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THE BOTTOM LINE
EDITORS' RATING
EXCELLENT
You won’t find a 35-inch curved 2K monitor cheaper than the Sceptre C355W-3440UN. You’ll miss out on HDR, any refresh rate fanciness, and any design flare; but you get a perfectly competent monitor for gaming, work and media.
Adaptive sync and fast refresh are commonplace in the competitive gaming monitor genre. HDR and extended color are becoming popular as well. But where video processing is a factor, image quality is still widely varied, even among monitors that compete on price. The Sceptre C355W-3440UN is a 35-inch curved ultra-wide monitor running at UWQHD (3440×1440) resolution with 100Hz, AMD’s Freesync, and is G-Sync compatible as well.
The Sceptre C355W is targeted at gamers, just like other models which have become quite commonplace in recent time (you may have seen curved TVs as well). The concept is that a slight curve provides a more immersive viewing experience on a bigger screen, although this Sceptre has a more pronounced curvature than many. And, being a VA panel, you benefit from really punchy colors and contrast, plus a good viewing angle – all at a surprisingly cheap price.
Design
This is where Sceptre has taken advantage of the latest tech. Apart from the 1500R curve, it features similar specs to the standard gaming monitors, ( including VA panel, 4 ms G2G response time, and adaptive sync), but it also bumps up that panel refresh rate all the way to 100Hz, making it somewhat of an industry first in providing a frame rate that’s higher than we’ve previously seen in its 27-inch predecessor, and smoothing out your gaming and everyday activities.
On looks, the Sceptre C355W has a cool aesthetic, which is expected for a gaming monitor. While designed for gamers, it lacks the bold and aggressive, angular stylings seen on competitors like the LG 34GL750-B. Instead, the monitor’s chassis is made of a dark-gray plastic supported by a V-shaped base.
The only real nod to the gamer aesthetic is an illuminated ‘Star’ at the back, which breaks the black monotony where the stand attaches to the monitor. The stand only offers tilt adjustment (15° backward and 5° forward), but you lack height and swivel adjustments you’d ordinarily find at this price range.
Ports & Interface
On the back of the chassis, you’ll find two HDMI 1.4 ports, one HDMI 2.0 port and a single DisplayPort. The monitor would do with at least single USB port that would boast the extra power of charging smartphones and other gadgets. A single 3.3mm audio input means you can plug headphones or a gaming headset right into the monitor instead of snaking a cable around to your PC, and the monitor has a pair of its own speakers.
The Sceptre C355W’s 34-inch panel measures 32.96 x 14.87 x 4.82 inches and weighs 14.6 pounds, and has a pair of 3-watt speakers. Other features include a 3440 x 1440 (2K) resolution, 92 percent sRGB color gamut, 6ms response time, 320 cd/m2 peak brightness and 3,000:1 contrast ratio.
Performance
The C355W-3440UN performs well as a general-use monitor, ideal for the office and easily shines as a gaming monitor. It uses a 3440 x 1440 resolution panel to deliver crisp pictures and vivid colors underlain by a 100Hz refresh rate, 320 cd/m2 contrast ratio and 4 millisecond response time. This is a solid spec sheet for a widescreen monitor at this price, and the inclusion of Freesync support makes things even better for enthusiast gamers.
The monitors’ 1800R makes for a thrilling experience and is quite standard among wide-screen monitors that are gaining popularity lately.
The Vertically Aligned (VA) technology used for the screen allows for wide viewing angles and enhanced colors. For gamers, adaptive sync technology that seeks to reduce screen tearing and artifacts during gameplay, and if you’ll be using it for office tasks or general productivity, you’ll appreciate the 21:9 aspect ratio and the gentle curve that makes it comfortable to use.
If you’re a casual gamer and don’t need the very best of frame rates per second, it looks like something you can consider as well. And for the gamers who need to play the latest AAA games at very high settings, you can always seek high-res alternatives, like the 34-inch Alienware AW3420DW with its 120Hz refresh rate, 1ms response rate, Nvidia G-Sync and a 1900R curvature.
Bottom Line
The Sceptre C355W absolutely nails its 35-inch 2K promise. There’s a ton of screen space for games, movies, and work. And, above everything else, it looks perfectly crisp. Everything from small text to tiny detail on characters in PC games shows through cleanly on this display. The Alienware AW3420DW remains our Editors’ Choice for gaming monitors – but you’ll spend more for the extra features and better gaming performance.
But, if all you need is an affordable 2K monitor that will let you multitask with an excellent combination of screen space and 2K resolution, the Sceptre C355W-3440UN offers real value that you can’t get elsewhere at this price.
Editors' Choice
Sceptre 35 Inch Curved UltraWide 21: 9 LED Creative Monitor QHD 3440x1440 Frameless AMD Freesync HDMI DisplayPort Up to 100Hz, Machine Black 2020 (C355W-3440UN)
1 used from $299.99
