Watch the seas of the gadget market for long enough, and you start to get a feel for its tides. For the last few months there seems to be a specific floor for fancy OLED gaming monitors. And while it’s certainly pricey, it’s a lot less than some of these screens are at retail. MSI is the latest supplier to surf this particular wave, and today its MEG 342C ultrawide OLED monitor is down to just $799.99 on Amazon. That’s $100 off the $1000 list price, plus an additional $100 if you clip click the little coupon on the sale page. The coupon brings this marvelous monitor down to the lowest price we’ve seen on Amazon.
The MEG 342C is extremely similar to Dell’s initial Alienware ultrawide monitors, boasting a 34-inch curved screen with 3440×1440 resolution. Its other specs are pretty close too, including 175Hz refresh rate, .1ms latency, and compatibility with VESA DisplayHDR 400. Note that this monitor comes with AMD FreeSync, not the extra hardware required for Nvidia’s G-Sync, but if you’re spending this much on a screen you probably don’t need that extra smoothness at low framerates anyway.
The MSI screen has a couple of tricks up its sleeve that might make it worth considering over Dell’s similarly-priced OLEDs. First, it comes with a USB Type C port, which is suspicious in its absence on Dell’s monitors and also unlocks extra goodies like a USB hub and a KVM switch for managing multiple devices. Speaking of which, HDMI 2.1 input means it’s also compatible with the latest tech from high-end consoles, like variable refresh rates on the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Oh, and it comes with a little RGB light on the bottom edge, just in case your desk was lacking in certified gamer bling.
It isn’t clear how long this deal will last, so if you’re ready to upgrade your monitor setup, get an order in quickly. That said, these $800 ultrawide OLEDs seem to be popping up all over the place. So if you aren’t flush with cash at the moment, a similar one will probably be along soon.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 10-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he's the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop "battlestation" in his off hours. Michael's previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he's covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he's always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.