Review on Lenovo 31.5-Inch DisplayPort Mountable Monitor 65F8GCC1US - 2560X1440P, 75Hz, Flicker-Free, Tilt Adjustment, Blue Light Filter, Anti-Glare Coating, IPS, C32Q-20 by Darnell Larson

I mostly play my PC games on a high-end 165hz monitor, so I just need something cheap at 1440p to use as a secondary monitor for encoding and reading. The Lenovo C32q-20 seems to fit the bill, offering an IPS panel (my preferred type) to boot from. Unfortunately, this monitor has two extremely annoying downsides: The physical construction of the back makes the VESA holes unusable. The bottom half has a large bulge that houses all the handling hardware (and therefore most of the weight), and the VESA holes are above that bulge. This means when I try to mount this on my gas spring arm, the monitor immediately tilts forward to the maximum and also causes the arm to compress to its lowest position. There is a bug in the firmware that prevents the DisplayPort side from waking up when the connected device is put to sleep or powered off and then back on. The only way to get DisplayPort to wake up is to physically turn the monitor off and then turn it back on! I work from home, so I have a PC with a DisplayPort connection and a work laptop with an HDMI connection. So I need reliable automatic switching of inputs, which this monitor clearly doesn't offer. Luckily, there aren't any issues with the HDMI port, so you can bypass the problem with an HDMI switch. And before you ask, I've already verified that the problem is with the monitor and not my PC - I've tried several PCs with different DP cables with no success, and other DP monitors work fine with all my PCs. Those flaws aside, the Lenovo C32q-20 is otherwise pretty solid considering the price. Picture quality isn't great, but it's not bad either - I have no complaints when watching YouTube or reading PDFs on this monitor. Viewing angles aren't bad either, considering it's IPS. There's also a 3.5mm audio output so you can easily connect headphones or speakers. Please note that the monitor does not have built-in volume controls, so make sure you have the ability to control the volume from the device itself or from the PC/console. Out of curiosity, I also connected my Nintendo Switch to this monitor and found the experience to be on par with any budget TV. I'd say the Lenovo C32q-20 is fine as a gaming display, but honestly it's better to spend the same money on a 32-inch 1080p TV with built-in speakers and inputs that actually work. Even if you want to play at 1440p, there are better options for a slightly higher price. Overall, I'd recommend the Lenovo C32q-20 if you only want to use the HDMI input and also just want to use the integrated stand rather than attaching a secondary VESA mount. If you have more specific requirements, please look elsewhere.