MSI’s massive OLED ultrawide with double 1440p resolution and USB-C video is almost the same price as a 34-incher.
Okay, I gotta be honest: I’m having a really hard time resisting the urge to buy this thing. I’ve been waiting for Samsung to make its double-4K ultrawide in OLED, but this 49-incher by MSI is on sale for just $870 on Amazon and it’s seriously too good to pass up. That’s almost the same price we’ve been seeing for 34-inch ultrawide OLEDs.
The MSI MPG 491CQP (rolls off the tongue, huh?) is pretty much the same monitor we’ve seen from other vendors with 49-inch super-mega-ultrawide OLED panels, like Samsung, LG, Asus, and Gigabyte. It has a 5120×1440 resolution, which essentially makes it two 27-inch 1440p screens smooshed together on one huge curved panel.
It’s not the fastest display in the world with its 144Hz refresh rate, but that’s still a lot of frames to push at full resolution even for a beefy gaming desktop. With its 0.03ms response time, it’s equipped and ready for some competitive esports, too.
This monitor has a few extras that aren’t always available, even from more expensive brands. Notably it supports USB-C video with up to 90 watts of Power Delivery, making this monitor a fantastic companion for a gaming laptop. You get a DisplayPort 1.4 port and two HDMI 2.1 ports, plus a couple of USB-A ports for accessories.
I actually like that it doesn’t include any dinky speakers or RGB on the rear. It does support standard 100x100mm VESA mounts for monitor arms, though you’ll probably need a deluxe version to handle the extra weight of this large display. And for peace of mind, MSI includes a three-year warranty on the OLED panel covering burn-in issues.
This is a steep discount off the original $1,100 retail price. It previously had an on-page coupon for an additional $40 off, but that seems to have expired. Amazon is marking this as a “limited time deal,” so if you’ve decided you’re ready to buy, I’d get your order in quickly.
