• Good response time: The response time of a monitor is how fast the pixels in the display change, usually measured in milliseconds. A response time of 4 milliseconds is considered adequate for gaming--even though there are monitors with even faster response times.

• Mounting a monitor: Even a smaller curved monitor may be a hassle to mount, as one person who bought the Samsung U32R592 32” monitor discovered. Some monitors don’t have the mount holes in the center of the monitor--this makes them a bit wobbly. It’s something to look for if you intend to mount your monitor.

• Define your needs: Before purchasing a curved monitor, you need to decide on how it will be of benefit to you. Do you need it at work as a basic external projector, or do you need it for video editing? Perhaps you use more than one screen at present, and you’re hoping that one curved monitor can replace two flat-screen monitors. Or maybe you’re a devoted gamer, or just simply in dire need of a new screen. Your answer to this can nudge you towards the curved monitor that suits your needs.

• Real-Life Experience: Curved monitors can give you a more realistic experience. It’s a popular adage that, if your television can get you so immersed that you forget that you are watching television, then it’s a good one. Curved monitors achieve this realism by considering how we perceive the world around us – length, height, and width. For that theater-like experience, this is a good bet.

• Distortion: People actually notice more distortion in a curved monitor. Flat-panel monitors have distortion because they emit light in a straight line. When you zoom in on an image, it tends to be blurry or stretched, especially towards the edges of the monitor. Curved monitors will bring those distorted edges closer to you so that you see the distortion even more! But, they offer a better viewing angle by as much as 7 degrees--so there is a bit of a trade-off there.

• Degrees of curvature: You’ll see many monitors touting that they have “1500R curvature” or “1800R curvature”. (Some go as high as 3000R or 4000R as well.) “R” here stands for “radius”, and the number is given in millimeters. Thus, a 1500R monitor means that it has the curvature of a circle with a radius of 1.5 meters. A monitor with 3000R curvature is as curved as a circle with twice the radius--thus, the smaller the number, the more curved the screen will be. Since more curvature is a desirable spec here, a lower curvature number will give a more immersive experience.

• AOC is a Taiwan-based company, founded in 1967, that specializes in computer displays. They make monitors with high resolution and accurate colors, for both home and office use, as well as gaming monitors.
• BenQ, with its headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan, is an established manufacturer of consumer electronics. They make projectors and monitors for a wide range of specialties: designing, photography, video, as well as just for entertainment and leisure.
• LG is a Korean electronics corporation, founded in 1947. They make IPS computer monitors, as well as TV/computer monitor displays, and 4K monitors.
• Asus, founded in 1989 and based in Taiwan, makes both laptop and desktop computers, as well as displays and networking electronics. They have a special division of computers and monitors for gaming.

Now that you are acquainted with curved monitors and some of the models out there, you can purchase the one which works best with your budget and preference. Also, read up on reviews made about these and other curved monitors that you find.