MSI Optix MEG381CQR Plus Monitor Review

A Closer Look

There’s a lot going on with this monitor, but really the most dominating of them all has to be the size. It measures 38″ diagonally, making it pretty much a meter wide on your desk. Obviously, you’re going to need a pretty decent space to place it, so those with small desks will want to look elsewhere.

The ultrawide form factor is stunning though, giving you the benefits of multiple displays in a single display. This is going to give you more real estate for your work and more immersion for gaming and movies. The screen feels even bigger too, thanks to the extra slim bezels on the sides.

There’s a thicker bezel along the bottom edge, which has a nice finish to it. I mean, at this price, you would hope the materials have a nice finish to them, so I’m glad to see that they do! There are five RGB LED strips in the front here, allowing for some unique customisation, but we’ll see those lit up in a moment.

There’s room to use their built-in mouse bungee, certainly a welcome feature! Two are included.

Just clip it onto the mounts on the bottom edge of the monitor.

The monitor also comes with a special stand for a webcam, meaning you can mount it at the top without it overhanging your screen.

There’s a lovely 2300R curvature to the panel too, which is actually fairly subtle, but it’s just enough to make the far edges of the screen more naturally fill your view. I don’t like the super curved monitors, but this subtle curve suits the monitor’s size really well.

Finally, at least for the front stuff, you have the “Human Machine Interface” and it still amuses me they actually called it that. It’s a knob you can turn and click to change profiles and settings.

Around the back, the monitor looks super stylish! Sure, it’s just the back, but if you have an open desk design, you can fully appreciate the design here. I put my monitor against a wall, so it makes no difference to me, but I can still appreciate the effort here.

There are some built-in RGB lights here.

A lovely MSI badge.

A thumbstick control for the UI. The HMI on the side is more a quick-settings thing, so you’ll use this for the boring stuff.

On the side of the monitor, there’s a pair of USB ports, a headphone jack, and even a line-in for your mic.