Iiyama ProLite XB3288UHSU-B1
A great choice if you’re looking for a 4K monitor but can’t go above £400
SCORE
PRICE £ 292 (£350 inc VAT) from scan.co.uk
The Iiyama XB3288UHSU-B1 has much in common with the Philips 328E1. They both use a VA panel, both have a 4K resolution and are both aggressively priced.
Their first and most obvious point of difference is that the Philips is curved while the Iiyama is flat, but the second is that Iiyama still includes many useful “extras” despite its budget.
So, here you enjoy two USB-A 3 ports to the left of the screen. Then there’s a flexible stand, with height adjustment up to 130mm and 90° of swivel; there’s no support for pivot mode, but you can rotate the screen for easier access to the three inputs: two HDMI, one DisplayPort.
Iiyama takes advantage of VA’s fast response times with support for AMD FreeSync. The panel goes up to 75Hz at 1,280 x 1,024, but above that you’re stuck at 60Hz. Also note the 3W stereo speakers, which are surprisingly good for the price. Still, if you want depth then connect headphones to the jack on the rear.
One downside to VA compared to IPS is viewing angles, and you will notice some drop-off in contrast as you look across the screen. Nor is this most consistent panel when it comes to brightness. However, it did cover almost 100% of the three gamuts we checked for, from the conservative sRGB (99.1%) to DCI-P3 (95.3%).
With minimal tweaks necessary, you may find that the only control you fiddle with is brightness; this ProLite goes up to 319cd/m2 , which is more than enough for work and play but not HDR. The OSD is easier to control than other Iiyama screens too, thanks to a rear-mounted joystick rather than hidden buttons. We only wish that Iiyama offered finer control over colour temperature, as the default settings come out at around 5950K, with Warm and Cool being the only other presets.
Still, considering the price Iiyama is charging – and the lack of sacrifices elsewhere – this is yet another terrific value screen from the company. We also don’t think the lack of curvature is a big issue for a 32in 4K screen, making this our pick over the Philips if you’re on a budget.