Review on GIGABYTE M32U-SA: FreeSync Compatible 4K Ultra HD Monitor, 144Hz Refresh Rate, Adaptive Sync, HDMI Connectivity by Alejandro Heptig

I'm writing a review specifically for the Gigabyte M32Q, which I'm selling for $399. The price is currently $359 and will retail for $499. At $400, this display is a great all-rounder. I needed a display that could be used for both work and play. So I needed a responsive IPG display (brightness and viewing angles for work), fast pixel response times (gaming), and variable refresh rates for gaming. I also wanted built in speakers. This display meets all of these requirements. The monitor is also equipped with a KVM switch (keyboard, video and mouse). I have a work and gaming laptop connected to one monitor at the same time. The wireless keyboard and mouse connect to one of the monitor's USB ports. With a KVM switch on the back of the monitor, I can quickly switch between gaming and work laptops. Works perfectly and is very convenient. As an IPG panel monitor, it has the right RGB sub-pixel level. Text is crisp and clear, or as crisp as can be on a 32-inch 2K display. The pixel density is equivalent to a 24-inch 1080P display. Some might prefer smaller pixels (27-28 inch screen size), but I prefer 32 inches for a more immersive gaming experience. I don't mind a little pixelation on small text. 2K is also good enough for split-screen work, and I had no trouble adapting to it. I've used a 4K60Hz display in the past and while I still prefer 4K for better performance, the loss of resolution hasn't impacted my work experience, although it has actually improved my gaming experience. Although the display isn't listed as G-Sync compatible, I can use G-Sync over DisplayPort. It works without any problems. Rtings dot com tested it for G-sync compatibility below 20Hz. At very low frame rates the screen will flicker, but I have a 140W RTX 3070 laptop, which is more than enough to run all games in 2K at max settings without hitting the G-Sync display's minimum refresh rate is undercut. The best features of this display are the extremely low levels of blurring, ghosting and ghosting. I tested UFOs. This is a very responsive display. The smoothness and clarity are also noticeable in games. It's smoother than my laptop display (Alienware M15 R4 with FHD Advanced Optimus G-Sync display at 144Hz and 3ms response time). It also far outperforms it in terms of color space, brightness and contrast. The only downside is performance with G-Sync, as the internal G-Sync display doesn't flicker down to 1Hz like on the M32Q. However, under normal gaming conditions, as long as your GPU is efficient enough (desktop or laptop 3060 or higher), you won't see frame drops when playing low enough to cause flickering. IPS displays don't have the same low black levels as VA displays. So if you're used to playing console games on a mid to high end OLED or VA HDTV, you'll find that the black levels on this display aren't as dark as the higher contrast panels. Unfortunately, this is a limitation of IPS technology. With that in mind, the display shines in other ways that more than compensate for this limitation. It has a decent wide color gamut and decent SDR brightness. However, the HDR capability is somewhat lacking. Some content looks fine, but the panel appears to have a slightly lower brightness level in HDR mode, meaning some HDR content, such as For example, dark content uploaded by semi-professional creators may appear too dark on this display. Some scenes lose detail in dark areas of the screen (black crush). On the other hand, despite the low brightness (only HDR400 certified), bright highlights are noticeably brighter than SDR and some HDR content looks "pleasant" on the display. It's hit or miss, but given the price of the display, especially the discount price, I'm happy with it. I would pay a little more for an HDR600 but unfortunately they don't sell it at a decent price. There is another limitation of the monitor. I specifically wanted a monitor with a DisplayPort 1.4 connector. While this monitor is advertised here as DP 1.4, the Gigabyte website lists it as DisplayPort 1.2. Versions 1.2 and 1.4 are listed on different pages in the operating instructions! Regardless, it has DP 1.4 features like HDR compatibility. My laptop recognizes it as HDR capable, and HDR capable games give me the option to switch to HDR mode. There is one caveat. True 10-bit HDR is only available at full resolution of 2560 x 1440 at 120Hz or lower. If you set the resolution to 144Hz, 165Hz, or 170Hz with Overdrive, the colors drop to 8-bit with dithering. Dithering is a method of using noise (film grain effect) to reduce the appearance of color banding. Personally, I've tried to tell the difference between HDR content with 10-bit and 8-bit anti-aliasing and couldn't tell. However, when I'm playing a game that doesn't exceed 120fps on Ultra settings, I switch the monitor's refresh rate to 120Hz. If I need to use 165-170Hz for eSports games, I switch to a higher refresh rate. I don't know if there are HDR capable eSports games out there, but if they're not available right now, sooner or later they will be. Laptop, can highly recommend the M32Q. If you have a desktop with an RTX 3080 or Radeon 6800 XT or higher and can afford it, consider the 4K 144Hz M32U. In my case my GPU really can't handle 4K at high/ultra settings on newer games and I've found that I prefer higher framerates in 2K 4K with lower framerates. Also, the M32Q currently sells for less than half the price of the M32U. You can buy 2 for less than the price of an M32U. I don't think this is a problem.