Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsgood monitor at a great price
Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2020
I will preface this review by framing the parameters in which this product operates: price to performance.
This is not a halo product, not the best of the very best. But then, it is not competing in that class. Viotek is aiming to provide a solid ultrawide experience at an affordable price, and to that end they have succeeded admirably.
The display is sharp and well lit, although it could be a little brighter for HDR reasons, since it apparently supports HDR 10(?) and yet does not advertise anything related to HDR. I'm not educated enough on that particular feature so I will consider it a welcome bonus and leave it at that.
For contrast it has the usual benefits of a VA panel and colors look gorgeous, especially in a low light environment. Colors are lush and beautiful, not as color accurate as IPS so don't get this monitor if you are doing video editing, Photoshop, etc. as a professional.
For speed, it operates well up to 144hz, at medium overdrive settings I dont notice any issues. Beware of high, ghosting is bad and not worth any speed increases.
For design, it is simple and usable. Nothing fancy but then that means the compromise was made there so you could get a better display. Worth it.
The menu is clumsy but usable. Oh well.
Hardware needs: This is a 1440p ultrawide, you are pushing considerably more pixels than standard 1440p, a little bit less than midway between that and 4k. You will want a solid gpu if you want to game at high settings and above. Right now from AMD that means realistically a 5700xt, maybe 5700. Or a VII if you happen to have that already. Even then you are about on the edge there, and I say that as a happy owner of a 5700xt. RDNA2 I assume will handle this resolution like a champ, but that isn't out yet. For Nvidia 2070 Super as the minimum and up from there. 3080 should pound those frames if you can find one, I assume 3070 will as well if the rumored performance is accurate. For any gpu operating with less than 8gb of vram you may have issues gaming at higher settings, so don't pair this monitor with something less than upper mid-range as a long term solution.
Final thoughts: at base price this is a good experience, a solid compromise if you need to spend money elsewhere, like on gpu. This monitor is fantastic for gaming, and good enough for light productivity. Not recommended if your primary use is color sensitive work, recommended otherwise.
