MSI Ultrawide MSI 40" Ultrawide QHD 2K 1440P 155Hz IPS with AMD Review

The MSI MAG401QR is a huge 40-inch ultrawide that delivers high-refresh gaming and great color at a surprisingly low price. Its 155Hz refresh rate and 94% DCI-P3 color gamut make it a versatile performer. You can find it for between $400 and $800, making it one of the best values in big-screen gaming. Just be ready for a basic stand and to provide your own speakers.

So you're thinking about going ultrawide. Good call. It's a game-changer for immersion, whether you're gaming, working, or just watching movies. The MSI MAG401QR is a 40-inch beast that sits in a sweet spot—it's massive enough to feel cinematic but doesn't have the extreme curve or overwhelming footprint of some super-ultrawides. It's a flat panel, which is a bit of a rarity at this size and a deliberate choice from MSI aimed at competitive gamers who want consistent visuals across the entire screen.

This monitor is for the gamer who wants immersion without sacrificing too much desk real estate, or the multitasker who needs more horizontal pixels for spreadsheets and timelines. With a 155Hz refresh rate and AMD FreeSync Premium, it's clearly built with smooth gameplay in mind. But what's interesting is that it also scores surprisingly high for creative work in our database, thanks to its wide color gamut. It's trying to be a jack-of-all-trades on a single, very wide screen.

What makes it stand out is the combination of that 40-inch flat IPS panel and its price. In a market where high-refresh ultrawides often start well over a grand, this one plays in a different league. It's not trying to be the absolute best at any one thing. Instead, it's offering a huge, fast, and colorful canvas for a few hundred bucks. That's a compelling pitch.

Let's talk numbers. That 155Hz refresh rate lands in the 92nd percentile for performance in our database. In plain English, that means it's faster than almost all monitors out there. Paired with the 1ms MPRT response time and FreeSync Premium, motion in games is buttery smooth with minimal ghosting. You're getting a high-tier gaming experience here. The 3440x1440 resolution is the sweet spot for this size, too. It's sharp enough that you won't see individual pixels from a normal viewing distance, but it's not so demanding that you'll need a $2,000 GPU to drive it at high frame rates.

The color performance is where this monitor punches above its weight class for gaming displays. With 94% DCI-P3 and 118% sRGB coverage, it hits the 93rd percentile for color. That's excellent. HDR400 is, let's be honest, entry-level HDR—it's better than nothing and will make supported games pop a bit more, but don't expect mind-blowing contrast. The 400-nit brightness is solid for a well-lit room. For creative work like photo editing or video color grading within the sRGB space, this monitor is more than capable, which is a nice bonus for a display marketed primarily to gamers.

Here's the kicker: this monitor's price floats between $400 and $800 depending on the vendor and any sales. At the lower end of that range, it's an absolute steal. Even at the higher end, it's still competitive. You're getting a feature set—155Hz, wide color, USB-C—that you'd typically find on monitors costing $200-$300 more. MSI is undercutting the competition on price while matching or exceeding them on core specs like refresh rate and color coverage.

The value proposition is clear: maximum screen real estate and performance per dollar. If you find it for around $500, you should seriously consider pulling the trigger. Just keep an eye on Newegg and other retailers, as the price can swing. The spread tells us that shopping around is worth the effort for this model.

The most direct competitor is likely the LG UltraGear 45-inch, but that's a curved OLED panel with a higher 240Hz refresh rate and a much, much higher price tag. The trade-off is simple: the LG offers arguably the best picture quality and motion clarity money can buy, while the MSI offers about 80% of the gaming performance for less than half the price. The MSI's flat IPS panel also avoids OLED's potential burn-in concerns for static UI elements.

Then there's the Samsung Odyssey G9 series. Those are super-ultrawides (32:9 aspect ratio) that are even more immersive for sim racing but can be overkill for general use and productivity. They're also curved, which some people dislike. The MSI MAG401QR is a more manageable, traditional ultrawide. Compared to a 34-inch ultrawide, the MSI gives you more screen for often a similar price, but you sacrifice the curve that many find more immersive. It's a trade-off between sheer size and wrapped immersion.

If you need a monitor with full ergonomic adjustments—height, swivel, pivot—look elsewhere. The stand-only tilt is a deal-breaker for a proper ergonomic setup unless you're willing to buy a separate VESA arm. Also, skip this if you're a dedicated HDR enthusiast. HDR400 is a checkbox feature; for impactful HDR in games and movies, you need a monitor with much higher brightness and better local dimming, like an OLED or a Mini-LED panel.

Hardcore competitive esports players might also want to consider a smaller, faster monitor. While 155Hz is excellent, dedicated esports displays push 360Hz or more for the absolute minimal input lag. Finally, if your desk is shallow or small, a 40-inch flat monitor will feel overwhelmingly large and close. Measure your space first.

If you're a gamer who wants a massive, fast screen without breaking the bank, and you prefer or don't mind a flat panel, the MAG401QR is a fantastic choice. It delivers high-end gaming performance and surprisingly good color in a no-frills package. The lack of ergonomic adjustments is annoying, but for the price, it's a compromise many will happily make, especially if they plan to use a monitor arm.

We'd also recommend it to productivity power users and casual content creators who value screen width over pristine HDR. The ability to have three full windows side-by-side is a genuine workflow booster. However, if your primary focus is competitive esports, you might want a smaller, faster 240Hz+ panel. And if true, vibrant HDR for movies and single-player games is your top priority, you should look at OLED or Mini-LED options, even if they cost more.