Why it matters: MSI has unveiled a gaming monitor that uses the same QD-OLED technology found in one of our current favorite displays: the Alienware AW3423DW. Like that model, the 34-inch MSI MEG 342C has a 3,440 x 1,440 resolution, a 175Hz refresh rate, 1800R curve, and around 1,000 nits brightness for viewing HDR content.
MSI showed off its first QD-OLED monitor during the Computex 2022 conference in Taiwan earlier this week. It mixes Samsung's Quantum Dot technology with an OLED panel to create a monitor that should rival the Samsung Odyssey G8QNB and Alienware AW3423DW. We loved the latter, awarding it a score of 90 in our review.
Samsung says its QD-OLED panel offers the same benefits as standard OLEDs, such as perfect blacks, but with better quality colors and higher brightness. It also promises improvements to efficiency and less danger of burn-in.
The MSI MEG 342C is factory calibrated to a Delta-E of less than 2 and covers 99.3% DCI-P3, 97.8% Adobe RGB, and 139.1% sRGB color gamuts. It also has a 0.1 ms GtG response time to go with that 175Hz refresh rate, 1,000 nits of peak brightness, FreeSync Premium Pro, and VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black certification.
MSI didn't give too many further details (no word on port selection), but it did say the monitor has a built-in smart processor that can be remote-controlled by a smartphone and includes Sound Tune AI noise canceling and gaming functions. It also features an ambient light sensor, PBP/PIP support, and built-in KVM capability.
Additionally, MSI said the MEG 342C QD-OLED is one of its first monitors with Human Machine Interface (HMI) 2.0. This allows the monitor's OSD menu to be controlled via an external 'Gamer Dial' found on desktops such as the MEG Aegis Ti5. MSI said the latest iteration of the technology will be available in the next-gen version of that gaming PC.
No word yet on the MSI MEG 342C's price or availability. The similarly specced Alienware AW3423DW is $1,300, so expect MSI's monitor to be somewhere around that figure.