«Wider, even wider!» is a monitor for those who always need more horizontal screen space, and it is also one of the cheapest 32:9 OLED models on the Ukrainian market. In this review, we’re going to look at the relevance of ultra-wide monitors for everyday use and are ready to share our impressions (which we’ve accumulated quite a bit).
Pluses:
high-quality OLED matrix with HDR400 support; realistic color reproduction; low latency; user-friendly software; USB Type C with 90W Power Delivery; width and diagonal give a pleasant gaming experience;
Minuses:
no built-in speakers; only one USB Type A; high cost, but competitors are even more expensive;
Content
Technical specifications of MSI MPG 491CQP
| Technical characteristics | |
| Diagonal | 49″ |
| Panel type | QD-OLED |
| Viewing angle | 178°/ 178° |
| Pixel pitch | 0.23 mm |
| Radius of curvature | 1800R |
| Resolution | 5120×1440 |
| Brightness (typical) | 250 cd/m² |
| Contrast | 1 500 000 : 1 |
| Color depth | 10 bits |
| GtG response time | 0.03 ms |
| Update frequency | 144 Hz |
| HDR support | DisplayHDR 400 True Black |
| Audio system | – |
| Audio jack | 3.5 mm jack |
| Video connectors | 1 x DisplayPort 1.4 |
| 2 x HDMI 2.1 | |
| 1 x USB Type C Display Port Alt Mode | |
| USB connectors | 1 x USB Type A |
| 1 x USB Type B | |
| 1 x USB Type C 90 W | |
| Other | KVM switch |
| Picture by Picture | |
| Flicker-Free | |
| VESA mounts | |
| Sight | |
| Timer | |
| FPS counter | |
| Dimensions | 1195x410x328 mm |
| Weight (with stand) | 10.3 kg |
Package and packaging
The box of the MSI MPG 491CQP is very thick, low, and very wide. Due to the curved design, we had to make the packaging thicker than for flat monitors. A huge amount of foam protects the device during transportation
In addition to the MSI MPG 491CQP, inside we find a stand, a leg, mounting screws, an HDMI cable, a USB Type B cable, a power cable, and paper documentation. The power supply is built into the case.
Design, ergonomics MSI MPG 491CQP
The stand is made in the form of a «chicken leg» and has huge dimensions. Thanks to this width, the monitor is quite stable. The leg is adjustable in height and tilt. The monitor is mounted on the leg in a few seconds without screws, using only plastic fasteners.
Initially, there were doubts about the reliability of this design, but it holds up surprisingly well. A strong man’s hand can easily carry an eleven-kilogram monitor by the leg, although IT professionals and delicate women will have a hard time carrying it.
The bezels around the screen are medium-sized, the surface is glossy, extremely easy to get dirty, but just as easy to clean. You can clearly see your reflection on the black background, but it is distorted due to the curved design.
Interfaces, controls
MSI MPG 491CQP has two HDMI 2.1 and one DisplayPort 1.4. A USB Type B connector is used to connect to a PC. The universal USB Type C is used for charging the laptop (power up to 90 W) and for video output.
Additionally, there is one USB Type A, 3.5 mm headphone/microphone jack. There are no built-in speakers, although most competitors have speakers (some up to 30 watts) You don’t need to use the joystick and buttons for control, because there is a USB connection and a proprietary utility, although compared to some other MSI models, everything works quickly.
In previous reviews, it was mentioned that many monitors from this manufacturer have a very slow menu, that is, there is a slight delay after each click with the joystick. MSI MPG 491CQP does not have such a problem, everything seems to work quickly, although the brightness slider is still quite slow.
Viewing angles are magnificent, the white color is dazzling white, and the black is absolutely black, as it should be with OLED matrices. The text is smooth, the pixel density is more than enough to work with small text (if you do not sit 30 cm from the screen), for example, for a software developer. The backlighting is uniform, no backlighting, gray areas, no broken pixels were found.
The maximum frequency is 144 Hz, and you can also choose 120 Hz, 100 Hz, 60 Hz. The color depth depends on the selected graphics accelerator. For example, with AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, the system shows 10 bits, and with Intel UHD 730 only 8 bits.
The monitor supports consoles, but it is not yet clear how games will look like in a 32:9 ratio with game consoles, because we tested the monitor with a computer and a laptop.
The colorimeter was tested several times with ready-made profiles offered by MSI. We checked the level of coverage of the sRGB, Adobe RGB, P3, NTSC color space in different modes:
Office mode:
sRGB mode:
Adobe RGB mode:
Display P3:
Software
Like all other MSI models with a USB Type B cable, the MSI MPG 491CQP supports management through the MSI Gaming Intelligence program. The utility replicates the classic settings panel and even more.
Here the user can choose ready-made profiles for video games, office documents, photos, games, etc. There is also an economy mode and the ability to customize everything to your needs.
For example, you can change the HDR mode, brightness, contrast, sharpness, color temperature. To protect the OLED panel, there is the MSI OLED Care function, which promises to protect the display from burn-in.
For some video games, the reticle function, timer, Picture in Picture, or Picture by Picture modes will come in handy. These modes allow you to display images from multiple sources. For example, from a laptop on one half and a PC on the other, or in a small window.
You can control all this with a single keyboard + mouse set, because there is a KVM switch. The only problem is the limited number of ports, so you’ll have to buy a USB Hub. The most important thing is that everything is controlled from a computer, not with a navigation joystick.
Power consumption MSI MPG 491CQP
As with all OLED models, power consumption is highly dependent on the selected theme. On a white background with the maximum backlight level, the MSI MPG 491CQP consumes 125 watts. On a black background, this value drops to 40 watts.
In dynamic games, an average of 55-60 watts can be seen. The power saving mode allows you to reduce the value to 37-45 watts. With the minimum backlight level on a black background (software developer work environment), the MSI MPG 491CQP consumes only 30 watts.
The theoretical power consumption of the review hero can exceed 200 watts if you connect the laptop to a USB Type C connector for charging (power up to 90 watts). To save energy, it is enough to use black themes wherever possible.
Experience of use
The MSI MPG 491CQP has been a pleasant experience during its use. It is comfortable to work with many windows, and even more so to play games (especially in the first person). The monitor has almost no drawbacks and is suitable for everything, although there are a few nuances related to its aspect ratio.
Not all video games (often old ones) work with this format, and you won’t be able to watch movies in full screen, as they have a 21:9 ratio, and most of the problems are with YouTube video hosting.
For example, on YouHub, someone uploaded a 21:9 video in 16:9 ratio, which means that the video itself already has bezels at the bottom/top. On the MSI MPG 491CQP, it looks bad – like a 22-inch display in the center of a 49-inch display:
For developers, this is a good option because it allows you to place a huge number of columns of code and is also ideal for a black background. OLED screens are loved by almost all programmers, and here we have two 16:9 monitors «paired» without bezels. This is how Visual Studio Code looks like on this monitor:
As the owner of an AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, I would hardly keep this monitor, despite the fact that I liked it extremely well, literally fell in love with it. In addition to the cost, there is another obstacle in the form of high power consumption of the video card.
With some monitors (lower resolutions), the RX 7900 XTX draws 7-10 watts of idle power, and with this one, 50 watts if the frequency is less than 100 Hz, or 95 watts at 144 Hz. Excessive VRAM frequency in idle mode remains an unsolved problem.
Owners of Nvidia RTX graphics cards don’t have to worry about this, but I was unhappy that the PC consumes 140-180 watts «just for fun» instead of 90 watts. In addition, the video card’s memory heats up quite a bit (up to 80-85 °C in idle mode), which can affect its durability.
This problem was solved by changing the refresh rate to a non-standard one. This bug dates back to AMD Radeon RX 5000 and is quite simple to fix. It is enough to set an atypical value for the screen settings in AMD Adrenaline.
Manually, MSI MPG 491CQP allowed us to set a maximum of 121 Hz at native resolution. The idle power consumption of the video card was reduced by five times, although sometimes the VRAM frequency rose to 900 MHz for a short time.
Competitors and price of MSI MPG 491CQP
The official cost MSI MPG 491CQP is UAH 51,400. «Gray» are only slightly cheaper, the difference is no more than 10%. There are few models with an aspect ratio of 32:9, and even fewer with OLED. As it turned out, most of the competitors are more expensive than the hero of the review, even those that are unofficially imported.
Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 G95SC 49 has a higher refresh rate of 240 Hz, more USB connectors, and built-in 2 x 5 W speakers. The price is UAH 57,000.
Philips Evnia 49M2C8900 – a luxurious 240Hz QD-OLED monitor with a generous set of interfaces and incredibly powerful 30W speakers. The unofficial price starts at 57,000 UAH.
Asus ROG Swift PG49WCD has similar characteristics, except for a larger number of USB ports. It seems to be a direct competitor of the reviewed device, but the price is 76,000 UAH.
Gigabyte Aorus CO49DQ is equipped with built-in 10W speakers, but Power Delivery is limited to 18W. The rest of the parameters are quite similar, as is the price of 55,000 UAH.
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