Gigabyte M34WQ Review: Best Monitor for Gaming and Work

Gigabyte offers a range of best monitors for gaming designed for specific categories of users. M-series monitors were the first in the world to receive KVM modules, which allow you to use a set of peripherals for two devices – a PC, laptop, or even a smartphone. The Gigabyte M34WQ KVM monitor is the largest in the series – it’s got a 34-inch diagonal and an impressive set of features and capabilities that will suit not only gamers but also those who plan to spend working hours in front of this monitor.

Gigabyte M34WQ Review: Best Monitor for Gaming and Work

Design

Even though the M34WQ is an ultra wide monitor, it comes in a relatively compact box – thanks to the collapsible stand and the fact that the 34-inch panel itself lies flat rather than curved. The main features of the new Gigabyte 34 inch monitor are 3440×1440 resolution, 144 Hz refresh rate, DisplayHDR 400, AMD FreeSync Premium, KVM function, USB Type-C port, and a suite of eye protection technologies.

The scope of delivery is minimum – it includes a user manual (not in the photo), an unassembled stand (assembled without additional tools), a power cable, USB 3.0 (Type-A – Type-B) cable, HDMI and DisplayPort cables. But the kit does not include an important cable – it is USB Type-C, which is required for KVM to work. Before buying such a cable, you must ensure that it supports the data transfer rate of 20 Gbps.

Gigabyte M34WQ Review: Best Monitor for Gaming and Work

The Gigabyte M34WQ is a widescreen monitor, when it comes to the design of the monitor, it is not only similar to the M-series but also very close to the G-series. We are talking about both the case and the stand. All of them are only available in black color. This 34 inch monitor has a flat IPS panel with a resolution of 3440×1440 pixels (21:9) and a refresh rate of 144Hz.

The power supply is built into the monitor, hence it is connected to the main plug with only one cable. On the same side of the case, there are all the ports for connecting the monitor to the system. We have two HDMI (2.0), one DisplayPort (1.4), 3.5 mm audio output for headphones, USB Type-C, two USB 3.0 Type-A outputs, and USB 3.0 Type-B input.

Monitor parameters are controlled in two ways. The first is the classic joystick, with the help of which the built-in menu is called up. A button for working with KVM mode is located next to it. The second method is the OSD Sidekick software for Windows, available only with a USB Type-B cable connected.

For the KVM function, switching is performed with a single press of the corresponding button. But, of course, first, you need to properly connect all peripherals, and also set the appropriate settings in the monitor menu. For example, the device connection diagram might be as follows: The first device must be connected to the monitor’s HDMI port and a USB cable (Type-A – Type-B). In this case, the keyboard and mouse must be connected to the monitor’s USB Type-A port. The second device is connected using a USB Type-C cable. For example, it can be a laptop or smartphone. Here is an important detail – the second device must support the transmission of a video signal through a USB Type-C port (this is often found in modern laptops, but not always in smartphones). The result is as follows:

For M and G-series monitors, the rear panel design is almost identical, there are only minor differences. In any case, this panel is made of plastic, or rather, of two types: the top is glossy, and the rest is matte with a slight texture. The upper glossy part reflects light sources and perfectly collects fingerprints, but, fortunately, it is oriented towards the wall – the problem of fingerprints is unlikely to be relevant to us.

The base of the stand is a V-shaped structure that provides excellent stability of the monitor on the table. The vertical part of the stand has a hole that fixes the cables at a point for further routing to the system.

The panel can be tilted relative to the surface in the range from -5 ° to + 20 °. Changing the position of the panel in height is allowed within 130 mm. It is also possible to rotate the panel 30 ° to each side. The vertical position is not provided.

Operation

Gigabyte monitor can be configured in two ways – by using the built-in menu and OSD. The built-in design menu is the same for all monitors from the manufacturer, except that depending on the series it can be of different colors and materials. The Gigabyte M34WQ menu has 8 sections, the last of which is responsible only for resetting the settings to factory defaults.

If you don’t want to use the built-in menu, so you can use the OSD program, which allows you to change the parameters and operating mode of the monitor from the operating system. The program is only available when the monitor is connected to the PC with a USB cable (Type-B). The OSD for this monitor model includes five sections (relative to non-KVM models, the KVM setting is added here). All settings insight – allows you to quickly change them using the keyboard and mouse.

Gigabyte M34WQ specifications

  • Display: 34-inch Non-glare IPS panel
  • Display Viewing Area (HxV): 799.8 x 334.8 (mm)
  • Color Saturation: 91% DCI-P3/117% sRGB
  • Resolution: WQHD (3440×1440)
  • Pixel Pitch: 0.2325(H) x 0.2325(V) (mm)
  • Brightness: 400 cd/m2 (TYP)
  • Contrast Ratio:1000:1
  • Viewing Angle: 178°(H)/178°(V)
  • Display Colors: 8bits
  • Response Time: 1ms MPRT
  • Refresh Rate: 144Hz
  • Features: VESA Display HDR400, Flicker-free, HBR3, OSD Sidekick, Aim Stabilizer Sync, Black Equalizer, Dashboard, Crosshair, Timer, Counter, PiP/PbP, Auto-Update, KVM, 6 axis Color Control, Smart OD, Kensington lock
  • Ports: HDMI 2.0 x2, Display port 1.4 (DSC) x1, USB Type-C x1, USB 3.0 x2, Earphone Jack
  • Audio: 3W x2 Speakers
  • Stand: Tilt -5°~+20°, Swivel -30°~+30°, Height 130mm
  • VESA Mounting: 100*100mm
  • Dimensions: 817.7 x 548.8 x 244.3 mm (with stand)
  • Weight: 10.22 kg (with stand)

Gigabyte M34WQ Review

Since monitor not only as gaming but also located for work functions, so it is very interesting to study its performance on this topic. In games – no complaints, the picture is of high quality (even taking into account the low resolution for 34), bright and saturated.

Changing the viewing angle affects the image, but it remains fully visible and distinguishable.

Below are two images that were taken at a slower shutter speed. In some conditions of using the monitor, some light areas can be seen with the eyes, but, in general, such situations are not very common.

The glow effect is pronounced, which is not surprising for such a large and relatively inexpensive panel.

In the case of the sample tested, the maximum brightness deviation was 10%, which is quite a good indicator for a 34-inch diagonal.

Gigabyte M34WQ Review: Best Monitor for Gaming and Work

Color uniformity is quite decent for a gaming monitor – the maximum DeltaE deviation was 2 (acceptable values ​​are less than 3).

Gigabyte M34WQ Review: Best Monitor for Gaming and Work

The gamma value exactly matches the value we set.

Gigabyte M34WQ Review: Best Monitor for Gaming and Work

The color gamut of the main spaces is decent – 120% for sRGB (not always useful, but we still have a more gaming solution) and over 80% for Adobe RGB and DCI P3.

Gigabyte M34WQ Review: Best Monitor for Gaming and Work

We are glad that the manufacturer has taken care of factory calibration. It is highly accurate for a gaming solution in its price range. The mean deviation is 0.75, and the maximum is 1.8. It is generally accepted that less than 1 and 3 are considered good indicators, respectively. So the result can be considered very good.

Gigabyte M34WQ Review: Best Monitor for Gaming and Work

Final line

The Gigabyte M34WQ monitor has the widest diagonal in the M-series that provides its owner with not only a large but also a perfect image. The manufacturer took into account all the options for using the monitor, including its near-professional use in the field of media content development. Nevertheless, the monitor is intended for games, therefore, many additional functions have been implemented in this model for gamers.

By the way, mobile games are also playable – if your smartphone is equipped with a USB Type-C port, through which there is the ability to display images, connect the smartphone to the monitor with a suitable cable – and mobile games at large. Play screen by using a keyboard and mouse. But you have to buy this cable separately (with a bandwidth of 20 Gbps) – this is the only drawback of the monitor which stings like a pebble in the eye.

Price and availability

Gigabyte M34WQ wide screen gaming PC monitor costs $499.99 and, it can be purchased via the Newegg.com, Bhphotovideo.com and Amazon.co.uk online stores. At this price, this 34 inch monitor displays a decent image and offers not only interesting but also really useful functionality.

About Ankeet Solanki

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