MSI's latest cheaper-than-the-competition OLED gaming monitor is this sweet 34-inch ultrawide panel for $680

$899.99 Save $220 on Amazon's $679.99OLED gaming is still not as affordable as we would like. But it is getting there. This 34-inch QD-OLED beast, the cheapest we've seen so far, is the best of its kind. The 175 Hz isn't the fastest, but we find it to be fast enough. In all other aspects, this is an OLED with HDR and a 0.03ms response time.

Price check: $729 at Newegg

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32-inch 4K display or 34-inch ultrawide display? If you answered "yes", then the MSI MAG341CQP is your OLED weapon. It's available for only $680 on Amazon, and it's the cheapest display of this type we have seen.

We just had a debate in the office about the pros and cons of 32-inch Ultrawide 1440p versus the 32-inch Ultrawide 4K. The 4K option wins with its superior image quality, pixel density, and non-gaming capabilities. The 34-inch Ultrawide delivers a wrap-around gaming experience.

Cost and performance are also important. The argument goes like this. Newegg recently listed the 32-inch MSI MAG MAG 321UP 4K OLED panel for $800. This is the cheapest gaming OLED 4K yet. Nice.

If that was all you were considering, 4K at $800 versus a 34-inch Ultrawide at $680, then you could easily make a case for 4K. The problem is 4K is very demanding on the GPU. If you want to go 4K, then you will need a GPU worth $900 or even $1,000 to get the most out of it.

A 34-inch ultrawide with its 3,440 by 1440 pixel grid is just under five millions pixels, compared to the eight million pixels in 4K. A graphics card such as the Nvidia RTX 4700 Super, which costs $600, should be sufficient.

If you combine the GPU and OLED, the 4K option will cost between $1,700 and $1,800, which is $400 to $500 more than the 34-inch Ultrawide option. Neither option is cheap. The 34-inch ultrawide option is more affordable.

What's special about this 34-inch OLED if that's what you're looking for? It's a QD-OLED Samsung panel, which means it has a lot of HDR pop and decent full-screen bright.

A pixel response time of only 0.03ms is also a given. The 175 Hz refresh rate is not spectacular, but it's decent. Only the most devoted online shooter enthusiasts will feel the difference in latency between a 240Hz or 360Hz panel. For most of us 175 Hz will be enough.

Downsides? Burn-in is a concern with all OLED monitors. These modern OLEDs have been tested for a long time by third-party outlets and they tend to show very mild burns. You'll also get three years of burn in protection from the time you buy your OLED.

It's harder to predict how these screens will perform after that. Will they be badly damaged after five years? It's hard to say. How long do you typically use a monitor for? If you are happy to buy something new after the warranty expires in four years, then that's fine. In the end, it's a matter of personal preference.

If you're looking for a 34" ultrawide OLED display, MSI has just made it more affordable than ever.