PSA: Decent and Cheap Ultrawide

[albert]

I have it mounted on one of these -  https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08B8X4KBV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 - which is also fantastic, and actually one of those 'how did I get by before?' moments. Being able to just grab and move my panel, with ease, is absolutely game-changing from an ergonomics point of view.

I picked up a pair of these though, I have my 165Hz 27" screen as my primary as I felt frustrated with the ROG 4K 27" screen a bought first, so that became a browsing screen. Now with the 3090 in use the 4K screen has serious purpose, so a way to move between them with decent arms seems a nice way forward. I've so far been using a perfectly good arm that Toby recommended years ago but the only issue is that is doesn't have much lateral movement, mostly vertical.

Edit to the previous post: the GB3466 I found is a return, with one dead pixel. for â,¬355 as opposed to â,¬469 for the flat version in discussion in this topic. The return does have a 30 day return guarantee, worth a punt?

Edit 2: I brought Cheddar into the Netherlands today!!! Chuck Brexit!

[Chaosphere]

I have a question. In NL they sell a VA LED version of this that is also curved but it's very competetively priced.

Anyone have a clue what differences there is between the G-Master GB3466WQSU-B1 | 34" and the one you got Ben, G-Master GB3461WQSU-B1 | 34" ? They are â,¬100 in price difference in favour of the VA LED model.

I see VA LED vs ADF-IPS as one difference of course, but is one panel type better than the other (LED I read is good for movies)? VA has higher contrast ration 3000:1 vs 1000:1, HDR400 vs HDR ready(?)  but on the other hand horizontal frequency is better on the GB3461 IPS panel: 30-160Hz vs 30-220Hz. That would explain why you are getting 190Hz reliability(?).

Other than this a few aesthetic differences and of course the curved nature of the 3466 are all I can find in terms of comparison. So what do I get in the GB3461 model for an extra â,¬100?

The GB3566 curved version is 2cm lower when installed. It also has lower Watt speakers, not something everyone really cares about but the 5Watt on the GB3461 may tip the balance for some.

VA and IPS panels are quite different.

In a nutshell, you could expect the VA to have better blacks, and the IPS to have better motion.

Of the 3 common panel techs, VAs are the slowest in terms of pixel response. This is something independent of their refresh rate. I moved from a 100Hz VA panel to this, and one of the biggest differences I notice day-to-day is less smearing during motion, which is a result of the faster response times. This is most evidence in the darker shades in a scene. So although those blacks are deep and the contrast is great, they smear with motion. There will also be differences in colour reproduction, viewing angles, and things like 'IPS glow' (image search this one to see some dramatic results) too. These will all differ panel to panel, as there are definitely good and bad IPS panels, and good and bad VA panels.

IPS panels have for a long time been considered superior to VA, due to often better colour reproduction and motion, but I think there is good evidence VA is catching up. IPS panels have been more expensive as they are more costly to manufacture. That said, I don't think I'd buy a cheaper VA panel again. I've tried that and the smearing bothered me, whereas this cheap IPS has amazed me simply for what you get for your money - you couldn't get an IPS this good for £340 a few years ago. I don't doubt there are even better IPS panels available today if you spend more, and no doubt someone coming from a high end IPS could find this iiyama panel inferior and perhaps ugly to look at! All depends on what you're used to, what you're personal needs are, and how much you notice your particular panel's flaws.

I hope that provides some useful information? Ultimately, I have no idea if the VA version of this panel will be any good. They can be vastly different in overall performance despite otherwise being seemingly identical. Without trying it, it is hard to say. For 100 Euroes, personally I probably wouldn't bother with the VA.. I think the IPS panel here is already a superb price.

Finally to briefly (for me) answer the question about horizontal refresh rates... you can ignore that. All monitors have high numbers here compared to their vertical refresh rates. I can't claim to understand the why of that, but I do know it is the vertical rates that are used to guide perceived responsiveness /  smoothness in motion, never the horizontal. This also doesn't have anything to do with why I am able to push my particular panel faster than stock, that is just luck of the draw. 'Silicon lottery'. It is the same with buying a CPU. We could both buy a 11700K when they release, and with the exact same settings on an Overclock your CPU might be stable at 5.4Ghz where as mine might crash and crash, topping out at a measly 4.9 when adjusted, for example. Luck of the draw. Some silicon just goes to 11. With that in mind, you might buy the exact same iiyama panel I did and find it won't run at 145Hz without error. The only guarantee is 144, anything beyond that is entirely a gamble - and tbh, who even Overclocks their monitor? Practically pointless in most instances, and I am happy to admit that! I am in the minority here... but I would overclock my shoes if I could.

Hope that helps!

[smilodon]

I did look into this as well. I am not sure I have it 100% right but

The IPS panel (3461) has superior image quality at the edges when looking at the screen from an angle. Being 34" wide and flat it would be in danger of showing a quality fall off at the edges otherwise.
The VA-LED (3466) has a poorer effective viewing angle but being curved doesn't need this additional feature as you don't view the edges of the screen from such a sharp angle. So I assumed it was as broad as it was long and a few reviews didn't suggest there was a big difference.

Neither technology is inherently superior to the other, they both serve  different purposes. In general, IPS TVs will have a wide viewing angle  suitable for use in a bright living room for sports or TV shows. They also benefit PC monitor  use, since edges darken with a low viewing angle. VA TVs will instead  have better contrast rendering them better for use in a dark, home-theater  type of environment. Choosing between the two is a series of trade-offs  and qualities, so pick depending on your usage, as neither are the  absolute best.

The Curved monitor is generally a few hundred quid more expensive than the flat.

[albert]

I did look into this as well. I am not sure I have it 100% right but

The IPS panel (3461) has superior image quality at the edges when looking at the screen from an angle. Being 34" wide and flat it would be in danger of showing a quality fall off at the edges otherwise.
The VA-LED (3466) has a poorer effective viewing angle but being curved doesn't need this additional feature as you don't view the edges of the screen from such a sharp angle. So I assumed it was as broad as it was long and a few reviews didn't suggest there was a big difference.



The Curved monitor is generally a few hundred quid more expensive than the flat.

I am tending to agree, viewing angle is a plus of the flat panel. When placed directly infront of the thing like most gamer are, then that has little relevence. I think the same applied, Hz - IPS, blackness and intensity - LED. The HDR400 part has me interested, simply because I saw a few monitors with this enabled at the last LAN back in 1819 and they looked stunning.

[Chaosphere]

I am opinionated on HDR, as I am many things, and in my book anything below HDR 1000 is not HDR. 400 nits of brightness is not HDR. More importantly, IPS panels cannot reproduce the dark shades required for HDR. Neither can VA, despite being better at it.

Some of the more expensive panels use local dimming, where the lighting in the panel is divided into zones that can be individually dimmed - the 27" 4K panels released a couple of years ago that cost £2000+ did this - and these are better at HDR, as in dimming these specific areas they try to emulate those blackest of blacks with much more success than a standard always entirely lit panel can do, but even this pales in comparison to OLED black. Those panels could also hit a peak of 1000 nits IIRC. Oh, and did I mention they cost £2000+?

If you want HDR, you get an OLED. They go bright, and more importantly they can entirely turn off individual pixels on the fly, producing genuine blacks. That is HDR. 1000+ nits peak and sustained brightness, 10 bit colour ('HDR 10'), black blacks. 400 nits IPS will never, ever, ever be HDR.

I remain convinced OLED is the panel technology of the future. When it becomes financially viable to produce screens of the right size and specs for PC use... I will be the first one lining up with my wallet out.

[albert]

I took a punt on the used panel I mentioned earlier. If the location isn't central then I can probably become oblivious to it.

[smilodon]

You can buy a 48" OLED TV from LG right now. It's expensive as shrinking OLED seems to be an issue. I've seen some YouTubers swear by 48" PC gaming. It may be fine for them but I'm not personally convinced. Maybe when they knock another 10" off the size it might be viable as  desktop monitor for me.

[albert]

I've seen children go hungry because of parents who can't live without the best most expensive TV. All for Eastenders. Step away from the OLED....

[Chaosphere]

*Looks at TV*

We don't have kids yet.

:roflmao:

[albert]

My returned open box LED version of the montor arrived. As promised, one dead pixel, bottom right corner, seems to be reducing with burn in though. But being £100 less I think I can live with it anyways, since it only shows on bright white or green backgrounds.

I have to say, the blackness of the screen is impressive for this price. There isn't a single bleed spot, only a very faint glow and when I lower the brightness to sensible levels, 25 for example, black as space.

I tried Death Stranding, solid 144Hz with the HDR setting on in game, ultra (no DSR), and I have to say even though it's not HDR1000, just 400, the difference was noticable and quite impressive.

[Chaosphere]

Sorry, did you get the VA version? They're all LED panels, but how the LED works is different from IPS, TN, VA. If you're pleased with the blacks I'll assume VA!

Glad you're enjoying the HDR. Probably its more to do with what you're used to. We have a fantastic OLED in the lounge that I love to bits, and the HDR on that is astounding. Gives me a high bar to compare against.

That and as I've said, I have strong opinions on the matter!

[albert]

Sorry, did you get the VA version? They're all LED panels, but how the LED works is different from IPS, TN, VA. If you're pleased with the blacks I'll assume VA!

Glad you're enjoying the HDR. Probably its more to do with what you're used to. We have a fantastic OLED in the lounge that I love to bits, and the HDR on that is astounding. Gives me a high bar to compare against.

That and as I've said, I have strong opinions on the matter!

Yes the VA version, The Iiyama spec says LED-VA on their web page but it took a bit of digging to realise the LED mention is misleading.

What's interesting is the mess that multple implementations of HDR can make. The monitor has an HDR menu item, Windows 10 also then a game that supports it also has HDR controls in the Settings. The Windows 10 options is terrible. Also if a blue filter is applied or a black area filter then HDR isn't available. Lot's to play with but so far I am good with the Mode 1 blue filter and a brightness of 20, then in game enable HDR. I'm not even sure it is using the monitor HDR. Previously with the old monitor all HDR options in Windows or games was greyed out so it must do something.

Also finding all this real estate makes working far less disruptive, as it's like having 3 large windows so all my work apps that are important visible without alt-tabbing.

But gaming is just awesome! Stands arrive today.

[Chaosphere]

Nice one, enjoy mate.

I remain pleased with mine. For the money, it is a great panel.

[albert]

Interesting bit of info for new users of this monitor. The Windows 10 display settings and the GeForce Config Panel both recognise the monitor as 60Hz by default. By setting the monitor resolution in the nvidia config to 144Hz then windows also recognises the monitor true refresh rate. Doing so also allows an nvidia card to use the FreeSync feature of the monitor.

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-enable-freesync-display-nvidia-gpu

The monitor also has Overdrive, and MBR. Both add extra voltage to the panel to make colour appear faster, in other words refresh at the 1ms claimed.

[Chaosphere]

They also cause overshoot and the ghosting and smearing associated with it. Overdrive is essentially overclocking the pixels. It might make them change colour faster but it also invariably leads to errors. I wouldn't go beyond +1 for the OD. If you don't find the monitor smeary with it off, probably best to leave it so.

MBR is motion blue reduction that essentially uses back-light strobing to reduce perceived blur. Its quality differs panel to panel and I haven't tried it on this iiyama yet. Tbh I generally avoid it as it usually also introduces ghosting and can negatively affect colour, contrast, and (always) brightness. This does differ panel to panel. Again, if you have no issues with this off.. I wouldn't recommend it. You likely will notice smoother more pleasant gaming with freesync, and you cant use both. I'd suggest trying freesync as I'd imagine most people will prefer that to MBR.

And finally, with every monitor you need to set it beyond 60Hz in Windows, either with nVidia or AMD control panels or in Windows display settings - Windows defaults to a peasantly 60Hz! :flirty: