Corsair Xeneon Flex: first impressions (review)

Stunning picture quality paired with futuristic functionality

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Corsair recently announced its new bendable gaming monitor and we were given the chance to sit down with it to see how it stacks up against some of the market’s leading alternatives.

We were given a 1 hour slot to put the Corsair Xeneon Flex through its paces and here are our initial thoughts on picture quality, colors, gaming performance, and overall usability.

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Corsair Flex: specifications

• Size: 45″
• Resolution: 3440 x 1440
• Refresh rate: 240Hz
• Response time: 0.1ms GTG
• Panel technology: OLED
• HDMI Standard: HDMI 2.1
• Curve: 1800R (bendable)

Corsair has partnered with LG Displays for the Xeneon Flex, utilizing one of the brand’s W-OLED display – offering up stunning picture quality, perfect blacks, and infinite contrast ratio.

It will sit at an eye-watering 45 inches and will deliver crisp image quality thanks to its 3,440 x 1,440 screen resolution (21:9 aspect ratio). While that does seem a little lacking for a 45-inch screen, we found the viewing experience to be incredible immersive and sharp.

Corsair have also utilized some of LG Displays premium eye-care technology in this panel, allowing users to enjoy extended gaming sessions without eye fatigue.

Better yet, despite being OLED, users can expect an impressive 1000 nit peak brightness from the monitor – with sustained brightness across a full screen being much lower.

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Design

My first impressions of the Corsair Flex were incredibly positive, with the display featuring a sleek design that really did scream premium. The subtle 1800R curve seemed to work very well with the 45-inch scale of the panel, offering an incredibly immersive viewing experience.

The panel was predominantly black in design, with Corsair’s geometric pattern utilized throughout. The stand featured a wide V-shaped design that, despite its size, actually worked incredibly well with the swooping curve of the panel.

Additionally, the Flex featured slim bezels that only enhanced the viewing experience further.

One of the stand out design features for me, however, was the stand’s input functionality. All display inputs and power inputs can be found built-in to the stand itself. That means you won’t have to fiddle around underneath the panel in order to swap cables out.

Instead, users can simply walk round to the rear of the panel and easily input devices at will – with cable management hidden by the wide design of the stand itself.

The monitor bends via two fairly robust handles that can be found on either side of the display. While the prototype model didn’t feature retractable handles, the guys at Corsair did say design features would be tweaked in the coming months – with retractable handles being one of the main changes.

Overall, it feels like Corsair have done an incredibly good job at designing this monitor – prioritizing style and functionality.

Picture quality

Like all OLED monitors we’ve tested, the Corsair Flex looked absolutely stunning during the hour we got our hands on it.

We were presented with the usual promo video to show off the colors of the panel and boy it did not disappoint.

General color performance looked incredibly vibrant and primary colors really popped against the perfect blacks the panel could produce.

Of course, like all OLEDs, the Flex also produced an infinite contrast ratio as well – offering perfect blacks directly next to peak brightness. We didn’t experience any blooming or haloing during usage, with general picture quality looking incredibly sharp and vibrant.

We wasted no time and fired up a few games using the monitors HDR and it’s safe to say that the Flex looked absolutely superb.

Playing games offered up an incredible realistic color pallet that certainly retained our attention during usage.

Unfortunately we were unable to test the Xeneon Flex for color accuracy, panel uniformity, and peak brightness. We will be receiving a review copy in the coming weeks, however, and we’ll be running all the usual tests.

Gaming performance

We had a number of different games to trial during our allotted time slot and each one provided incredible immersion – especially when the bend came into play.

To utilize the bend, you simply grab the handles at either side and pull the monitor into your body. It will click into place when it reaches its maximum 1800R curve.

It’s worth mentioning that Corsair will be implementing a “step” system that allows you to utilize different levels of curvature depending on the content you’re viewing. But that will come once the monitor’s design has been finalized.

We launched up Forza 5, setting the monitor to its maximum 240Hz refresh rate and enabling HDR.

The game looked absolutely stunning and felt incredibly lucid – even when barrelling down the dirt tracks of the game. I didn’t experience any ghosting, blur, or smearing during usage – but that’s often the case with OLED panels.

When you pair the monitor’s incredibly fast response time with its 240Hz refresh rate, it’s hard to say it won’t provide a great viewing experience regardless of genre.

While we only experienced a few games during our time testing, it was still enough to leave a positive lasting impression.

Overall, it was quite evident that we were dealing with an incredibly well-rounded monitor that will suit both PC and console gaming.

Availability at the time of writing this is still unknown, however, Corsair has given a rough estimate for Q1 in 2024.