At 43 inches, the Gigabyte Aorus FV43U is a whopper of a monitor, but can it replace your TV?
When a gaming monitor hits 43-inches, you might simply wonder why you wouldn’t buy TV instead – larger models are much cheaper than this after all. It’s a question that took a while for us to answer, but the Gigabyte Aorus FV43U certainly offers things that most monitors cannot, and which standard TVs struggle with. Sitting up close to this monster initially feels like you’re a naughty two-year-old staring at the TV from way-too-close. For office applications, especially, you’ll need to be turning your head side to side and up and down to see from one end to the other. The 3,840 x 2,160 resolution is just sharp enough for regular office work, but only just. The lower-than-normal pixel density means you can see pixilation in lettering where you shouldn’t if you don’t get your Windows scaling settings right. To be frank, this wasn’t ideal for extended working, as the regular head movement gets wearying on your neck, shoulders and eyes. Nonetheless, there were times where spreading several, fully-open documents across a screen at once became a productivity boost. That aside, this being a gaming monitor means it lives and dies by its gaming performance. Quantum Dot-generated colors are bright and vibrant. A 144Hz refresh rate (with 1ms MPRT) keeps motion smooth in fast-and-frantic shooters and this is enhanced by VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) to stop graphical tearing. There’s also ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) which tells the screen that a console is connected and requires a low-latency connection. Meanwhile banks of rear-lit LEDs can generate 1,000 nits of brightness (and subsequent heat!) which makes HDR-enabled games look phenomenal – perhaps a even a bit too intense if you’re sitting too close when everything fully lights up.10-bit color helps ensure that color gradients are smooth, although we did notice some banding appear in monochrome gradients. It’s a decent technical performer too: covering 97% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, and each unit is factory-calibrated. Ultimately, gaming and multimedia content looks stunning… so long as you sit back from the screen. The built-in speakers are very impressive: they get very loud and provide good, all-round fidelity with punchy bass. Gaming features include a black equalizer to reveal enemies hiding in shadows; on-screen crosshairs; Picture-in-Picture and intricate color controls. There’s even a KVM function that lets you connect a single keyboard and mouse to the monitor and have it act as an input hub for other devices (via USB-C). Gigabyte announced the Aorus FV43U gaming monitor in April 2021, and it’s available now in most markets for $1,100 / £1,000 / AU$1,699. In terms of looks, the Aorus FV43U looks more like a TV – and quite a frumpy one at that. The thick, black plastic bezel might have some subtle brushed designed elements, but if you’re expecting the flashing lights and design flourishes seen on many, top-end gaming monitors, you’re out of luck. Conversely, it seems the rear there is where the designers’ attention has been focused, although few people are likely to see those. The two double-pronged feet don’t allow for any adjustment but, to be fair, you’re not going to be tilting multiple monitors or swivelling, pivoting and rotating a monitor this big lest you might injure someone. Unlike so many modern TVs, it’s also quite thick. However, this is to house the banks of mini-LED arrays which allow for precise backlighting in the form of very high contrast and proper High Dynamic Range imagery. Just note that when they’re all firing, the screen gets hot (mainly at the top), which is a common issue with this technology. A bolted-on IR receiver at the base of the screen enables the included IR remote to function.
