MSI MPG ARTYMIS 343CQR Review

At a time when curved monitors are ever popular, there are a lot of things to consider than just size when buying a monitor like the MSI MPG ARTYMIS 343CQR. Not only are you presented with three different aspect ratios, 16:9, 21:9, and 32:9, but they also come in a wide variety of radii. The number is presented in millimeters like 1500R or 1800R. Larger numbers indicate less curvature; you just know the curve is as extreme as it gets.

MSI uses a 1000R curvature on its MPG ARTYMIS 343CQR. In addition to the tight curve, it also boasts a high-contrast VA panel running at 3440 x 1440 resolution with USB-C, HDR support, Adaptive-Sync, and a fantastic 165Hz refresh rate, making it a top contender among the best gaming monitors.

Available for well under one grand, the MSI 343CQR is a gamer-centric display – and it even includes an aim magnifier for shooters. While it’s sold as a gamer-first monitor, it boasts features that can make it the optimal choice over other displays depending on your preferences.

About the MSI MPG ARTYMIS 343CQR

The ARTYMIS 343CQR is all about gaming with support for AMD FreeSync from 48-165Hz. While it’s not G-sync Compatible certified, you can still get Nvidia to work. Its specs sheet includes nearly 85% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut. Here’s how it stacks in features:

Panel Type / Backlight	VA / W-LED, edge array
Screen Size, Aspect Ratio & Curve	34 inches / 21:9
Row 2 – Cell 0	Curve radius: 1000mm
Max Resolution & Refresh	3440×1440 @ 165 Hz
Row 4 – Cell 0	FreeSync: 48-165 Hz
Native Color Depth & Gamut	10-bit (8-bit+FRC) / DCI-P3
Row 6 – Cell 0	DisplayHDR 400, HDR10
Response Time (MPRT)	1ms
Brightness (mfr)	SDR: 350 nits
Row 9 – Cell 0	HDR: 550 nits
Contrast (mfr)	3,000:1
Speakers	None
Video Inputs	1x DisplayPort 1.4
Row 13 – Cell 0	2x HDMI 2.0
Row 14 – Cell 0	1x USB-C
Audio	3.5mm headphone output
USB 3.2	1x up, 2x down
Power Consumption	32.6w, brightness @ 200 nits
Panel Dimensions WxHxD w/base	31.3 x 16.5-20.5 x 12.4 inches (795 x 419-521 x 315mm)
Panel Thickness	6.5 inches (165mm)
Bezel Width	Top/sides: 0.4 inch (9mm)
Row 21 – Cell 0	Bottom: 0.9 inch (22mm)
Weight	20.2 pounds (9.2kg)

Design and Features

On design, the MSI MPG ARTYMIS 343CQR looks stunning with a thin flush bezel around the top and sides with a molded strip on the bottom that’s adorned with a small MSI logo. There’s a tiny LED that appears in red in standby mode and white when powered on. Around the back right, there’s a joystick and two buttons. One of the buttons activates the Gaming OSD (on-screen display) app and the other toggles power.

The monitor’s build quality is solid with a stiff-moving 4-inch adjustment. It also gets 30 degrees swivel to both sides and 5/20 degrees tilt. It doesn’t have even the slightest hint of slip or wobble, and it also has a small hole for managing cables. The base is solid metal with thin legs that extend more than 1 foot deep. All those combined with the fact that the panel is 6.5-inch thick means you’ll need a bit of extra desktop space to accommodate the MPG ARTYMIS 343CQR.

The back of the ARTYMIS 343CQR is well styled with a variety of different textures and an RGB effect that shows as a strip and MSI shield graphic with a dragon. The color blends gently through different shades, you can turn it on and off in the OSD and control it further with the Gaming OSD app. Alternatively, you can sync up the lighting effect with that of other MSI products that support MSI’s Mystic Light-branded RGB. In doing that, you can create a custom light show with everything working in concert.

Connectivity is excellent, with the panel supporting two HDMI 2.0 ports that support refresh rates of up to 100 Hz with Adaptive-Sync and HDR. Meanwhile, the DisplayPort 1.4 and USB-C input accept 165 Hz signals, as well as HDR and Adaptive-Sync. It doesn’t come with built-in speakers, but you get a 3.5mm audio port for headphones or external speakers.

MSI MPG ARTYMIS 343CQR Review: Performance

With a 1000R curve, the MSI MPG ARTYMIS 343CQR gets as curvy as most gaming monitors today. At first, you might notice a little image distortion when using it with productivity apps, like word processors and spreadsheets. However, it’s not something you’ll not get used to in a short time. However, when browsing the web, that distortion becomes unnoticeable.

The monitor delivers punchy images with sharp contrast, enough to overshadow any horizontal line curvature. For the best viewing experience, it’s better to set the panel exactly vertically with no back or forward tilt. Adjusting the height so your eyes are centered, makes all parts of the display equidistant from the body.

Simply put, the ARTYMIS 343CQR is great when used as a productivity monitor for most workday tasks. Colors are well-balanced with fairly more than sRGB saturation but not so much that it looks unnatural. MSI has fine-tuned the gamut so it renders SDR content more accurately without the need to modify color spaces, a capability that the MPG ARTYMIS 343CQR lacks.

With HDR on, colors look far more vibrant, as they should. This is one of the few monitors that you could leave in HDR mode all of the time for Windows apps. Similarly, brightness is reasonable with the highest levels reserved only for small highlights. This monitor also supports 10-bit color, though the panel uses Frame Rate Conversion to achieve this. Even with the internal upconversion, you won’t see any banding artifacts.

On gaming specs, the MPG ARTYMIS 343CQR boasts a 34-inch, 3440 x 1440p display with a 165Hz refresh rate and a 1-millisecond response time. This VA LCD panel also supports AMD’s FreeSync Premium and is certified for HDR 400 by Vesa. The monitor delivers a level of brightness that makes a game’s luminescent moments pop, but while it has a good color range, some scenes might look a bit flat.

As expected, the monitor’s gaming performance is on steroids with games like Shadow of the Tomb Raider clipping at an impressive 155 fps on the Alienware Aurora R14 with its RTX 3080 graphics card. Both FreeSync and G-Sync work without a hitch, and the monitor’s middle overdrive setting, Fast, delivers the best balance between ghosting and blur reduction.

The MPRT backlight strobe feature also works well at reducing blur without artifacts but at the cost of a very bright and overly harsh image. Playing games at over 800 nits might become a bit tiring after a short time, though.

The same impressive performance is replicated on Call of Duty: WII whereby the MPG ARTYMIS 343CQR nearly equals a FALD display when it comes to HDR contrast and color. Every hue is optimized, down to the murkiest greens and browns, and black levels seem almost OLED-like in their depth and detail, offset by perfectly balanced highlight areas. Color accuracy is also top-notch, though we noted some red tint in grayscale tests, which doesn’t affect games or movies.

This is one of the best HDR monitors we’ve reviewed in a while. If you download the MSI Dragon Center software, you can use the MPG ARTYMIS 343CQR’s Sound Tune feature which uses “AI calculations” to block out background noise coming through a plugged-in headset. Since it requires software and most of the best gaming headsets include similar tech on their own, its usefulness goes down to individual tastes and preferences.

Another useful feature on this monitor is what MSI calls Mobile Projector. With this feature, you can display your phone’s screen in a 5:9 column on the side of the monitor. While having your phone on the side of your computer screen could potentially be distracting, if you have a specific task that requires using both your smartphone and PC, this could come in handy.

Gaming performance is also at par with other monitors in its price class, though the 343CQR has slightly higher input lag than some 144Hz, it still delivers responsiveness and quick gaming performance. The main highlight of this monitor is its contrast. In SDR mode, it delivers 4,0000:1 which is higher than any IPS screen and most VA panels too.

HDR looks great too thanks to a dynamic feature that bumps the range up to almost 20,000:1, that’s almost FALD territory. If you’re in the market for a good HDR monitor but can’t reach the territory f a premium zone-dimming display, MSI might have what you’re looking for.

Overall, with impressive HDR, a tight 1000R curve, incredible gaming performance, high contrast, and accurate out-of-the-box color, the MSI MPG ARTYMIS 343CQR is a gaming monitor that comes highly recommended.

Last update on 2024-05-17 at 19:14 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API