It's been a long time coming. But 4K gaming panels are edging inexorably towards genuine affordability. And that includes premium models, like the Dough Spectrum One.
At launch a few years ago, this was an $800 panel. Now it's yours for just $369 from NewEgg. There are two fairly obvious catches. First, like all variants of the Spectrum One it doesn't come with a stand. If you already have some kind of VESA arm, you're good to go. But Dough's own stand will cost you $100.
The other snag is that this is the OG matte version, not the glossy follow up. Generally, we love glossy for the heightened impact and sense of contrast. But not everyone agrees.
What's more, if you use your monitor in an environment with lots of ambient light, a matte anti-glare coating can be a godsend. So, you pays your money and you takes your choice.
Either way, what you are getting is a sweet 27-inch IPS panel with crispy 4K pixel density and 144Hz refresh. The Spectrum One is also HDR600 certified, so it's extremely punchy when it comes to brightness.
It's also much more nicely built than your average budget monitor and sports a USB-C interface with fully 100W of power delivery for optimal single-cable connectivity to a laptop.
Honestly it's just a whole lot of very high-end gaming monitor for what is arguably a much more mid-range price. The only remaining problem is that pricing for the kind of GPU you'll ideally want to keep that 4K pixel grid humming along at 144Hz haven't exactly become mainstream.
OK, scaling techs like DLSS and FSR have made 4K more doable for anything less than a megabucks graphics card. But in the real world, a GPU that's up to the job of driving this display is going to cost a lot more than the $370-ish asking price of the Dough itself. Which is a pity.
