Andy Edser, hardware writer
This month I’ve been testing: Flight sticks, headsets and German kebabs. Reviews are incoming on the first two, but as for the last I can confidently say that Cologne has one of the best. Gamescom was pretty sweet too, for reference.
There are some things in life you wish you could unsee. XXX: Return of Xander Cage, for example. But if I had a choice, I’d like to erase all memory of using a 32-inch screen as my main display for the past year. It’s not that the experience has been bad, like watching a poorly-written Vin Diesel sequel. In fact, quite the opposite.
But now I’m hankering for an OLED gaming monitor, and since my poor eyeballs have been treated to 32-inches of glorious display for a significant amount of time, I know I won’t be able to go back down to a 27-inch or 24-inch screen again. Nor am I quite ready to commit to an ultrawide full-time, despite their advantages, for reasons I’ll go into later.
I’ve come perilously close, it’s true, and even at points thought I was converted. They are brilliant, after all, and I’ve flip-flopped on my decision so many times I’ve lost count. But there’s something about the 32-inch screen format that keeps pulling me back in—and OLED-wise, that means my next monitor purchase is likely going to be expensive.
For those of you that haven’t known the glory of a 32-inch screen, allow me to wax lyrical for a second: A screen of this size, I’ve finally decided, is the perfect amount of panel. And I can hear your complaints already: whatever your particular preference is, you’ll argue it’s the best, and that’s fine.
But I’ve had the pleasure of sitting in front of many fabulous displays recently, from 49-inch ultrawides to 27-inch high refresh rate marvels, and I’ve oohed and aahed at them appropriately. That being said, every time I return to my desk and sit in front of my sensible 32-inch MSI G321Q, there’s something about it that feels like coming home.
It’s not the greatest of displays, this. It’s an IPS panel, which might still be the best LCD tech around, but the low-light contrast isn’t great. It’s got a 170 Hz refresh rate—which is plenty fast enough for me, but positively glacial compared to some. Its colour reproduction is pretty decent, which means well-lit scenes do look appropriately lush, but HDR-wise it’s only “HDR Ready”, which effectively means it can’t really give me the benefits of HDR at all. It’s also got a matte finish that point-blank refuses to clean up to a perfect surface.
But it’s the format I’m in love with, and I’m struggling to let go. That 16:9 aspect ratio will cause ultrawide fans to scoff, but that’s fine by me. I love a good ultrawide, it’s true, but there’s something about a 32-inch 16:9 that keeps bringing me back. It just feels more comfortable to me, like an old pair of shoes, with just the right amount of wear.
That 32-inch panel size means that I can happily have two, three, or four windows on screen at the same time without straining to read them. Yes, they’d be more spread out on an ultrawide, but a 32-incher still gives you plenty of room for multiple screen elements, without dominating your field of vision. I can also look around it to my (real life) window behind and spot the endless delivery drivers ferrying packages to my front door. I can stare at the bin man, ignoring my recycling collection once again. It just feels a bit more…civilised, than a super-wide display.
And as for gaming? If I’m playing an intense first person shooter, thanks to that large panel, I can sit forward and immerse myself. For chilled out controller stuff, I can lean back in my chair, kick my feet up and relax. I’ve even got it setup on a VESA arm mount, so I can swing it towards my partner’s chair and we can both play a bit of local co-op in comfort.
Ever tried two-player gaming on a curved ultrawide? Thanks to that bend, the experience isn’t great. They’re brilliant screens, but I can’t quite bring myself to replace my traditional experience just yet. I’ve thought about it, hemmed and hawed, but as good as modern wide bois are, and as much fun as I’ve had using them, I can’t quite shake the 16:9 bug. And as for smaller displays? Nah. Bigger really is better, I’m afraid.
Now I’ve resigned myself to the 32-inch, 16:9 format, I know my next screen purchase is going to be expensive—at least for the foreseeable future
But I do want an OLED. Again, once you’ve seen one, you can’t quite unsee how much better an OLED screen is than just about everything else out there. Of course, plenty of 32-inch options are available, but given my preferences, I’m going to have to spend up a bit if I want my next display to be on the large side.
Not that smaller OLEDs are cheap, you understand. But good OLED 32-inch monitors are often that bit more expensive—and that means that every time I’m about to pull the trigger, I stop myself. Our current best gaming monitor, the 32-inch MSI MPG 321URX QD-OLED, has earned its place at the top of our recommendations for having a fantastic panel that’s cheaper than the competition. Cheap-er, not cheap.
It’ll still cost you $950 at the time of writing, and it’s got a tendency to sell out very quickly thanks to that more reasonable, but still teeth-clenchingly high price. Top level hardware can be expensive, and large OLEDs are certainly no exception.
I’ve thought about going back to 27-inches to try and save a bit of money, I really have. Or putting aside my nitpicking and going for the magnificent 34-inch ultrawide Alienware 34 AW3423DWF, which can often be found around the $700 mark. But it’s no use. Now I’ve resigned myself to the 32-inch, 16:9 format, I know my next screen purchase is going to be expensive—at least for the foreseeable future.
Nevermind the fact that 32-inch OLEDs are all 4K screens. To get the most out of that resolution, I’d need to upgrade my GPU as well, and now I’m looking at a total that’s closer to $2,000. And that’s the sort of cash that could be spent on a lovely holiday—or heavens forbid, a savings account. Perish the thought.
But there are some green shoots in that regard. Certain OLED monitors, like the ma-hoosive (but really rather lovely) 49-inch Gigabyte Aorus CO49DQ have been dropping in price quite rapidly since release, and I can only hope that this is a sign of cheaper OLED displays in all sizes to come. Bring me the right deal on a good 32-inch model, and I may just be brave enough to bite the bullet.
But in the meantime, here I sit, scanning for bargains on my admittedly inferior display. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out around the Black Friday sales for good OLED deals, but being UK based I’m sure it’ll be our stateside friends that’ll get the lion’s share of the great discounts. Perhaps the 32-inch OLED display of my dreams will suddenly appear, bathed in glorious HDR light, at a price point that won’t make my bank manager call me to check that I’m feeling alright.
Perhaps not. Still, I can dream, can’t I?
