Hands-on With Viotek's GN32LD Gaming Monitor

Moving into the realm of PC gaming, you are likely aware that there’s much more to it than just a gaming PC. Sure, PC components are the biggest part and most often one of the more obsessed attributes when it comes to deciding your actual build. However, to fully flesh out your battlestation, you’re gonna need to keep in mind an actual display.

We’ve said it before in past monitor impressions, but we are well past the days of just tossing money into a “big screen” monitor. Instead, there are a plethora of features and resolutions to cross off a checklist when monitor hunting.

In this article, we are checking out Viotek’s GN32LD, a monitor that is aimed at gamers in terms of both design and function. This is a 32” curved monitor that is a good mix of being wide with a 1440p resolution while maintaining 16:9. Likewise, this is a VA panel which has held up nicely with the extra bells and whistles you’ll find within the system settings.

Unboxing & Setup

As always, we’ll kick things off with the unboxing. Viotek opted to package the display much like other monitors we’ve checked into. The box is filled with fitted styrofoam that keeps everything not only safe for transportation but tucked into its own space.

You’ll find the usual odds and ends such as the power cable, common accessories, tools along with the monitor and base. The base, in particular, is rather long with its feet but again, the packaging makes sure to keep it nicely stored in place.

The actual setup process wasn’t bad. There are a just a few screws to tighten and then you’re free to place the monitor on the stand’s base plate. This process was rather seamless and I particularly enjoy the mechanism set in place to detach the monitor from the stand. Essentially, consumers would only have to push a button that unhooks the monitor from the stand, freeing it for travel or perhaps wall mounting.

The button is placed on the back and far enough away from really any mishaps of being pressed by accident.

Design & Inputs

As we made mention, the design of this monitor is intended for gamers. This GN32LD display features the ever popular red and black scheme for the most part. It’s not something we could see being placed in an office-type situation, but again, the specifications and marketing clearly stray away from that pathway.

On the back of the display are some rigid sharp line-esque designs along with the led lighting. This is not the first time we’ve seen manufacturers use lighting accents and in the monitor menus settings, you can change the intensity and effects. However, much like other monitors with this led trend, the lighting is not bright enough to showcase a hue onto a wall. Instead, this would be aimed for more of a showpiece at perhaps a LAN party.

Commonly used inputs are present and available directly underneath the monitor display. There are single inputs for DVI, HDMI, and DP along with an audio line if you wish to plug in your headphones. The on-display system settings buttons are also located below the monitor. In total, there are five separate buttons in a line.

I’m also not a fan of bigger stands for monitors. While this stand allows users to tilt their display along with raising or lowering the height, I much prefer mounting it to the wall.

The wall mount is not included with the purchase but the GN32LD does support it. However, there is standoff included and all I had to do was unscrew four screws from the back of the monitor and then screw in the standoffs. From there I attached the wall mount backplate and used the four screws I initially took out to secure the backplate.

Personally, I prefer the wall mounted route as I enjoy as much real-estate on my desk that I can get away with.

Features & Experience

Being a gaming monitor, you can expect some extra features that normally come standard in an office or casual user displays. Viotek, for instance, has included a button dedicated to showcasing custom crosshairs in order to help gamers with a precise shot during FPS matches. Furthermore, there are options to adjust RGB ranges, custom picture mode, low blue light to protect eye fatigue, enhance image resolutions, dynamic luminous control and FreeSync.

The latter of these extra features made mention will allow AMD GPUs to dynamically adapt the display refresh rate in order to give a more fluid and seamless gameplay experience.

Gaming was also great in terms of a visual standpoint. The slight curve with a jump of 1440p resolution made for a crisp gameplay experience and if you have an AMD card you can even make good use of the FreeSync feature.

The on-screen menu system does feel a bit dated. It’s not sluggish or a pain to go through, but I hope for the next lineup of monitors Viotek releases will have an overhaul in not only the menu system design but maneuvering through the settings. Fortunately, I don’t suspect very many consumers will be dwelling on the menu setting very often.

Conclusion

With all this said, I wouldn’t have a problem recommending this monitor. You’re getting a 1440p 32” curved 16:9 144Hz gaming monitor with FreeSync. For instance, a similar monitor we checked out, the LG 32GK850G-B will set gamers back several hundred dollars more than this display. Currently, Viotek is offering this monitor for $479.99 on their website along with Amazon which is discounted to its initial MSRP of $600.