Which is better, the UltraWide 21:9 or the UHD 4K? Well, LG has both monitors, the LG 34UC98 which is their UltraWide and the LG 27UD88 which is their UHD.
Let’s start with the design; both monitors have curved aluminum base which supports the monitor nicely with incredibly thin bezels. The difference is that the UltraWide is 34-inch curved monitor while the UHD is a 27-inch flat gaming monitor. Regarding ergonomics, the UHD allows 110mm height adjustment with portrait mode available which is something that UltraWide monitors do not support. The UHD also allows 23-degree angle adjustment.
Regarding connectivity, the UHD has dual HDMI 2.0, dual USB 3, one DisplayPort 1.2, a headphone jack and a USB-C that supports 4K at 60Hz. While the UltraWide has dual HDMI 2.0, one DisplayPort, two Thunderbolt 2.0, one USB 3.0, one USB UP 3.0 and one USB 3.0 Quick Charge.
When it comes to the horizontal real estate, the UltraWide obviously has greater working space which video editors love especially on timelines when editing. But on media consumption, some contents leave black bars when watched on the UltraWide since most of the media contents are still 16:9 which fits perfectly on the UHD. Both monitors use 10-bit giving them a wide range of color space. The backlight bleed on the larger monitor has some more distinct brighter spots while the UHD also has corner bleeds but is looks smoother.
Now, let’s go to the gaming experience and both supports Free-Sync, which is awesome. The range on the UHD panel is slightly better at 40-60Hz which is fine for 4K while the UltraWide is between 55-75Hz. With the wide horizontal field of view, the UltraWide is truly a blast in gaming. Tomb Raider and Victor Van ran considerably plus that extra field of view allows gamers to see more of the map enabling them to avoid certain directions. But regarding software like AutoCAD and Sketch Up which requires that extra vertical resolution, the UHD has its score. Also for graphic editors, the UltraWide is not recommendable because of its curve design which can skew all your lines when editing.
While others might think that the UltraWide is a great monitor, the decision of buying a certain monitor still boils down to what specific purpose it will be used. If you are a fan of the curved control plus the bigger screen size which is ideal for gaming and video editing, then the UltraWide is the best option. But if you are into graphics design or even architectural stuff then the UHD fits your needs.