The brave new 4K world, which is striving for visual luxury and refresh rates above 60 fps, is striving forwards. Gradually, the corresponding monitors are coming onto the market, which not only want to shine with high refresh rates, but also with modern connection options for the new generation of consoles. ViewSonic's venture is called the Elite XG32OU and comes on the market for an MSRP of a whopping $ 1,249 - nobody has said that the brave new 4K world is cheap.
The ViewSonic Elite XG32OU is a 32-inch (flat) model with 4K resolution that is fully aimed at new standards. The IPS panel with QuantumDot technology accordingly supports resolutions of up to 3840 x .2160 pixels with a native refresh rate of 144 Hz. In Boost mode, even up to 150 Hz are achieved, which you can basically save because it on the one hand it doesn't make a big difference, on the other hand ghosting problems can occur.
Thanks to the HDMI 2.1 connection, owners of new consoles such as PS5 and Xbox Series X can also enjoy frame rates beyond 60 Hz. In addition, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro is also supported (also good for console owners). However, it is incomprehensible why only one of the two HDMI inputs is designed for 2.1, the second port continues to use HDMI 2.0. Of course, there is also a DisplayPort for PC use. Also included are 3.5 mm audio, micro USB (unfortunately no Type-C), USB 3.2 upstream and 3x USB 3.2 Type-A.
The panel delivers a native contrast ratio of 1,000: 1 in addition to 400 nits at 10-bit color depth. HDR is supported, the monitor is HDR-600 certified. According to the manufacturer, the response time is 1 ms (MPRT), which normally corresponds to around 3 ms in gray-to-gray. In addition, there is very good color space coverage of 99% of the sRGB and 99% of the Adobe color space. Thanks to the good factory calibration, the color display of the device leaves little to be desired, so that the monitor is also suitable for professional work.
Features such as Flicker Free and blue light filters are almost a matter of course and can be activated via the OSD, which is operated using a mini joystick and two buttons. Here we come to a carelessness, the OSD offers numerous setting options, but is terribly designed. The black and white writing on a gray background is simply not easy to read. In the default mode, the background is also transparent, so that hardly anything can be read or recognized properly. ViewSonic should urgently make improvements via firmware update, so that's nothing.
After all, ViewSonic did not save on the equipment. The ergonomic functions offer everything your heart desires. Inclination by -5 to +20 degrees, swiveling to the left and right by 50 degrees and 120 mm height adjustment are on offer. If you want, you can also mount the monitor on the wall with VESA 100 mounting. ViewSonic has even thought of a fold-out headset holder, a mouse bungie and cable management. Very commendable.
Even the internal 5W speakers sound surprisingly good for a monitor. In addition, all necessary cables are included, including a high-speed HDMI cable for the 2.1 input. If you like colored lights, you won't miss out thanks to RGB lighting on the back.
In practical use, the ViewSonic Elite XG32OU cuts a damn good figure apart from the hurdles of the OSD, also on the new consoles. Our Xbox Series X immediately recognized the monitor as a 4K display with 120 Hz and HDR, so there were no complications and we could get started right away. That worked well straight away, as the melting pot of Destiny 2, which supports 120 Hz, has shown without any problems.
The image quality of the monitor leaves little to be desired, especially thanks to the beautiful HDR and very good color representation. The illumination made an overall very homogeneous impression; image or pixel errors could not be seen in our sample. The image sharpness leaves nothing to be desired and the colors are rich and bright.
The entry-level price of the ViewSonic Elite XG32OU, however, is juicy and it quickly becomes clear that the path to the 4K future still has some hurdles in store. The EIA is a bit surprising given its size. Direct competitors such as ASUS ROG PG32UQ and MSI Optix MPG321UR-QD are already available at a slightly lower street price and the price in the manufacturer's US store is currently a bit lower at USD 1,043.99 (a little under $1,000) . But experience has shown that the EIA in the electronics sector is put into perspective pretty quickly, so that the $1,249 are certainly not set in iron.
CONCLUSION
Lots of light, but also some shade
4K monitors with high refresh rates are on the rise and ViewSonic is not going to miss it. The ViewSonic Elite XG32OU turns out to be a very competent representative of the new generation, which can score above all with good equipment and simple design, but also clean color display and beautiful HDR. Thanks to HDMI 2.1, the monitor is also ideally suited for PS5 and Xbox Series X, even if it remains incomprehensible why only one of the two HDMI ports uses the new standard. This does not really result in a price advantage.
On the negative side, the XG32OU also has the unsuccessful, albeit extensive, OSD and the relatively high entry-level price. If you are toying with the latest generation of 4K monitors, you might be well advised to wait a little while to see how prices develop. Competing products that work with the same panel, such as the ASUS ROG PG32UQ and the MSI Optix MPG321UR-QD, are currently extremely difficult to get, but are already available for a somewhat lower street price. All in all, however, a strong device for players who dare to make the leap to 4K and also want to operate one of the new consoles on the monitor.
Pros
- nice extras like headset holder and mouse bungie
- high refresh rate
- good HDR properties
- very good color representation, well calibrated in the factory
- all ergonomic functions available
- can be used very well for new consoles
- all necessary cables included
- surprisingly good speakers
Cons
- only one HDMI 2.1 port
- poorly designed OSD
- (still) relatively expens
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