Review of the UPERFECT K118 18-inch Portable Gaming Monitor
by Chloe Romero
The UPerfect UGame K118 18-inch portable gaming monitor is a great value monitor that you can take anywhere. For any Mac user looking for a cheap alternative to desktop monitors, especially for gaming, it's surprisingly good for the price.
Pro
Cons
Incredibly clear colors and picture quality
Brightness settings reset when disconnected
Fast refresh rate for smooth gaming
No touchscreen support
Can be used without a power supply via Thunderbolt ports
I tested it out to see how it performs when connected to an M3 MacBook Pro.
With any good gaming monitor, a high refresh rate is important. The higher the refresh rate, the fewer frames are dropped, and the smoother the gameplay.
As a144Hz Monitor the UPERFECT 18 inch has a high enough refresh rate to cope with the most demanding games but also works perfectly for applications and other software.
The average desktop monitorhas a refresh rate of 60Hz, so 144Hz offers more than double the refresh speed.
This includes an official response time of 9ms although I found that the response time can be as low as 3ms so this can vary from game to game.
In terms of connectivity, there are two USB-C ports which you can connect directly to your Mac’s Thunderbolt ports, plus an HDMI port.
However, note that the HDMI port only supports a maximum output of 120Hz whereas the Type-C port supports a maximum output of 144Hz.
However, both ports support a 2560 x 1600 pixel resolution which provides extremely clear 2K visuals.
We highly recommend using the USB-C port to connect it to your Mac’s Thunderbolt port as this also powers the display, meaning there’s no need for an external power supply.
Alternatively, you can plug in the monitor’s power supply into the other USB-C port and this will then charge your MacBook’s battery thanks to Thunderbolt.
The monitor comes with a 1m cable so this is long enough to put some distance between the display and your Mac if you need to.
There’s also a version of the monitor with a Mini HDMI port. However, you need to be sure to specify that you need Mini HDMI when ordering the display.
Scaling With Macs
The 18 inch UPERFECT display works very well with 16 inch MacBooks as it has a 16:10 aspect ratio which is perfect for 16 inch MacBook Pros.
This means that 16 inch MacBook Pros natively scale the screen which looks better and puts less strain on your Mac’s CPU.
To get the maximum resolution, you’ll need to go to System Settings > Displaysand then select 2560 x 1600.
Note that in the settings, the display will show up as “RTK QHD HDR” rather than its official name and model number.
The color palette is also impressive, covering 100% of the DCI-P3 color space, meaning color reproduction is highly accurate.
You can change the color profile from the default to a pre-saved profile as long as it’s supported by the monitor.
It also supports HDR (High Dynamic Range)for smoother performance when processing fast-moving graphics.
By default, High Dynamic Range is disabled but you can enable it from the settings at the bottom.
Brightness Settings
The monitor has an On Screen Display for controlling settings such as brightness and sharpness.
It’s controlled via a wheel on the side which I found a little flimsy although you shouldn’t need to use it that much once it’s set up.
When you first turn on the monitor, the brightness is set to its lowest setting so you’ll need to change this using the OSD wheel on the side.
Maximum brightness is a bit low, but as long as you’re not in a very bright environment, it should be sufficient for most purposes.
However, I found that for some reason, if you switch to HDR mode, you can’t control the brightness at all. So make sure you adjust the brightness before using HDR.
Stand Stability
The folding metal leather-wrapped cover also acts as a stand for standing up the display. The cover and stand are magnetic so they snap shut, protecting the screen when you’re not using it.
Although it’s not essential, UPERFECT recommends flipping the magnetic cover over again at the front to give it more stability and prevent the monitor from sliding or toppling forward suddenly.
Once in place, the monitor feels firm and stable.
Downsides
Although it’s easily portable, at 1.04kg the UPERFECT 18 inch is a little heavy compared to some portable displays.
Also, the internal speakers in the UPERFECT 18 inch are poor and I’d recommend either using headphones (a headphone jack is included) or just using your MacBook’s speakers instead.
I also found that brightness settings reset every time you disconnect and reconnect the display when connected via USB-C, even if your Mac goes to sleep.
If you use the included power supply to power the display, this is not an issue but it’s a little annoying.
Also, there’s no touchscreen support on the UPERFECT K118 which would be preferable to the plastic wheel on the side for controlling the OSD.
It would also be nice to see a 4K version of this product. 2K is enough for gaming although anyone that wants to use it for graphic design softwaremay be disappointed.
Finally, as UPerfect is based in China, some of the onscreen messages and instructions are badly translated in places, but it’s all understandable.
Pricing
The UPERFECT 18 inch portable gaming monitor is currently 20% off at $279.99compared to its usual price of $369.99.
You can also get an additional $30 off if you enter the code“machow30”at checkout.
Shipping is free worldwide and usually takes approximately 2-7 business days.
There’s a 2-year warranty and a 30-day money-back guarantee in case you’re not happy with the display.
Specifications
The specifications of the UPERFECT 18 inch 144Hz Gaming Monitorare as follows:
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