There are a few things in life that, once you tried it, you simply can’t go back to how it was before. One such thing for me was multiscreen setups. Having extra space for your multiple opened windows is just such a great thing to have as it allows you to be more productive (or eases procrastination). So how do you improve on the multiscreen experience? Well, why not get a wider screen? That’s what I’ve managed to experience with LG’s 21:9 UltraWide Monitor, and I’ve got to say, it converted me faster than the Mormons could ever hope to achieve.

All That Space

Meet the LG 29UM57, a 29” 21:9 UltraWide monitor. As the name has clued you in, this monitor focuses on horizontal length rather than vertical length. The monitor is 29” by way of diagonal size, so you know that there will be ample space for more than just two windows.

Bright Lights

First thing to note about the 29UM57 is that it is not a 4K monitor. If you’re in the market for a 4K monitor, this isn’t it. That said, the monitor is rather impressive. It is based on an LED-backlit LCD panel that uses In-Place Switching technology, more commonly referred to as IPS. This piece of tech is meant to make the screen look uniform when looking at it from different angles. The native resolution of this monitor is 2560 x 1080, a norm for most 21:9 monitors. The monitor also comes with various presets for activities such as games and movies. This feature is easily accessible via the joystick-like knob that is located under the monitor which also functions as the power button.

Partition For Dummies

While softwares aren’t usually the most interesting to talk about when it comes to hardware, both softwares that come with the monitor deserves special mention. The first is LG’s Screen Split software. This particular software comes with a few configurations that partition the screen in various ways. It’s has a really nice amount of choices as well as you can choose to partition the screen into halves, all the way up to quadrants. Once you select a particular configuration you like, dragging a window to the monitor would should the grid layout of the configuration. All you need to do at this point is to drag your window to that particular sector of the screen and it would immediately snap into place and resize it according to the size of said sector. If you don’t like it, you can just drag the window around to modify the size of the sector.

Siamese Twin

Another cool software that is available for the monitor is Dual Controller. This allows the monitor to display two separate inputs at once, with each occupying one half of the screen. This screen actually does support two different computers, or one computer and a console, or any variation thereof at any point in time. This is, to use the literary term, completely awesome.

Grounding It

There is no denying that the 29UM57 is a great monitor, but that doesn’t mean it is perfect. My first problem with the monitor is that it has only 2 HDMI ports for output. There are no MiniDisplay ports or anything of the sort which, personally speaking, is quite limiting. Secondly, the joystick knob thing feels rather brittle. My biggest gripe however, is that you couldn’t set up the monitor to use it in portrait mode. I could think of many things I would like to do with a 21:9 screen on portrait mode, but alas, the stand it’s mounted on does not seem to support it, which is a damned shame.

Mine! Mine! Mine!

I’ll admit, if ownership works the same way it does in the animal kingdom, I would have “marked my territory” on this monitor. Sure it’s not a 4K monitor, nor is it curved, but to me, it doesn’t have to be. This monitor managed to very effectively convey why 21:9 is totally awesome, and now that I’ve managed to experience it, I feel really reluctant to return to my 16:9, 21-inch monitor. So LG, can I keep it?

Price : RM 1,099
Screen Size : 29”
Resolution : 2560 x 1080
Panel Type : 21:9
Brightness : 250 cd/m2
Colour Gamut : sRGB over 99%
Response Time : 5ms GTG
Refresh Rate : 60Hz
Contrast Ratio (DFC) : 5M:1 

Value 10

Performance 9

Features 8

Design 8

Usability 10 

Verdict A wonderful way to introduce yourself to 21:9

Total 9.0