Gaming monitors are getting bigger, and with the size increase comes a cost increase. While you can pay a pretty penny for that new 49-inch ultra-widescreen gaming monitor, there are companies like Monoprice that usually offer decent products at a lower cost.
Our Monoprice Dark Matter 40865 review takes a look at a 49-inch, 120Hz, DQHD monitor with a Samsung VA panel that comes in at under $900. Read on to see what we thought about it!
Specifications
The Monoprice 49″ DQHD 120Hz Dark Matter Gaming Monitor has the following features and specifications:
| Model | 40865 |
| Display Size | 49″ |
| Maximum Resolution | 5120×1440 |
| Aspect Ratio | 32:9 |
| Refresh Rate | 120Hz |
| Video Inputs | 2x DisplayPort® 1.4, 2x HDMI® 2.0 |
| Panel Type | VA |
| Panel Model | Samsung® LSM490YP02 |
| Curvature | 1800R |
| Active Display Area (H/V) | 1193.472×335.664 mm |
| Maximum Brightness | 400 cd/m2 |
| Default Color Temperature | 6500K |
| Contrast Ratio | 3000:1 |
| Number of Colors | More than 16.7 million |
| Color Depth | 8-bit |
| Color Gamut | sRGB 99%, NTSC 98%, DCI-P3 95%, Adobe® RGB 93% |
| View Angles (H/V) | 178°/178° |
| Response Time | 4ms |
| VESA® Mounting Pattern | 75×75 |
| Input Power | 100 ~ 240 VAC, 50/60 Hz, 2.0A |
| Maximum Power Consumption | 105 watts |
| Typical Power Consumption | 80 watts |
| Standby Power Consumption | ≤0.5 watts |
| Stand Tilt Range | -5° ~ +15° |
| Stand Height Adjustment | None |
| Stand Swivel Range | None |
| Dimensions (with stand) | 47.2″ x 18.5″ x 9.7″ (1199 x 471 x 246 mm) |
| Dimensions (without stand) | 47.2″ x 14.8″ x 6.3″ (1199 x 376 x 160 mm) |
| Weight | 32.6 lbs. (14.8 kg) |
What’s in the box
- Dark Matter by Monoprice 49in Curved Gaming Monitor
- DisplayPort cable
- HDMI cable
- Power cable
- 1-year PixelPerfect Guarantee
Design
The front of the Dark Matter 40865 49-inch Curved Gaming Monitor has fairly thin bezels on the top and sides, coming in at about 1/8-inch thick. The bottom bezel is about 3/4-inch thick. Curiously enough, there is no branding whatsoever on the front of the monitor. Centered under the bottom bezel is the five-button control panel. On the far left is an LED button that turns blue when the monitor is on.
The button on the far right is the power button, pressing any of the other four will toggle the quick menu. Pressing these again will take you to the main home menu, toggle gaming mode, bring up the LED effects for the stand LED, or access picture mode.
The back of the monitor is pretty non-descript. Black in color, there is an inverted semi-circle cover to hid the ports. The ports on the back included a 3.5mm audio port, two DisplayPort 1.4 ports, two HDMI 2.0 ports, a USB port, and a standard power port. Just above this is a round spot where the stand attaches. Finally, above this is a thin vented strip. The top of the stand does have a circular LED ring that glows red when the monitor is turned on.
The stand comes in two pieces, the v-shaped legs, and a solid cylindrical tube. The base attaches by way of three screws on the bottom and then latches into the back of the monitor. At the top of the stand is a round red LED ring for a bit of extra lighting, although you can’t really see the glow when using the monitor. The stand also does have a cable management slot but, while I didn’t try too hard, it was difficult to feed the DisplayPort cable through it and the power cable wouldn’t fit at all.
Even though it is a big monitor, it doesn’t take up a lot of depth on your desk due to it’s lower 1800R curvature. It also isn’t overly gamey looking so it will look decent in an office or other setting as well.
Display
We recently reviewed the Samsung Odyssey G9 49-inch curved gaming monitor so it was interesting to see that the Dark Matter 40865 features a Samsung display panel as well. While the monitor appears to have fairly thin bezels when it’s off, the top and side bezels are increased to about 1/2-inch when the monitor is turned on.
The display panel on this ultrawide monitor is a VA panel with Samsung’s Quantum Dot Color technology. To be honest, I was pretty impressed with the quality of the display given the price point. That being said, I wouldn’t expect less out of a Samsung panel. The panel boasts 99% sRGB, 98% NTSC, 95% DCI-P3, and 93% Adobe® RGB, so not only is it good for gaming but it should be suitable for graphics work as well.
Colours were nice and not overly saturated, depending on your settings of course, and the display was pretty crisp and clear for the most part.
The menu allows you to adjust the usual display settings, including:
- Brightness/Contrast: Brightness, Blacklevel, Contrast, DCR
- Color Settings: Gamma, PictureMode, Color Temperature, Low Bluet Light, Hue Saturation
- Picture Quality Setting: Sharpness, Response Time, Noise Reduction, Quality Luminous Control
- Display: Aspect Ratio, HDMIEDID SwitchMode
- Multi-Window
- Other: DP Version, FreeSync (Adaptive Sync), HDR
As you can see, if you’re not happy with the picture quality out of the box, there are plenty of settings you can adjust.
Assembly
Assembly is pretty easy and requires two simple steps. First, attach the legs to the bottom of the stand with the three included screws. Next, angle the stand into the circular cutout on the back of the monitor and the stand will click in place.
Performance
For the most part, I had no issues with the performance of the Monoprice Dark Matter 40865 DQHD monitor. I was able to hit the 120Hz refresh rate on supported systems. Both DisplayPort and HDMI worked fine, as did the multi-window feature when tested. I didn’t notice any tearing in games played at full-screen and the wide display offered up some better immersion.
While only an 1800R curvature, which helps keep the cost down, a curvature of 1500R or higher would have been nicer for an even more immersive experience. I did find that, due to my vision, the far edges of the screen did seem blurry when sitting in a normal position. Of course, if I shifted my body towards the edge, there were no problems with clarity. A higher curvature would indeed correct this, but that would also drive up the cost of the monitor.
Not all games play nice with the 5440×1440 resolution, but that’s no fault of the monitor itself. Heroes of the Storm, for example, stretches oddly. The best way to play it is in maximized windowed mode which centers it on the screen with the desktop background visible on the left and right. Due to the lack of NVIDIA G-Sync support, I was unable to force it to utilize the full screen at the proper resolution as I have in the past with other ultra-wide monitors.
That being said, I had no issues with most games and performance was great given the price point. The 120Hz refresh rate is nice as well, although 120fps on a DQHD does push most systems to their limits these days.
Price/Value
Given its US$899.99 MSRP on the Monoprice website, the Dark Matter 490865 49″ DQHD 120Hz Gaming Monitor is considerably cheaper than other options on the market. While it’s missing some more advanced features, it does offer up a decent picture quality, a higher refresh rate, and plenty of real estate for gaming and working.
Back in stock after being unavailable for a few months, you can pick it up for $849.99, which is a fantastic price for a monitor of this size.
Wrap-up
If you’re looking to get into the larger gaming monitor space and can’t afford to shell out a bunch of cash, the Dark Matter 40865 is a very acceptable alternative. This Monoprice monitor earns a Top Pick for 2020 here at Techaeris for its decent quality and affordable price point.
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Last Updated on February 3, 2021.
