Asrock Phantom Gaming 34 (PG34WQ15R2B) Review

Asrock, the Taiwanese manufacturer best known for motherboards, is now dabbling in gaming monitors as well. Our first efforts in this space include the Asrock Phantom Gaming 34 (PG34WQ15R2B), an ultra-wide 34-inch display with a 1,500mm curve. It’s packed with fun, including his Wi-Fi antenna, the world’s first for a gaming monitor that Asrock claims. Its color gamut and brightness ratings aren’t the most impressive, but the ultrawide monitor packs a lot for a surprisingly low $429.99, and it’s enough to stand out from the stiff competition in these inflationary times.

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Don’t go deep into your wallet, go wide

The 34-inch Phantom Gaming has a familiar design that we’ve seen in cheap monitors before. His three-prong base, made of sturdy hard plastic, lifts the monitor off the table. The stand itself is heavy, but I did notice a fair amount of shaking when moving the monitor. Worth a bobblehead, to be exact. It doesn’t feel unstable, but it’s close to it. Wobble aside, the monitor has plenty of (deliberate) range of motion. You can adjust the height, rotate and tilt just the right amount. Yes, it is VESA mountable.

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

The monitor measures 22.6 x 31.8 x 11.14 inches (HWD) and weighs 19.4 pounds, lighter than recent 34-inch monitors such as the BenQ Mobiuz EX3410R and Cooler Master GM34-CWQ ARGB. Its slight curve gives it a wider wingspan that takes up more space on your desk compared to some competitors that feature narrower curves. appear larger, resulting in deeper perceived blacks while reducing glare. (The “R” stands for “radius.” If enough Phantom Gaming 34 monitors were placed end-to-end to form a circle, the radius would be 1,500mm, or 1.5 meters.) Immersive Some simulation games prefer curved monitors.But for my money the 1500R works pretty well Any game genre.

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

Flip the monitor over to reveal three Adidas-like stripes that act as button shortcuts for display settings and a power button. The OSD control stick is just above it. I was skeptical of this avant-garde design choice at first, but it works just fine. Markings on the side of the panel indicate the function of each button. Centrally located is a discreet port hub with two HDMI 2.0 ports, one DisplayPort input and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Perhaps for budgetary reasons, this model does not have a pass-through USB port.

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

What the Phantom Gaming 34 lacks in extra ports, it makes up for in two other interesting features: a pair of 2-watt speakers and a Wi-Fi antenna housed in the monitor’s stand. By connecting two antenna cables (included) between your monitor and your PC, you can take advantage of the display’s Internet capabilities. This is a useful feature for those who have a wireless signal that can use a boost and want to break free from Ethernet cables.

The included speakers do their job, but when you crank up the volume, they sound a bit small and hollow, with no bass.

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

The cabinet has no RGB lighting and has limited OSD settings, with a few preset modes and a few color temperature settings.

Under the surface, you’ll notice that Asrock opted for VA panels over IPS panels. VA panels are known for offering deeper blacks and enhanced shadows and highlights, while IPS panels cover a wider color gamut and generally look great from wide viewing angles. This does not mean that VA panels cannot cover enough color. For content creators and professional video editors, they probably wouldn’t be your first choice.

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Phantom Gaming 34 test: Good enough for occasional play

Anything can happen in the game monitor rat race. We’ve seen a shortage of high-end monitors, with budget models well above its weight class. So how does the Phantom Gaming 34 fare against its competitors? To help you out, we ran some benchmarks using the Datacolor SpyderX Elite monitor calibration sensor and compared it to displays of similar size and resolution.

First, we test the monitor’s brightness out of the box in its default image mode using an SDR signal. is below HDR brightness measured 459 nits, passing the VESA DisplayHDR 400 standard. Note that these are the default settings, so you can theoretically achieve higher brightness, but you’ll have to fiddle with the settings to do so.

For contrast, we measured a black level of 0.28 and a contrast ratio of 1,080:1. Contrast ratio indicates the brightness of the brightest whites and darkest blacks that a monitor can produce. It makes a difference in image quality, especially in dark scenes of gameplay. Gaming monitors with IPS panels typically shoot at contrast ratios of 1,000:1 or higher, and this is true for VA panels as well. Asrock monitors aren’t the stars in comparison, but they’re more than adequate as far as contrast is concerned.

Our gamut coverage results paint brighter, or at least more vibrant, images.Asrock spans 100% of the sRGB gamut, 82% of Adobe RGB, and 87% of DCI-P3. These are respectable numbers and can be compared with the competition. Color accuracy is also good, measuring a delta E of 1.4, beating out all the competition in this lot except for the ViewSonic Elite XG341C-2K (which we’ll review soon).

Higher Delta E tends to result in colors further away from the intended hue. Values ​​less than 1 are ideal, but gamers usually don’t care too much about exact color accuracy. Instead, they’re more concerned with reducing lag and tear leading up to the next section.

Media and game performance

Asrock holds its own well enough in plain measure for a monitor in its price range, but we have to consider the last important stat: input lag. Using the HDFury Diva HDMI matrix, I measured an input delay of 3.5 ms. This one lands headlong in the middle of the competition. Esports pros and hardcore fans will no doubt want even lower input lag, but it’s more than enough for just about every other player.

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

A 165Hz refresh rate can handle plenty of fast-paced shooters like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Overwatch 2. The feature also works with his Nvidia GPU, so no matter what graphics card you’re using, you shouldn’t run into any issues. In our tests, we didn’t see much ghosting and no screen tearing at all.

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Verdict: A Budget Option For Casual Gamers

The 34-inch Asrock Phantom Gaming monitor surprised me with its performance. It may not have had the best overall test results, but its strength lies in its value. At just $429, he’s one of the better deals you can find on a monitor this size. And with built-in features like his built-in Wi-Fi antenna and speakers, it’s a great choice to cut costs in building your next computer. If you’re willing to make some sacrifices to get a big widescreen, you’ll find the Phantom Gaming 34 to be a worthwhile Spectre.