Xiaomi 34″ UltraWide QHD 144Hz FreeSync Curved Gaming Monitor Review
Peter Donnell / 4 years ago
How Much Does it Cost?
The Xiaomi 34″ UltraWide Quad HD 144Hz AMD FreeSync Curved Gaming Monitor has a list price of just £439.98, which is pretty awesome value in its own right for such a huge monitor. However, Scan is currently selling it for an even more impressive £399.98 and are the official retailers in the UK for Xiaomi. If you can find more screen and features for less, you let me know!
Plus, the added peace of mind that Scan are the official retailer means that warranty and returns can be handled in the UK, which is certainly appealing.
While I have your attention, we’ll also have a review of the Xiaomi electric scooter soon, so that should be fun.
Overview
There are a few “cost-cutting” aspects here, but nothing drastic. There’s no built-in USB hub or phone charger. There’s no Type-C display input either. Plus, the UI, while it gets the job done, it doesn’t exactly inspire either. It’s a fantastic panel overall, but at 4ms, the response is likely not a hot ticket for the eSports crowd, but considering the 1ms panels are about £1000, you can quickly see the appeal of the Xiaomi model. Are any of these things deals breakers? Not really, I can live with them just fine.
Every Day and Beyond
A big monitor is always a joy to use. For my work, I have comfortably have three browser windows open with no resizing required. I can have my work front and centre too, which feels very natural. Then reddit on the left, youtube on the right. It works well, even if I don’t, as the procrastination abilities of this monitor leave little time for work.
Joking aside, it’s a lot of real estate, and the 3440 x 1440 resolution gives you a nice sharp picture that’s great for editing work as much as it is for gaming. At 4,953,600 pixels, the monitor offers about 1.5m more pixels than a 2K (1440) monitor, that’s a lot of extra visual information. Keep in mind though, it’ll take about 30% more GPU power to keep the same frame rates you’re used to.
Calibration
Out of the box, the monitor scored an impressive 5/5 for Gamut, 4.5/5 for Tone Response and 4/5 for Colour Accuracy. That’s VERY impressive for any monitor. With a quick calibration, I got the colour accuracy up to 4.5/5 so it’s a very capable panel. You can get similar results by setting the monitor colour temperature to warm and it’ll get you close enough.
Should I Buy One?
This is an impressive monitor and while the performance is great, it’s hard to ignore that even more impressive price. A huge monitor like this, with awesome features like a 144hz FreeSync panel, ultrawide, a good resolution, etc, and it’s actually within the reach of most PC gamers budgets. Yes, it’s an expensive purchase, but for what it is and what it offers, it’s very affordable. It’s easy to setup, has a great overall design, and solid build quality.