Although I'm much more a casual than "hard core" gamer, my PC use is 90%+ gaming with the rest a mix of productivity applications with a sprinkling of internet use. My games of choice are somewhat slower paced - Elder Scrolls Online takes most of the time, with Cities: Skylines following a distant second with strange mix of games rarely played after those; while my productivity apps are centered heavily around Microsoft applications: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
I upgraded from a 2 year old Samsung 1080p 27" display, freeing up that monitor for my son's new PC. (No way I could let him get the new monitor!) My PC is more gaming-oriented, based on an Intel 6600k and an nVidia GTX 970.
Unboxing and Setup
Amazon shipped the monitor in a larger box, so the monitor's box was pristine when I removed it from the shipping box. Inside the monitor box, everything was easily accessible. You only needed to remove one piece of styrofoam to get everything out - stand, manuals, cables, and display. It comes with an HDMI and a DisplayPort cable (which is mini-DP on the monitor end), along with the power brick.
If you follow the instructions provided, setup is a breeze: remove the stand from the box, lift the top styrofoam, attach the stand to the display still in the box, press the cable cover on, then lift the monitor out by the stand and set on desk.
The monitor comes with the combo HDMI/power cable pre-installed. I wanted to use the DisplayPort, rather than HDMI, to attach the display; I had to remove the cable guide cover, remove the HDMI cable, install the power and DP cable, and replace the cable guide cover. The cover slides up, for reference. Minor annoyance to have to switch cables, but I have no idea what "most people" use to connect their displays; maybe HDMI is more common. Flip side, the guide is a nice touch.
Otherwise, setup and connection was simple. The monitor was recognized by my already-running PC and I was off - just like it should be. Windows 10 even automatically reset resolution to 2k.
Appearances
The monitor looks sleek and modern on my desk. Appearances aren't much, but this monitor doesn't let down regardless. The curve looks very cool, the monitor's body thickness looks natural; it plays the part of looking engaging for the user. The bezel is thin, although the gap from the actual edge of display to the edge of frame is much larger - this isn't a good candidate for side-by-side displays. Finally, it's white, which while a terrible contrast with my gaming setup with almost all-black components still looks good on its own.
The display is matte, and does a fair job limiting reflection. My desk is set where there's a window behind me. Ambient light from outside can generate a reflection on the screen, however this monitor does a much better job than my old matte screen Samsung. It'd probably not hold up under direct sunlight, but it's quite good for my workspace.
Stand
I've seen some complaints about the stability of the stand. My old Samsung's stand was miserable, wobbling under the smallest bump of the desk. I won't lie and say this stand is rock-solid, but it's adequate. It doesn't shake or wobble under "oh crap I'm about to die" key-mashing and mouse swinging moments in ESO so it's good enough for me. It doesn't have an ISO mount; I knew this going in so I didn't ding it for that, but it's still a shame.
Color
Color is one of the primary considerations for my purchase - at least, within the expectations I had for casual gaming and productivity.
Turning it on, the first thing I noted was the color was much colder (more blue) compared to my old display - a similar experience to switching to true-white LED bulbs. I got over that quickly when I saw how white whites were, and how dark blacks were; night-and-day (pun intended?) difference from my old display.
This monitor has beautiful, rich color. It's vibrant, excellent color depth; it's plain nice to look at. My Digital Blasphemy backgrounds appear much richer, much more visually appealing. I'm sure there's error in there, but for my untrained eye the color is exceptional. It easily exceeds my wife's "true" gaming monitor in terms of color.
Gaming
This is a 60hz display with FreeSync and 4ms response. If you play games where you measure framerate and refresh time as part of reaction time, this isn't your display. But, then you're not looking at it anyway; for the rest of us:
Elder Scrolls Online supports up to 2560x1440 (1440p or 2k), matched by this display; one of the reasons chose it. I was very quickly impressed; between the richness of the color and the enhanced resolution, I could see the beauty that is Elder Scrolls Online even more clearly. Contrast between light and dark was dramatically enhanced. Details made crisper by the higher screen resolution were further enhanced by depth and vibrancy of color. The sky didn't wash out. Light sources didn't drown details, and darkness didn't completely hide textures.
The curve absolutely adds to the immersiveness of the gaming experience. (For those who play games like the Elder Scrolls series, immersion is holistic.) Rather than being distracting, the curve quickly disappears as you play to add a sense of depth to the experience flat missing (pun intended) from a non-curved display. While just a small increment, it's a step in the right direction.
I have an nVidia video card so I couldn't take advantage of FreeSync. With that in mind, I won't comment on screen tearing as there's nothing special about this display vs. any other in my scenario.
Productivity
There is no doubt that the curve takes some adjustment. In a strange way, the monitor seems wider than my old 27"; I find myself turning my head more when working in Excel or hunting menu options in Word or PowerPoint, something I didn't do with my older monitor. I chalk this up partly to the curve as the edges are further away by circumference than on a flatscreen. While I'm getting use to it, I'm still adjusting - and have to re-adjust each time I work from home as my office displays are flat.
The 2k resolution on a 27" display makes for relatively high DPI. While it looks incredibly sharp, I found myself needing to adjust either zoom or adjust Windows DPI settings to make sure the monitor useful in productivity or internet surfing. While I like small, sharp fonts, I found I couldn't read easily and started getting eye strain until I adjusted.
This monitor is sharp. If there's anything about a productivity monitor that has to be right, it's limiting the "fuzziness." This monitor nails it. It's also very bright. Some people will want to turn down brightness to prevent eye strain for longer working sessions - although I've not had a problem.
It works for working - a low, if important, bar to clear.
Misc Stuff
The OSD takes a moment to figure out. Short press for basic controls (Brightness, Contrast), long press for advanced controls, tilt the button to navigate. Once you figure it out, it seems easier than what I've experienced on other displays; to me, the "joystick" control is much more intuitive than 3 or 4 button OSD controls.
I haven't figured out how to turn it off when the computer is running. There's only one button, which activates the OSD. Power might be in the OSD and I just didn't notice because I wasn't looking for it at the time.
The Power LED is "backwards:" lit when the monitor is off and off when the monitor is on.
Finally...
Overall, this display is exactly what I was looking for. It's reasonably priced, has exceptional color, 2k resolution, performs well in both gaming and work scenarios. For me, this is a 5-star display.
| Standing screen display size | 27 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 2560x1440 |
| Max Screen Resolution | 2560x1440 Pixels |
