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The LC-Power M34-UWQHD-165-C has been an interesting screen to test over the last few weeks. targeting the more affordable end of the market, it offers a 165Hz VA ultrawide panel for £369, but I've seen it as a low as £290 in the last few weeks.
This review has also been the first time we have deployed our new monitor test methodology, and the M34 performed fairly well in our tests. Out of the box colour balance could be better, something which leads to some inaccuracies with greyscale testing, but 100% sRGB and 88% DCI-P3 gamut coverage is decent, as is overall colour accuracy which delivered a dE of 2.75.
Once calibrated however, performance improved to exceptional levels across the board, with excellent colour accuracy, colour balance and gamma.
The range of brightness on offer is also decent, with a minimum of 31 nits and a maximum of 375. Contrast is the star of the show however, with a very impressive 4500:1 ratio being recorded across the board – good even by VA standards!
Unfortunately, response times and overall motion clarity do let this screen down. While we did record a best-case average response time of 7.49ms using the Ultrafast overdrive mode, this panel exhibits clear issues with dark-level smearing, and that has a noticeable effect on image quality and motion clarity. This is unfortunately a known issue with cheaper VA panels, and it is present here with the M34.
That does make it tricky to recommend this as a gaming-only display as other screens can offer noticeably improved motion clarity with less smearing. However, if you do find the M34 on sale for less than £300 as I have seen it, then it is still worth considering – ultrawides don't get much cheaper, and it still provides decent image quality and advantages for productivity. I just don't think it is quite fast enough to be relied upon solely for gaming.
You can buy the LC-Power M34-UWQHD-165-C from Amazon HERE.
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Pros
- On sale for as low as £290 over the last few weeks.
- Decent colour performance out of the box.
- Excellent colour and gamma performance once calibrated.
- Very strong contrast.
- Low minimum brightness.
Cons
- Slightly wonky gamma curve.
- Default colour temperature a touch cool.
- Best overdrive mode only delivers 57% refresh rate compliance.
- Visible dark-level smearing is distracting.
- Maximum monitor height is still a touch too low for my preference.
KitGuru says: There are improvements to be made but it may still be worth considering if you can find it on a good sale.
