Xiaomi Curved Gaming Monitor G34WQi Review: Think Before You Buy this One

There’s no doubt that Xiaomi makes some impressive products besides the smartphones for which it is famously known. And among those are the monitors they make for mass consumers – while there are some amazing bangers for the money that you spend, which surpasses a lot of companies that specialise in making monitors, there are some that look like a deal of a century – until you own one. In this Xiaomi Curved Gaming Monitor G34WQi review, we want you to read this before dropping your money.

Xiaomi Curved Gaming Monitor G34WQi Review

We are going to structure this review in a way that’s easier to comprehend – for every good point we make, there’s going to be a “But” because every aspect of this monitor is filled with a lot of contradictions. Let’s start.

34” Ultrawide Experience is Pretty Cool

I am not the target audience for a curved ultrawide gaming monitor but I’ll say this, if you are one, you will love the form factor. There are two impressive things Xiaomi has managed to pack into this monitor: not only it’s a 34” ultrawide curved display with 1500R curvature which many brands claim to be the ideal curve for an immersive viewing experience, but it’s also a QHD+ panel, making it the best choice to go for.

Anything more than 27”, a Full HD panel doesn’t do justice and pixels on the panel become very noticeable. But when you go for QHD and above, the panel crams more pixels per inch, giving a more pleasing experience. Now, it doesn’t use IPS or OLED, which is expected and just like most mass-produced curved gaming monitors, the Xiaomi Curved Gaming monitor uses a VA panel, creating a “best-for-both-worlds” type of experience. But…

The Colour Accuracy falls apart immediately

One of the most important aspects of a monitor is the colour accuracy, and in a curved gaming monitor, you will experience some compromises. But this one takes the cake for pretty concerning colours and viewing angles. For starters, Xiaomi does include a report on how well the colours are calibrated – which I appreciate. But it doesn’t quite live up to what the report says. If you do sit in the ideal height and look straight into the monitor, you are fine.

But when you look at the curved areas by just tilting your head, you will realise a colour shift, which shouldn’t happen. Often when I was editing videos with the monitor, after colour grading – I’d wonder why the colour was so off. And I moved the Premiere Pro video preview to my more accurate laptop display, only to realise, it was the monitor the whole time. So, for those who are looking for a monitor that hits the right colours for creation, avoid this monitor.

Gaming Experience is pretty Cool

Out of the box, you are looking at a 180Hz refresh rate with a 1ms response time gaming monitor with FreeSync support. This is great for gamers, regardless of AMD or NVIDIA GPU users because it does detect as a G-Sync Compatible monitor on our devices – which is great. My obsession with Doom Eternal will die when I die, and it’s one of the few games I played on this monitor – now, the game you play needs to be properly optimised to utilize the ultrawide aspect ratio and in this case it does.

I must say, it’s been alright – I did enjoy a fair bit of gaming with no issues whatsoever. The monitor kept up with the demanding game. Although as I have mentioned earlier curved gaming monitors are not my thing as it does make me a wee bit sick – which it did when I was playing Doom Eternal, it’s something you need to take note of, if you easily get motion sickness on an ultrawide monitor. You need to change your desk to give a better distance to make sure the monitor isn’t too overwhelming.

Not the Best for Creation or Entertainment and no HDMI 2.1

Just like we spoke earlier about the colours, this monitor isn’t the best for creation or entertainment. Watching content from Netflix or Prime Video was just underwhelming with this weird grey-ish hazy feel on top of every content. The VA Panel gives to decent blacks, but you can’t get true blacks with it. Making matters a wee bit concerning, the panel has uneven backlight which is so noticeable in the dark, that you can see the white patches of light around the borders. This is when you know, that the display is not evenly lit up.

For those who want to use this monitor for their consoles, well, take note – it doesn’t have HDMI 2.1. Not a deal breaker, but a wee bit disappointing for sure.

Picture-in-Picture with Multi-Display Input is Amazing

Picture-in-Picture, or PIP is a good feature for those who want that one monitor for everything. Because not everyone has the budget for multiple displays – this is a great feature to put into a monitor – other manufacturers could learn a thing or two from this. But yes, the monitor has 2x DP 1.4 and 2x HDMI 2.0 – and you can do PIP with upto 3 displays all outputting on the same monitor. We did it with our laptop and ROG Ally X and safe to say that the connection is extremely stable as you use it over a long duration.

However, there’s some tinkering you need to do when you set up for the first time. Or whenever you want to adjust things.

It doesn’t have a KVM Switch or USB-ports on it

Having PIP with no support for KVM and the lack of USB ports is a huge dealbreaker in my books. If you do have two devices, like Mac and Windows connected to the same monitor, it’s a shame that you cannot connect your peripherals to the monitor to use both, however you like. So, take note of this. And no, it doesn’t have a USB-C DP or PD as well, so you are stuck with legacy ports.

As for the rest…
Great Stand and has a nice RGB Glow

Xiaomi has chosen some nice thoughtful designs and functional hardware – the stand with a flat base is something I appreciate over flamboyant stands that look like they landed from outer space. The monitor offers good tilt, turn and adjustable up and down. You can replace it with a wall mount or a VESA mount if you want. It has an RGB light on the back, is very subtle and can be customized.

Joystick control for OBD is good

The only control for OBD should be Joystick control and that’s what you will find here. Very easy to control, legible fonts with the right meaning and straightforward setup, with no complicated terms. I am a fan of this.

Conclusion

Here’s the thing about the Xiaomi Curved Gaming Monitor G34WQi, it makes a lot of the right steps but in the wrong direction, and every time I want to love something, there’s always something I don’t like about it either. I must say, this monitor gives me a mixed bag of emotions. It gets even more complicated when you find out the price, as this monitor is priced at RM 1,499. that’s a price tag you find on premium monitors with more features. So, before you bite the bullet trying to get this, I want you to think 10 times before you do it. Only get it if there’s a huge discount.

Honestly, I would say – save another extra RM 300+ and get their Mini LED monitor which is a shockingly better purchase. Just saying.

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