GIGABYTE M28U Monitor Review: Pure High-Definition Smooth Gaming Experience
With the significant increase in platform performance and advancement in gaming technology, the gaming landscape has become more and more immersive, with mainstream 3A masterpieces boasting outstanding gaming quality. For gamers with flagship performance platforms, they need an excellent gaming monitor to fully utilize the advantages of their hardware, which puts a higher demand on the refresh rate and resolution of the monitor. Recently, we received the GIGABYTE M28U gaming monitor, which has a bright specification of 4K 144Hz and Display HDR400.
Specifications
Screen Size: 28-inch
Panel Type: Fast IPS
Maximum Resolution: 3840 2160@144Hz
Screen Brightness: 300 cd/m2
Color Depth: 8-bit
Contrast Ratio: 1000:1
HDR: Display HDR400
Response Time: 1ms GTG
Color Gamut: 94% DCI-P3, 120% sRGB
Display Interfaces: HDMI 2.1 2, DP 1.4 1(DSC), USB C 1
Reference Price: RMB 4499
< The overall appearance is relatively simple, very square and tough, with three sides of the bezel-less design can bring a better sense of visual immersion. Only the lower bezel on the front of the monitor is silk-screened with the GIGABYTE logo in silver font, which distinguishes it from office/design monitors in a gaming branding way. On the right side of the lower bezel, there is a status indicator, and the pure white light is soft and not harsh in low light conditions, so there is no "light pollution" at all.
The design elements on the back of the monitor are much richer than on the front, with a glossy logo area at the top, a traditional matte finish around the perimeter, and a trapezoidal area in the middle with a more gaming-inspired diamond-shaped texture to give the monitor a layered look, which at least visually doesn't make it feel like it's an office monitor anymore. To its credit, the GIGABYTE M28U also features a built-in power supply design that allows gamers to power the monitor with just a single power cord. The monitor has two built-in 3W speakers, which is more than enough for gamers who don't have high sound requirements.
The right side of the body is equipped with two buttons on the back, one of which is a four-way OSD control joystick, and the other is a dedicated KVM function key. In fact, the OSD joystick will bring a lot of convenience to gamers' use, especially for such a monitor with rich gaming assist functions, black balance, collimation, and other functions that need to be adjusted according to the type of game, and only the OSD joystick can satisfy the need for fast and accurate adjustments.Above the OSD joystick is the KVM function key, which allows gamers to switch the KVM device with a single click, and the key is long
Auto Sync with Cloud
No manual interaction required to synchronize with cloud services.
The GIGABYTE M28U is equipped with a V-shaped docking station that features a stepped overlay for better visibility and a small footprint, which is great for those who don't have a large desktop, leaving plenty of room for keyboards and mice. The center of the stand is designed with an oval cable management hole, making it easy for players to manage messy cables. Additionally, the base itself features a quick release design that makes it easy to install without a screwdriver, even if you're the only one on board. The GIGABYTE M28U's stand is designed to be very ergonomic, with support for 130mm of up/down height adjustment and -5 ~ 20 degree of tilt adjustment. In addition to the lack of screen rotation, the stand's freedom of movement is still very much in evidence, and the damping sensation when adjusting the stand is moderate to stable, allowing gamers to adjust the monitor to their optimal position according to their viewing habits. The stand has a hidden VESA mounting position, and with the three-sided bezel-less design, it can be a great way to meet the demands of setting up a multi-screen desktop.
The monitor's interface configuration is relatively rich in video interfaces, with two HDMI2.1 ports, a DP1.4 port, and a Type-C port with KVM functionality. It is worth mentioning that the Gigabyte M28U supports HBR3, which can bring up to 32.4Gbit/s bandwidth to the monitor, while the DP1.4 interface supports DSC compression technology, the biggest significance for this monitor is that you can use a single DP cable to do 4K/HDR/10bit//144Hz all the way through, and even if you don't have the latest RTX 30/RX 6000 series graphics cards can still utilize the power of this monitor.
The Type-C port not only supports 18W reverse PD power, but also supports video and data signal transmission, which you can use to connect to laptops, phones, and tablets for screen expansion, thus realizing mobile office and big screen sharing functions. For other interfaces, there are three 5Gbps USB 3.0 Type-A ports, a USB 3.0 Type-B uplink port for connecting to PCs, and a 3.5mm audio port for gamers to connect to keyboards, mice, headphones, and other devices.
Excellent color matching performance and useful gaming assist features
The GIGABYTE M28U gaming monitor features a 28-inch Fast IPS screen with a resolution of 2560 1440, which is also referred to by some brand names as Super Speed IPS (the monitor's official promotion is also called Fast IPS has a similar liquid crystal molecule arrangement, electrode arrangement and normal IPS screen, but achieves faster response speed by reducing the thickness of the liquid crystal layer and optimizing the voltage, etc. According to GIGABYTE's official information, the Fast IPS is a 28-inch screen with a resolution of 2560 1440. According to GIGABYTE's official website, the M28U boasts a 1ms GTG gray-scale response time and a refresh rate of 144Hz, making it ideal for gaming enthusiasts.
To avoid lagging, tearing, and dragging on the gaming screen, the monitor is equipped with Adaptive-Sync technology for a smooth and tear-free picture. The rest of the specs of this screen are just as good, with a native 8-bit color depth panel for an ultra-wide 94% DCI-P3 and 120% sRGB color gamut, and for professional users the monitor also offers 6-axis color control for precise screen color control. The screen has a contrast ratio of 1000:1 and is VESA Display HDR 400 certified to display high dynamic range HDR content for an even better high contrast image. In addition, the GIGABYTE M28U's backlighting is designed to be non-flickering and features TUV Rheinland certified blue light filtering technology, which effectively reduces eye fatigue during long hours of operation and gaming, and protects the gamer's eyesight to a certain extent.
With HDMI 2.1 connectivity, GIGABYTE M28U supports up to 12-bit color depth
Next, we tested the GIGABYTE M28U with the Spyder X Elite colorimeter, which restores the monitor's factory settings and allows it to warm up after one hour of operation. From the test results, the GIGABYTE M28U's sRGB color gamut coverage is 100% (126% of the gamut volume), Adobe RGB color gamut coverage is 84%, and DCI P3 color gamut coverage is 89%, which is basically in line with the official parameters. In terms of color accuracy, we used a 48-color scheme for the color accuracy test, and the monitor's Delta E average was only 0.61, which is a very good color accuracy performance, and with 100% sRGB gamut coverage, you can even do some creative work with this monitor.
In the color brightness uniformity test, you can see that at 100% brightness, the lower right quadrant of the monitor is closest to the D65 standard, and there is a certain gap between the other areas and the standard color temperature values, but the difference is within Delta E 1.6, and the average Delta E is even less than 1, which is a very good performance. In terms of hue response, the measured hue response curve of this monitor has a high degree of overlap with the Gamma2.2 curve. We checked from the screen library that the panel model used in this monitor is Qunar M280DCA-E7B, and the Gigabyte M28U is most likely using the original backlight, so the performance is stable in all aspects.
As a "tactical" gaming monitor, the GIGABYTE M28U comes with a variety of useful gaming assist features, including upgraded Gun Pressure Assist/Aiming Stabilizer, Black Balance, customizable crosshair, and chronograph/counter. Gamers can also connect their PC to the monitor's USB Type-B uplink port with a data cable and then download the OSD Sidekick software from the official website. This allows you to directly control the monitor's parameters, switch input sources, open KVM, gaming assist, shortcuts, etc. through the software, which also displays the hardware's operating status on the screen, and the software supports online upgrade of the monitor's firmware, making the operation more convenient.
It is worth mentioning that the KVM function of the monitor is very practical, we tried to connect to the monitor with tablets and cell phones that support DisplayPort Alternate mode, and they can all extend the screen to the monitor normally, and after the keyboard and mouse are connected to the USB port, you can turn on the computer mode of the cell phone and use the keyboard and mouse to complete some simple office tasks. In addition, even if you don't use the KVM function, such as connecting a PC and a game console at the same time, you can still set up the devices on both ports as KVM devices, and then when you want to switch the input source you just need to press the KVM key on the back of the monitor to quickly switch, which is very suitable for gamers who are on dual-links of a PC and a game console.
KVM allows for better connectivity and interaction between the monitor and mobile devices
In terms of actual experience, the GIGABYTE M28U, a 28-inch 4K panel with up to 157 PPI, has a screen that looks very detailed, and with a refresh rate of 144Hz and a GTG response time of 1ms, it can dramatically improve the experience of gaming games. In FPS gaming games such as "CS:GO", high-speed switching of viewpoints will not feel delayed or dragged, even if the 180 wide range of gun pulling can also ensure smooth and clear display. With the rich gaming auxiliary functions, the game is stabilized into a possible.
Advanced Mode
Advanced mode provides a more comprehensive UEFI BIOS environment that is designed specifically for overclockers and power users who want maximum control over their PC's hardware.
Summary: A stable scoring tool for high-end gamers
The GIGABYTE M28U is a strong gaming monitor with a configuration that meets the standards of high-end gaming monitors, featuring a 28-inch Fast IPS screen with 4K resolution, native 8-bit color depth, 144Hz refresh rate, and 1ms GTG refresh rate. and a 1ms GTG grayscale response time. From the actual test, the monitor has excellent color gamut coverage value and color calibration performance, supports Adaptive-Sync technology and HDR display, and can be used as a productivity tool while satisfying gaming performance. The convenient KVM function greatly enriches the expandability of the mobile device. The monitor supports multiple gaming modes, and there are even practical gaming assist functions to give players a better gaming experience in different games. If you are a high-end gamer looking for a smooth gaming experience with high quality graphics, then the GIGABYTE M28U is a great choice from all angles.