Philips Evnia 7000 monitor review: It shines bright, but doesn’t spark envy

Best Prices Today: Philips Evnia 7000

The battle between Mini-LED and OLED know-how continues to warmth up. Enter the Philips Evnia 7000 34M2C7600MV, an bold Mini-LED contender seeking to outshine its OLED rivals. It guarantees—and largely delivers—a robust HDR expertise, huge shade gamut, and fluid gaming, however it additionally suffers a couple of flaws that maintain it again.

Further studying: See our roundup of the best ultrawide gaming monitors to study competing merchandise.

Philips Evnia 7000 34M2C7600MV specs and options

The Philips Evnia 7000’s fundamental specs are typical for a 34-inch ultrawide monitor. It has a decision of 3440×1440, a refresh charge of 165Hz, and AMD FreeSync. These options are so widespread that you simply’d suppose they’re mandated by legislation.

• Display measurement: 34-inch ultrawide monitor
• Native decision: 3440×1440
• Panel kind: Vertical Alignment (VA)
• Refresh charge: 165Hz
• Adaptive-Sync: Yes, AMD FreeSync
• HDR: VESA DisplayHDR 1400
• Ports: 1x USB-C with DisplayPort Alternate Mode and 90 watts Power Delivery, 2x HDMI 2.1 with VRR, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x USB-B upstream, 4x USB-A downstream
• Stand adjustment: Height, swivel, tilt
• VESA mount: Yes, 100x100mm, with bracket
• Speakers: Yes, 2x 5-watt
• Price: $1,299.99

Where this monitor differs is its Mini-LED backlight, which helps the monitor obtain VESA DisplayHDR 1400 certification. There are just a few alternate options, just like the Viewsonic XG3421-2K and Samsung Odyssey Neo G9, that promise related or higher HDR brightness.

Philips Evnia 7000 34M2C7600MV design

The Philips Evnia 7000 presents a novel look with a white end and speckled “terrazzo” sample throughout the bezel and show stand. It additionally has a geometrical sample on the rear panel that additional separates its design from the pack. The look is just not as cohesive because the Alienware 3423DWF however extra becoming for a typical house workplace.

Philips integrates Ambiglow, an array of RGB LEDs that span the rear of the monitor. These gentle as much as coordinate with what’s displayed on the display, including immersion with bursts of coordinating shade. While it may possibly seem to be a little bit of a gimmick, it’s genuinely enjoyable, particularly when used with quick and colourful motion video games

The design takes a flip for the more serious with the stand. It’s too huge, taking on extreme room in your desktop, and attaches to the monitor with an uncommon, skinny neck as an alternative of a normal VESA mount. A bracket is included for compatibility with VESA monitor arms and stands, however this further step feels pointless. On the plus facet, the stand gives 150 millimeters of top adjustment, which is in the direction of the highest of what’s typical on a 34-inch ultrawide monitor, in addition to 40 levels of swivel and 25 levels of tilt.

This is a curved ultrawide monitor, however Philips opts for a 1500R curvature as an alternative of the extra widespread and aggressive 1800R curvature widespread to just about all ultrawide gaming displays. It could seem much less immersive, relying in your choice, but additionally causes much less distortion to the picture. Personally, I like Philips’ method.

Philips Evnia 7000 34M2C7600MV options and menus

Philips delivers a variety of connectivity, which incorporates two HDMI 2.1 ports and one DisplayPort 1.4. These are joined by a USB-C port which additionally helps DisplayPort alternate mode for a complete of 4 video inputs.

The USB-C port gives as much as 90 watts of USB Power Delivery. This isn’t uncommon for a premium monitor in 2023 however nonetheless considerably uncommon for a monitor that has a wholesome vary of gaming options. The Alienware AW3423DWF lacks this function, for instance, however the Viewsonic Elite XG341C-2K additionally helps it.

The USB-C port drives a USB hub with 4 downstream USB-A ports for wired peripherals. The USB-A port may also be pushed by an upstream USB-B port in case your PC lacks a USB-C output.

A joystick on the monitor’s proper flank is used to manage the on-screen menus. The joystick itself is clean and responsive, however the menus are a complete mess. For instance, miserable the joystick as soon as doesn’t trigger a shortcut menu to seem. Instead, you should press the joystick in various instructions to point out completely different menus—which means you should memorize what every particular path will present.

Matt Smith/Foundry

The oddities proceed whereas exploring the menus, as menu choices are confirmed or entered by urgent the joystick in a selected path as an alternative of miserable the joystick. It’s a complicated and irritating system.

At least the menu presents a wholesome vary of choices. It contains exactly focused shade temperature and gamma presets, and sRGB mode (which restrains the huge shade gamut), and a number of other picture-by-picture and picture-in-picture choices.

A pair of 5-watt audio system are constructed into the monitor. They’re stronger than the audio system present in most rivals: Some, just like the Alienware AW3423DWF, don’t supply audio system in any respect. However, audio quantity stays weak and sounds muffled, so the audio system solely show helpful in case you don’t have desktop audio system or headphones to make use of

Philips Evnia 7000 34M2C7600MV SDR picture high quality

The Philips Evnia 7000 is marketed as an HDR monitor however, like all displays, it will likely be used extra usually in SDR. Fortunately, the monitor performs extraordinarily properly out of the field and gives picture high quality that’s each subjectively enticing and holds up below nearer measurement.

Matt Smith/Foundry

The monitor’s most brightness of 450 nits is extraordinarily robust and stands out from each OLED and IPS ultrawide displays. In reality, the monitor can attain a brightness of over 700 nits in sure circumstances, though that is tied to particular picture modes that not everybody will need to use. In any case, 450 nits of brightness is greater than sufficient to make use of in a sunlit room and, in my modestly lit house workplace, I usually used the monitor at round 20 p.c of its most brightness.

Matt Smith/Foundry

The Philips Envia 7000 hit a formidable distinction ratio of 4060:1. That is barely worse than the Viewsonic Elite XG341C-2K, however solely barely, and it’s a lot better than IPS displays just like the ASUS ProArt PA348CGV. The monitor’s brightness can’t match that of an OLED panel just like the Alienware, however the distinction is ample to ship sense of dimensionality and depth.

It must be famous that this result’s with the mini-LED native dimming backlight off. In reality, the monitor doesn’t help native dimming in SDR, which is an odd and unlucky resolution. The monitor might carry out a lot better if native dimming was obtainable in SDR mode.

Matt Smith/Foundry

The monitor’s shade gamut spans as much as 96 p.c of DCI-P3 and 91 p.c of Adobe RGB. This is a large shade gamut that’s ample for {most professional} makes use of, and gives a vivid and extremely saturated look in leisure. The shade gamut does probably not stand out subsequent to the competitors, and actually, it falls a bit behind OLED displays—however I doubt anybody who makes use of Philips will come away disenchanted by its shade efficiency.

Matt Smith/Foundry

The monitor gives extraordinarily correct shade relative to its rivals. All of the displays proven on the graph carry out properly sufficient that shade errors received’t be straightforward to note. Still, a decrease shade error is sweet information in case you want a really correct monitor for shade important duties like skilled picture modifying.

The monitor additionally achieved a default shade temperature of 6500Okay and a default gamma curve of two.2. Both outcomes are precisely on our most well-liked targets and point out the picture is correct out of the field.

Resolution is available in at 3440×1440, which is by far the commonest decision for a 34-inch ultrawide monitor. It gives a sharpness that’s just like a 27-inch 1440p monitor with a pixel density of about 109 pixels per inch. The monitor normally seems extraordinarily sharp, however some pixelization may be observed in nice fonts when trying carefully on the monitor. This decision additionally, after all, is just not excessive sufficient for modifying 4K content material, which can be a draw back for some content material creators.

Philips Evnia 7000 34M2C7600MV HDR picture high quality

The indisputable fact that Philips solely permits native dimming in HDR suggests it must be properly calibrated for HDR however, sadly, the monitor nonetheless runs into some issues.

Brightness is just not the problem, because the Philips is VESA DisplayHDR 1400 licensed, which means it may possibly obtain a most brightness of 1400 nits. This stage of brightness gives nice leads to vibrant and colourful scenes. For instance, a sundown on a cloudless day gives important and delicate gradations of sunshine across the solar itself, delivering a practical and attention-grabbing look. Animated movies that help HDR additionally look spectacular.

Still, not one of the HDR modes provided a shade presentation that solely happy me. I observed the default HDR sport mode elevated the gamma of the show and brought on a harsh reddish tint. Other modes didn’t have the gamma problem however did look a little bit too cool and blue. And since HDR tends to lock out plenty of calibration choices, it may be tough to tune the expertise to your choice.

The monitor’s native dimming, which is accessible in HDR content material, drastically will increase the utmost distinction ratio to 22,000 to 1 within the monitor’s VESA DisplayHDR 1400 mode. That is a wonderful end result and gives an exquisite feeling of depth in HDR content material. Unfortunately, that is soured by the Mini-LED backlight with 1,152 dimming zones. It presents a excessive variety of dimming zones for a Mini-LED monitor in 2023, however blooming stays a noticeable problem and can trigger vibrant halos round objects in a darkish background.

On the entire, the monitor’s HDR efficiency is finest suited to vibrant, colourful video games like Overwatch 2 or animated films like Pixar’s Up!. It’s not an incredible monitor for having fun with darkish, gritty video games like Diablo 4. This is strictly the reverse of what’s true for an OLED monitor just like the Alienware AW3423DWF, which seems unbelievable in darkish and gritty video games however can appear subdued in additional vivid titles.

Philips Evnia 7000 34M2C7600MV movement efficiency

The Philips Evnia 7000 has a most refresh charge of 165Hz, which seems good on paper. After all, it’s the identical because the Alienware AW3423DWF. Yet the monitor’s real-world efficiency is just not as spectacular.

Blame the Vertical Alignment (VA) panel. This kind of panel is thought for having an issue referred to as darkish smear, which is attributable to darker areas of the display experiencing elevated pixel response occasions. This drawback is clear right here even when the monitor is used at its lowest SmartResponse mode of Fast. The Faster is worse nonetheless and the Fastest mode is comically dangerous, introducing main shade shifts and large darkish streaks behind transferring objects.

Motion can look moderately clear with SmartResponse set to Fast, particularly in brighter scenes, and the 165Hz refresh charge gives wonderful responsiveness and fluidity in comparison with a monitor with a decrease refresh charge. However, when put next with an OLED monitor, or perhaps a high quality IPS monitor, it’s clear that Philips falls behind. The drawback isn’t just a difficulty in video games, both. Rapidly scrolling an online web page or app with a darkish background usually makes its content material illegible.

The monitor formally helps AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, which labored properly in my testing with an AMD 6000-series video card. It must also work as a G-Sync Compatible show with Nvidia video playing cards, however that is unofficial and should not operate in all circumstances.

Should you purchase the Philips Evnia 7000?

The Philips Evnia 7000 has many strengths, but additionally a number of weaknesses, making it unimaginable to advocate at its MSRP of $1,300.

Philips’ largest drawback is the Alienware AW3423DWF, an OLED monitor that outperforms the Philips in most metrics, apart from brightness, and might usually be bought for as little as $1,000. There are benefits to the Philips, equivalent to much better HDR brightness and superior sharpness, however these perks are outweighed by points like mediocre movement readability and disabled native dimming in SDR mode.

Unfortunately, the Philips Evnia 7000 is the newest instance of a promising Mini-LED monitor held again from its full potential.