MSI MAG401QR 155Hz IPS ultrawide with USB-C
As an Amazon Associate and Newegg Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases made using the “Buy” button at the bottom of this post. Where possible, you'll be redirected to your nearest store. Further information on supporting our work.The 3440 x 1440 resolution spread across a ~34″ area can provide an enjoyable experience for a range of uses. The MSI MAG401QR scales this up to 40″, with some familiar styling elements of the MAG series. This includes a dark grey metal ‘tripod-style’ stand base. Dual-stage bezels are adopted at the top and sides, with slim panel border flush with the rest of the screen and slim hard plastic outer part. The OSD (On Screen Display) is controlled by a joystick at the rear of the screen, towards the right side as viewed from the front.
A flat 40″ 3440 x 1440 (21:9 ultrawide) IPS-type panel is adopted, likely a BOE part with 1000:1 – 1200:1 static contrast specified plus the usual 178°/178° viewing angles. The pixel density of ~93 PPI (Pixels Per Inch) is similar to a 24″ 1920 x 1080 (Full HD or 1080p) model. A refresh rate of 155Hz is supported, alongside Adaptive-Sync to allow technologies such as AMD FreeSync and Nvidia ‘G-SYNC Compatible’ to be used, with 48 – 155Hz VRR range plus LFC. The monitor is flicker-free with 94% DCI-P3 (90% Adobe RGB, 118% sRGB) colour gamut specified plus 400 cd/m²+ peak HDR luminance. The monitor responds to HDR10 content in a basic way, at the VESA DisplayHDR 400 level. This doesn’t require particularly high brightness by HDR standards or local dimming to enhance contrast, nor a particularly generous gamut – 10-bit colour processing and the reasonable DCI-P3 coverage can be put to good use, still.
A 1ms response time is specified, which as usual you should pay little attention to. Low Blue Light (LBL) settings referred to as ‘Less Blue Light’ are included to attempt to create a more relaxing viewing experience. The stand can be removed to facilitate 100 x 100mm VESA mounting, with only tilt adjustment supported by the included stand. A strip of ‘Mystic Light’ RGB LED lighting is located above and to the left of the stand, as viewed from the rear. The ports face downwards and include; AC power input (internal power converter), a 3.5mm headphone jack, 2 HDMI 2.0b ports, DP 1.2a (HDR feature set), USB-C (65W PD, DP Alt Mode, upstream data) and 2 USB 2.0 ports plus Type-B upstream. KVM is supported, allowing quick switching of display input and USB peripherals between 2 systems.
Further information can be found on the manufacturer’s website. The monitor is listed for ~$500 USD.
