Samsung’s insane 32:9 gaming monitor laughs at your dual monitor setup

A lot of gamers use multi-monitor setups for a more immersive gaming experience. But why spend money on a clumsy screen array when you can have just one insanely wide monitor instead?

That’s the approach Samsung took with it’s newest gaming monitor, the 49-inch, 32:9(!) CHG90. It’s essentially stacking two monitors side by side, just with no bezel in between them. The display’s specs had actually leaked a couple of months ago, but this is our first time seeing it in action.

There’s more to it than the wild form-factor though. It uses a Quantum Dot LCD panel, like last year’s excellent CFG70, but this time cranks things up with HDR support, AMD FreeSync 2, and USB hub functionality.  A quick rundown of the important specs:

• 49-inch diagonal
• 3840 x 1080 resolution
• 178-degree
• 1 millisecond response rate
• 144 Hz refresh rate
• 1.07 billion colors
• HDR Support
• 125% sRB, 95% DCI-P3 coverage
• 600 nits brightness
• 1800R curvature
• 2 USB ports
• AMD FreeSync 2

HDR support means the monitor gets incredibly bright while maintaining an impressive contrast ratio, but it also bodes well for people who care about color accuracy. One of the things I liked about the CFG70 was that it was also a solid choice for editing photos too, so long as you didn’t mind the resolution. The CHG90 looks to continue that pedigree.

When you’re done murdering friends online, Samsung says its custom software will allow Windows to treat your display as a dual monitor set-up if you prefer (but again, without the bezel). It also includes some tools for organizing your Windows across the huge, wide area.

Granted, I feel like if you’re going to buy a monitor this big and expensive just for productivity, you may as well spend your money on a big 4K TV and hook your computer up instead. But the true allure is that huge display and the 144Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time. There’s nothing else quite like it on the market.

If you’d rather have a normal 16:9 aspect ratio, Samsung is also introducing the CHG70 in 27 and 32-inch sizes. It has nearly identical specs to the ultrawide – same exact speed, color accuracy, and brightness -but with 2560 x 1440 panels instead.

The monitors are all available for pre-order now, but a bit confusingly, all from different places. The 49″ inch will cost a pretty penny, at $1499 from Amazon and Micro Center. The 32-inch is $699 from Newegg, and the 27-inch is $599 from Samsung. Only Amazon has its product page up so far, but we imagine the others will follow soon.