[fun145]

Hi pcm2,

firstly, i would like to thank you for a reviewing ASUS CG32UQ , as with any other model, you made a lot of great job showing all it’s advantages as well as disadvantages, sadly though it is completely out of my budget. Anyway, great job you did and keep going on, it is helping a lot of people out there.

Now to bg (or tia, or whatever name):
@ bg:
Phillips 328E1CA is superior (even as curved panel) in colour consistency (viewing angle, black crush and response time to either lg,benq and samsung as you mentioned) but for colour critical work you mentioned (CAD, UI design, graphics,modelling,…) IPS panel type might be more suitable. If you would work with a lot of text (programming, ui
design via css, so on…) VA panel type with higher contrast to any TN or IPS might have some advantages, but if not working with a lot of text, IPS will be far more superior. Now it depends whether you need strong contrast or not, whether you need UHD resolution (3840×2160) or just a lot of screenspace to work with and whether your programs can handle scaling well or your eyesight is better then average.

If you do not need high contrast and your programs handle scaling well (or your eyesight is much better then average) then a dual 27 inch IPS monitor setup in portrait mode of Philips 276E8VJSB with a total resolution of 4320×3840 and a larger screen size would be much better than Philips 328E1CA with the price only 100€/ £ more than a benq model. Otherwise if you do not need a uhd resolution (3840×2160), (whatever your programs scaling capabilities or your eyesight) and do not need high contrast, dual monitor 32 inch IPS 1440p in portrait mode of AOC Q3279VWFD8 with a total resolution of 2880×2560 and even larger screen would be still better to mentioned Philips 328E1CA as well, with this suggestion making only around 40-50€/ £ more than mentioned benq. Both my suggestion contains flat IPS panel which are much better for colour critical work (again… CAD, UI design/skinning, photo editiing, modelling, … and other similiar colour critical task). The only drawback would be a screen split between screens created by bezels of the screens. I am giving you this advice based on your mention of no interest in gaming (as of buying screen purely for work).

Have a nice day/evening .
fun145

[PCM2]

Hi again fun145,

No problem – the CG32UQ was ‘fun’ to review (it really was!) Would definitely like to see that sort of ambient light solution on more products. And its HDR performance put many other models to shame.

Indeed you’re right that there is no substitute for IPS-type panels when it comes to colour-critical work. Whilst the 328E1CA is very good for a VA model in terms of gamma and colour consistency, it is certainly no match for IPS-type panels. There are still weaknesses, as covered in the review. Some designers don’t find colour accuracy to be vitally important for their work, though, and I know a large number actually prefer VA panels if they work heavily with wireframes, meshes and other such content rather than large swaths of shade. Sometimes dark backgrounds are used as well, with brighter content for the mesh or outline – something VA models can potentially handle better.

‘bg’ will of course be better aware of his workflow than we are, but it’s right that you raise this point. He has actually purchased the monitor already, I believe, so it’s best that he tries it out and sees how he finds it.

[atomicus]

Is there any further news on the UK release of the CG32UQ? Seems odd to me they sent a review sample but have not got this listed ANYWHERE for sale yet in the UK. No word on price even!

[PCM2]

I’ve simply been told it’s supposed to be either late this year or early next year in the UK. ASUS sometimes sends out samples that come from Taiwan or elsewhere in Asia even if the product is a few months away from UK release.

[gibby]

The BenQ EW3280U is a new monitor from BenQ. I’m going to be putting together another Mac Mini system and need a monitor. It’s either going to be a 32″ or a 38″ Ultra wide.

The 3280U is being compared to the LG 32UL950.

Has anyone had a chance to review this new BenQ?

Thank you.

[atomicus]

The EW3280U isn’t available anywhere yet as far as I can tell. It may be somewhat comparable to the 32UL950, but looks like it’s using a different panel based on the specifications… HDR400 on the BenQ, HDR600 on the LG, plus other things. The LG might have the edge, but it’s a lot more expensive. Hard to justify spending nearly £1K on a 60Hz 4K monitor in 2020, but there’s not a great deal to choose from if you want IPS, 4K, 32″ and Freesync… in fact, there’s hardly anything!

[PCM2]

Also worth noting that the EW3280U is guaranteed to have a flicker-free backlight, whereas the 32UL950 (inexcusably) uses 240Hz PWM for backlight brightness regulation.

[atomicus]

I don’t know why they dropped flicker-free on the 32UL950 given it was present on its predecessor the 32UD99, which was praised for that. Definitely a step backwards it seems. I never quite saw the justification for the 32UL950 price tag either… the EW3280U seems more sensible.

Overall, the BenQ might be a good shout. As mentioned, there are very few 32″ 4K IPS panels around with VRR, so it ticks those boxes. I just wish high refresh was present and affordable on 32″ 4K by now… at this price it really should be. Hopefully you get to review one soon anyway.

[gibby]

The flicker-free issue is a deal breaker on the LG. I’m not sure the USB-C is really necessary, too.

[juanma10dm]

Hi, mi name is Juan, and i am a new user from Argentina!.
I buyed and i9900k with a nvidia 2080 super. My primary usage will be gaming, movies and videos.
Im travelling to Orlando on february 4th, and i want to buy a 32inch 4k monitor with decent hdr.
I read a lot here (very goods reviews!).
And i narrowed my search to these models.
LG UL750-W
ASUS CG32UQ
I know that both are VA PANELS, no IPS, and i m not sure if that important. Also that both of them are 60hz.
The LG was my first option, and then started reading, and i m not sure anymore. I cheked that older LG MODELS (seems to have betters panels, but hdr400).
Also should i be worried that the asus is targeted as console monitor, ?
I read your review, and its seems quite a good monitor! Though the lg, there is no much info about UL750, but that is no flickering free (PWM?).
I played RPG, mostly, not fps.
Also learned about de new BENQ EW3280U, but i dont know if its better than the Asus CG32uq.
Then i though about going to 27inch, but i could not find any hdr600, ony 400 or 1000 (too expensive).
Is there another mother i should consider on 32inch? Wich one do you think will be better for my usage on the models i chose?
Thanks!

[PCM2]

I’m not really sure what more can be added that isn’t covered here already. The BenQ is an unknown entity so far, too new to the market. It’s an IPS-type model, so it’s an apples to oranges comparison with the others. Contrast is nowhere near as strong and it will provide an utterly unconvincing HDR performance. It lacks support for even the lowest VESA HDR certification level, with a relatively low peak luminance and lack of effective local dimming. Very different to the VA models with VESA DisplayHDR 600.The LG, meanwhile, can easily be ruled out due to the lack of flicker-free backlight.

As for the ASUS CG32UQ, our review will give you the clearest idea you’ll get short of seeing it for yourself. And that’s written from a PC usage perspective. Not that it matters, modern games consoles are just mid-range PCs with a more restrictive feature-set anyway. Monitors like this work in much the same way on them as they do on the PC using HDMI in terms of key image characteristics (contrast, colour reproduction and responsiveness). The marketing is just that – marketing. Looking beyond the 240Hz PWM of the LG, which I will repeat is unacceptable in my view, it also has a more cut-down feature set than the ASUS. The ambient lighting feature on the CG32UQ is one is actually surprisingly useful, as covered in the review. The remote control is quite useful as well, but not essential by any means.

There aren’t really any models that are better than this ASUS which tick the same boxes. The next step up at the moment whilst sticking with the size and resolution would be a MiniLED monitor costing significantly more. The ASUS PA32UCX, for example. The only model I feel is worth waiting for in the near future which could offer an interesting alternative to the ASUS without costing a fortune is the Philips 328M1R. We’ll most likely be reviewing that at some point, but it might still be a few months off.

[juanma10dm]

Thanks for your quick anwser! Great, im buying the Asus! you conviced me!

[gibby]

I appreciate all expert opinions, too.

I think the new BenQ is an odd set of choices, with the primary purpose of keeping the price down. I think the LG UL750 is a better option. IF you really want a good screen whose purpose is 4K/HDR streaming video… a 2nd monitor specifically designed for that purpose is probably the way to go. That might mean a TV. But that is the problem…. there’s not really one great all purpose monitor that’s priced reasonably (that term needs some context in 2020).

What I need to do now is start with some specs and try to match a monitor that is close. For example, VESA, which HDR spec, flicker, etc.

[atomicus]

Then BenQ EW3280U is a different monitor altogether though, being IPS, so not really comparable to the 32UL750 which is VA. It’s the 32UL950 which is IPS. Not sure if that’s the one you meant.

I had the 32UL750… it was OK, but ultimately I returned it due to the very noticeable colour shift. I’ve yet to see a VA monitor that doesn’t suffer from this, and it definitely got to me. It was one of the better monitors I tried however (and I tried A LOT), with very minimal bleed and no other screen issues. If uniformity is a concern, then IPS is the way to go, but you will then have some measure of IPS glow to deal with. However, in a well lit room this is not really visible in most cases… colour shift on a VA monitor always is though.

Ultimately, it depends on your use case. For gaming, if you aren’t sensitive to smearing/ghosting, then the 32UL750 was actually quite nice I found., and the HDR-600 did add a little something extra in some games. 4K @ 60Hz is not for fast paced gaming though, but I’m sure most people know that. The colour shift issues are not a problem with games at least. For desktop use though, in normal lighting conditions, I much prefer IPS.

[gibby]

That’s very helpful.

As I think about the way this monitor will be used, I think its primary functions will be media consumption (youtube, nflx, dis+, etc), reading web pages, and web browsing.

There’s a productivity concern so that’s what a 32″ or 38″ is of interest, but realistically 3 27″ monitors would likely do as well. It’s just not as elegant.

[GSmy6]

Hi,

I wanted to seek some knowledgable advise on my current upgrade options. I’ve been looking for a few years for a 32” 4k monitor worth purchasing, and by now my 9 year old Dell U3011 is showing it’s age, it was great at its time despite some compromises. I’m set on 32” and 4k because I find it to be a great pixel density and offers a worthwhile upgrade from my current monitor. I don’t like ultrawides or curved monitors for various subjective reasons but that is in general my preference.

I have a target budget of £1,000. Realistically if something was really perfect I could add 50% to that but I haven’t seen anything in all of my reading so far, the PA32UC is £1.8k and the PA32UCX is 2.7k, therefore well beyond budget and while I could in theory get to the UC, I’d need a really strong understanding of why.

I will use the monitor for,

– Web browsing
– Productivity including financial work, coding, spreadsheets, and therefore a lot of small text and multitasking
– Gaming, hardly any AAA or FPS games (at least not seriously, just to try). Mainly far more sedate games such as Factorio, Minecraft, WoW, Civ games etc. When I play something fast paced, I can cope with 60 Hz as it’s not my primary usage, although VRR may be of use anyway
– Design, light work with photos, videos, creative work and web design. Light enough not to be the focus, but enough that colour is desirable, to categorise my care for colour, I am very far from an expert, but I try to research and at least bother to use a Spyder5elite with some of the panels I use
– Watching YouTube or other streamed video

I will not use the monitor for,

– Watching TV or movies, as I use my TV
– Any other inputs other than a PC

Therefore I believe my priorities can be surmised from the above, but in all I just want a good monitor to last me at least a few years. I don’t think HDR is all too important to me as I’ll probably not encounter a lot of content, I use my TV for anything that I’m likely to consume, so it’d only be the odd game I may try that would get to use utilise it. I mentioned browsing and productivity above because I’d love to have a flicker free monitor, for how much time I spend reading or working with fine text.

I’ve read so many bad things about flickering, bleed, quality control in general and a whole host of other problems (more than ever it seems), and have been looking at the, Acer PE320QK, Acer XB321HK, Asus PA329Q, Asus PA32UC, Asus PA32UCX, BenQ PD3200U, BenQ PD3220U, Dell U3219Q, LG 32UD99, LG 32UL950, LG 32UK550 etc. The list goes on. It’s strange that from £500 to £3,000 there’s either a lack of reviews, or positive official reviews with horror stories from end users. I see some Philips monitors and one VA Asus monitor that I have not yet read into deeper on yet mentioned recently in this thread and elsewhere in this forum, and I appreciate the time of those reading this all. I will be looking at the reviews made here on them now, but by now, quality control and build quality appears to be one of the biggest over riding factors that budget does not seem to escape.

For someone who has used these monitors, and understands my use case, what would currently be a good fit?

[PCM2]

Hi GSmy6 and welcome,

You’ll certainly find a wealth of negative feedback on any monitor model out there and unfortunately it’s part of the human condition that people are more likely to post negative things or report problems vs. share positive feedback. Paying a lot for a monitor can buy you certain features (the PA32UCX standing out for its excellent FALD backlight solution, for example) and higher-end materials and build quality can be expected up to a point. But what you won’t buy with these models is guarantees when it comes to general quality control or uniformity. That’s why it’s useful to buy from somewhere with a good returns policy, just in case you need to use it.

Quite a few of the models you list are discussed in this thread or elsewhere on the forum. You have quite mixed usage, but that includes a bit of colour-critical work where you appreciate accurate colour output. For this reason I’d focus on the IPS-type models rather than VA models. With that said, is the content you create designed with the sRGB colour space in mind or would you prefer a wider gamut such as DCI-P3 or Adobe RGB? For your other uses ~sRGB is an appropriate gamut, unless you prefer a look with extra vibrancy and saturation (at the expense of output “as the developers intended”). This is a good way to help narrow down your choice further.

[GSmy6]

Hi, thank you for replying so quickly!

I used to include Adobe RGB in my workflow but for any work I do now I solely use sRGB as I mainly work with web and digital creative work now, when I do it. Thinking honestly over the last year my design time has been under 5% of usage, so I think that to make things easier I should let it take a back seat and get a dedicated colour work monitor in future, that does not need to be for anything else and can sacrifice other features, should I require it.

My weighting’s are around 70% web browsing and productivity, 25% gaming/entertainment, 5% creative. Creative used to be 20%+ and was the determining factor as it imposes certain requirements as you highlighted. Apologies to not make this clear above, I guess I’m just realising now, how little I’m doing that type of work recently (unfortunately).

I understand what you mean about negative user review bias, but I feel this product niche in particular is quite heavy with it. Specialist forums tend to have owners threads etc (rather than shop review) that give a decent representation and people are fairly honest, I mean take my Panasonic GZ2000, I’m super happy about buying it despite the reported and discussed crackling sound issue which Panasonic subsequently fixed via firmware. It’s a fantastic TV and I along with many others have reported so in a few forums. I’m also building a new PC and forming a balanced view on parts has been pretty easy. The monitor topic has been the hardest by orders of magnitude and I’m still none the wiser. One or two of the monitors I mentioned had multiple users reporting degradation over time in the corners of the panels which at least to me is atypical (32UD99 was one if memory serves me right, and that seemed to have been at the top of the pick list despite being hard to source currently).

The PA32UCX was the exaggeration at the top end, and realistically most of my searching continuously pointed back to it due to the 1152 zone mini LED, but as we’re buying two monitors (one for my partner as well), it’s well beyond budget at £2.7k each. I have reached the stage where what I want is to get something that I appreciate and enjoy with little hassle.

I’ve never used a VA panel, and struggle to truly imagine the difference despite your very clear descriptions in reviews. I’m wary to rule it out given the above. Unfortunately very few (if any) physical stores stock this level of monitor, yet alone two, to compare side by side. However I have had or used a lot of IPS displays with a varying degree of AG coating (which tends to get annoying), colour accurate and wider colour space. I find my needs have changed and relaxed and I want an enjoyable experience with extended use sessions. I tend to use my monitor in lower light and without any direct light behind me, therefore I don’t have reflection issues.

So sRGB space is fine, fine to accept 60Hz, no flicker. Preference going for picture quality and build quality overall. My biggest criteria was the screen size and resolution.

[PCM2]

I completely agree that the monitor market is worse than most when it comes to negative feedback. And also that quality control in general is lacking, which perpetuates a lot of that. Users really need to be of the mindset that the monitor is not going to be perfect. That isn’t to say obvious issues should be tolerated. But there will be compromises which come down to the model selected and there will is a fair likelihood of uniformity issues and suchlike that will affect some units more than others. I realise the PA32UCX was given as an extreme example and was not a realistic consideration due to price. But it’s good that you mentioned it, because even with that model there are no guarantees when it comes to uniformity or even a lack of pixel defects. I am also aware of the ‘corner issue’ with some of these IPS-type models you mention.

As you’ve now clarified that colour-critical work is really only a minor focus or could be delegated to a different monitor, I’d definitely recommend giving the Philips 328E1CA a try. I think it offers superb value for money and is well-suited for general-purpose use. I appreciate it can be difficult to gauge differences between models and especially different panel type characteristics without seeing for yourself. It’s ultimately so subjective and there are so many factors to consider that seeing for yourself is always the best way. There’s a good chance you really get on well with the monitor (and many do, which is why we readily recommend it) and I don’t see the justification for you to spend more on one of the IPS-type models instead.

[GSmy6]

Thank you for the clear response! I have read through your review on the Philips 328E1CA and it’s a rather interesting read and value proposition at £370. The curve is something I’d really need to try and see if I can adjust to, but I will watch your video review now as well.

If you were to summarise, what are the pros/cons if you were to recommend an £800-£1,000 monitor versus the Philips given the aforementioned preferences. To me it would seem, a very big ramp up above £1,000 is from higher refresh rate 4k, HDR and/or from some FALD solution. Below that is quite a plus/minus scale.

I want to see if there’s something you’d recommend higher up and compare to the Philips (even if apples to oranges), just to explore the value and have a comparison. I suspect that as the Philips is recommended the view is clear but sometimes, even if it’s subjective, having a comparison by someone who’s used them is helpful to commit!

Really thank you again for taking the time!

[Author]

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