Introduction

Viotek probably isn't the first name that comes to mind when thinking about PC monitors, but the brand is well-known for its competitively priced products. Their monitors usually cost noticeably less than the brand-name ones while oftentimes using identical panels, which will pique the interest of anyone who's shopping for a new screen on a tighter budget. In this review, we'll dissect one of Viotek's newest monitors, the ultrawide GNV34DBE2 coming in at $400. It's a 34" ultrawide gaming monitor equipped with a 3440x1440 VA panel with a 144 Hz refresh rate and a 1500R curvature.

The Viotek GNV34DBE2 promises a maximum brightness of 350 cd/m², a static contrast ratio of up to 4000:1, as well as a 99% sRGB color gamut coverage. Its specification sheet also mentions Picture-in-Picture (PiP) and Picture-by-Picture (PbP) functionality, which can be useful when you're considering using multiple video signal sources on a single monitor. Price-wise, the Viotek GNV34DBE2 has two competitors with somewhat similar technical specifications, the Acer Nitro XV340CK and Lenovo G34w-10. I've tested the Acer monitor in the past; it's generally solid, but has disappointing color and backlight uniformity, and it's completely flat, which causes a vignetting effect on the edges of its ultrawide panel when viewed from a normal sitting distance. I have no hands-on experience with the Lenovo G34w-10. As far as technical specifications go, it has a lower contrast ratio than the Viotek GNV34DBE2, which leads me to believe they don't use the same VA panel (Viotek does mention an "upgraded VA panel" in their product description). Also worth mentioning is Viotek's "zero tolerance" dead pixel policy—should you get one of their monitors with a single dead pixel, it will be replaced with a new one, no questions asked.



There are of course cheaper 34" ultrawide monitors available on the market, but those are based on 2560x1080 panels, which offer a pixel density of a mere 82 PPI and look desperately unsharp, which is why it's best to avoid them altogether. If you're after a 34" ultrawide monitor, I strongly urge you to focus on those featuring a 3440x1440 native resolution, like the Viotek GNV34DBE2. This resolution pushes the pixel density to around 110 PPI (at 34"), resulting in a much sharper image, and it's not insanely demanding when it comes to gaming—modern midrange graphics cards can handle it. One less obvious advantage of a 34" ultrawide monitor with a 3440x1440 native resolution is the ability to use it with no Windows GUI scaling and not having to deal with various longstanding issues related to it. Be it gaming, video, photo editing, writing reviews such as this one, or anything else, a 34" QHD monitor offers a terrific user experience. I've personally switched to this exact combination of screen size and resolution last year, both on my home and studio setups, and I'm never looking back. If you can fit a 34" QHD ultrawide monitor into your budget, do yourself a favor and go for it.

With that being said, while I do have a strong personal preference for monitors like the Viotek GNV34DBE2, let's put it through its paces and find out how it performs in real life!

Specifications