It is entirely unfair to any future curved gaming monitor I review that I ever tested and reviewed MSI’s MAG QD-OLED (341CQP). It was true love: forbidden and, dare I say, a little dangerous.
Yet it wasn’t a love long for this world. MSI wanted their precious back, leaving me to find a rebound. So, I feel bad for Xiaomi’s 34-inch VA panel curved gaming monitor. It’s not the monitor’s fault that it’s not my beloved QD-OLED. I’d be foolish to expect it to be remotely close in quality at about a quarter of the price. So, I tried with all my might to view it from an unbiased perspective.
Even putting MSI’s 34-inch behind me, though, Xiaomi’s lacked the punch that I expect from all curved gaming monitors. It is, after all, meant to fully immerse me in my gaming experiences, but muted colors that wouldn’t properly calibrate and a soft haze that wouldn’t go away hindered my time with this budget high-resolution display. The true saving grace here is the price.
The monitor does sport a few neat features that, while not necessary, help round out an experience that could appeal to many gamers.
If you’re not a gamer, you’ll have little to no need for much this monitor has to offer. For example, a 180Hz refresh rate is overkill for office work but ideal for tense multiplayer firefights. This is where Xiaomi pulled me in and made up for the relatively glaring color issues.
I booted up the twitchiest game I own, DOOM: Eternal, and, in real-time, adjusted the refresh rate from its lowest to its highest settings. At lower rates, flicking my shotgun between targets was noticeably blurry. When I turned on FreeSync, it was a much smoother animation.
Unfortunately, a game can run smooth all it wants, but if the colors are off, the visuals won’t read well. I struggled to color-match the 34-inch display, even after I sat with it for an hour and ran every compatible calibration test I could find. It just wouldn’t color-match my primary monitor. Even if the coloring was accurate, though, the brightness was still an issue. Nothing on the screen popped, leaving even the most vibrant worlds to look slightly muted and dull.
Ghostwire: Tokyo’s neon city may not have had that luminous allure, but the dungeons of Castle Dimitreescu displayed well. To give credit where it’s due, the monitor handled blacks surprisingly well, and HDR 10 helped bring a little life to little contrasting pops of color.
There are few things I dislike more about monitors than having to scroll through their never-intuitive settings. Xiaomi didn’t fix my hatred for menus, but the bevy of available settings made the annoyance worthwhile.
Along with the usual picture and color adjustments, the monitor had a few neat surprises. MSI first introduced me to Picture-in-Picture (PiP), and I was glad that it was included in Xiaomi’s model. I can’t decide how practical it is for all users, though I venture it could benefit streamers. I, admittedly, had no practical use for PiP, but I am a shill for neat add-ons and features
If you’ve owned a gaming monitor before, you’ll already be used to the built-in crosshair, which you can toggle and customize. Is it cheating? Of course, but who’s gonna know?
One gripe I did have about MSI’s QD-OLED is that there was a little too much to it. I tend to believe the simpler, the better. It leaves less to malfunction and cause issues down the line. Xiaomi doesn’t overload its 34-inch with too much to fiddle with.
Beyond specific use-case perks like PIP, everything else is pretty practical. A variety of display and refresh rate modes specifically enhanced the gaming experience, especially for those who notice the slight shifts in contrast, brightness, and sharpness. I didn’t find anything beyond the Standard mode to be all that great for the picture, but that typically comes down to a matter of preference..
When looking at the big picture, you get a budget curved monitor that sacrifices a touch of quality for an affordable option perfect for the casual gamer. While I’d be okay paying a little more for more vibrant colors, I can appreciate if the sacrifice in quality was to keep the cost lower and reach a broader audience.
