iiyama G-Master GB3461WQSU review

We take a look at iiyama's 34in IPS gaming monitor, the GB3461WQSU, which costs just £349 and has a 144Hz refresh rate and 3,440 x 1,440 resolution.

Iiyama G-Master gaming monitor on white background

Our Verdict

83%

A very low price makes the GB3461WQSU a fantastic-value ultrawide gaming display, despite its few flaws.

The iiyama G-Master GB3461WQSU sports a massive 34in IPS panel, and it has a couple of key advantages going for it. The first is that, along with height, rotation and tilt adjustment, the stand includes a pivoting motion.

There’s a prominent sticker on the base of the stand telling you not to pivot the display – the display is so wide it would hit the desk in portrait mode. However, there’s enough movement room to make it easy to reach round the back to plug in cables.

You also get the addition of both picture-in-picture and picture-by-picture modes, allowing you to view two video sources at once. It’s a niche, more business-centric, feature but one that most gaming displays omit, so it’s a neat bonus here.

Likewise, the physical design is a little more on the business-focused side than other gaming displays. It’s quite a dull, boxy-looking unit, with none of the minimalist chic of the Acer Nitro XV340CKP, for instance. Still, you get an integrated carry handle, which is useful on a screen this size, and the simple rectangular foot is compact and practical.

Connection options are the usual pair of two DisplayPort 1.2 inputs and two HDMI 1.4 ports, but you only get two USB 3 ports. These sit on the underside of the back of the display, along with the headphone socket, internal power supply and surprisingly reasonable-sounding stereo 3W speakers.

Default image quality initially looks very good, with a reasonably balanced-looking colour response, and seemingly decent contrast ratio and gamma level. However, on testing, the default colour balance is actually quite far off ideal, coming in with a warm and yellow hue.

Unfortunately, this can’t quickly be fixed by opting for a different colour mode; instead, you’ll have to tweak the RGB balance (we settled on 96 x 96 x 100). With this tweak performed, though, the monitor delivers very good image quality across the board.

That said, there’s no sign of any significantly extended colour gamut for HDR. It stretches to just 112 per cent of the sRGB colour space, which is well short of meaningful HDR colour ranges. The sRGB mode also doesn’t reduce this to 100 per cent, but it’s a small enough increase to not be a concern anyway.

As for gaming performance, the GB3461WQSU put in a similar showing to the aforementioned Acer XV340CKP, with a surprisingly snappy overall response that feels like a noticeable upgrade over older 34in IPS screens. The LG 34GN850 is a little faster, but this is still a very capable gaming screen. The iiyama doesn’t have official G-Sync support, but it still worked fine with G-Sync in our tests.

iiyama G-Master GB3461WQSU pros and cons

Pros

  • Fantastic value
  • Great image quality
  • Good gaming performance

Cons

  • Poor default colour balance
  • Lacks colour gamut for HDR
  • Staid design

iiyama G-Master GB3461WQSU specs

The iiyama G-Master GB3461WQSU specs list is:

Screen size 34in
Resolution 3,440 x 1,440
Panel technology IPS
Maximum refresh rate 144Hz
Stated response time 1ms
Max brightness 400cd/m² SDR
Backlight zones 1
Stated contrast ratio 1,000:1
Adaptive sync FreeSync, unofficial G-Sync support
Display inputs 2 x DisplayPort 1.2, 2 x HDMI 1.4
Audio 2 x 5W speakers, line in, headphone out
Stand adjustment Height, rotation, pivot, tilt
Extras 100 x 100mm VESA mount, two-port USB 3 hub

iiyama G-Master GB3461WQSU price

The GB3461WQSU price is just £349, making it incredible value for a 34-inch ultrawide, 144Hz display.

Price: Expect to pay £349 GBP

iiyama G-Master GB3461WQSU review conclusion

The G-Master GB3461WQSU isn’t perfect, with less than ideal colour balance out of the box, and a rather staid frame and stand design. However, it otherwise delivers great image quality and fantastic gaming performance, all for an astonishingly low price. If you’re short on cash, but want a big gaming monitor upgrade, this is the one to buy. The GB3461WQSU’s low price and great feature set earns it a spot on our best gaming monitor list.