Final Words & Verdict

The Philips Evnia 34M2C8600 is an interesting 34” WQHD QD-OLED monitor. It’s an affordable solution for gamers (relatively, considering the size and type of screen). Additionally, the panel has a 175 Hz refresh rate. The contrast or colors are perfect. The full-screen brightness is far better than LG-based OLED monitors. Instead, this is the virtually no-compromise OLED experience we’ve been waiting for. Overall, the Philips Evnia 34M2C8600 is a great ultrawide OLED gaming monitor. Its eye-catching design and gorgeous color range are an advantage. The monitor is solidly built, stands stable, and offers high ergonomics. It has advanced USB-C, which transfers images, charges devices, and supports the KVM switch. The power delivery function of 90 watts is also sufficient for most notebooks. You can’t forget about the Ambiglow backlighting.The display is not without its drawbacks. The maximum luminance is limited, the fan aggravates the operating culture, and you must reckon with pixel maintenance and non-perfect fonts. In my opinion, the potential of the joystick has been wasted, and the lack of color adjustment is difficult to justify. It is a pity that HDMI is not version 2.1. Like its competitors, it’s expensive, but its readily found online price of $799.99 isn’t bad for anyone dreaming of an ultrawide curved OLED. Not all will like the monitor’s color; unfortunately, there’s no black edition. The monitor is not too slim, as it has a built-in power supply.

In terms of gaming and HDR, this monitor is typically OLED. It’s super fast and just brilliant in rendering colors. The contrast, in particular, blows your mind. All other panel types cannot keep up with that. Additionally, you get a KVM switch (for multiple inputs) and almost all the necessary cables. It’s a great buy if you want OLED and its benefits for gaming, but there are some limitations that you have to consider. Before purchasing this screen, consider the size of the panel and the fact that it is necessary to have sufficient distance to use it in good condition. Philips relies on a solid base, which, on the one hand, allows a secure stand, but on the other, it was designed so that the monitor takes up little space in depth, enabling it to be positioned close to the wall. Philips Evnia 34M2C8600 is quite a good all-rounder, especially when you’re not working very much with office tasks, since the Samsung OLED panel’s triangular rather than striped subpixel structure is also slightly suboptimal for rendering fonts.

Features

The Philips Evnia 34M2C8600 offers 100x100mm VESA mount compatibility if you don’t want to use the stand. The two HDMI (unfortunately in the 2.0 version), one DP port, and four USB 3.0 ports are features you can’t miss, and you should be satisfied with this package. You also get the Type-C PD 90 W reverse charging via USB Type-C and the KVM support. The design is less striking than some other “gaming monitors.” The build quality is good, and the stand is solid. The OSD is not the best available, and the navigation is sometimes frustrating.

Image quality

Its use is a joy for the eyes, especially in HDR-compatible games, where we can get that extra touch of image quality combined with its 175 Hz. The QD-OLED panel is of very good quality and offers a very nice rendering with good dynamism in the image, which is appreciable. The second you power up the monitor, your eyebrows will frown upwards as the image quality is spectacular. OLED is OLED, which means perfect blacks and superb contrast. The OLED panel shows excellent black depth, contrast, and pixel response times. OLED panels can also excel in HDR playback. Overall, the Philips Evnia 34M2C8600 delivers a convincing performance as a media monitor. The OLED panel can show its benefits if you want to play games or have HDR content on the program. Color gamut (typical) is NTSC 121.3%, sRGB 148.8%, Adobe RGB 97.8%, and Color gamut (min) DCI-P3: 99.3%. As expected, with an OLED panel, blacks are deep, whites are bright, and the overall relationship between the darkest and the most colorful tones is quite expressive, making for an immersive viewing experience, particularly in dark rooms. The HDR feature is useful.

Gaming/HDR

Playing on an OLED screen with high refresh rates is enjoyable. The basic advantages of OLED technology can be appreciated in many places in this type of usage. It provides a first-class gaming display. The Philips Evnia 34M2C8600 is predestined for gaming due to its OLED panel, which has little input lag and perfect response times. It would help if you used the DisplayPort to get 175 Hz (HDMI 2.0 limits it to 100 Hz). The games overall ran great on the EVNIA 34M2C8600. It is a great choice for the average/casual gamer. The large panel (despite its flat design) provides a high level of immersion. The panel’s short response times and the maximum possible 175 Hz ensure an extremely clear image. Philips Evnia 34M2C8600 lets even the smallest bright objects emerge from the black without creating blooming or halos. It works particularly well in games with a high proportion of darkness. In practice, the HDR image looked very good, with excellent OLED contrast helping provide a very enjoyable experience.

Office

The UWQHD (3440 x 1440) resolution is an expanded WQHD (2560 x 1440), so the pixel density is identical to that of 27-inch monitors with a 16:9 aspect ratio. Unfortunately, Windows 11 has not yet been adapted to the pixel layout of OLED and QD-OLED panels. Because of this, the fonts are slightly bland, and their outlines have a green-purple border, which may irritate those working with text or programming code. On that note, the Samsung OLED panel’s triangular rather than striped subpixel structure is also slightly suboptimal for rendering fonts.

Concluding

From the strong sides of the Philips Evnia 34M2C8600, you can find solid craft, high ergonomics, a USB-C Port, built-in KVM, Ambiglow backlighting, HDR mode, great colors and contrast, and instant pixel response. Conversely, there's the limited luminance, HDMI 2.0 (not 2.1), and the not-so-intuitive setup - the small stick also serves as an on/off switch. Unfortunately, the latter does not always work reliably, which was annoying in the test. Still - everything is designed to provide maximum gaming pleasure. The screen curvature is a matter of taste, but 1800R doesn't bother during daily usage. The Philips Evnia 34M2C8600 impresses as a gaming monitor. It's also great for HDR movie watching, especially with its OLED virtues and relatively big size (34"). It has an attractive design. It also includes DP and USB-C connections (with 90W PD). The customer gets a very good OLED panel for his money, which screams for HDR gaming. There's no ghosting or screen tearing; the viewing angles are great. Colors, black levels, and contrasts are great. Response times and the 175 Hz are impressive for gamers.  There is a super low input lag thanks to monitor-focused design and features. The main point of criticism could be the display of fonts (it's the nature of QD-OLED as of now) and the lack of HDMI 2.0. Its size allows working while multitasking, placing multiple windows and tabs side by side, and increasing productivity. If you have space and want to enjoy video games in their highest quality, it's a way to go. The supporting hardware (especially the GPU) must also be of a certain level, but you already know this. This monitor is not affordable for everyone, even if it is worth 799.99 USD. Concluding, we can surely grant this monitor a "Gold" award.  

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