I’ve been a long time fan and user of Iiyama monitors, having had one of their G-Master 4K monitors for many years now, and it’s still going strong even today! They’ve often appealed to me thanks to their competitive range of features and often very competitive prices too. With that in mind, I have the new Iiyama G-Master GB3461WQSU in for review today. It’s sporting a 34-inch panel in a 21:9 format, also known as ultrawide. That’s a pretty huge panel, and it’s going to deliver impressive immersion for movies and gaming, while also giving you many of the advantages of a dual monitor configuration, with all the benefits of it being in a single display.
Iiyama G-Master
It’s certainly a well-equipped monitor, with the 34″ panel delivering an impressive 3440 x 1440 resolution over the 21:9 aspect ratio. It uses IPS technology, so the colour reproduction should be decent, and the monitor promises to deliver 100% of the sRGB and 74% of NTSC, which is certainly decent. Furthermore, it supports FreeSync premium, HDR, and has a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz, so you’ll certainly be able to get your games looking their best with this one. So, plenty of features, and as you’ll see later, a very attractive price, so let’s dive in for a closer look at what’s on offer!
- 34″ Panel (86.7cm)
- IPS Technology
- 3440 x 1440 Resolution
- 21:9 Aspect Ratio
- FreeSync Premium
- 144 HZ Refresh Rate DisplayPort
- 120Hz Via HDMI
- 16.7m 8bit Colour (sRGB: 100%, NTSC: 74%)
- HDR
- Panel brightness: 350 cd/m²
- Static contrast: 1000:1
- Response time (MPRT) 1ms
- Viewing zone horizontal/vertical: 178°/178°, right/left: 89°/89°, up/down: 89°/89°
What Iiyama Had to Say
“Widen your vision with a GB3461WQSU Red Eagle with FreeSync Premium. With IPS panel, 144Hz refresh rate, 1ms MPRT and the 3440×1440 resolution, the monitor allows hardcore gamers to unleash their gaming potential and enjoy superb image quality. The height-adjustable stand ensures you can easily adjust the screen position to your preferences and the ability to customize the screen settings using the predefined and custom gaming modes along with the Black Tuner function gives you control over the dark scenes to make sure details are always clearly visible.”
A Closer Look
This Iiyama monitor certainly makes a sound impression, with a huge panel that’s sure to dominate your vision and let you get absorbed in your media or work of choice. The IPS panel has a matte finish, so it’s good at deflecting unwanted glair too. Plus, even on a bright day, the 350-nit brightness should be able to shine through. The bezel is nice and slim on the top and sides, again keeping the ultrawide panel as the only thing that’ll grab your attention. There’s a small bezel at the bottom too, this is often thicker, but Iiyama has done a great job of keeping this minimal. Furthermore, the Iiyama logo is understated too, so as not to distract you.
On the front right of the bottom bezel, you’ll find a handy set of controls, allowing you to quickly and easily configure any settings. There’s also a standby button here for turning the monitor on/off.
Despite the larger size, the GB3461WQSU isn’t actually that thick. Obviously, it’s thinner at the edges, but even the thicker section in the middle is pretty slim. This is good news for those wall mounting it, as it’ll stick closer to the wall. The monitor isn’t overly heavy either, so mounting it on a moving arm or stand shouldn’t be an issue.
The included stand is decent too though, offering a good range of angle adjustment on both the horizontal and vertical axis.
You can easily adjust the height too, ensuring you always have the perfect viewing angle.
The base of the stand isn’t too big but keeps the monitor surprisingly stable despite the size. Just above it, there’s a cable routing hole, which should help keep the back of your desk nice and tidy.
There are a few nice gaming-focused features too, but personally, I’ve never felt these offer much to the end-user. However, it’s nice that they’re included for those that may need them.
One of the more important features has to the be AMD FreeSync Premium feature, which has to be turned on on the monitor, and your GPU should detect this once it’s enabled.
Performance
Out of the box, the monitor performed very well indeed. It’s not uncommon for a more premium monitor to deliver 100% of the sRGB colour chart, but it’s still nice to see this monitor counts as one of them. What is impressive though is that it’ll cover much of the DCI-P3 chart too. What does all this mean? Well, it has a lot more colour than you’ll see on lesser models. The reds, blues and greens are exceptionally rich.
The IPS panel does well delivering on colour accuracy too, Typically anything over 5 Delta-E can be seen by the human eye, and anything under 2 is classed as exceptionally good, which means that for the most part, a professional calibration isn’t really needed.
For a bit of photo or video editing, you’re going to get a lot of kicks out of this monitor. The ultrawide format means you’ve got a lot of room to see timelines or your editing software, and even to have multiple windows side by side with comfort.
Furthermore, accurate colours and that high refresh rate just make it a pleasant and reliable platform to do your editing work too.
As for gaming, well the photo speaks for itself. The wider level of immersion of such a wide panel is awesome. Everything moves super smoothly thanks to the FreeSync premium offering a range of 48Hz up to 144 Hz so screen tearing should be pretty much non-existent. 48Hz is a good minimum too, as it’s going to scale well with 24 FPS movie content and won’t lead to any tracking stutter.
Movies, YouTube, and all kinds of other media come in various formats, but it’s amazing just how many movies use a format wider than 16:9. While you’ll get borders on the sides for 16:9 content, movies with a wider scope will fill the screen beautifully.
Plus, with this width, you can get two screens side by side with ease.
And even a three-window configuration with one in the middle works really well. Plus 3440 x 1440 offers a good pixel density, making smaller text easy to read.
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.