Ever since starting my career, I’ve always moved from gadget to gadget, and device to device, in a mission to fine tune my set up and be as comfortable and as productive as I can be.
The most common thing to change is my monitor (or monitors, depending where we are in the history of my setups). Over the years, I’ve gone from having one monitor, to two, to three, to two wider ones, and so on. This would change pretty much annually, until in 2018 I replaced two monitors with one 34″ ultrawide curved LG monitor. This served me well for over 2 years, and allowed me to have the benefits of two “normal” monitors, but without the bezel or gap in the middle.
I get bored quite easily though, so the time recently came for a change. I had eyed up the Samsung LC49RG90SSUXEN 49” Curved Gaming Monitor on Amazon for a long time, and I noticed the price dropped so I snapped it up. Delivery was fast, as usual with Amazon Prime, so I had it within 1-2 days.
Now though, I’ve used the monitor daily for well over a month, so I feel that’s enough time to comment on the practicality of such a thing. The first major obstacle for most will be making sure you have enough desk space. For a monitor this large and this heavy, the legs are pretty beastly. Alternatively, you could wall mount the monitor – which would be my preferred option if I actually had a wall directly behind my desk.
This monitor really is a productivity boost though. At 5120px wide, it’s the perfect tool for pretty much any job in the digital world. At any given time, I can see all of my communication apps (Slack, Skype, etc), as well as my code, and any designs I’m working off – all at the same time with no need to switch between windows. The time saved through this method alone is worth it. Concentration can be distributed to any program almost immediately, and it comes naturally as well without any obscene head movements – which some may expect on such a large and curved screen.
I use a 16inch MacBook Pro, so connecting to that via a Thunderbolt to DisplayPort cable is seamless, and I imagine would be seamless for any other computer.
I’ll never actually use this monitor for gaming, so don’t be distracted by the fact it’s a “gaming” monitor. I’m sure it’s great for gaming, but it really is next level for productivity.
Admittedly, I was worried that monitors like this would be a one-time fad, but after a month of use I would completely recommend this monitor for productivity, for pretty much anyone who works in the digital space. I’m a web designer/developer by trade, but I can see this being perfect for video editors, photo editors, musicians, and so on.
If you’d also like to take the jump into the next level of productivity, then the cheapest I’ve found this current monitor is on Amazon, available here.