Iiyama G-Master GB3461WQSU 34″ Ultrawide Monitor Review

How Much Does it Cost?

Amazingly, the Iiyama G-Master GB3461WQSU Ultrawide 21:9 monitor has an MSRP of just £429. However, looking on Amazon right now, it’s actually selling for just £369.99. While I’ll admit that’s not the sort of money you find down the back of the couch, it’s still a bargain for the sheer size of monitors you get, let alone its rather extensive range of features and premium performance. If you’re looking for a monitor, this one is going to be hard to beat on value alone.

Overview

Iiyama has been making monitors for longer than I care to remember. They’re perhaps not the biggest name for gamers, but they’ve got a solid reputation of their own and their new G-Master model makes it clear that they really do know what they’re doing. I’ve seen more impressive monitors in this size and aspect ratio, but it’s not until you’re spending closer to 2.5x as much money, or over £1000, that you really start to see any big differences.

Features

At 144 Hz, it’s not the highest refresh rate on the market, but I’ll be damned if it’s not enough for most PC gamers out there. The addition of FreeSync Premium is welcomed, allowing for tear-free gameplay. If it was G-Sync it would likely cost more, but that’s a fair trade-off I think. It does have HDR too, as per the Premium part, and it’s alright I guess. It’s alright for a bit of gaming or a movie, but honestly, the SDR image looks so good and HDR muddies the black levels a little. Still, your mileage may vary depending on your content choices. The price reflects this performance though, so it’s just the added value of having it, rather than it being the main feature.

The Best Resolution?

The panel looks great, and 3440 x 1440 is a superb resolution. Notably, it’s less demanding on your GPU than 4K. 4K uses around 8.3M pixels, while 3440 x 1440 uses around 5M, Of course, it still offers a huge visual impact over a 1080p monitor or even a 2K monitor due to the extra 880px width. It being less demanding than 4K is important too, as that GPU horsepower can go to hitting 144Hz instead.

Should I Buy One?

A good ergonomic stand, slim bezels, robust connectivity options, and truly killer colour reproduction right out of the box really make this a strong contender. However, the fundamentals of a massive, ultra-wide, high refresh rate panel are what really draw the crowds. Really, I can’t fault this monitor, and at this price range, a monitor of this calibre is more attainable than ever.