ASK A GAMER to describe their ideal gaming monitor, and they’re likely to say “4K”. The problem, of course, is that driving a 4K monitor requires a high-end graphics card that can add a significant amount to your budget. For most, a realistic sweet spot is a 1440p monitor that can be driven by a more modest GPU.
HP’s X34 appears to hit this sweet spot while offering lots of additional features for a reasonable price. The headline feature is its 34-inch ultrawide display with a large amount of screen real estate. It also has a high 165Hz refresh rate, supports AMD’s FreeSync Premium (and unofficially Nvidia G-SYNC), and has a 1ms response time. All great things to have on a monitor under $500.