Cooler Master GM34-CWQ2 ARGB, 34"

Im Gaming-Alltag weiß der Cooler Master GM34 -CWQ2 Curved Gaming Monitor durchaus zu überzeugen. Mit einer sehr genauen Farbwiedergabe, einer zuverlässigen Bildwiederholungsrate von 180 Hz und einer Bildverzögerungszeit von nur 0,5 ms, ist der Monitor wie gemacht für anspruchsvolle Gamer. Schwächen erlaubt sich der GM34 lediglich in Farbverläufen und in der nicht ganz akkuraten Ausleuchtung. Wer gerade einen QHD-Monitor im Ultra-Wide Format sucht könnte hier goldrichtig sein, denn mit ein wenig Glück kann der Curved Gaming Monitor für unter 400€ erworben werden.

As a standalone product, the Cooler Master GM34-CWQ2 is a very good ultrawide gaming monitor. It has a 180 Hz refresh rate, very low input lag, good motion handling, a fully adjustable overdrive level, timers, virtual crosshairs, and everything else you might need to truly enjoy your gaming sessions, and even have a competitive edge over participants with lesser monitors. The curved 34-inch ultrawide panel offers excellent immersion in games but also does wonders for any kind of productivity work, as it lets you comfortably use two Windows side-by-side. You also get the luxury of fully utilizing the available screen real estate, as there's no need to use Windows scaling; the monitor is perfectly usable at 100% scale level. If we look at it as a successor to last year's GM34-CWQ ARGB, then things become more complicated. You're getting a higher refresh rate panel, reduced input lag, more overdrive options, improved OSD, and an integrated KVM switch. The latter is useful enough to make the decision easy for anyone who's looking to use the monitor with two separate systems connected simultaneously. However, you're also getting a lower quality VA panel, with worse color accuracy (at least before calibration) and halved static contrast ratio. In other words, the Cooler Master GM34-CWQ2 is even more responsive when gaming, and infinitely more practical to use in dual system setups, but its picture looks less punchy. With the MSRP pricing set to $470, the GM34-CWQ2 should in fact cost less than its predecessor, which currently goes for $500. This is a good call on Cooler Master's behalf, one that makes a slight reduction in uncalibrated color performance easier to tolerate. Also worth pointing out is the fact that competing 34-inch 180 Hz ultrawide monitors cost significantly more - the Asus ROG Strix XG349C goes for $770, and the ViewSonic Elite XG340C-2K will set you back $700. The Asus TUF Gaming VG34VQL3A is $70 less expensive, but doesn't use Quantum Dot technology. There's definitely room on the market for the Cooler Master GM34-CWQ2.

The GM34-CWQ2 provides an interesting new option in the mid-tier 34″ monitor market. It provides a nice range of features and extras for the price point, along with some generally solid all round performance. We liked the inclusion of things like USB type-C connection (with 65W power delivery), KVM function, PiP/PbP modes and even some modest 2x 5W integrated speakers. It helps make it a pretty versatile monitor for general uses, work and play.

When it comes to quality, Cooler Master has kept things realistic while focusing on all the important aspects as appropriate. The casing is relatively bland plastic with a printed logo on it. There’s no trick RGB thrills, there isn’t a super-fancy stand made from aluminium or anything like that, but honestly, having used this monitor daily for some time now, I’m happy to say that in a dim room, the monitor blends into the gloom and the only thing I ever see if the panel, and it’s a stunning panel at that. The brightness is excellent, and I never found the need to push it was 40/100 on the slider, and at 100% it’s dazzlingly bright at nearly 500 nits, making it a bit of a light cannon for counteracting bright rooms and sunny days. Like most VA edge-lit panels, the HDR performance is hit-and-miss, and the HDR400 rating tells you as much. The colours look amazing in games like Horizon, but it lacks detail in dark scenes and bright areas in night scenes can lead to a pretty grey image overall, so I suggest sticking with SDR for this monitor. That being said, with a striking contrast ratio over 4000:1, great black levels (in SDR), high peak brightness, and colours that are vibrant, accurate and colour a large section of the AdobeRGB and DCI-P3 colour scales, you will be very happy with what you get from it. Plus, VA panels respond really well, and it does not suffer from the ghosting or smudging from fast-moving objects either, which is great. At 165 Hz using the stock settings, it’s fast, but you can just as easily set it to 180Hz (OC) to push it a little harder, and since I’ve used it pretty much exclusively at 180 Hz, I can’t see that there’s any negative effects from doing this. The panel supports FreeSync Premium, and as I’ve been running it on an RTX 4090 with G-Sync, again, I’ve had no problems with screen tearing, flickering or dropped frames, it just works great right out of the box.