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

Conclusion

It seems amazing that one email from a viewer spawned all of this information and general excitement from us about a consumer electronic device. It may sound jaded, but after some time in this industry, it is some times difficult to get excited about certain new products. However, these Korean monitors have really impressed me.  Instead of the status quo of $1000 1440p displays from the likes of Dell and Apple, there are actually some companies in Korea providing a quality product for a third of the price.

While purchasing one of these displays certainly isn't risk free, with concerns like dead or stuck pixels, I was quite satisfied with the payoff I received in the form of my new display. For what it's worth, most of the eBay sellers deem any panel with above 5 dead/stuck pixels in the center of the screen, or several pixels in other areas of the display as defective. This seems to be a pretty fair policy, and I haven't seen too many people complain. Both Ryan and I were actually unable to find any faulty pixels on the monitor that I receive and use daily, but your experiences certainly could be different.

Beyond pixels issues, you have warranty, or lack there of, issues to contend with. The thing about buying one of these displays is that you don't necessarily know how long it'll work. While there aren't any signs pointing to these monitors being defective, or having short lives, they very well could have. No one has had one of these monitors for anywhere near longer than a 6 month period, and if it dies, there isn't really anyone to complain to. Once you receive a working display, it's pretty much out of the hands of the eBay seller, as it should be.

It is my personal feeling though, that the risk is worth the great reward of more screen real estate. While I could have bought multiple monitors to achieve the same sort of resolution in theory, with a large panel there are just some things you don't have to contend with, like bezel width or desk space. At this point, I cannot see myself going back to a 1080p monitor for daily use, and I am in fact already looking into purchasing another one of these displays, so I can have one hooked up to my mac as well as my gaming PC.