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    Hardware support: My review and experience of Viotek's 21:9 120hz $229 Budget FreeSync Monitor

    August 17, 2020

    Hardware support: My review and experience of Viotek's 21:9 120hz $229 Budget FreeSync Monitor

    My review and experience of Viotek's 21:9 120hz $229 Budget FreeSync Monitor

    Posted: 16 Aug 2020 01:10 PM PDT

    Viotek GNV29CB Specifications

    • 29" 2560x1080, 1200R Samsung VA Panel with 95PPI. This is slightly better than a 24" 1080p monitor has (92ppi)
    • 75hz/120hz (overclock)
      • Oddly, when connected to a RTX 2070 via DP - Windows reported 60hz & 120hz instead of 75hz
    • 5ms G2G Response Time
    • 48-120hz FreeSync Range (supports LFC)
    • 99% sRGB Coverage, 85% NTSC
    • 3000:1 Contrast Ratio

    The Short Version (TLDR):

    GOOD

    • This is a mini version of the Nixeus EDG34, which I reviewed here
    • Decent Colors & Response Times
    • Crisp text & images despite use of 2560x1080 panel because of the smaller panel size, it's PPI is slighter better than a 24" 1080p monitor.
    • Because it has a lower resolution, you don't need a $800+ GPU to play games at high refresh rates. A RX 5600XT or stronger will be sufficient for an acceptable high refresh rate experience.
    • VESA Compatible
    • At $200-$230, it can be less than half the cost of comparable 3440x1440 monitors
    • 120hz with LFC Compatible FreeSync Range

    Neutral

    • Basic stand with tilt only adjustment
    • No Speakers

    Bad

    • Rare brightness flickering. It only happens in scenarios where the Nixeus EDG34 would also encounter it - usually loading screens.

    The Long Version

    For the longest time I've been hearing about various 120, 144, and 200hz 29" Ultrawide monitors from various brands. While I could find a few reviews of the 200hz models from Sceptre, I could only find a few unboxing videos of the other models. And trust me, I looked everywhere. I reached out to Viotek, and pointed out how there weren't any reviews of their monitor out there and how that's a big red flag to enthusiasts to me, and they sent me a review unit.

    Now I'm not a professional monitor reviewer by any means, but I am a very critical enthusiast. The last time I reviewed a monitor here, it was of the Nixeus EDG34 - and folks like Hardware Unboxed and other professionals echoed my thoughts when their reviews finally arrived.

    My biggest hope is that by making this post, one of them will see this post and then also review it, so that y'all can see how good this monitor really is. In my opinion Viotek's GNV29CB is the Ultrawide value king that nobody is talking about.

    I was originally worried that it would be a low quality unit due to the low price of this monitor and it's VA panel. The long story short is that it's basically a mini version of Nixeus' EDG34 and the other $400-$600 3440x1440 120-144hz Ultrawides.

    They both use newer Samsung panels, the main difference between the two is that the Nixeus has a slightly higher PPI with it's 34" screen having 109ppi vs the 29" model's 95ppi - and the Nixeus has a more pronounced 1500R curve instead of the 1200R curve which the Viotek model comes with.

    I lack the equipment to properly show off the quality of the Viotek's screen in video, but I do have a cell phone with a "good enough" camera with a still image. So here's a picture of a Nixeus EDG34 next to the Viotek GNV29CB, both showing the same background image. It should be good enough to show they have similar quality panels.

    https://imgur.com/a/rb6gLUq

    And here's a video of them side-by-side. Remember, my camera sucks for video. This is for comparative purposes only. These monitors both perform much better than this video looks like.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27GHaBtR8UU

    Both the Nixeus and the Viotek models offer basic functionality with no bells and whistles, they use the same OSD, and the body of the monitors looks virtually exactly the same down to the grill at the top of the monitor. Both models come with very basic stands, but this is forgivable given their low cost and because they are both VESA compatible.

    As they use very similar panels produced by the same manufacturer, the strengths and weaknesses of both monitors are similar. With Samsung VA panels they offer decent colors and the overall response times of both monitors provide a good 120hz experience while gaming, though certain darker transitions are slower. Brightness flickering is almost non-existent with both models, limited mainly to some loading screens. The Viotek doesn't support HDR, but the HDR on most cheap monitors usually sucks so that's probably a good thing.

    3440x1440 is obviously a superior experience, but you can purchase a GPU capable of powering the Viotek GNV29CB and the monitor for almost half the cost of a 3440x1440x144hz monitor & a GPU capable of powering it.

    While 34" vs 29" sounds big on paper, it's not as big of a difference as it sounds IMO. 34" ultrawides are about 1.5" taller. This shows you an exact size comparison: http://displaywars.com/29-inch-21x9-vs-34-inch-21x9

    At higher settings, even 2560x1080 be challenging for a strong GPU sometimes. For example, I ran Far Cry V at normal settings 2560x1080 with a RTX 2070, where it's somewhat CPU limited with an average 109fps. But if I run the same benchmark at 3440, it drops to 77fps. That's 32 frames a second, which is quite significant.

    If you're running things with fancier graphics settings, it can get brutal. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider with the Medium Graphics + Medium Ray Tracing, I average 61 frames per second at 3440x1440, but at 2560x1080 you'll get 92fps at those settings - or 66fps fps with high graphics + high ray tracing.

    In my opinion, the Viotek presents a great budget option for gamers who are on a budget but want a high refresh ultrawide experience. It can be found for $200-$230 online - a price comparable to LG's 75hz 29" models.

    Overall, the experience of the Viotek GNV29CB is the same as the Nixeus EDG34 - it's just 1.5" shorter. I genuinely recommend this monitor. I now use my Nixeus EDG34 for office work because of it's larger size and slightly better PPI, but use the Viotek when I'm gaming and want to maintain higher framerates.

    Edit: Spelling. Neutral, not Nuetral.

    submitted by /u/bizude
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