In recent years, curved monitors have exploded in popularity. This is due to an effect you’ve probably experienced when watching a super large TV: as screens get wider, it can be hard to fit the whole image in your vision. Curved monitors counteract this by gently drawing in the edges of the screen, so the whole image remains in your field of view. Not only does this stop you having to move your head to see different parts of the image, but it also means the image remains accurate and uniform even if you’re sitting close – as you would be with a desk-mounted monitor. However, with so many different makes and models of curved monitors on the market, it can be hard to know which is right for you. That’s why we’ve reviewed hundreds of monitors to find the best one for your needs; whether you’re a gamer, an office worker, on a budget or looking to splash out on quality. Here are our five best curved monitors for home and office use.
Product Comparison Table: Best Curved Monitor
Title | Price | Rating (Amazon) | Best in class | Buy | |
Samsung 32” Odyssey G5 Gaming Monitor | $$ | 4.5 stars | Best for Gaming | Amazon | |
Dell S3221QS Curved 4K UHD Monitor | $$ | 4.5 stars | Best 4K Resolution | Amazon | |
Samsung 49” Odyssey Neo G9 G95NA Gaming Monitor | $$$$$ | 4.5 stars | Best Ultrawide | Amazon | |
Viotek NBV24CB2 24” Curved Monitor | $ | 4.5 stars | Best Value | Amazon | |
Samsung T550 Series 27” 1080p Curved Monitor | $$ | 4.5 stars | Best for Offices | Amazon |
Samsung 32” Odyssey G5 Gaming Monitor
When choosing a curved monitor, it’s important to know the degree of the curve: the lower the number, the less subtle the curve will be. The Samsung 32” Odyssey G5 Gaming Monitor has a 1000R curve, which is aggressive enough to exactly match the curvature of the human eye. This means you’ll feel fully immersed in your game, and prevents eye strain too. WQHD 1440p resolution packs in 1.7 times as many pixels as 1080p Full HD, promising clear and intensely detailed imagery. Plus, HDR10 deepens blacks and brightens light colours dynamically to achieve luminous resolution. Lastly, the Odyssey G5 boasts a number of lag-busting features: it has a superfast 1ms grey to grey response time, 144Hz super smooth refresh rate, and AMD FreeSync premium technology.
Pros
- Strong 1000R curve
- WQHD 1440p resolution
- Anti-lag features
Cons
- Doesn’t support 4K
- Incompatible with some consoles (eg PS4 Pro)
Verdict
For competitive gamers, a few seconds of lag can be devastating; with the Samsung 32” Odyssey G5 Gaming Monitor, your gameplay will always be super smooth. The WQHD – Samsung’s big innovation – offers a great standard of picture quality for the price, but can disable HDR and ray tracing on advanced 4K consoles like the XBox One X, PS4 Pro or PS5. That said, for the majority of gamers, this monitor will serve well.
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Dell S3221QS Curved 4K UHD Monitor
If you’re focussed on high resolution or want to be able to hook up more advanced consoles and movie players, the Dell S3221QS Curved 4K UHD Monitor offers full support. The three-sided ultrathin bezel design in 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) resolution lets you enjoy immersive viewing in incredible clarity and fine detail with 4 times the resolution of Full HD – even more than Samsung’s 1440p WQHD. The screen is more subtly curved, however, at 1800R; this could make gaming less immersive, and potentially increase eye strain. Despite this, the monitor is TÜV-certified, with a flicker-free screen and blue-light-reducing ComfortView mode. Finally, the base is fully adjustable with pivoting, swivelling, rising and falling movements.
Pros
- 4K UHD Resolution
- Eye safety features and modes
- Adjustable mount, VESA compatible
Cons
- Subtler screen curve
- Limited viewing angles
Verdict
The Dell S3221QS Curved 4K UHD Monitor is our best 4K compatible option, offering clearer and crisper imagery than any other monitor on this list. The subtler curve does make it slightly less immersive, however. Alongside this, there can be some greying when viewing from non-central angles due to the VA (vertical alignment) pixel technology. However, the image quality and eye-safety features are second to none.
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Samsung 49” Odyssey Neo G9 G95NA Gaming Monitor
The Samsung 49” Odyssey Neo G9 G95NA Gaming Monitor has an ultrawide screen, making it a very different viewing experience to regular-size models. It is 49 inches wide, with a 1000R eye-matching curve for optimum immersion and minimal eye strain. It also has both NVIDIA G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro support, 1ms response time and a lightning fast 240HZ refresh rate; this means it perfectly keeps pace with your graphics card, and eliminates lag. There is no 4K support, however. Samsung Mini LED Quantum Matrix technology instead provides an increase in screen dimming zones from 10 to 2048 and 4x the luminance, for a bright and accurate color spectrum.
Pros
- Ultrawide 1000R 49 inch screen
- High resolution image quality
- Fast refresh rate, anti-lag tech
Cons
- No 4K support
- Very expensive
Verdict
Also from the Odyssey line, the Samsung 49” Odyssey Neo G9 G95NA Gaming Monitor matches up to the G5 on a variety of features; it has the same anti-lag technology, next-level performance and impressive visuals, just on a much larger scale. However, it is not 4K compatible, and costs around 5 times as much as its cousin the G5. If you’re a serious gamer or movie fan with money to burn, this is our number one ultrawide option.
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Viotek NBV24CB2 24” Curved Monitor
At the other end of the price scale sits the Viotek NBV24CB2 24” Curved Monitor. Although the screen is only a minute 24 inches, this monitor offers an upgraded VA panel with 4000:1 contrast ratio. It also has 6 display modes, 97% sRGB color gamut, and user controllable brightness, really boosting its performance in bright rooms. It is compatible with both FreeSync and G-Sync, but comes with its own reasonably powerful Adaptive Sync low framerate compensation technology, which prevents ghosting, glitching and blurring. There’s a detect refresh rate of 75Hz, enough for most movies and video media. The screen curvature, however, is extremely subtle – only 3000R; this could create some eye strain over time.
Pros
- High contrast ratio and resolution
- Compatible with FreeSync and G-Sync
- Great value low price
Cons
- Slow max refresh rate
- Very subtle screen curvature
Verdict
The Viotek NBV24CB2 24” Curved Monitor is our best value option. It may not have the highest stats compared to something like the Samsung G9, but the Viotek still has a lot to offer: the image quality is very impressive, it performs much better than most in daylight, and it’s a tenth of the price. The main irritants with this monitor will be the slow max refresh rate (though this will only bother gamers), and the subtle screen curvature, but the negative effects of this will be mitigated by the small screen size.
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Samsung T550 Series 27” 1080p Curved Monitor
The Samsung T550 Series 27” 1080p Curved Monitor has Samsung’s signature 1000R curvature – the boldest curve achieved by any computer brand. This has won the T550 an eye-comfort certificate from TÜV Rheinland, who praised its curvature, flicker-free technology and blue-light-reducing Eye Saver Mode. As for picture quality, it has a standard 1080p HD screen, and 75Hz refresh rate for smooth videos. However, the most crucial features of this monitor are actually on the back; it has built-in 5 Watt speakers, and a compact HDMI, DP and D-Sub triple interface. It also has an extremely aesthetically pleasing slim metal stand and fabric-texture back, meaning it fits in perfectly with your office decor.
Pros
- 1000R curve, eye-comfort technology
- Triple interface on back
- Aesthetically pleasing design
Cons
- Limited graphics capabilities
- Low max refresh rate
Verdict
For your home or business office, you need a monitor that protects your eyes, performs reliably and looks good, too. The Samsung T550 Series 27” 1080p Curved Monitor does all of these things, making it our best option for offices. Although it may not have the specs for gaming, it is more than enough to power a productive working environment. The compact and intuitive cable entries on the back are a real highlight, allowing you to mix and match your accessories to optimise your setup.