ASRock Phantom Gaming PG34WQ15R2B Monitor Review

TweakTown's Rating: 91%

The Bottom Line

ASRock's new Phantom Gaming PG34WQ15R2B monitor offers a 34-inch ultrawide 3440 x 1440 beast on the cheap, at just $430 it also rocks a built-in Wi-Fi antenna... a first!

Pros

• + $430 price point, very sharp!
• + Built-in Wi-Fi antenna FTW
• + Perfect match for Radeon RX 7900 XTX

Cons

• - None

Should you buy it?

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Introduction

ASRock is a new entrant into the gaming monitor market, with the introduction of a new 27-inch and bigger and badder 34-inch ultrawide model, which we'll be looking at today in the form of the ASRock Phantom Gaming PG34WQ15R2B gaming monitor.

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The new ASRock Phantom Gaming PG34WQ15R2B gaming monitor rocks a 34-inch panel with a native 3440 x 1440 resolution and super-smooth 165Hz refresh rate, but at its $430 price, it could be the new ultrawide gaming monitor for you. ASRock outfits its new Phantom Gaming PG34WQ15R2B gaming monitor with a curved VA panel and 1ms response time, while the smaller 27-inch version uses an IPS panel.

We have AMD FreeSync Premium certification on the Phantom Gaming PG34WQ15R2B gaming monitor and a built-in Wi-Fi antenna which is nice to see in a gaming monitor... a world-first in fact. ASRock says that improved cable management and improved signal are the benefits built right into the back of the monitor stand.

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ASRock includes familiar display connectivity on its Phantom Gaming PG34WQ15R2B monitor, with DisplayPort 1.4 handling everything between 48Hz and 165Hz, while HDMI 2.0 will handle everything else. There's no HDMI 2.1 on here, but no HDMI 2.1 is required (it's not 4K 120Hz).

We do have a VESA-compatible mount here, which is something I made good use of in my weeks with the ASRock Phantom Gaming PG34WQ15R2B monitor. The height-adjustable stand is good for up to 100mm of height adjustment with +20° ~ -20° swivel range and a +20° ~ -7° tilt range. You've also got the built-in Wi-Fi antenna with dual 2W speakers and 3.5mm headphone jack.

If you've just purchased one of AMD's new Navi 31-powered Radeon RX 7900 XTX or Radeon RX 7900 XT graphics cards -- and you didn't want to spend $500+ on a new ultrawide gaming monitor -- then you should have a close eye on the new ASRock Phantom Gaming PG34WQ15R2B gaming monitor. Let's dive right in!

ASRock X670E PRO RS

	Today	Yesterday	7 days ago	30 days ago
	$219.99	$246.39	$219.99	$244.21	Buy
* Prices last scanned on 4/18/2024 at 10:58 pm CDT - prices may not be accurate, click links above for the latest price. We may earn an affiliate commission.

Detailed Look

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ASRock ships its new Phantom Gaming PG34WQ15R2B in some rather plain packaging, and while it would've been nice to have seen some more spiffy retail packaging, the price on this monitor -- around $430 -- isn't a price you're going to get with higher-end packaging. It does its job, and that's it.

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Once you're inside, everything you need to get the ASRock Phantom Gaming PG34WQ15R2B monitor up and running is here. This includes some cool cable sleeving that I haven't seen shipped with a gaming monitor before, which keeps your cables -- the power cable, and DisplayPort or HDMI cable -- hidden away, which is a nice thing to see from ASRock's first foray into gaming monitors.

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ASRock provides a wicked stand for the Phantom Gaming PG34WQ15R2B monitor, something that took only a couple of minutes to install, and steady, ready for working and gaming the days and nights away.

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You've got a height-adjustable stand here, with ASRock also including VESA support (100x100mm) which I used both... the stand ASRock includes with the Phantom Gaming PG34WQ15R2B monitor, and a VESA-compatible monitor mount.

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If you opt-in for the included height-adjustable stand, ASRock includes some nice branding on the back... with a another trick up its sleeve: a built-in Wi-Fi antenna that has both 5GHz and 2.4GHz wireless network support. Very, very nice to see on this Phantom Gaming PG34WQ15R2B monitor, ASRock.

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ASRock's new Phantom Gaming PG34WQ15R2B monitor out of the box, and ready to game on.

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From the back, you can see the height-adjustable stand and built-in Wi-Fi antenna.

Connectivity, Specs, Marketing

Page 3 [Connectivity, Specs, Marketing]

Test System Specs

I've recently upgraded my major GPU test bed for 2022, but I will be upgrading again soon, now that Intel has launched its new 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake" CPUs and Z790 motherboards, and AMD with its new Ryzen 7000 series "Zen 4" CPUs and X670E motherboards.

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The new upgrades include the shift to the Intel Core i9-12900K processor, ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Extreme motherboard, 64GB of Sabrent Rocket DDR5-4800 memory, and 8TB of Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSD goodness. Intel's flagship Core i9-12900K is a beast, with the Alder Lake CPU packing 8 Performance cores (P-cores) and 8 Efficient cores (E-cores) at up to 5.2GHz.

Motherboard: ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Extreme

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I've got that installed into the bigger-than-life ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Extreme motherboard, which is absolutely loaded to the brim with technologies and features that it houses everything you need. We're talking about one of the best-looking designs on a motherboard yet, PCIe 5.0 support, enthusiast-grade 10GbE networking, and oh-so-much more.

RAM: 64GB Sabrent Rocket DDR5-4800

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Sabrent helped out in a huge way by sending over 64GB of DDR5-4800 memory in the form of 4 x 16GB DDR5-4800 modules of its new Sabrent Rocket DDR5 memory. The company also helped out in an even bigger way, supplying us with a gigantic and super-fast 8TB model of its Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD.

SSD: 8TB Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus M.2

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We're talking about 7.5GB/sec+ (7500MB/sec) from a single M.2 SSD, along with a gigantic 8TB of capacity. The 2TB drives aren't big enough for all of our game installs for GPU testing... the 4TB is much better, but the 8TB gives us room to move into 2023 without worrying about installing multiple games that are 200GB+ in size.

Some glory shots, of course.

Displays: ASUS ROG Strix 43-inch 4K 120Hz

ASUS has been a tight partner of TweakTown for many years, with the fine folks at ASUS Australia sending over their ROG Strix XG438Q and ROG Swift PG43UQ gaming monitors for our GPU test benches. They're both capable of 4K 120Hz+ through their DisplayPort 1.4 connectivity.

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I will be upgrading these in the near future, over to some DisplayPort 2.0-capable panels and some new HDMI 2.1-enabled 4K 165Hz panels in OLED form of course...given that next-gen GPUs are right around the corner, there has been no better time to upgrade your display or TV.

I've been working on this system for a while now, but now we're stretching its legs with the newly-released PC port of Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered. Not just in 1080p or 1440p, not even in just 4K... but at 8K with a native resolution of 7680 x 4320. I've run through some of the very fastest GPU silicon on the planet.

• CPU: Intel Core i9-12900K (buy from Amazon)
• Motherboard: ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Extreme (buy from Amazon)
• Cooler: CORSAIR iCUE H150i ELITE LCD Display (buy from Amazon)
• RAM: Sabrent Rocket 64GB DDR5-4800 (4 x 16GB) (F4-3600C18Q-32GTZN) (buy from Amazon)
• SSD: Sabrent 8TB Rocket 4 Plus PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD (buy from Amazon)
• PSU: MSI MPG A1000G Gaming Power Supply 1000W (buy from Amazon)
• Case: InWin X-Frame 2.0
• OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro x64 (buy from Amazon)
• Display: ASUS ROG Swift PG43UQ (4K 120Hz) (buy from Amazon)

What's Hot, What's Not

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What's Hot

• Built-in Wi-Fi antenna, a world-first: It might not be for every gamer, but the built-in Wi-Fi antenna is a wicked thing to see on the ASRock Phantom Gaming PG34WQ15R2B gaming monitor. If you're too far away, or your house doesn't have ethernet cables in the walls, Wi-Fi is your BFF.
• $430 pricing FTW: This isn't a $1000+ or $2000+ gaming monitor, but rather hits a much nicer $430 price point which is half the cost of a flagship AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics card. The new RDNA 3-based Radeon RX 7900 XTX is beefy enough to handle the 3440 x 1440 resolution and 165Hz refresh rate.

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• 3440 x 1440 resolution: I wouldn't be able to use this monitor if it had a 2560 x 1080 resolution, but the native 3440 x 1440 resolution is perfect for the 34-inch VA panel that it has. It's also not a high enough resolution where you will need to upgrade your GPU, either. Perfect.
• 165Hz refresh rate: Another thing I wouldn't be able to use on the monitor is a default 60Hz refresh rate, but the super-smooth 165Hz refresh rate is fantastic when mixed with the 3440 x 1440 resolution.
• AMD FreeSync Premium: Another tick of approval is the Team Red certification in the form of AMD FreeSync Premium certification.
• Great design for the price: I love the design of the ASRock Phantom Gaming PG34WQ15R2B gaming monitor, especially considering its $430 price point.

What's Not

• Not an OLED: If you are in the market for something much higher-end, you seriously can't go past an OLED-based gaming monitor or TV. My favorite flavor is the LG OLED TVs, which you can get in various sizes... this is nothing against the ASRock at all. It's also $430... you can't get an OLED for that price.

Final Thoughts

ASRock's new Phantom Gaming PG34WQ15R2B is a fantastic first entry into the ultrawide gaming monitor market, rocking a 34-inch VA-based display and native 3440x1440 resolution with a 1500R curvature. The super-smooth 165Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time (MSPT) mean you're getting a slick gaming experience in the 21:9 ultrawide aspect ratio.

The image quality isn't the bed, but it's also not totally crap either... with it being joined by AMD FreeSync Premium certification, meaning you can match it with a new RDNA 3-powered AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics card and enjoy your games in 21:9 aspect ratio at 165Hz and 1ms response time for super-smooth gaming goodness.

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The dual built-in 2W speakers are a nice touch, as well as the built-in Wi-Fi antenna are good things to see while display connectivity is limited to HDMI 2.0 ports -- HDMI 2.1 isn't needed here -- and DisplayPort 1.4 connectivity. The height-adjustable stand is another tick of approval, with tilt, swivel, and height adjustment as well as VESA-compatibility means you can use it with the HAS or with a monitor arm. ASRock has you covered with the Phantom Gaming PG34WQ15R2B gaming monitor.

I wouldn't be diving into buying the ASRock Phantom Gaming PG34WQ15R2B gaming monitor for HDR gaming, even though you've got DisplayHDR 400 certification. HDR gaming on any displays that aren't OLED are just a waste of time (and money) but it's here if you want that.

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I played a helluva lot of Overwatch 2 and Warzone 2 on the ASRock Phantom Gaming PG34WQ15R2B gaming monitor, loving every moment. The fact that Blizzard finally added 21:9 aspect ratio support in Overwatch 2 means that the time I pumped into gaming on the Phantom Gaming PG34WQ15R2B gaming monitor was incredible. Warzone 2 also looks -- and runs -- fantastic on the monitor at native 3440 x 1440, hitting 165FPS easily.

The price point that ASRock hits with the Phantom Gaming PG34WQ15R2B gaming monitor at $430 is another win, with competing monitors being more expensive and not offering as much as ASRock does here. If you've just purchased, or you're about to purchase a Navi 31-powered Radeon RX 7900 XTX and need a new ultrawide 34-inch monitor, this could be the one for you... especially at $430.