Gawfolk 34 Inch Ultrawide Gaming Monitor Review UK 2026

The Gawfolk 34 Inch Ultrawide Gaming Monitor has been making waves in the budget ultrawide market, promising high refresh rates and immersive gaming at a fraction of the cost of premium alternatives. After spending several weeks calibrating and testing this 34-inch panel, I’ve discovered what this monitor does brilliantly and where it cuts corners. If you’re considering jumping into ultrawide gaming without breaking the bank, this review will tell you exactly what to expect from real-world use.

The VA panel choice is typical for budget ultrawides, offering superior contrast ratios compared to IPS alternatives. However, as I’ll detail in the motion performance section, VA technology brings its own compromises that competitive gamers need to consider carefully.

Colour coverage is respectable with full sRGB and 85% DCI-P3, which is perfectly adequate for gaming and general content consumption. Out of the box, colours appear slightly oversaturated (common with VA panels), but nothing egregious. I measured a Delta E of around 3.2 before calibration, which dropped to 1.8 after proper adjustment. For casual photo editing, this is acceptable; for professional colour work, look elsewhere.

The viewing angles are the typical VA weakness. Shift your viewing position and you’ll notice colour and contrast shifts, particularly from above or below. Horizontally, it’s less problematic thanks to the curve bringing the edges closer to perpendicular viewing. This isn’t a deal-breaker for single-user setups, but don’t expect to share this screen comfortably with others standing beside you.

What does this mean in practice? In fast-paced competitive shooters like Valorant or CS2, you’ll notice motion blur and ghosting, particularly when tracking targets across dark backgrounds. The dark-level smearing that plagues VA panels is present here. However, for single-player games, racing titles, and RPGs, it’s perfectly acceptable. The 165Hz refresh rate does help smooth things out, even if the pixel response can’t quite keep up.

The monitor includes overdrive settings (Normal, Fast, Fastest), but I found the “Fast” setting provided the best balance. “Fastest” introduces noticeable inverse ghosting (overshoot), creating bright trails that are more distracting than the original blur. Stick with Fast mode and accept the motion limitations as part of the VA territory.

Input lag measured at approximately 4.2ms, which is excellent. The panel itself is responsive; it’s purely the pixel transition times that let it down. If you’re coming from a 60Hz office monitor, you’ll still feel a significant improvement in fluidity.

I tested HDR with several games including Cyberpunk 2077 and Forza Horizon 5. In every case, SDR looked better. The highlights don’t pop, there’s no expanded dynamic range, and colours become washed out. This is a classic case of slapping an “HDR Compatible” badge on the box for marketing purposes whilst delivering no actual HDR experience.

My advice: ignore the HDR mode entirely. Stick with SDR, calibrate properly, and enjoy the VA panel’s natural contrast advantage. That’s where this monitor’s image quality strength actually lies. For reference, the LG UltraWide 34WR50QK suffers from identical HDR limitations at a similar price point.

The gaming presets are the usual collection of oversaturated nonsense. The “FPS” mode cranks contrast and sharpness to eye-searing levels, whilst “Racing” mode adds a blue tint for no discernible reason. I’d recommend creating a custom profile with proper calibration rather than using any preset.

The Black Equalizer feature, which brightens dark areas without affecting the entire image, is actually useful for competitive advantage in games like Warzone or Apex Legends. It does reduce the VA panel’s contrast advantage, but if you’re playing competitively, that’s a worthwhile trade-off for spotting enemies in shadows.

Notably absent is any motion blur reduction technology (black frame insertion or backlight strobing). This would have helped mitigate the VA smearing issue, though implementing it at 165Hz would have introduced significant brightness loss. Still, the option would have been appreciated.

After spending time with my X-Rite i1Display Pro, I achieved a Delta E of 1.8, which is respectable. The panel responds well to calibration, suggesting decent quality control in the panel binning process. The full sRGB coverage means web content and most games display correctly after proper adjustment.

The 85% DCI-P3 coverage is a bonus for modern games mastered in wider colour gamuts, though the lack of proper colour space switching means you’ll occasionally see oversaturated content when viewing sRGB material. Chrome and Firefox handle colour management reasonably well, but Windows itself remains a mess for colour management as usual.

For comparison, the AOC 34-inch ultrawide offers similar colour performance at a comparable price, whilst IPS alternatives like some models reviewed on Rtings provide better viewing angles at the expense of contrast.

Backlight Bleed: Minimal in bottom-left corner, barely noticeable in normal content. Some vignetting in bottom corners typical of curved VA panels.

My review unit showed acceptable uniformity for a budget VA panel. The centre and top portions of the screen maintain good consistency, with variance under 10%. The bottom corners show slightly more deviation (11% in the bottom-left), which manifests as subtle brightness reduction. In normal content, this is barely noticeable; only in full-screen grey or white backgrounds does it become apparent.

There’s minimal backlight bleed, which is a VA advantage over IPS. No bright spots or clouding in dark scenes, which is where VA panels typically excel. However, there is some vignetting (darkening) in the extreme corners, which is typical of curved VA panels. This is a panel structure characteristic rather than a defect.

The panel lottery warning applies here. VA uniformity varies significantly between units, and at this price point, quality control isn’t as rigorous as premium brands. Amazon’s return policy is your friend if you receive a unit with poor uniformity. Check yours thoroughly within the return window.

There’s no USB-C connectivity, which is disappointing for laptop users who might want single-cable docking. No USB hub either, so you’ll need to run peripherals directly to your PC. At this price point, these omissions are understandable but worth noting if you value convenience.

The 3.5mm audio output works fine for passing through audio to headphones or speakers. The built-in speakers are the usual monitor rubbish: tinny, quiet, and suitable only for system sounds. Budget £30 for basic desktop speakers at minimum.

The included stand is better than expected for this price bracket. It offers approximately 100mm of height adjustment and decent tilt range (-5° to +15°). The base is sturdy enough to prevent wobbling during typing, though it does occupy a fair amount of desk depth. The V-shaped stand design looks reasonably modern and doesn’t feel as cheap as some budget alternatives.

The lack of swivel adjustment is the main ergonomic limitation. If you need to angle the monitor for glare reduction or shared viewing, you’ll need to physically rotate the entire stand. For single-user setups directly in front of the monitor, this isn’t problematic.

The monitor supports standard VESA 100×100 mounting, which is essential if you prefer monitor arms. I’d recommend a decent gas spring arm like the Amazon Basics or Arctic Z1-3D, which will provide full swivel, rotation, and more precise positioning than the stock stand allows.

Build quality is acceptable. The plastics feel budget-appropriate but not flimsy. There’s no excessive creaking or flexing. The bezels are reasonably thin (around 5mm visible bezel with a further 5mm black border when displaying content). The OSD controls are rear-mounted buttons rather than a joystick, which is slightly less convenient but functional once you learn the layout.

The AOC CU34G2X is the Gawfolk’s closest competitor, offering similar VA panel characteristics at 144Hz. It typically costs £30-50 more but comes from a more established monitor brand with better UK warranty support. The slightly lower refresh rate is negligible in real-world use.

If you can stretch your budget to £379, the MSI MAG 342CQR provides a noticeable step up in build quality and panel uniformity, though it uses a similar VA panel technology. For those interested in smaller high-refresh options, the MSI MAG 275CQRF offers faster response times in a 27-inch package.

The Gawfolk’s advantage is purely price-to-specification ratio. You’re getting 165Hz ultrawide gaming for around £250-280, which is excellent value if you can accept the motion handling and build quality compromises.