Gigabyte G34WQCP WQHD VA 190 Hz curved gaming monitor review: Faster than ever

When shopping for high performance at a reasonable price, Gigabyte stands out as a leader. Its gaming monitors have always delivered speed, smoothness, reliability and high-quality imagery.

I’ve checked out a few of its 34-inch curved ultra-wide offerings in the past and have always come away impressed. My current subject is an update of a screen I first tested four years ago, the G34WQC. Gigabyte has added a letter making it the G34WQCP and upped the speed significantly to 190 Hz. You also get Adaptive-Sync, HDR 400 and wide gamut color. Let’s take a look.

Gigabyte G34WQCP Specs

The G34WQCP is a VA panel which means high native contrast. Most screens of this type do well to top 3,000:1, but this one hits 5,000:1 without dimming or other trickery. That means deep black levels, bright highlights and a picture with palpable texture. It also bodes well for HDR content which can never have enough dynamic range to show its full potential. The G34WQCP doesn’t employ zone or field dimming but still delivers superb HDR.

The picture is further enhanced by wide gamut color. There are no Quantum Dots here, but I measured a tick over 90% coverage of the DCI-P3 gamut. With excellent out-of-box accuracy, you can expect vivid and natural color for both SDR and HDR content. Resolution is 3440x1440, AKA WQHD, meaning pixel density is a pleasing 109ppi. It delivers high frame rates with no visible dot structure.

On the video processing side, the G34WQCP runs natively at 180 Hz with an overclock that delivers 190 Hz. I ran my review sample at full speed for many long gaming sessions without a hiccup. A well-optioned overdrive offers three fixed levels and a smart option that varies the overshoot with changes in frame rate. I found this less precise than some which resulted in a few minor ghosting artifacts. You also get a backlight strobe option called Aim Stabilizer. Adaptive-Sync works perfectly with both G-Sync and FreeSync. The G34WQCP has not been certified by Nvidia.

Gigabyte keeps the price low with a few exclusions but nothing significant. There are no USB ports or LED light bars. But there are internal speakers, two each of DisplayPort and HDMI inputs and GameAssist which offers aiming points, timers and a frame counter. There is no corner cutting on build quality which is solid. The stand and panel are a stable and rugged package that look well suited for long term use.

The best part is the G34WQCP’s price at this writing of $350. Curved monitors are no longer premium items, but you won’t be sacrificing any performance or functionality here. This level of look, feel and performance would have cost you $800 just a few years ago.

Assembly and Accessories

The G34WQCP’s three main parts come out of large blocks of crumbly foam to assemble with the help of a Phillips-head screwdriver, which you’ll need to have on hand. The panel bolts to the stand using a standard 100mm VESA mount. The included fasteners are long enough to accommodate aftermarket arms if that’s your preference. The power supply is internal, so Gigabyte has provided three different cords for different wall plugs. You also get DisplayPort and HDMI cables.

Product 360

(Image credit: Gigabyte)

(Image credit: Gigabyte)

(Image credit: Gigabyte)

(Image credit: Gigabyte)

(Image credit: Gigabyte)

(Image credit: Gigabyte)

Gigabyte keeps the G34WQCP’s styling simple and functional. The front view is all screen with thin flush bezels around the top and sides and a wider trim strip at the bottom sporting the Gigabyte moniker. There’s no visible power LED but when powered up, a soft light is projected onto the desktop. You can turn this off in the OSD.

In the back are a few subtle shapes set off in a gloss finish contrasting with a smooth matte background. There are no LEDs here. Only a larger “Gigabyte” breaks up the continuous taper from side to side. Ventilation is on top and is generous. There are no internal fans required here.

The stand is a squat and solid piece with 5/20 degrees tilt and five inches of height adjustment. There is no swivel, which is a bit unusual. The base is wide and deep, which promises and delivers stability to the desktop. In the top view photo, you can see the 1500R curve which is a popular shape for the genre. It strikes a good balance between user immersion and image distortion, of which there is none. My only nitpick here is the stand height which is lower than I’m accustomed to. Even at maximum extension, the top of the screen sits just 19.1 inches above the desktop. Most monitors can get to 21 or 22 inches. Curved screens are best enjoyed perfectly vertical, so I would suggest raising the G34WQCP up with a small platform.

The input panel is up and under the center with clear labels printed in white. You get two HDMI 2.0 and two DisplayPort 1.4 ports along with a 3.5mm headphone jack. Internal speakers play with two watts of power and sound clean at modest volumes with sound focused on the upper midrange.

OSD Features

The G34WQCP’s OSD is controlled by a small joystick. Press it to open a quick menu, click up to summon the full OSD.

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The G34WQCP’s OSD is all business with signal info at the top and six sections. Gaming is up first with all the necessary video processing features including overdrive. That comes in three fixed levels and a Smart OD option which varies the overshoot in concert with frame rates. In test patterns, I couldn’t find a perfect setting. There were always slight ghosting artifacts. Black indicates too little overshoot while white means too much. I noticed the latter less for actual content, so I went with Speed as the best choice. You can also opt for a backlight strobe, here called Aim Stabilizer. It reduces brightness by around 30% with no option for pulse width adjustment. It cuts motion blur significantly with just a slight phasing artifact. It’s one of the better implementations I’ve seen.

There are seven picture modes aimed at different uses. Standard is the default and best choice. It can be enjoyed without calibration, but a few minor changes make the picture better. To that end, there are five gamma presets and four color temps plus a user define slot with RGB sliders.

The overclock option is in the Display menu, which is turned off by default. That gives you 180 Hz while engaging it ups the value to 190. Despite the OSD’s warning about side effects, I didn’t experience any issues running the G34WQCP at 190 Hz all the time.

PIP and PBP are included in the feature list with options for PIP window size and location. You can also display two video sources side by side and swap their audio if you wish. There is no KVM here since USB ports are absent. In the System menu, you can program the joystick’s directions to different functions for quick access.

The GameAssist feature can be found in different forms on all Gigabyte gaming monitors. In the G34WQCP’s case, you get timers that count up or down, a frame rate counter and four aiming points.

Gigabyte G34WQCP Calibration Settings

Calibration of the G34WQCP is strictly optional. In the Standard picture mode, it hits the marks for color, grayscale, and gamma accuracy. I noted a very slight green tint in neutral test patterns, so I opted to adjust the RGB sliders. This made a visible improvement. To fix a highlight clipping issue, I reduced the contrast slider but kept the ratio above average. You’ll see my detailed results later. I’ve included recommended settings below. HDR content switches the monitor automatically where there are no picture controls available.

Gaming and Hands-on

Physically, the G34WQCP is familiar if you’ve used a Gigabyte monitor before. It has a nice and heft and feel that belies its low price. Monitors like this were $800 in the recent past. That you can get quality on this level for $350 is a testament for sure. I noted the lack of USB ports, which isn’t an issue since my mouse and keyboard stay attached to the same rig I use for every review. But users who like to switch out controllers will miss them. LED lights are absent as well but that’s an easy sacrifice to make when there are budgetary concerns. The stand is a bit unusual in that it sits lower than most. At full height, I had to angle the screen upward to center my viewpoint. A taller upright would be welcome. And the internal speakers, though clean and crisp, play only at polite volumes. I found myself reaching for headphones which can plug into the provided 3.5mm jack.

Once I got to gaming though, these things were quickly forgotten. The G34WQCP is lighting quick. You’ve heard of the Real Feel in weather forecasts. There’s a Real Feel when it comes to gaming monitors too. If motion is smooth enough, and responsiveness is free of perceptible delay, the numbers become less important. I’ve played on some truly spectacular gaming monitors with 240 Hz and higher refresh rates and almost no input lag. The G34WQCP feels every bit as good as one of them. I saw a few overdrive artifacts in test patterns, but in actual gameplay, they just didn’t surface to where I noticed them.

Whether whipping around maps in Doom Eternal or controlling Lara Croft’s gymnastics in Tomb Raider, the G34WQCP felt like an extension of the mouse and keyboard. It responded instantly to every command to where I didn’t have to think to move. Turning in place is amazingly quick, as is side stepping and jumping. I felt as though my reaction times shrunk within the first hour of gameplay.

The HDR image was surprisingly good. I say that because the G34WQCP has no local or field dimming to increase contrast. But it does have one of the highest contrast VA panels I’ve seen. Gigabyte specs it at 4,000:1 but my sample was right around 5,000:1 for SDR and HDR content. And HDR is very bright. The measured peak is around 435 nits, but it seemed brighter thanks to very deep black levels. Broad dynamic range also enhanced the G34WQCP’s color saturation which was excellent. It covers just over 90% of DCI-P3 but is so well balanced that it looks as colorful as anything I’ve tested short of a Quantum Dot display.

For productivity, the curvature brings the sides into a useful viewing cone without creating distortion. Spreadsheets can be viewed in large areas and it’s easy to put up two Word documents side by side for comparative editing, something I do a lot of.

Takeaway: I have no complaints about the G34WQCP’s usability as an everyday, do-it-all display. Curved monitors are great for gaming and their width works in productivity apps too. Above all, the G34WQCP is a superb gaming monitor. Its play feel and response are on par with the very best. And its image quality won’t be beaten by anything short of an OLED or premium Mini LED.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: How We Test PC Monitors

MORE: How to Buy a PC Monitor