Sceptre E345B-QUT168 Review

Is a glorious 34-inch IPS panel with support for 144Hz refresh, AMD Freesync Premium, and 1440p enough to stand out in the crowded gaming monitor market these days? The new Sceptre E345B-QUT168 offers all that, plus some gamer-centric extras, and does all that at a price that looks pretty reachable compared to several big-screen competitors.

For starters, Sceptre has gone for the near-obligatory IPS screen tech that prevails in most premium LCD panels, with better viewing angles than TN panels. Sceptre has also fitted the E345B-QUT168 up with some particularly snazzy RGB LED lighting.

But this screen will have to pack a few extras and certainly deliver on its core function as a 34-inch super-wide gaming monitor. While the slick design and reasonable pricing sweeten the deal, the E345B-QUT168 has a tough fight on its frontiers versus the usual ‘big-boys’ in this category from Asus and Acer. Game on.

Sceptre E345B-QUT168 Specs

Price and Availability

Price in the sub-$400 range (current pricing is available below), the Sceptre E345B-QUT168 is quite a value buy. This is a refreshed upgrade of the gorgeous Sceptre C345W-2560UN that we reviewed last year, but the new model gets an even higher resolution (3440 x 1440) over its predecessor (2560 x 1080), and a newer aesthetic.

But in general terms, Sceptre has priced this panel competitively and it’s not a lot of money to invest in an all-around screen.

The like of LG’s 34GP83A-B is several hundred more expensive but offers a higher refresh rate, is Nvidia G-Sync compatible, supports HDR 400, and features a curved Nano-IPS display.

The Acer Nitro XZ342CK Pbmiiphx has similar pricing but offers a 34-inch curved VA panel, DisplayHDR500, and covers 95% sRGB versus the E345B-QUT168’s 99% sRGB coverage.

Design and Features

The Sceptre E345B-QUT168 might look like a great value compared to many widescreen gaming alternatives. But it is still not cheap for a monitor, so you’d expect a quality product. That’s precisely what Sceptre delivers in this 34-inch monitor.

The design is sophisticated and feels expensive. That V-shaped stand is robust and widely adjustable for height, tilt, and swivel. The aesthetics are pretty slick too, thanks in part to slim bezels on three sides of the panel. On looks, the other standout feature involves the circular RGB LEDs on the back, where the stand attaches to the screen.

Strictly speaking, these design flourishes add nothing to the performance of the Sceptre E345B-QUT168 as a monitor. But if you’re into this kind of thing, the RGBs are clever implantation, well configured to match the red stripe that runs down the ergonomic stand, all the way to the base. It’s very slick.

More conventionally, the E345B-QUT168’s core features set begins with a 34-inch IPS panel that boasts both a 21:9 aspect ratio and 144Hz refresh. That’s pretty nippy (but common) for an IPS panel, which raises the question about this monitor’s pixel response. It’s rated at 1ms, but pixel response has always been an IPS strong point.

Most of the competition in the gaming segment goes with either IPS or VA tech, but VA tech does have one clear advantage, namely static contrast. This monitor is rated at 3,000:1 for static contrast, standard for what most IPS screens can achieve.

Resolution-wise, we’re looking at 3,440 by 1,440 pixels, which is the current norm for this class of 21:9 aspect monitors. There’s also adaptive sync support in AMD FreeSync premium rather than the Nvidia G-Sync form, available in the LG 34GP83A-B gaming monitor.

Elsewhere you get decent connectivity in the form of two DisplayPort, two HDMI, and audio out, but you don’t have any USB ports. The Samsung Odyssey G7 (LC32G75TQSNXZA) tops out with a pair of USB 3.0 ports and a higher 240Hz refresh rate, while the MSI Optix MPG341CQR includes USB-C inputs.

Performance

A 34-inch superwide monitor with 3,440 by 1,440 pixels and 144Hz refresh is ultimately the sweet spot for high-end gaming in 2022. Yes, you can have higher resolutions and refresh rates in gaming monitors, but the returns diminish quite rapidly.

The main advantage of the Sceptre’s particular combo of specs and hardware is that it allows for quite a lot of detail and very fluid frame rates in almost all games courtesy of the latest cards that exist today, including the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 and the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT, packed into high-end gaming PCs.

4K gaming at 144Hz looks very well. But you’ll be lucky to drive a game like Metro Exodus at 4K and full detail. You’ll need one heck of a graphics card, like the RTX 3090 in the Asus ROG Strix GA35 (GA35DX-XB999 model) to break 60fps, let alone 144fps.

Anyway, thanks to the use of IPS technology, the Sceptre E345B-QUT168 looks vivid and punchy straight out of the box. Its color reproduction is vibrant, with outstanding black levels. Granted the HDR400 certification is very much poor man’s HDR.

Nonetheless, it is still a bright and dynamic display by today’s standards. Think of it as a supercharged SDR rather than true HDR and you’ll get the right idea, even if it’s handy that this monitor can process an HDR signal. It means the display will still get you the correct colors when viewing HDR content, be that video or games.

Sure, there are LCD panels that deliver fairly less motion blur. But what Sceptre has achieved with this IPS panel tech here is very impressive. There’s zero latency mode especially with AMD FreeSync Premium activated, but you’ll still find little subjective evidence of lag.

Of course, the 144Hz refresh rate makes everything feel so buttery and slick, provided you have a capable rig pushing sufficient graphics firepower. It’s also worth noting that the E345B-QUT168’s adaptive sync works fine with both AMD and Nvidia graphics cards, via the available DisplayPort. All these make this panel well executed for gaming with no major flaws, superb image quality and lots of speed, and a great feature set.

Verdict

What to make of the Sceptre E345B-QUT168? Well, in a crowded gaming market that’s very crowded, it does an excellent job standing out. The use of IPS rather than VA or TN panel technology is an incremental plus in terms of viewing angles and image quality.

It delivers punchier colors and wider angles than the VA alternative and, in this implementation, comes with little to no flaws in terms of response and input lag. We’d certainly rate that as a win.

Sceptre has come up with a very robust feature set. The core specifications, including the superwide 1440p resolution and 144Hz refresh rate, are right at the sweet spot for high-end gaming right now, and the extras including the lustful RGB LED lighting and slick design may sweeten the deal depending on your needs and preferences.

All that’s delivered at a very palatable price that may not be strictly cheap but is highly competitive with similar monitors. The reality is that this class of gaming panels is expensive, but this monitor will save you a few hundred dollars.

As such, if you’re shopping in this part of the market, we recommend that you put the Sceptre E345B-QUT168 at or near the top of your shopping list.

Last update on 2024-05-17 at 19:08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API