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When I set out to review Corsair’s Xeneon Flex, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’ve used curved monitors before, but the ability to transition from flat to flex and back? That had me intrigued, but — as someone who is relatively new to the world of external monitors — I wasn’t convinced that the novelty of having a monitor that could flex to an 800r radius would make the $1,999 price tag worth it.
First impressions of the Corsair Xeneon Flex
Straight away, this monitor blew me away. I expected to hook it up, play with the curve a bit, run a couple of videos through it, and try pushing the frame rate. But when I plugged it into my gaming PC for the first time and saw the panel light up, I was completely floored.
Look at that curve.
Credit: RJ Andersen / Mashable
For context, I’ve seen a lot of good-looking 4K OLED displays in the past, but the Xeneon Flex boasts an unreal 1.5M to 1 contrast ratio. I’ve never seen anything like it in person, and the colors are so incredibly vibrant that pairing it with the ultra-wide 4K resolution almost plays tricks on your brain. When the image is still, the Xeneon Flex stops reading “monitor” to me and instead reads “high-quality print” due to the cleanliness of the lines, the vibrancy of the colors, and the high pixel density. When the video begins again, my brain almost takes a second to recalibrate, making the entire thing a phenomenal experience.
What I love about the Corsair Xeneon Flex monitor
There’s so much to love about Corsair’s Xeneon Flex. In person, these colors are unlike any monitor I’ve seen before. They are vibrant, they are accurate, and they have an extremely deep contrast ratio. I could definitely see folks doing design work or editing videos professionally on a monitor like this, but I’d almost be worried that reality would pale in comparison.
Games look incredible wether the monitor is curved or flat.
Credit: RJ Andersen / Mashable
The 240 Hz refresh rate creates a buttery smooth experience, so much so that I even had trouble pushing my gaming rig this hard — even on my Nvidia RTX 3090. For games that require fast reaction times, this monitor should never be a bottleneck.
Plus, the 45-inch wraparound curve puts you inside your favorite games, but snapping it back to its flat orientation gives you an attractive, minimal monitor that’s great for viewing movies in 4K. I loved locking the monitor into its 800r curved orientation to play through a few video games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Hitman 3, both beautiful games, but this monitor took those visuals to a new level.
This monitor looks sleek and the 45-inch screen is insanely impressive.
Credit: RJ Andersen / Mashable
What I don’t love about this monitor
Honestly, there’s not much I can criticize here. Curving this monitor for the first time was stressful, and every instinct in my body screamed, “No, don’t break the expensive monitor!” However, once I figured out the right amount of force needed — and that adding a hand to the base to stabilize helps make flexing the monitor easier — that became a non-issue.
I will say that the default color profile on the Flex is odd. It’s too cool and everything has a bluish hue to it. However, when I pulled up the image settings and just reset the RGB values to 100 (the raw, full panel power) the image was great. It surprised me but the panel itself was perfectly tuned out of the box, and I’m unsure why Corsair felt the need to change this.
Is it worth the price?
It’s impossible for me to recommend a monitor this expensive for the average consumer, so if you’re just watching movies, casually gaming, or checking emails, you’ll probably want to skip this one and opt for something with a lower price tag and a less intense refresh rate.
That being said, if you’re a hardcore monitor enthusiast — or a gamer who really values a perfect, vibrant, and insanely gorgeous display — Corsair’s Xeneon Flex is the full package, so much so that I’m currently trying to figure out how to save up for one myself.
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