Today MSI has announced its latest QD-OLED monitor, the MPG 341CQR QD-OLED X36. Built on a new 5th Gen panel from Samsung, this is a curved ultrawide with a 360Hz refresh rate, making it the fastest 21:9 OLED monitor to date. It's also packing a number of improvements to the sub-pixel layout and coating, alongside increased brightness for both SDR and HDR. There's a lot to talk about, so let's get into it.

Timestamps

00:00 Intro
00:45 Key panel improvements
02:20 Design overview
03:23 Connectivity
03:51 New panel coating vs older QD-OLED + WOLED
05:51 Sub-pixel structure is also improved
07:12 Out of the box testing
09:20 sRGB mode + calibrated results
09:53 Response times, motion clarity
11:23 Real-world gaming experience
15:44 HDR issues ‘update’
17:12 Closing thoughts

Starting with the new 5th Gen QD-OLED panel from Samsung, this is packing in some key improvements designed to overcome known limitations of earlier QD-OLED panels. It's got a new RGB V-stripe sub-pixel layout, replacing the older diamond shape, AKA Q-stripe, layout that could cause some fringing around text. It also has a new and improved coating to help improve black depth in brighter conditions, designed to fix the issue where older QD-OLED panels would see elevated black levels depending on the ambient lighting. On top of that, the surface hardness has been increased from 2H to 3H, increasing scratch resistance.

Those appear to be the key improvements with the new panel, given the underlying EL 3.0 technology has not changed from 4th Gen QD-OLED. It still offers improved brightness compared to most other QD-OLEDs, though performance here is similar to the enhanced 272QP X50, with MSI claiming up to 1300 nits for HDR and 300 nits for SDR. And of course, as mentioned earlier, it's a new 360Hz refresh rate, too, up from the previous 240Hz limit for ultrawide QD-OLED panels.

In terms of pricing, MSI told us the MSRP is £999, or $1099, so it's not cheap, but about as expected for a new QD-OLED panel.

Specification:

• Model: MPG 341CQR QD-OLED X36
• Panel size: 34″ QD-OLED
• Aspect ratio: 21:9
• Panel resolution: 3440 x 1440 (UWQHD)
• Pixel pitch (H x V): 0.2315 (H) x 0.2315 (V)
• Refresh rate: 360Hz
• Response time: 0.03ms (GtG)
• Viewing angle: 178° (H) / 178° (V)
• Brightness: SDR: 300 nits; HDR: 1300 nits
• Contrast ratio: 1,500,000:1
• DisplayPort: 1x DisplayPort 2.1a (UHBR13.5) (UWQHD@360Hz)
• HDMI: 2x HDMI 2.1 (48Gbps) (UWQHD@360Hz)
• USB Type-C: 1x Type-C (DP Alt Mode) with 98W Power Delivery
• USB Type-A: 2x USB 5Gbps Type-A
• USB Type-B: 1x USB 5Gbps Type-B
• ETD: 12/B-12/M
• MSRP: £999/$1,099

Firmware tested: FW.014

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