Hands-on review: Konka Curved Wide 32” gaming monitor
For the serious gamer wanting to purpose-build an incredible gaming structure, Konka offers the Konka KD32908CG Curved Wide 32" gaming monitor, a solution that is reasonably priced, stylish looking, easy to set up and expand upon.
I've been mulling over the possibility of creating a three-screened setup so that when I'm engaging the enemy, I get the full cockpit experience. First, I need to complete my gaming machine, but that, as I will remark later, is another story.
Design
As I assembled my review model, I was able to garner some insight as to Konka's mindset. For a 32" monitor, it's incredibly easy to handle. Weighing in at just under 9kg, setup is a quick and easy job for one person, simply requiring you to screw in three Philips-head screws and clip on the cover. Done! The black with red highlight design is delightfully minimalist, and actually makes my workspace appear far less cluttered. With a 144Hz "True Colour enhancement technology", Konka promises a true gaming experience without motion blur. The narrow framing means that you'll experience almost a seamless multi-display setup, perfect for hardcore gaming purists.
Performance and experience
By now you'll have read my previous reviews where I mention my short-sightedness. Sometimes I feel more like Mr Magoo. Whenever I get a large monitor, I rejoice. I can write and view my work with ease and without reaching for my magnifying glass. Konka say that the monitor provides a 178º viewing angle, similar to that of a bird of prey. I'm not sure how, but they appear to have avoided the blurring that occurs at the edges in many monitors, but more on that when I talk of the gaming experience. The monitor also boasts LED backlighting.
When it came to gaming, I was interested to check Konka's claims. It was time to hook up to my trusty EliteBook and head off to shoot some zombies, race a few cars, and take out some bad guys.
Hitting the asphalt with my favourite racing game proved quite an experience. The curved screen gave me the impression I was sitting in the car and gazing out the windscreen. Your eyes very quickly adjust to the curve of the screen, and I tried detecting any blurring of the motion on the periphery. Everything was crystal clear, the images bright and sharp. I wanted to see how my new Grand Theft Auto game would perform but that will have to wait for another time as it hasn't arrived yet. So I did the next best thing and went to Apple's Arcade.
It looks fantastic on the 32" curved screen, and the clip doesn't really do it justice. Suffice to say, Agent Oolster is in da house and the baddies had better step aside.
Placing three monitors together will give you an all-encompassing gaming experience, with almost seamless connections. Three Konka Curved Wide 32" monitors will set you back what you could spend on an admittedly higher specification single monitor. Having said that, you won't have nearly as much fun, and at these screen resolutions, your eyes will remain focussed thanks to the built-in eye protection (which seems standard these days).
After a few solid hours of immersing myself in the world of gaming I'd decided on two things. Firstly, I really needed to invest in some decent games. Secondly, the Konka is very easy on the eyes. There's a soothing feel when working with the monitor, which I put down to the very fast refresh rate. Even though our brains don't register the flicker of a normal monitor, it's there, playing havoc with our eyes. Fortunately for me, spectacles enhance my rugged good looks.
On the other hand, I find that trying it with word processing was a tad distracting. Words appear to 'bleed' slightly onto the page. Then I remembered the settings, and now I'm happily moving my Word and Outlook files onto the Konka monitor, and while not as clear as on my laptop, the "bleeding" has stopped.
Konka's Curved Wide 32 does a pretty good job with photo editing too. I've added some shots of my messy desk, and hopefully my shrubbery photo will delight you as much as it would Monty Python. As shown in this photo I took with my mobile phone, the Konka monitor brought the bumblebee to life.
I watched a few video clips which was an amazing experience. I'm a Star Trek fan and some of the Discovery action sequences, such as "the donut manoeuvre" were amazing on the Konka screen - much better than our aging telly.
Specifications
Resolution: Full HD 1920 x 1080 @144Hz I wasn't really sure what this meant but the Konka website explained: "Adaptive synchronization the 144Hz refresh rate speeds up the frames per second to deliver an ultra-smooth picture quality. With a rapid refresh rate of 144Hz, the time it takes for frame rendering, lower input lag and provide gamers an excellent flicker free, gaming experience.
It also boasts a very reasonable 4ms response time, hopefully translating into crystal clear action.
Connections: DP, DVI, FHD
Dimensions: 710.38 x 509.55 x 212.5mm
Cost/ value for money
Ranging from $419 - $568 according to PriceMe, this monitor is excellent value for a gaming monitor, with prices comparable to the smaller monitors of Konka's opposition.
Summary
Konka have created a well-priced mid-range monitor. It is stylish and well-mannered and if you're like me, you can multitask with ease running graphics software on the Konka and the mundane office stuff on your secondary monitor. I must also mention the LED backlighting, which will add to your gaming ambience.
