Going superwide from 4k (PG348q x34A)

Gerard · 28 Aug 2017 at 22:10

Been considering this for a while now and have been eyeing up the asus PG348q. Just unsuer if its a wise move or not. The super-wide panels look a little odd, kind of like an envelope compared to a 16:9, but there's the added bonus of it having 100hz and being less taxing compared to 4k. I know they have a new one coming later this year or early next year but with the added refresh rates upto 200hz that basically just taxes the system even more as its one of those things where i would probably try and get my fps as close to 200hz as possible even though its not really needed.

I do have some issues with my current screen, random glitches and a few dead pixels, image quality is incredibly sharp though.

Just feel that a bump upto 100hz gsync might be worthwhile as I've been at 60hz forever, (i can overclock this to 85hz at 2560 but you then lose the sharpness of the native res).

Have read some issues with these screens though, scan lines, coil whine (on a monitor??) when at 100hz, and obviously the possibility of dead pixels is a factor. Its would be either this or the acer x34a which apparently has the same in terms of possible issues. Just looking some feedback from owners of these screens, i was on eyefinity for a few years as well and enjoyed the immersion it brought to the table.

Gerard · 28 Aug 2017 at 22:57

james_2k said:
couldnt go back to 16:x no way, no how.

Any issues with your panel, buzzing, scanline or dead pixels? Its between the asus or the acer, not sure who's easier to deal with should issues arise.

Out of the box the asus is meant to look better in terms of colour calibration, the acer is prebuilt, the asus has the better interface with the joystick, the acer looks more neutral. They both have gimmicky lighting effects but i quite like the acers ambient option instead of an asus ROG logo.

Gerard · 29 Aug 2017 at 21:15

Definitely getting tempted, my only real issue is monitor companies seems to be utter bellends to deal with, asus in general have a bad rep, acer also has a bad rep, and after my dealings with Benq they're no better.

What really makes me laugh is these companies have this mad notion that you hang onto these ridiculously sized boxes that they ship the monitor in for eternity. My 2 replacements with Benq came with some drama where i had to get the delivery guy to wait for me to swap out the panels, giving me really zero time to check it over. Apparently shipping it to my address with a return label so i could arrange a pickup was beyond the realms of their comprehension. Not to mention they took several days between email responses in a lot of cases, basically dismissing every problem as "something else other than the monitor". :rolleyes:

Have to mull if over a bit

Gerard · 29 Aug 2017 at 21:57

maschio said:
In the same boat as the op. Had a PG348Q in my basket ready to go but have decided to wait it out until the PG35VQ and X35 are available.

Was thinking of those but with the higher refresh its gonna be nigh on impossible to hit 144hz plus at that kind of res in some of the newer games. The asus supposedly goes to 200hz so that'll take an ass load of gpu grunt to run. :eek:

I think 100-120 is probably more realistic for the res involved. It's less than 4k but if you start cranking up the refresh rate and want to keep it at that then it becomes more demanding than 4k the higher you go.

Gerard · 6 Sep 2017 at 18:44

Was able to try out an asus pg348q, honestly finding it hard to differentiate between 60hz and 100hz. Nothing really jumps out at me in terms of smoothness even with gsync enabled. :confused:

Maybe its more noticeable if i compare it directly to the benq panel at 60hz and the asus at 100hz?

Gerard · 6 Sep 2017 at 19:43

JediFragger said:
It's like night and day for me, but I suppose we're all different

Tried it on bf1, few games at 100hz then 60hz, besides the frame rate reading higher didn't really notice much else.

Gerard · 7 Sep 2017 at 20:00

Plonked the benq back in, with the exception of the viewing angle being obviously more narrow im struggling to see a huge difference. Adaptive sync more or less does away with the tearing as well.

Honestly overall i find it to be a little gimmicky, the curve is so subtle you barely notice it on the asus 34, its like they're trying to emulate eyefinity on a much smaller footprint. Maybe that's why i find it a bit "meh" as i had an eyefinity setup for 4 years so this seems a little underwhelming in comparison.