Achieva Shimian 27″ Monitor Review – 1440p IPS Display at Under $350!

Overview

So now that we have a clear picture of the competitors in this market, let's take a look at the one I picked, the Achieva Shimian QH270-Lite.

After much research over a course of weeks, I finally decided to pull the trigger on this display late one Friday night. (Editor: that is usually when the best decisions are made, I say.)  One of my biggest concerns, past the quality of the product, was how long it would take to ship. As we all know, waiting for gadgets to come in the mail is no fun, but I was pleasantly surprised with the shipping of my monitor.

The eBay seller from which I ordered the Shimian, had shipped it the following Monday, and I received the display that Wednesday afternoon. I was also overjoyed to find that the seller included a DHL tracking number, which really helped to provide a sense of security for me.

While I got this monitor for what I considered to be a steal at $315 shipped, it seems the same seller is now selling this model for $310 shipped, so even better!

Once I received my monitor, I rushed right into the PC Perspective offices to unbox it and begin testing. Here is exactly how it was shipped to me, the monitor box simply wrapped in bubble wrap. It doesn't seem like an effective method for shipping, but the product made it to me directly from Korea, unscathed.

As you might expect, the Shimian is pretty barebones in the accessory department. Included is a manual (in Korean of course), Power cable, and a Dual-Link DVI cable. While it may not be a lot, this is all you will need to get started with this monitor.

Taking a closer look at the power supply, we see the cable with a Korean Plug. However, looking at the power brick, you can see that there is a standard AC plug, in which you can plug in an American 3-pin power cord.

The back of this monitor features the power button on the top, with the brightness control buttons below that. Under the brightness control buttons are a series of other buttons, which are actually disabled on this monitor, as it does not have an On-Screen Display or Speakers.

Since this display has no On-Screen Display or built in controls, all calibration of the display has to be done through the Operating System. With my display, it was immediately evident that it needed to be calibrated out of the box, as the color was nowhere near balanced compared to other displays I use on a regular basis.

For years, our calibration needs at the PC Perspective office has been met by the Pantone Huey Pro, which can be found for a street price of about $80.

Once the Pantone software is installed on your computer, you simply follow the instructions, and ultimately attach the sensor to your display using built in suction cups.

During the calibration process, different colors are displayed on the screen, with the Huey then analyzes and the monitor is calibrated accordingly.