HP Z40c G3: a massive 40-inch monitor that's great for productivity
HP Z40c G3 WUHD curved 40-inch monitor. Picture: HP.
The trend of going big on a TV seems to have transferred to monitors and nowadays, many of us are using larger and even multiple monitor setups. So, what size do we consider a large monitor? I’ve been testing the HP Z40c G3 for the last month and have enjoyed the bigger display and extra screen real estate, but is bigger really better?
The HP Z40c G3 is 40 inches diagonally with a 5120px x 2160px resolution, a 21:9 aspect ratio and a 2500R curve. The gentle curve makes all the difference in bringing the screen's corners closer to your eyes without causing any content distortion that can be seen.
The bezels on the top and sides are the same size but the one on the bottom is much larger and contains a speaker grille that runs the length of the display. On the top of the monitor hides a pop-up webcam with a 13MP sensor along with two mics and tilt adjustment. The camera supports Windows Hello and can be used with facial recognition to log into Windows.
The display features a D-pad control button on the back to navigate the on-screen menu system but there’s also a brightness rocker button and a power button on the bottom edge of the front right.
The display is treated with an antiglare coating which helps to reduce glare which is great for an open office space where it’s impossible to control lighting. Personally, I prefer a glossy display, which produces better contrast, colour and sharpness but only if you can control direct light.
The stand is beautifully engineered and doesn’t require much time, but does need a little effort to put together in part thanks to its hefty 14.3 kg weight. The base is large and flat measuring 270mm deep x 300mm wide. The stand connects to the base and clips into the monitor and allows for both tilt and swivel, but not rotation, which isn’t too surprising since I don’t see a practical use-case for a vertical ultrawide 40-inch monitor in portrait mode.
With a 150mm height adjustment, 30-degree tilt, 25-degree swivel and VESA mount support, the stand feels robust and sturdy.
The monitor features a built-in KVM (Keyboard, Video and Mouse) for dual-system control that allows you to control say a laptop and a desktop with the same keyboard and mouse while both are simultaneously connected to the Z40c G3. The lightning-fast Thunderbolt 3 connectors, which can offer up to 165W of power and can simultaneously charge two PCs, can be used to connect to and see video signals from two PCs, streamlining your workflow.
Around the back are two Thunderbolt 3 ports (40Gbps signalling rate) with SuperSpeed USB Type-C 5Gbps signalling rate, 1 RJ-45 Ethernet port as well as an HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4. You also get four SuperSpeed USB Type-A 5Gbps signalling rates (two on the back and two on the bottom edge).
It’s good that HP includes a HDMI cable, DisplayPort cable, a VESA Mount adapter and a Thunderbolt cable.
The pop-up camera has tilt adjustment and a wide field of view that makes it great for group video calls. However, I didn’t find it ideal for home office use where it put my full room on display. Using the HP Display Center software you can change the FOV from narrow to wide but I didn’t find it made much of a difference. Of course, you can use software to blur the background around you if it bothers you.
The speakers are front-firing and can get decently loud. They’re not great but much better than I was expecting and perfect when combined with the built-in mics for video calls and the odd YouTube video.
The OSD menu is speedy and well-organised and it includes a good selection of pro-level settings, from picture-by-picture tools and detailed colour customization to port choices that can enhance security or save power usage.
The Z40c G3 is an IPS panel with a peak brightness of 300 nits although I measured 264 nits in the centre using the P3 (D65) preset. Screen uniformity on my review unit was also a little inconsistent where I measured 216 nits in the top left, 232 nits on the top right, 260 nits on the bottom right and 266 nits in the bottom left. This isn’t something I noticed during daily use and shouldn’t be an issue in general except for those with a colour-critical workflow. I usually set my home office monitors around 200 nits, which is fine in a controlled lighting environment.
Colour accuracy is decent and I measured 100% sRGB, 88% AdobeRGB and 94% of the P3 colour space. The 1010:1 contrast ratio is a respectable performance for any IPS screen and guarantees that you always receive decent punch and depth.
The large screen size and aspect ratio are ideal for certain genres of games but with a 60Hz refresh rate and 14ms GTG response time, this isn’t a gaming monitor.
The HP Z40c G3 is a massive display that requires a lot of desk space and room to use but the convenience of being able to use a single cable to access video, network and USB hub is slick, especially for laptop users. I used it on both a PC and MacBook Pro and was able to segment the screen using Magnet on the Mac and Snap Windows on the PC to organise multiple windows and apps to maximise productivity — four equal windows on the Z40c G3 are equivalent to four 20-inch monitors.
I found the Z40c G3 great for my workflows including scanning large catalogues in Lightroom to being able to see multi-windows at once. I can also see it replacing someone with a multi-monitor setup as well as it being ideal for small conference rooms.
The HP Z40c G3 HP
