Corsair Xeneon Flex Bendable Gaming Monitor: Weird but Wonderful
The Corsair Xeneon Flex (45WQHD240) is an impressive gaming monitor that offers a high-quality visual experience with its 45-inch widescreen display and a resolution of 3440 x 1440 pixels. It’s a gamer’s delight, too, with a 240Hz refresh rate.
However, aside from the size, these kinds of specs are pretty commonplace across gaming monitors. What sets the Xeneon Flex apart is that it can… well, flex. No, it doesn’t show off its muscles after gulping down a protein shake. Instead, you may use its sturdy handles on each side of the screen to physically bend the monitor.
Unsure why this would be useful? I wondered the same thing, so let’s find out if this bendable monitor is really worth the $2,000+ price tag slapped on it.
The Corsair Xeneon Flex 45WQHD240 is a unique gaming monitor that offers premium gaming performance and exceptional picture quality. It’s an immersive experience unlike any other.
Under the Hood: Xeneon Specs
Peak Brightness
HDR with 1,000nit peak brightness
Color Gamut
100% (sRGB), 98.5% (DCI-P3)
Response Time
GtG 0.03ms
Adaptive Sync
AMD FreeSync Premium, NVIDIA G-Sync compatible
Screen Size
Refresh Rate
Max Resolution
The Corsair Xeneon Flex produces rich colors and deep contrast thanks to its OLED panel. It covers 98.5% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. And, despite being an OLED, can reach 1,000 nits of brightness in HDR mode.
HDR Certification
AC Adapter
Display Technology
Flicker Free
Display Inputs
2x HDMI 2.1, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x USB Type-C DP Alt-Mode
Display Colors
1.07B (10-bit RGB)
The 240Hz refresh rate is a significant advantage for competitive gamers. It allows for incredibly smooth motion, minimizing screen tearing and providing more fluid gaming. The fast response time further enhances the overall performance, ensuring minimal input lag.
The Xeneon Flex is a match made in heaven for FPS games, and thanks to the bend of up to 800R, you can find that sweet spot for the most immersive gaming experience.
Let’s Talk About the Bend
At the time of writing, the Corsair Xeneon Flex is the only bendable monitor on the market. Using the handles on either side, it’s possible to bend the screen inwards for a nice curvature, then outwards again to achieve a flat display.
Admittedly, the first time I did this, I felt really anxious. Would the screen crack? Would I break this expensive monitor and end up curling up, crying over the mess I’d made? Thankfully, the flexing process was easy, and there’s an audible click once it reaches the maximum curvature.
Curved monitors tend to be preferred by gamers as they offer a different field of view, with the results feeling more immersive. A flat display might be better if you have less space or spend more time on general computing tasks. Here, you have the best of both worlds. And, if you wanted to, you could bend one side of the monitor but not the other.
Corsair claims the Flex supports at least 10,000 bends; it comes with a zero burn-in guarantee, zero dead pixel guarantee, and a 3-year warranty.
A Wealth of Connectivity Options
The solid metal base helps to keep this 6mm thick panel in place. While the base comes detached in the packaging, it’s very much required—it provides some much-needed stability and houses multiple ports and menu controls. This includes an input/source selector, power on/off, menu control joystick, two USB ports, and a headphone jack.
However, it’s worth noting that you cannot adjust this monitor’s position; no height or swivel adjustments here.
Around the back, you’ll find two HDMI 2.1 ports, a DisplayPort 1.4, another USB-C port, and a USB-C video port. All in all, pretty handy if you have multiple peripherals you want to connect and don’t want to reach around the back of your PC or monitor to plug something in.
And, as another bonus, all the ports support the native resolution of the Xeneon Flex; 3440 x 1440 at a refresh rate of 240Hz. Believe it or not, plenty of monitors on the market have ports that don’t support what the monitor is capable of.
Using the joystick on the front panel, you can easily navigate the monitor’s text-based On-Screen Display. There are six picture presets, three color temperature presets, Adaptive Sync options, and so on.
If you really wanted to, you can also independently calibrate the Xeneon Flex’s sRGB mode, which would primarily be used by digital artists. For users who want to ditch their second monitor (because let’s face it, this one is so large), you can use the PIP and PBP functions to view more than one source at once.
Gaming on the Flex
Gaming on a monitor of this size is undoubtedly immersive. With a 45-inch screen and 800R curve, it’s hard to think of any other monitor offering this immersion level. However, I won’t lie, at times, it almost felt too much compared to what I had previously been used to.
The OLED panel gives it an upper edge; the contrast is obviously excellent, especially with games like Diablo IV where deep, inky blacks are prominent. It also does a great job of eliminating issues like blooming that can be experienced with other gaming monitors.
The Flex’s anti-glare coating helps to minimize reflections if you’re gaming in a naturally well-lit room. However, the SDR maximum brightness of 250 nits is a little disappointing. Still, if you have blinds or curtains you can close, you’ll see the benefits.
Fast-paced games experienced no visible blur, and the input lag was low enough not to notice at all. Even knocking down the frame rates continued to offer a fantastic experience; for PC or console gamers, this monitor hits the mark.
No VESA-Certified HDR1000 Here
Gaming aside, the Xeneon Flex isn’t a monitor I’d choose for everyday computing tasks unless I was a gamer too (which, I am). While this monitor does offer 1000-nit peak brightness, it isn’t VESA-certified.
In HDR mode, the monitor feels pretty washed out. The OLED’s contrast is reduced, which is a shame since the type of display is one of the monitor’s highlights, and the color vibrancy is lacking. Although the screen’s brightness is increased in HDR mode, there are too many downsides to leaving it turned on.
If you’re using Windows 11, turn HDR off while in desktop mode.
Easy Firmware Updates
When you hook up your new monitor, the last thing you probably think of is to update its firmware. In fact, most monitors don’t even have drivers or firmware updates you can download—but the Corsair Xeneon Flex does.
Updating the monitor’s firmwarewas incredibly easy, and quick. However, you do need to connect a USB cable from your PC to the monitor’s USB-C upstream port. I wondered if this update (V105) was going to offer support for iCUE, but it didn’t. It also looks like this isn’t something Corsair is working on in a hurry.
In fact, Corsair doesn’t offer any documentation for the latest firmware update, and it’s not something you can easily find on the internet, either. I updated anyway—though I’m unsure of what new features there were.
There’s Nothing Quite Like the Flex
On the market, there’s the 49-inch Samsung Odyssey G9 Neo and the 48-inch LG Ultragear 48GQ900-B. These gaming monitors are the closest competition to the Xeneon Flex at the moment, but one thing is for sure; the Flex’s image quality and immersion absolutely tip the scales. However, those monitors are cheaper, so it really depends on what you’re looking for as to whether you want to pay more for Corsair’s offering.
Being able to bend the monitor had its perks when switching between general productivity and gaming. I don’t think I’d necessarily go out and purposely look for this feature in a gaming monitor, or spend extra on it, but if it’s already there, sure. If you want a flexible panel, the Corsair Xeneon Flex is the only monitor on the market that has this feature.
The main highlights for me are the 240Hz OLED panel, exceptional contrast, and vivid colors. These are the features I consider a priority when gaming, and the Flex definitely didn’t disappoint in this area.
With a more versatile stand, iCUE compatibility, and a slightly lower price point, the Corsair Xeneon Flex could completely smash the competition. But for now, this spot feels reserved for users who want the latest tech and a large display.
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