Monoprice has made a name for itself by offering budget-friendly options for technology products that rival more premium brands. The Monoprice Zero-G 35-inch curved gaming monitor continues this trend by packing an ultra-wide 3440×1440 resolution, 100Hz refresh rate, and FreeSync support into a sub-$400 package. It cuts a few corners to reach that price point, but overall, it’s a compelling curved display for both work and play.
Out of the Box
The Zero-G 35″ arrives in a large, well-padded brown box held upright by thick Styrofoam braces. The parts come in separate boxes, and installation requires no tools. The solid aluminum stand attaches to the panel with two hand-turned screws. There’s no tilt or height adjustment, just a 13-degree forward tilt. The curve of the 1800R fits the 35-inch diagonal well and provides an immersive wraparound visual. The styling is sleek, with only a small Monoprice logo on the bottom bezel. The panel measures 33″ x 9.8″ x 19″ and weighs just under 18 pounds.
For inputs, you get one each of DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 2.0, plus two HDMI 1.4 ports. This provides full bandwidth for variable refresh rates up to 100Hz via both DisplayPort and HDMI. AMD FreeSync is supported, but it’s also compatible with Nvidia G-Sync. Just remember to turn on FreeSync in the monitor’s OSD. Two 2-watt speakers provide basic stereo sound, but there’s also a headphone jack. The audio signal comes from the video inputs, so you don’t need an extra cable. USB ports are not included.
OSD Features
The Zero-G 35” is light on extra features but includes everything needed for a great gaming experience. Six picture modes include Standard, Photo, Movie, Game, FPS, and RTS presets. Game mode looked best to our eyes with decent colour accuracy and high contrast. A dynamic contrast option pumps up the brightness range in high-contrast scenes but crushes shadow and highlights details somewhat. It’s best left off.
“The curve of the 1800R fits the 35-inch diagonal well and provides an immersive wraparound visual.”
Users should make sure to turn on FreeSync for smoother gaming free of tearing artifacts. The overdrive option reduces motion blur but introduces some ghosting when set to its highest level. We found the middle setting optimal, but this will vary by user preference.
There are also options for aspect ratio, multi-window mode and Low Blue Light. The latter warms up the colour temp in increments. We measured around 6500K in the default Standard mode and 5500K in the warmest LBL setting.
Calibration and Gaming Hands-on
With a few tweaks, the Zero-G 35” delivers excellent colour accuracy with a gamut volume that comes very close to sRGB. The default colour temp is too cool at 7500K, but RGB sliders in the user mode brought things nicely in line. Gamma tracks around 2.4 by default, which leads to elevated light output below 50%. We chose the 2.2 gamma mode for the best balance, although the flexibility and user control ensure it is easy to change should it be needed.
After calibration, colour errors were extremely low, with RGB balance looking fantastic, keeping in line with what we had hoped from the monitor before testing. Gamut saturation was also excellent, with most colours well within the targets, delivering a solid viewing experience. The Zero-G 35” is more than adequate for colour-critical work like photo editing in addition to gaming and video.
Its VA panel delivers contrast around 3000:1 with very deep blacks. This adds depth to every image and makes pixel-level detail pop. Motion resolution is reduced somewhat, but the 100Hz refresh rate keeps the blur in check. The gameplay is smooth and engaging, with no artifacts from either FreeSync or G-Sync Compatibility.
“The Monoprice Zero-G 35” curved monitor brings an engaging ultra-wide form factor to the masses with excellent colour, contrast and build quality.”
We enjoyed extended sessions in both Shadow of The Tomb Raider and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. The extra width reveals more environment in AAA titles and gives a more spacious feel to the virtual worlds. Productivity gets a boost, too, with enough room for three full-size documents or browser windows placed side-by-side.
Pixel density is a bit lower than a 4K UHD monitor, but at 106ppi, images remain sharp. And the lower resolution reduces the demand on graphics cards. Frame rates with a mid-priced card like the Radeon RX 5700 or GeForce 2060 Ti should stay mainly in FreeSync’s 48-100Hz range.
The Monoprice Zero-G 35” curved monitor brings an engaging ultra-wide form factor to the masses with excellent colour, contrast and build quality. Cutting-edge tech like HDR, extended colour and USB-C are not included. But adaptive sync, 100Hz refresh and QHD resolution place it squarely in premium territory at well under $400. This monitor is easy to recommend for both work and gaming use.
