GK950F-B is cheaper and has a faster response time. The main difference between Optix and LG is the VA in the MSI and the ISP in the LG.
roman3736
07/21/2019
Sources
Tags
- OPTIX MPG341CQR vs ACER S7
- OPTIX MPG341CQR vs AOC CU34G2X
- OPTIX MPG341CQR vs Gigabyte M34WQ
- OPTIX MPG341CQR vs LG 34GK950F-B
Sources
- Display Ninja
See All Sources
Miscellaneous
- Issues
- Lack Support
- Recommendation - Performance
- Positive
- Negative
Issues - The main issues of the Optix are the dark level smearing, weak uniformity, and lack of proper wide gamut support. MSI had an exaggerated spec sheet, which makes the monitor look like it underperforms.
Hardware Unboxed
07/18/2019
Lack Support - A con of the Optix is its lack of game support for the RGB on the monitor.
Gear Seekers
09/03/2019
Recommendation - Performance - Going with cards like AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT will let you get the most out of the gaming experience on the Optix since it only supports FreeSync 2 Adaptive-Sync technology and not Nvidia's G-Sync. With FreeSync 2 activated and the refresh rate set at 144Hz, games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and the newly patched Apex Legends will run smoothly with only a few signs of screen tearing, even during the most intense firefights.
PCMag - Chris Stobing
09/20/2019
See All Sources
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