Gawfolk 32-inch 180Hz Monitor Review UK 2026

A monitor is something you’ll stare at for hours every single day. Get it wrong and it’s not just money wasted. It’s eye strain, it’s frustration, it’s wondering why that game doesn’t look as good as it should. So when a 32-inch curved VA panel with 180Hz refresh lands on my desk for under £150, I’m immediately suspicious. Three weeks of testing later, I’ve got answers.

But here’s the thing – not everyone sits 60cm from their screen. If you’re gaming from the sofa, if you’ve got the monitor mounted further back, or if you simply don’t care about razor-sharp text because you’re playing fast-paced shooters, the lower pixel density becomes far less relevant. And the trade-off? You get 180Hz refresh at a price point where most competitors are stuck at 75Hz or 100Hz.

I’ve tested this panel extensively and it behaves exactly like you’d expect a budget VA to behave. Blacks are proper blacks – none of that IPS glow nonsense where dark scenes look grey. The 1800R curve is gentle enough that it doesn’t feel gimmicky, and at 32 inches it actually adds a bit of immersion without distorting the image.

The colour shift is noticeable though. If you’re sat directly in front, colours look fine. Move 30 degrees off-axis and you’ll see brightness drop and colours wash out. This isn’t a panel for collaborative work or watching films with mates gathered round. It’s a single-user gaming display.

Let’s be honest – this is a VA panel, so you’re getting VA response times. That means dark-to-dark transitions are slow (12-15ms) and you’ll see some smearing in high-contrast scenes. But in brighter game content, it’s actually fine. The 180Hz refresh helps mask some of the slower pixel transitions, and the input lag is low enough that competitive gaming feels responsive.

I spent hours playing Apex Legends and CS2 on this monitor. The motion clarity isn’t IPS-level, but it’s absolutely usable for competitive gaming. You’ll notice some trailing in dark corridors or shadowy areas, but in well-lit maps, the high refresh rate delivers smooth gameplay that feels leagues ahead of 60Hz or even 100Hz displays.

The “1ms” claim on the box? Rubbish. That’s MPRT (moving picture response time) with backlight strobing enabled, which you can’t use simultaneously with adaptive sync anyway. Real-world grey-to-grey transitions sit around 6-8ms with the overdrive on medium. That’s typical for budget VA and perfectly acceptable for the price.

This monitor accepts an HDR signal and will display it, but calling it HDR is generous. With no local dimming and peak brightness barely above 290 nits, you’re not getting any HDR benefit. In fact, enabling HDR mode just makes the image look washed out because the monitor can’t display the brightness range properly. Ignore the HDR claims entirely and treat this as an SDR gaming monitor.

I calibrated the display using a Datacolor SpyderX and managed to get Delta E down to around 1.8 in the mid-tones, but the colour temperature runs slightly warm (around 6800K instead of the target 6500K) and there’s no way to adjust it precisely. For gaming, this doesn’t matter. For photo work, it’s a non-starter.

I tested this with a mix of games across three weeks. CS2, Valorant, and Apex Legends all felt responsive and smooth. The 180Hz refresh combined with FreeSync meant no tearing even when frame rates fluctuated between 120-180 fps. Input lag measured at 8ms, which is excellent and on par with dedicated esports monitors.

But (there’s always a but) the 1080p resolution at 32 inches does hurt image quality in slower-paced games where you have time to appreciate detail. Playing Cyberpunk 2077 or Red Dead Redemption 2, the lack of sharpness was noticeable. Text in menus looked slightly fuzzy, and distant details lacked crispness. The good VA contrast helped with dark scenes though – proper blacks made night-time gameplay more immersive than it would be on a cheap IPS.

Console gamers should note that while the monitor supports 120Hz via HDMI (perfect for PS5 and Xbox Series X), you’re still limited by the 1080p resolution. If you’ve got a console and primarily play single-player games, you might prefer a 1440p display instead. But for competitive multiplayer where frame rate matters more than resolution, this works brilliantly.

Build quality is what you’d expect in the budget bracket. Lots of plastic, bezels are chunkier than modern standards (about 12mm on three sides, 20mm on the bottom), and the whole thing feels lightweight. Not flimsy exactly, but you wouldn’t want to transport it regularly. The curve adds some structural rigidity at least.

The OSD (on-screen display) is controlled by a joystick on the back right, which is infinitely better than the button interfaces you find on some budget monitors. Navigation is quick, the menu layout is logical, and settings are saved per input. Small wins, but appreciated.

The Gawfolk’s main advantage is that 180Hz refresh at this price point. If you want the highest refresh rate possible without spending £300+, this is currently one of the cheapest ways to get there. The KTC is marginally better built and has slightly faster response times, but costs a bit more. The Z-Edge 24-inch gives you much better pixel density (92 PPI vs 69 PPI) but you lose screen real estate.

For competitive gaming where frame rate is king, the Gawfolk makes sense. For single-player gaming or mixed use, I’d probably lean towards a 27-inch 1440p display instead, even if it means dropping to 144Hz. The image quality improvement is worth the refresh rate sacrifice for non-competitive use.

From a pure value perspective, this monitor delivers. You’re getting 180Hz refresh, FreeSync support that works with Nvidia cards, decent VA contrast, and a 32-inch curved panel for under £150. That’s genuinely impressive. The compromises are real – low pixel density, basic stand, no HDR worth mentioning – but they’re the right compromises for the target audience.

If you’re a competitive gamer on a tight budget who prioritises frame rate and refresh rate above all else, this is one of the best value propositions currently available. If you’re a content creator, if you do lots of text work, or if you want a premium-feeling product, this isn’t for you. Know which category you fall into and the decision becomes obvious.