UPERFECT BE185CF Dual Screen Touch Monitor Reviewed by Retrotastic Gamer

Nintendo 3DS gaming was designed to fit in your pocket, so naturally, I've decided to completely ruin that idea. What if I could play it on an 18.5 inch dual screen setup instead? Why you ask? Well, in the name of science, of course. I've basically gone full mad scientist on this one. Thankfully, UPERFECT had exactly the equipment I needed. Ridiculous or genius? Well, probably a bit of both, but let's see if this actually works.

Introducing the UPERFECT BE185CF

Huge thanks to UPERFECT for sending over the UPERFECT BE185CF dual screen monitor for today's little experiment. If you fancy checking one out for yourself, there's a link down in the description. Using it also helps support the channel, so thank you if you do.

Getting Back Into 3DS and DS Gaming

Rediscovering the Classics

Now I've had the AY and Thor for what, 9 months, maybe a year. One thing it has definitely done is get me hooked back on 3DS and DS games again. It's become my go to to revisit all those classics. So naturally, I started wondering, what happens if I make the screens absolutely massive.

Moving to Plan B

Then I remembered that A1 Thor only outputs the top screen over USB-C. Yep, brilliant planning from me. So on to plan B. I fired up Azaha on the Mac instead, which lets you open two screens in separate windows. That means you can line them up perfectly across both displays.

Using the Touchscreen

And because these are touchscreen monitors, you can still tap away on the bottom screen just like you would on a real 3DS or the A1 and Thor. This is Zookeeper, by the way, one of my all-time favorite 3DS games, and honestly, it works surprisingly well.

The Gaming Experience on a Giant Dual Screen

Surprisingly Good Speakers

One thing that really surprised me though, the speakers, portable monitors usually sound a bit, well, naff, but these actually sound properly loud, and there's a nice richness to them that I wasn't expecting at all.

Playing With a Controller

Now earlier you saw me using the touchscreen, but if you'd rather kick back on the sofa, you can just pair a controller and play from a comfortable distance as well. And honestly, that's probably my favorite way to use it.

A Ridiculously Large 3DS

Never in a million years did I think I'd be playing 3DS games like this, but I absolutely love the ridiculousness of it. I was also convinced the image would be stretched way too far and look awful at this size, but it's actually nowhere near as bad as I expected. Is it huge? Absolutely. Is it too huge? Absolutely. But it still works, surprisingly.

Why Use Dual Monitors Instead of a TV?

Setting Up the Mac

So as a half for the Mac was pretty simple to set up, and it has run pretty smooth so far, no issues at all.

The Importance of Touch Input

If you're wondering why not run it through a TV instead, well, the touch input. And that's really the thing that makes this different from just throwing the game onto a TV. You've still got that second screen experience. The top screen, the bottom screen, the touch input. It's still very much a 3DS just on a completely different scale.

Getting Used to the Size

Now, if you actually sit back just a little from the screens, your brain adjusts surprisingly quickly. It's still a really enjoyable way to play.

More Than Just a Giant 3DS

Multitasking Across Two Displays

And this isn't just a one-trick pony either. You could have something like Switch running on the top screen while Netflix, YouTube, or a football match is playing on the bottom screen. Because apparently doing one thing at a time is no longer enough.

The Shared Speaker System

The only slight downside is that both displays share the same speaker system, so if you're running two different apps, you'll have to choose which one gets the audio.

Power and Brightness

Power Requirements

Now one thing I noticed is that if you adjust the brightness up on both screens, it starts to draw too much power. So, you need to definitely plug in the included USB-C cable and wall plug.

300 Knits of Brightness

Talking of brightness, it's about 300 knits for each panel, so decently bright for any indoor condition.

Build Quality and Portability

An Over-the-Top Setup

Now I know how this looks, it's total madness, I agree. It's completely over the top and I'm all for it. So, what started out as a silly little experiment actually surprised me.

Long Gaming Sessions

Will I be playing 3DS like this every day? Probably not, but for those longer gaming sessions where I just wanna sit back with a controller and get comfortable, I can absolutely see myself wheeling this thing out. There's definitely something to be said about having the screens up at eye level instead of craning over handheld for hours.

Easy Connectivity

Getting everything connected couldn't really be much easier either. It's just a single USB-C cable, which is included in the box. And they also throw in plenty of other cables for pretty much every setup you can think of.

Built Like a Tank

The first thing that struck me when I picked this up though, is that this thing is built like a tank. I'm not even exaggerating. It's got an aluminum alloy chassis, the kick stand feels incredibly solid, and overall, it feels like a really premium bit of kit.

Slim and Portable

Now, that does mean it has a bit of weight to it, but it is still impressively slim though, and if you need to take this out with you, I can confirm it does fit into something like the Air Travel pack 4 small, which is 28 L.

Final Thoughts on the BE185CF

There's no two ways about it. As a dual screen monitor, this is genuinely excellent. If you need extra screen space for work, editing, streaming, coding, or anything else that benefits from two displays, I'd happily recommend this. The build quality is superb, the panels look great, and the speakers were a really pleasant surprise.