@Mumze They’re completely different displays. The S3220DGF supports HDR, FreeSync 2 (does your system have an AMD GPU?), and a high refresh rate. It uses a VA panel and runs a typical 16:9 ratio. The U3415W doesn’t support HDR, FreeSync, or high refresh rate. It uses an IPS panel and runs an ultrawide 21:9 ratio.
If you don’t have an AMD GPU, then FreeSync is useless to you. But if you want the NVIDIA equivalent, you’d need a display that supports G-Sync. Do you care about HDR and high refresh rate? HDR is still kind of a mess to use on Windows PCs and support within games is limited today. And for panel technology, do you prioritize black level and response time (VA) or color accuracy and viewing angle (IPS)?
I would say that if gaming is your primary focus, the choice here comes down to whether you really want/need high refresh rate for the games you play or think you’d benefit more from the extra immersion of a larger, wider display — although if you choose the former, you might still want to consider a G-Sync display. But if you’re also using this PC for general purpose work, then the U3415W’s extra real estate and IPS panel would arguably make it a better everyday display, and meanwhile for games you get a more immersive wraparound effect.
Or if price isn’t an issue, find an ultrawide G-Sync HDR display that supports a high refresh rate. The choice between VA and IPS panel again comes down to priorities and preferences.
@Mumze One additional thought: The U3415W will give you both a larger workspace AND a sharper image, which will be particularly noticeable with text. That’s because it is essentially a 27” 1440p display stretched out to 21:9 aspect ratio, hence 3440x1440 rather than the 16:9 2560x1440. The 34” rather than 27” panel size comes from making it wider.
By comparison, the S3220DGF is a regular 16:9 display with regular 1440p resolution, except it uses a 32” panel size rather than the 27” size that is much more common for 1440p resolution. As a result, the S3220DGF’s pixel density is 92 ppi, which matches a 24” 1080p display. The U3415W’s pixel density is 109 ppi, which matches regular 27” 1440p displays. If you’ve ever seen a 24” 1080p display and a 27” 1440p display side by side, you might have noticed that text in particular is crisper on the latter. This is why. And that would be comparable to the experience you’d have with the two displays you’re considering.
The U3415W is the better overall display. The S3220DGF has a better feature set if you want to optimize for gaming, but you have to ask yourself whether your type of gaming would benefit from those features, and even if the answer is Yes, make sure the benefit would be enough to offset having to give up the immersion benefit of ultrawide and the everyday use advantages of the U3415W.
jphughan
9 Legend
•
14K Posts
0
May 11th, 2020 06:00
@Mumze They’re completely different displays. The S3220DGF supports HDR, FreeSync 2 (does your system have an AMD GPU?), and a high refresh rate. It uses a VA panel and runs a typical 16:9 ratio. The U3415W doesn’t support HDR, FreeSync, or high refresh rate. It uses an IPS panel and runs an ultrawide 21:9 ratio.
If you don’t have an AMD GPU, then FreeSync is useless to you. But if you want the NVIDIA equivalent, you’d need a display that supports G-Sync. Do you care about HDR and high refresh rate? HDR is still kind of a mess to use on Windows PCs and support within games is limited today. And for panel technology, do you prioritize black level and response time (VA) or color accuracy and viewing angle (IPS)?
I would say that if gaming is your primary focus, the choice here comes down to whether you really want/need high refresh rate for the games you play or think you’d benefit more from the extra immersion of a larger, wider display — although if you choose the former, you might still want to consider a G-Sync display. But if you’re also using this PC for general purpose work, then the U3415W’s extra real estate and IPS panel would arguably make it a better everyday display, and meanwhile for games you get a more immersive wraparound effect.
Or if price isn’t an issue, find an ultrawide G-Sync HDR display that supports a high refresh rate. The choice between VA and IPS panel again comes down to priorities and preferences.
jphughan
9 Legend
•
14K Posts
1
May 11th, 2020 07:00
@Mumze One additional thought: The U3415W will give you both a larger workspace AND a sharper image, which will be particularly noticeable with text. That’s because it is essentially a 27” 1440p display stretched out to 21:9 aspect ratio, hence 3440x1440 rather than the 16:9 2560x1440. The 34” rather than 27” panel size comes from making it wider.
By comparison, the S3220DGF is a regular 16:9 display with regular 1440p resolution, except it uses a 32” panel size rather than the 27” size that is much more common for 1440p resolution. As a result, the S3220DGF’s pixel density is 92 ppi, which matches a 24” 1080p display. The U3415W’s pixel density is 109 ppi, which matches regular 27” 1440p displays. If you’ve ever seen a 24” 1080p display and a 27” 1440p display side by side, you might have noticed that text in particular is crisper on the latter. This is why. And that would be comparable to the experience you’d have with the two displays you’re considering.
The U3415W is the better overall display. The S3220DGF has a better feature set if you want to optimize for gaming, but you have to ask yourself whether your type of gaming would benefit from those features, and even if the answer is Yes, make sure the benefit would be enough to offset having to give up the immersion benefit of ultrawide and the everyday use advantages of the U3415W.