Get the Acer Predator Z35P ultrawide for £479.99 (£295 off)
The Z35P is a great choice for gaming, media and productivity, thanks to its curved VA screen which provides deep blacks and therefore superior contrast to TN or IPS screens. Playing Metro Exodus at night, both in-game and in meatspace, was fun on an IPS screen but game-changing on an ultrawide VA one like the Z35P. When testing the Z35P a couple years back, former hardware head honcho Katharine was effusive in her praise for the ultrawide, pointing to its superb colour accuracy, full-fat G-Sync, ergonomic stand, four-port USB hub and bright screen. It was £800 back then, but she still gave the monitor a strong recommendation on the back of a stellar experience in some of the best ultrawide games - the only issue was the price. And now that the price has become a lot more reasonable, it’s a great time to pick the Z35P up. Of course, the industry hasn’t stood still since 2018, so what do brand new ultrawide monitors offer that this one doesn’t? Surprisingly, not too much has changed. 3440x1440 remains the de facto standard resolution for monitors of this size, while refresh rates have been bumped up to 144Hz on mid-range models and above. Given that the Z35P already outperformed many of its peers through a 120Hz overclock when other models could only hold 100Hz, missing out on an extra 24Hz isn’t a big deal in my eyes. HDR is the other big change for ultrawide monitors, but you tend to have to spend quite a lot to get a good experience. Most mid-range screens can now accept HDR signals, but don’t tend to get bright enough to make HDR really feel worthwhile. It’s only the high-end models, like Samsung’s £1000+ Odyssey G9, where you get proper eye-searing highlights. So there you have it - some brief thoughts on the Z35P, a link to a good deal and some other links to Katharine’s well-organised thoughts on gaming monitors. I hope you’ve found this helpful, and see you next time!
