A big, fast IPS panel for the 4K equivalent of pocket change
RPS supporters, who are very generous and probably smell fantastic, might recall a post last week in which I gushed about anElectriq eiQ-32M4K144FSthat I’d bought secondhand. What this4K gaming monitorlacks in brand recognition, it makes up for in smooth performance, despite being absolutely dirt cheap – and you can pick one up for yourself, brand new, in theearly Black Friday sales.
This is a UK-only deal, as I can’t find as the eiQ-32M4K144FS on sale at all from a US retailer. But I can’t stress enough what good value this monitor is for £380: that’s 1440p money, usually, but the eiQ-32M4K144FS is a full 3840x2160 display with a generous 32in of screen space. Between the 144Hz refresh rate andAMD FreeSync/Nvidia G-Syncsupport, it’s also remarkably stacked for gaming features; I’ve seen for myself how well G-Sync, for instance, eliminates screen tearing on the IPS panel.
There’s even HDMI 2.1 connectivity, something that’s mainly only found on high-end monitors, though it this is mainly useful if you want to connect a PS5 or Xbox Series X/S to it as well as your PC. For your desktop, DisplayPort still provides the best results.
Colour performance is perfectly respectable too, as you’d expect from an IPS display. The only catch is that maximum brightness isn’t all that high, so it lacks a certain affinity for HDR. Build quality is also altogether more representative of the low price than gaming performance is, especially in the narrow, non-height-adjustable stand.
Still, I’ve comfortably used my own eiQ-32M4K144FS for hours and hours. If you possess a suitably powerfulgraphics cardfor 4K but have never had the cash reserves to upgrade your monitor, this is an excellent chance.
