[sblantipodi]

Mod edit: Good discussion here, created from posts in multiple other threads.

I really hope to see a review of this monitor:
BenQ MOBIUZ EX321UX 144Hz ‘4K’ UHD Mini LED IPS

I love BENQ, what should we expect from this panel?
Is it a new panel or it’s the same used in the Asus PG32UQX?

[PCM2]

The PG32UQX uses a 32″ AUO ‘AmLED’ panel and has a specified peak luminance of 1400 cd/m² (though this is very conservative). The EX321UX uses a 31.5″ panel and has a 1000 cd/m² specified peak luminance. It’s possibly using the same BOE IPS-ADS panel as the Acer X32Q FS (don’t ask me what happened to that one) was going to use or maybe an Innolux alternative.

So I have no particular expectations, it uses a new panel and the local dimming implementation is an open question. My only expectation is that it will offer significantly improved pixel responsiveness to the PG32UQX and XG321UG. Hopefully BenQ are able to provide a sample for review at some point.

[sblantipodi]

new and improved version of the X32FP is coming.
Acer Predator X32Q FS, 1152 zones at 160Hz…
interesting…

[PCM2]

That model has been coming since June last year (when we published a news piece on it). So a pretty long development cycle on it – good to see it finally starting to tape out. Hopefully it is released in the US (not essential, but preferred) and Acer are able to provide a sample. Another option in this space to keep an eye (in addition to the BenQ MOBIUZ EX321UX you’re aware of) is the Philips Evnia 32M2N6800M.

[Degrader]

If the new Acer monitor is using the same panel as the Philips 32M2N6800M and I think that’s the case, then it will not just be an improved version of the X32 FP as the BOE panel does not have DC dimming but PWM and also lacks a sort of atw polarizer which reduces ips glow significantly like the AHVA panel has. So the characteristics of the BOE panel differ from the AU Optronics.
You can see here a review of the Philips monitor.

[PCM2]

I suspect the trio of monitors does unfortunately all use the BOE panel. In fact Acer specifically said that about the X32Q FS back during its earlier development phase last year (hence the note in our article). This has made me less enthusiastic about reviewing them, to be honest. I couldn’t agree more than just upping the dimming zone count only does so much if you don’t use proper glow-reduction technology. It seems you posted the wrong link there to the review of the Philips, by the way.

[Degrader]

Oh, strange regarding the link. This should be the correct one: https://youtu.be/fNmo4o1wORE?si=o1G6NgQMpO5Q6BhC (mod edit: have updated the link in your post).

[PCM2]

I’d add that it’s possible to overcome any native PWM circuit of the panel, so if the Philips uses PWM it doesn’t mean the others will. The BenQ EX321UX is almost guaranteed to be DC dimming (or possibly very high frequency low amplitude oscillation), otherwise it would be a complete outlier amongst the usual ‘flicker free’ branding they’ve used for years and use on this model as well.

[Weissrolf]

I am convinced that mini LED (local dimming) without ATW polarizer is a bad combination on IPS panels. Every single zone becomes a source of IPS glow then. I had a 27″ mini LED monitor with local dimming here that did not use the ATW polarizer found on the X32 FP and IPS glow was very visible and ugly and not controllable at all.

[sblantipodi]

What’s the point of creating a monitor with more zones if the glow is even more visible due to the lack of ATW polarizer?
You know, I’m looking for an X32 FP upgrade, I want a MiniLED and possibily a panel with 2000+ zones…
it seems that my waiting isn’t over yet…

[PCM2]

Tim of Monitors Unboxed has reviewed the EX321U:

Just a few quick points, would definitely recommend watching the full review:

– He likes the design and port selection.

– The calibration was wonky, especially with respect to gamma. This could be fixed using the ‘sRGB’ setting but only with Uniformity Compensation (UC) enabled, which crushed contrast down to ~600:1. Native contrast is ~1400:1.

– ~4 kHz ‘PWM-like behaviour’ was noted. So not truly ‘flicker-free’, though could be marketed as such.

– DP 2.1 is misleading as it only has DP 1.4 bandwidth.

– Responsiveness was considered average but not amazing for a modern IPS model. Better than PG32UQX for sure, even if not up there with the fastest IPS models.

– Great maximum brightness (>700 nits), decent minimum (<40 nits).

- Tim was happy with the blooming levels in many scenes. But it does suffer for smaller bright elements surrounded by dark (or other high contrast mixtures like that) and he noted he sometimes noted the zones 'activating and deactivating'. Like a trail of blooming. But he didn't find it created an obvious flicker like you can get on some Mini LED models (this may depend on scenario, though).

- EOTF tracking is pretty wonky (though in my experience with Mini LED models it also be fairly scenario-dependent due to the dimming algorithm). In his testing he noted a surprisingly high black floor (i.e. raised blacks) for example unless pretty much the entire screen is black (or showing very dark shade). He postulated this could be to minimise blooming - basically by minimising the difference between the dark shades of an 'activated zone' (displaying mixture of bright and dark) vs. a 'deactivated zone' (displaying dark).

- HDR brightness was very impressive. ~1500 nits full screen, ~1400 nits for a 10% window and going down to a still pretty bright ~1100 nits for a 2% window.

- HDR contrast was consistently much better on the Q27G3XMN in his testing – even with just 384 vs 1152 dimming zones, as the larger screen and moreover IPS panel puts the BenQ at a large disadvantage.

– Overall, he wasn’t very impressed with the monitor and didn’t feel it can justify its price.

[Degrader]

Yeah, I just saw the review for this monitor on that Chinese YouTube channel, his observations are in line what you describe. These miniled BOE panels are just too little too late, unfortunately.

[EsaT]

I am convinced that mini LED (local dimming) without ATW polarizer is a bad combination on IPS panels.

Well, it’s better than no local dimming at all. At least when we’re talking about FALD instead of edge illumination POS…

– ~4 kHz ‘PWM-like behaviour’ was noted. So not truly ‘flicker-free’, though could be marketed as such.

Had Dell U3014 for nine years and that 2.5 kHz PWM wasn’t any issue.
Eye simply has its “speed limit”.

[sblantipodi]

I have found the EX321U at good price in a shop nearby my home,
unfortunantly there is no way to see the monitor turned on in that shop.

I’m thinking on upgrading my X32FP for it does it has any sense?

As far as I understood those should be the differences between the BENQ EX321UX and the Acer X32FP:

1) Benq BOE panel has better native contrast than Acer X32FP AU Optronics (1400 vs 1100)
2) Benq has 1152 zones vs Acer 576
3) Benq has a peak brightness of 1500+ vs Acer 1200+ more or less
4) Benq BOE panel should be slower (less general responsiveness) than the AU Optronics even tough I don’t like the overshoot of my Acer below 120Hz.
5) HDR should be better on Benq BOE even tough the IPS glow should be more visible due to the lack of an ATW polarizer

I don’t know if I missed some points but would you consider the EX321UX a good upgrade for the X32FP?

[PCM2]

I think that’s a fair and accurate summary. You can expect a brighter and more dynamic experience than on your Acer, but without the same depth to darker areas (which may not be so noticeable, depending on lighting). At the same time, you won’t really be losing out in terms of responsiveness or colour reproduction. So if you’re wanting a ‘dazzling’ HDR experience it might be a nice upgrade.

[sblantipodi]

mmm… I use the monitor in dark environment when consuming HDR contents and 1000nits is more than enough for me.

thanks for the answer… I’ll think on it…
at this moment the benefit probably is not that much to justify an upgrade and the possibility to have panel with bad quality / pixels.

really hope to see a real upgrade soon…

[PCM2]

Just received the following comment on the X32 FP review which is relevant here:

“Got the monitor 2 days ago and wow I’m shocked how good it is. The blacks are nearly Oled level on my unit and gets very bright. I owned the PG27UQ in the past this seems to top that. Will say though if anyone reads this comment I owned the Benq EX321UX and it was Shockley terrible. The IPS glow was really bad and the local dimming did nothing to help that. 2 the blacks where terrible it was like playing on a normal LCD. Only thing it could do was get bright but then if you was using Word or just scowling through a online page it would eventually dim. Only way to get back to normal brightness was to reset the monitor or to switch off the plug to the monitor. Plus I had 2 dead pixels and the build quality was horrible and after 2 weeks of owning it the monitor kept creaking I couldn’t even sleep because how much it creaked and the supplied controller was very cheap and creaky. So this X32 I will be keeping. Considering it has 576 zones it destroys the 1152 on the EX321UX. Plus the X32 has a ATW like my LG 32GQ950.”

[PCM2]

In the interest of balance I’ll also include this response to that comment (which is on our video review of the Acer).

“You seem a bit overly enthusiastic about this purchase, in my opinion. I bought this monitor a week ago, and I’m already tempted to return it. The local dimming doesn’t have separate settings for SDR and HDR, and in SDR, it significantly darkens and washes out the colors. While the blacks are decent with local dimming on, the colors really suffer in SDR. In HDR, it performs quite well, but that mode is only usable for gaming or video, not for regular PC tasks. Plus, I have an OLED in the same room, and while the blacks are good for an IPS panel, they’re nowhere near OLED-level. Blooming ruins the experience, especially in darker scenes. There’s no universal or automatic SDR/HDR image setting, which makes it hard to recommend. Acer could’ve addressed some of these issues with a firmware update, but their support has been disappointing. You’ll probably notice these problems after the initial excitement wears off.”

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