If you’re looking for a portable gaming monitor for your MacBook Pro or just want a cheap way to extend your screen estate, then the 18 inch UPERFECT K118 portable monitor might be for you.
I tested it out to see how it performs when connected to an M3 MacBook Pro.
With any good gaming monitor, the important thing to look for is a high refresh rate. The higher the refresh rate, the less dropped frames and the smoother the gameplay.
As a 144Hz monitor, the UPERFECT 18 inch has a high enough refresh rate to handle the most demanding of games but also works perfectly well for applications and other software.
The average desktop monitor has a refresh rate of 60Hz, so 144Hz offers more than twice the refresh speed.
This includes an official response time of 9ms although I found that the response time could be as quick as 3ms so this may vary from game to game.
As you can see below, I used Xbox Cloud to play Microsoft Flight Simulator on a Mac and it looked great on the UPERFECT 18 inch K118.
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Connectivity
In terms of connectivity, there are two USB-C ports that you can connect directly to your Mac’s Thunderbolt ports as well as an HDMI port.
Note however that HDMI port only supports a maximum output of 120Hz whereas the Type-C port supports a maximum output of 144Hz.
Both ports however support a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels which provides extremely clear 2K images.
We strongly recommend using the USB-C port to connect it to your Mac’s Thunderbolt port as this will also provide power for the display avoiding the need for the external power pack.
Alternatively, if you connect the monitor’s power supply to the other USB-C port, it will charge your MacBook’s battery thanks to the wonders of Thunderbolt.
The monitor comes with a 1m cable so it’s long enough to give you a bit of distance between the display and your Mac if you need it.
There is also a version of the monitor with a mini-HDMI port but you must make sure you specify you require mini-HDMI when you order the display.
Scaling With Macs
The UPERFECT 18 inch 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 it natively scales the screen of 16 inch MacBook Pros which looks better and puts lets stress on your Mac’s CPU.
For the maximum resolution, you need to go into System Settings > Displays and then select 2560 x 1600.
Note that in the settings, the display appears as “RTK QHD HDR” rather than its official name and model number.
The color range is also impressive with 100% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage meaning the color reproduction is very accurate.
You can change the color profile from the default to one that you’ve got saved as a preset if it’s supported by the monitor.
It also supports HDR (High Dynamic Range) for smoother performance when handling fast moving graphics.
By default, High Dynamic Range is deselected by default but you can activate it at the bottom of the settings.
Brightness Settings
The monitor has an on screen display to control things like brightness and sharpness.
You control this via a wheel on the side which I found a bit flimsy although you shouldn’t need to use it too much after initial setup.
When you first start the monitor, the brightness is on its lowest setting so you need to change this using the OSD wheel on the side.
The maximum brightness is a bit low but as long as you’re not in a very heavily lit environment, it should be fine for most needs.
However, I found that if you switch to HDR mode, you can’t control the brightness at all for some reason so make sure you adjust the brightness before using HDR.
Stand Stability
The folding metal leather bound cover also acts as a stand to prop-up the display. The cover and stand is magnetic so that it snaps shut to protect the screen when you are not using it.
Although you don’t have to, UPERFECT recommends doubling-back the magnetic cover at the front to give it more stability and prevent the monitor slipping forwards or collapsing suddenly.
Once in place, the monitor is solid and stable.
Downsides
Although it’s easily portable, the UPERFECT 18 inch is slightly on the heavy side compared to some portable displays at 1.04kg.
The internal speakers on the UPERFECT 18 inch are also poor and I’d recommend using either headphones (there’s a headphone jack included) or simply using the speakers on your MacBook instead.
I also found that the brightness settings reset every time you disconnect and re-connect the display when connected via USB-C, including when your Mac goes to sleep.
If you use the power pack that’s supplied for the display, this isn’t a problem but it’s a bit of an annoyance.
There’s also no touch screen support with the UPERFECT K118 which would be preferable over the plastic dial on the side to control 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 software may be disappointed.
Finally, UPerfect is based in China so some of the On Screen Display messages and instructions are badly translated in parts but everything is understandable.
Pricing
The UPERFECT 18 inch portable gaming monitor is currently 20% off at $279.99 compared to the usual price of $369.99.
You can also get an extra $30 off when adding the code “machow30” at the checkout.
Shipping is free worldwide usually taking around 2-7 working days to arrive.
There’s a 2 year warranty included and a 30 day money back guarantee if you’re not happy with the display.
Specifications
The specifications of the UPERFECT 18 inch 144Hz gaming monitor are as follows:
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