Touring the MSI Booth at CES 2024
MSI Monitors – OLED, Mini LED, and More
MSI goes all-on with OLED and AI technology at CES
At CES, MSI has revealed their first OLED AI product with their MEG 321URX QD-OLED monitor. Like the other OLED monitors that MSI has showcased, this screen uses a next-generation OLED panel to deliver sharper text, and OLED Care technology to boost screen longevity.
The MEG 321URX QD-OLED monitor is a 32-inch 4K 240Hz monitor that boasts an ultra-fast 0.03ms G2G response time. The screen also features a new cooling solution to keep this screen cool under load, mitigating burn-in.
This is the first MSI screen to use AI, and their demo at the booth was impressive. The screen could detect enemies on screen and point them out to players, preventing players from letting them slip by. While this could be called cheating, MSI aren’t showing anything that the player cannot already see. MSI also stressed that future updates for this display could enable new AI features.
Another neat feature of this screen is that its LED light bar can be used to help detect how much health players have in their games. this tech uses screen recognition technology to detect player health levels. This way, players can see their health in their peripheral vision, negating the need to look at their game’s heathbar.
Like all good OLED screens, this monitor looked great in person. The promise of AI upgrades is an interesting one. That said, you should never by new hardware based solely on future promises. That said, this is a solid OLED screen as is, and it doesn’t need AI to shine.
Below you can see tis screen’s AI enemy detection in action. That red icon isn’t in-game, the monitor had added that to help players notice their opponents.
There isn’t just OLED, MSI also has some Mini LED options
MSI have invested in Mini LED and OLED technology, with their MPG 272QPX being firmly placed in the MINI LED camp. This screen is an ultra-fast 1440p 500Hz monitor with 0.5ms G2G response times. This screen features 1,152 local dimming zones, giving this screen strong control of its backlight. While this is not as strong as the pixel-level lighting control of OLED, it is much stronger than any traditional LED/LCD panel.
With this screen, users can enjoy ultra deep blacks and strong HDR performance without the same burn-in risks as OLED screens.
On person, this screen looks great. It is crazy to how fast high refresh rate screens have become. 1440p at 500Hz was once the stuff of dreams, and now it is here.
The MSI MAG 341CQP QD-OLED
This 34-inch ultra-wide OLED monitor delvers a strong mix of high refresh rate gaming and resolution with its 3440 x1440 pixel count. It may not be as fast as some of MSI’s other screens, but it features the same OLED care functions that will keep your screen in good condition. This screen is DisplayHDR True Black 400 and ClearMR 9000 certified, which means that this screen delivers stellar motion clarity and strong HDR support. That’s a great combo for gaming.
With its added peripheral vision, its hard to beat ultra-wide gaming. While higher pixel counts are cool, wider-screen gameplay does have its advantages. This is 1440p with a little extra on the sides, and that extra detail is great for seeing your opponents online in your peripheral vision.
MSI’s award winning MPG491CQP QD-OLED monitor
With a 5120 x 1440 resolution, a new Quantum Dot OLED panel and a 144Hz refresh rate, this screen could be the ultimate ultra-wide monitor. With DisplayHDR True Black 400 and ClearMR 8000 certifications, you can be sure that this screen deliver compelling visuals and sharp imagery in motion. This screen won two CES awards, one for Computer Peripherals and Accessories, and another for gaming and eSports. In-person, this screen looks phenomenal. I just want to take it home and play some racing games.
Ultra-fast QHD OLED – Meet the MPG 271QRX QD-OLED
With a 360Hz refresh rate and a 1440p resolution, this OLED screen provides games with an ideal mix of both speed and resolution. Let’s fact it, 4K is a demanding resolution to run, and 1440p is much more accessible. With this screen you can achieve high framerates in your favourite esports titles without spending a fortune on your GPU. As nice as an RTX 4090 is, paying for one certainly isn’t a good experience.
At CES this screen was shown playing Alan Wake 2, one of the most graphically intensive games of 2023. We’ll see what 2024 has in store for us, but I doubt we will see many games that is this hard on modern graphics cards.
OLED Care
At CES 2024, MSI has done more to convince me to buy an OLED monitor than anyone ever has. Burn in risk has always been something that turned me away from desktop OLED screens. While newer OLED panels are less prone to burn-in, the risk remains, and MSI has worked hard to mitigate these issues with their screens.
For starters, MSI are shipping all of their OLED screens with a graphene film and a strong passive heatsink solution. This helps to keep MSI’s screens cool under load and prevent burn-in. Beyond that, MSI has created “MSI OLED Care”, a series of technologies that are designed to prevent logo burn-in, taskbar burn-in, and static screen burn-in. If you are using an OLED screen for work, static screen burn-in and taskbar burn-in are things I want mitigations for. MSI has these mitigations, and it makes me want a screen upgrade.
Closing thoughts
Special thanks to MSI for letting us tour their booth at CES 2024. We enjoyed looking at all of their hardware, and we look forward to seeing this hardware again when it becomes available on store shelves. 2024 is shaping up to be a good year for MSI, and we look forward to seeing them again at Computex.
You can join the discussion on MSI’s CES 2024 booth on the OC3D Forums.
