I was looking around on eBay a while ago for a cheap Apple or Dell 27″ display, but everything I found that was usable was still way out of my price range, so I decided to be less specific on the brand and I came across the Achieva Shimian 27″ monitors. When I saw how cheap it was I figured it was a scam, but after doing some research I found that it wasn’t and that a lot of people already had them. I bought the QH270-IPSB model because it looked similar to the Apple Thunderbolt Display. The Shimian uses the same panel that Apple uses for the 27″ iMac and Thunderbolt Display. The reason they’re cheap is because they use panels that are rejected by Apple, Dell, LG, etc. This doesn’t mean that the panels that go into these are horrible, they’re “A-” grade while the other manufacturers use “A” grade. There’s a chance that it might have some minor defects.
Specs:
-Size (without stand): 16″x25.75″x~3″
-Resolution: 2560×1440
-LCD size (diagonal): 27″
-Inputs: 1 DVI port
Unboxing:
I purchased mine from eBay seller green-sum. The box came wrapped with some bubble wrap. Inside the box was the LCD, a DVI cable, a power brick with a Korean power cable, and the stand.
Set-up:
The monitor was easy to set up. I only used the stand briefly, and it didn’t seem as flimsy as some have said. I’ve been using a Monoprice VESA arm and it works well. The monitor came with two out of the four screws for the VESA mount. The holes aren’t very deep and the screws are very short. Any screws that come with a VESA mount will most likely be too long. I’m using the two short screws diagonally and a couple of the longer ones in the other two holes. It’s not very solid but it works.
Review:
The colors are great, the picture is very clear, the build quality is acceptable (I didn’t expect much for $320). The glare isn’t too bad as long as you don’t have a light source behind you. Mine didn’t have any dead or stuck pixels or any dust between the screen and the glass. There is a little bit of light bleeding in the bottom right corner that I can only see if I have a dark image on the screen. I haven’t noticed any yellow tint on it. The screen is very bright (too bright actually, I had to turn it down to about 5 button presses above the minimum setting). There’s no settings menu, so any color adjustments have to be done on the computer. The viewing angles are great, as I would expect from an IPS display. The colors don’t really change when I look at the screen from the side. The following photos show the glare and a view from the side.
Conclusion:
I highly recommend this monitor if you’re looking for a high resolution monitor without spending $900. The 2560×1440 screen resolution is great to work with. If you need a monitor with multiple inputs, this isn’t the monitor for you (though I think there is a model that has both DVI and HDMI inputs). If you’re planning to buy one, just keep in mind that there’s a chance that you could end up with some minor defects. For me, the risk of having a couple dead pixels was worth saving $600. There are some sellers that will check the monitor before shipping it to you, so contact the seller before buying it.