The ASUS TUF Gaming VG34VQL1B is a good curved ultrawide gaming monitor. It has a 34-inch screen with a 21:9 aspect ratio, which gives you more horizontal space than a typical 16:9 display, resulting in greater immersion. Its VA panel can produce deep blacks, making it great for dark rooms, but it comes at the cost of narrow viewing angles, which isn't ideal for playing co-op games or sharing content. It delivers a pretty good HDR experience as it has a wide coverage of the DCI P3 color space, and it gets bright enough to make some highlights pop. Unfortunately, even though its response time is fast overall, there's visible black smearing in fast-moving content, regardless of the overdrive setting. Also, inverse ghosting may be noticeable when playing at a lower refresh rate.
Our Verdict
The ASUS TUF Gaming VG34VQL1B is a great monitor overall. It's primarily designed for gaming, but it's also well-suited for a wide variety of uses. Its 34 inch high-resolution screen delivers an immersive viewing and gaming experience and provides plenty of space for work. Gaming feels incredibly responsive, and it can deliver a pretty good HDR experience. The viewing angles are mediocre, so it isn't the best for sharing content or playing co-op games.
- Gets very bright to combat glare.
- Displays deep blacks, great for dark rooms.
- Large high-resolution screen.
- Narrow viewing angles.
- Sub-par ergonomics.
The ASUS TUF Gaming VG34VQL1B is good for office use. Its 34 inch screen provides plenty of space to work comfortably with multiple windows side-by-side, and it delivers sharp images and text thanks to its high pixel density. It handles reflections well and gets more than bright enough to overcome glare in well-lit environments. Unfortunately, it isn't ideal for sharing work with coworkers due to its narrow viewing angles, and it has limited ergonomic adjustments.
- Gets very bright to combat glare.
- Large high-resolution screen.
- Narrow viewing angles.
- Sub-par ergonomics.
The ASUS TUF Gaming VG34VQL1B is a very good gaming monitor. It has a large, high-resolution screen to provide incredible immersion, and its low input lag and high refresh rate result in amazingly responsive gameplay. Unfortunately, even though it has a quick overall response time, it's a bit slow in the dark transitions, causing noticeable smearing in fast-moving content. On the upside, it has a high contrast ratio that makes it well-suited for gaming in the dark.
- High refresh rate.
- Displays deep blacks, great for dark rooms.
- Large high-resolution screen.
- Visible smearing behind fast-moving objects.
The ASUS TUF VG34VQL1B is good for media consumption. It has a large, high-resolution screen that feels incredibly immersive. Its VA panel has a high contrast ratio, making it great for dark room viewing, but it's at the expense of narrow viewing angles, so it isn't ideal for sharing content with others.
- Gets very bright to combat glare.
- Displays deep blacks, great for dark rooms.
- Narrow viewing angles.
- Sub-par ergonomics.
The ASUS TUF Gaming VG34VQL1B is great for content creation. Its ultrawide format gives you tons of horizontal screen space, which is great for video editors working with a timeline. It has near-full sRGB and outstanding DCI P3 coverage, superb gradient handling, and no color bleed. Sadly, it doesn't have the best viewing angles, so you lose image accuracy when viewing from the side.
- Gets very bright to combat glare.
- Outstanding DCI-P3 coverage.
- Narrow viewing angles.
- Sub-par ergonomics.
The ASUS VG34VQL1B is decent for HDR. It has an excellent contrast ratio that displays deep blacks, but it lacks a local dimming feature to further deepen those blacks. It also has decent HDR brightness, but small highlights don't pop against the rest of the image for a vivid HDR experience.
- Displays deep blacks, great for dark rooms.
- Outstanding DCI-P3 coverage.
- Refresh rate limited to 144Hz in 10-bit over DP.
- No local dimming.
- Limited HDR brightness.
Changelog
- Updated Oct 27, 2023: Clarified text to align with results with Test Bench 1.2, including with the Response Time results.
- Updated Apr 18, 2023: Confirmed that 1440p works on this monitor with the PS5. Also confirmed that 1440p @ 120Hz doesn't work on the Xbox Series X|S.
- Updated May 02, 2022: We tested the monitor with the PS5's new variable refresh rate feature and confirmed that it's not compatible, since the PS5 only supports HDMI Forum VRR.
- Updated Apr 08, 2022: Updated to Test Bench 1.2, resulting in changes to the results and scores with the Response Time and Input Lag. Added tests for Console Compatibility and macOS compatibility and made minor changes to other tests, which you can see in our Changelog.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the ASUS TUF Gaming VG34VQL1B, and there are no other variants. However, there are many monitors in the TUF Gaming lineup, some of which you can see in the table below.
| Model | Size | Resolution | Panel Type | Refresh Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TUF Gaming VG34VQL1B | 34" | 3440 x 1440 | VA | 165Hz | DisplayHDR 400 |
| TUF Gaming VG258QM | 24.5" | 1920 x 1080 | TN | 280Hz | DisplayHDR 400, ELMB SYNC |
| TUF Gaming VG27AQL1A | 27" | 2560 x 1440 | IPS | 170Hz | ELMB SYNC |
| TUF Gaming VG32VQR | 31.5" | 2560 x 1440 | VA | 165Hz | DisplayHDR 400 |
| TUF Gaming VG289Q1A | 28" | 3840 x 2160 | IPS | 60Hz |
If someone comes across a different type of panel or their ASUS TUF Gaming VG34VQL1B doesn't correspond to our review, let us know, and we'll update the review. Note that some tests, like gray uniformity, may vary between individual units.
Our unit was manufactured in December 2020; you can see the label here.
Popular Monitor Comparisons
The ASUS TUF Gaming VG34VQL1B is a good ultrawide gaming monitor. It has a high refresh rate to deliver smooth motion, but like many budget VA monitors, there's a fair amount of dark smearing that might bother some people. For more options, check out our recommendations for the best ultrawide monitors, the best curved gaming monitors, and the best budget gaming monitors.
The ASUS TUF Gaming VG34VQL1B is a bit better gaming monitor than the AOC CU34G2X. The ASUS has significantly faster response times, but there's noticeable black smear on either due to their VA panels. The ASUS has a 165Hz panel compared to 144Hz on the AOC, and it also gets significantly brighter and has better reflection handling, so it's a better choice for well-lit rooms. However, the AOC has better ergonomics because it has a much wider swivel and tilt range.
The ASUS TUF Gaming VG34VQL1B is better than the Gigabyte G34WQC for most uses. The ASUS has a higher refresh rate of 165Hz compared to the Gigabyte's 144Hz, and it has better response times, especially in dark transitions. It also delivers a better HDR experience because it has a higher contrast ratio and a wider color gamut. Finally, the ASUS' stand allows for swivel adjustment, whereas the Gigabyte doesn't.
The ASUS TUF Gaming VG34VQL1B and the Samsung Odyssey G55T C34G55T are very similar as they're both 34-inch ultrawide monitors with a VA panel, a 3440x1440 resolution, and a 165Hz refresh rate. Gaming-wise, the ASUS performs better because it has significantly faster response times, and it isn't as buggy as the Samsung when it comes to VRR and input lag. Also, it has higher peak brightness in SDR and HDR, and its stand offers more ergonomic adjustments.
The ASUS TUF Gaming VG34VQL1B and the Gigabyte M34WQ use different panel types, each with strengths and weaknesses, so the best one depends on your usage and viewing conditions. The ASUS looks better in a dark room, as it has much better contrast, and it's a bit brighter overall. The Gigabyte has much better viewing angles, ensuring the sides of the screen remain accurate. The ASUS can slightly compensate for this, though, as it has a curved screen.
We buy and test more than 30 monitors each year, all of which we purchase ourselves, without cherry-picked units or samples. We put a lot into each unbiased, straight-to-the-point review, and there's a whole process from purchasing to publishing, involving multiple teams and people. We do more than just use the monitor for a week; we use specialized, custom tools to measure various aspects and deliver objective, data-driven results. We also consider multiple factors before making any recommendations, including the monitor's cost, its performance compared to the competition, and whether it's easy to find.
Test Results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for videos & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for videos & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
