Design and Ergonomics

The exterior of the Corsair Xeneon FLEX 45WQHD240 is striking, mostly due to the sheer size of the 45-inch ultrawide panel. It measures 106.7 cm (42") in width, and 46 cm (18.1") in height, so that's the least amount of space you need to have at your disposal to comfortably host the monitor on your table. The bezels are, of course, very thin, although I wouldn't say they completely disappear from sight. They measure around 10 millimeters on the sides and top, and around 12 millimeters on the bottom. The stand is decorated with the Corsair logo and some recognizable design elements. The company thankfully resisted the urge to implement a pointless RGB lighting system. It's also worth noting that all ports, which we'll get to a bit later in the review, are rear-facing. That makes them infinitely more intuitive to use compared to traditional downward-facing ports.


One other detail to take into consideration is the size of the metal V-shaped base. It's 62.1 cm (24.4") wide and 31 cm (12.2") deep, and your table has to be deep and wide enough to support it. Don't take this matter lightly, as there's no way to mount the monitor on a regular wall or table stand. Its factory stand cannot be detached from the panel, because of the bending mechanism, so you better make sure your environment has enough room for the Xeneon FLEX. The only way to reduce its footprint is to buy the FLEX Desk Clamp Adaptor, which will set you back $30, and tighten it to the rear edge of the table. My table, which is actually a customized kitchen countertop placed on two drawer units, is 63.5 cm (25") deep and I didn't have issues finding room for the Xeneon FLEX with or without the base, although I should point out that without using the desk clamp accessory there was no room left for my 90x40 cm deskmat. In short, measure everything out before purchasing the Xeneon FLEX, so you don't run into unpleasant surprises.


The Xeneon FLEX's most prominent feature is the ability to adjust the curvature of the screen. To do so, first you need to pull out the plastic handles integrated into the monitor's sides. Then you need to grip them with both hands and apply quite a bit of force to get the panel to bend from both sides. When you reach the end position of the mechanism, which correlates to the 800R curvature radius, you'll be greeted by an unpleasant click of the mechanism, which made my heart sink the first time I heard it. I was certain that something had broken. Fortunately, everything ended up being fine, it's just that the entire mechanism is not particularly refined. The plastic handles feel flimsy; Corsair should have gone with a higher-quality material, or at least a better implementation of the handles, and perhaps a slightly "softer" mechanism altogether. Either way, the mechanism definitely shouldn't make cracking noises in its end position.


Refined or not, Corsair's mechanism is certainly functional. The screen always remains at the curvature that you set it to, and it can even be adjusted for the left and right half of the screen separately. If, for some bizarre reason, you want the left side of your screen to be flat and the right side to be curved (or vice versa), that's entirely doable. When it comes to the durability of the mechanism, Corsair guarantees that it will withstand between 10 and 15 thousand bends without issues. At the end of the day, this isn't something I'd be concerned about; most users will play with the curvature adjustment for the first couple of days of owning the Xeneon FLEX, then decide on an optimal position and permanently stick with it.


A sturdy handle is placed below the panel, intended for tilting the screen. The handle is elegant and inconspicuous; after just a few minutes of use, I stopped noticing it. Except for tilting, the position of the screen cannot be adjusted in any other way. There is no option to swivel or pivot it, nor to adjust the height. This is why future Xeneon FLEX owners need to be sure that the factory height is right for them. The bottom edge of the screen is 12 centimeters above the surface, which should work well for standard table heights. Such shortcomings are usually solved by mounting the monitor on a table or wall VESA mount, but this is not an option with the Xeneon FLEX, because its stand cannot be separated from the panel.