Previously two years, Quick IPS (FIPS) panels have taken over the premium gaming monitor section, turning into the de facto alternative in upscale releases like ViewSonic’s $999.99 Elite XG320U. It is billed as a top-of-the-line 4K gaming panel for consoles because of the inclusion of HDMI 2.1 ports, however our time with the 32-inch, feature-filled Elite XG320U was as transcendent because it was irritating, with very good color-testing outcomes, however low normal brightness ranges that left us operating the monitor in HDR mode whereas gaming and watching content material. Should you favor consuming your video games or motion pictures in HDR (whether or not from a gaming console or your desktop PC), you may discover the XG320U among the best 4K gaming screens in its value vary. If HDR is not in your plan, although, go along with a better-rounded possibility, such because the $799 Gigabyte Aorus FI32Q, as an alternative.
Each Bell, All of the Whistles
First, the bottom specs: The Elite XG320U is a 32-inch-diagonal monitor with a 3,840-by-2,160-pixel native decision and a 144Hz refresh charge (overclockable to 150Hz), constructed round a LED-backed FIPS panel. It evolves its show tech up from a number of the older VA-based fashions we have seen within the rarified 4K/144Hz area just like the Acer Predator XB3, utilizing extra present show applied sciences that enhance picture high quality and make gaming efficiency extra responsive.
The monitor is mounted on the identical base we have seen on a number of Elite fashions now, and it stays pleasant for players preferring to tilt their keyboard left or proper for much less conventional hand placements throughout intense esports play. Adjustability total was common, with -5 to twenty levels of vertical tilt, broad 178-degree viewing angles (each side-to-side and up-and-down), and a swivel vary of -30 to 30 levels.
The show can not pivot 90 levels between panorama and portrait modes. Pivoting the monitor means shedding a whole lot of precious horizontal display screen actual property normally reserved for gaming or watching motion pictures/TV exhibits, so until you want your coding or Twitter home windows to be actually clear and crisp, think about a cheaper 1080p monitor to fill in on the facet as an alternative.
ViewSonic’s lately overhauled onscreen show (OSD) menu system is managed by a five-way joystick within the middle of the unit, subsequent to the ability button on the suitable and an enter shortcut button on the left. The OSD affords the standard combination of customization and tuning choices for each players and content material creators. These embody a six-way coloration and saturation calibration toolset, in addition to a bunch of gaming items, although anybody who depends on a hardware-based crosshair to nail their precision pictures ought to look elsewhere. (That characteristic just isn’t supported right here.)
This panel additionally has its share of “Did not know I wanted that!” options. Should you use a wired gaming mouse, oftentimes it may be difficult to maintain the wire in place throughout frenetic play classes. Very similar to we noticed within the MSI Optix MPG341CQR, the ViewSonic Elite XG320U comes with two mouse bungees (one for both facet) put in on the underside of the panel cupboard. You possibly can hook up your mouse wire to a bungee, which can hold the wire set at a particular size to forestall it from tangling or getting caught on issues.
Of the identical theme is a headphone holder that pops out from the left facet of the monitor housing. It is these little added touches that proceed to raise ViewSonic’s Elite model past the usual.
As for ports, there’s virtually nothing disregarded, with the XG320U providing two HDMI 2.1 inputs, one DisplayPort 1.4b enter, and one micro-USB port…
Additionally listed here are three USB 3.0 Sort-A ports (plus one USB 3.0 Sort-B upstream port for feeding the opposite USBs), and a 3.5mm headphone jack to be used with the HDMI audio pass-through.
Testing the ViewSonic Elite XG320U: Quick, Lovely, and Correct
As we talked about earlier, this 4K show boasts a FIPS panel with a local peak refresh charge of 144Hz, and the monitor permits for an overclock of as much as 150Hz. Rated for HDR 600, the XG320U helps AMD FreeSync Premium Professional. To begin, we should always point out that the numbers you see under are consultant of a second Elite XG320U check unit we obtained from ViewSonic. The primary one we bought had some firmware points, which resulted in flickering, OSD menu glitches, and black screens throughout sure gaming utilization eventualities. The alternative unit exhibited none of this.
We put the XG320U by our normal gaming-monitor check routine utilizing a Datacolor SpyderX Elite colorimeter. This is what we recorded…
First up is a move of two separate peak brightness checks; one run in SDR (normal brightness), and the second run in HDR (excessive dynamic vary brightness). This check measures the height white and black degree of the monitor (and due to this fact, the distinction ratio), at 4 respective brightness ranges: 0%, 25%, 50%, and 100%, set manually by us utilizing the OSD through the run.
Testing the show within the default image mode with an SDR sign, the Elite confirmed a peak brightness of simply 215.9 nits (it is rated for 400 nits) and a black degree of 0.36 nit, which works out to a distinction ratio of simply 600:1, properly under its rated 1,000:1.
Hitting rated brightness targets has been an issue for a number of FIPS shows we have reviewed up to now, just like the Corsair Xeneon 32QHD165 and the Gigabyte Aorus FI32Q, and it would not look to be a simple resolve if we’re to take the frequency of the problem up till now as a sign. FIPS panels have been promised as one of the best mixture of all panel sorts, however there are nonetheless just a few key areas through which a TN, VA, or normal IPS panel could be higher suited to the job.
As soon as HDR testing kicked off, issues returned to expectations, nonetheless, with the HDR 600-rated show hitting simply above that brightness degree, at 602.9 nits on our SpyderX Elite meter.
Issues actually bought attention-grabbing for the monitor as soon as we kicked off coloration gamut testing. Its 100% protection of each the sRGB and Adobe RGB gamuts is greater than good—it is chart-toppingly nice. Our DCI-P3 protection results of 95% can be excellent news for content material creators and content material customers alike.
Coming off these very good outcomes, the ViewSonic Elite XG320U achieved an out-of-the-box Delta E (dE) studying of 1.14 in our color-accuracy testing. That is larger than we have seen in some main choices just like the Corsair Xeneon 32QHD165 (a decrease quantity is healthier with dE), however nonetheless glorious, and a determine that might be kicked down even additional with some cautious hand calibration.
ViewSonic Elite XG320U: Media and Gaming Efficiency
And so, onward to video-playback and video games testing. With our 4K Costa Rica check footage (output at 4K to match the monitor’s native decision), the panel appeared fairly good for its score. HDR 600 is simply above the baseline of HDR 400, and in that tier the Elite fills its position with verve. Colours have been vibrant and popped off the panel throughout our check footage run, and I additionally performed just a few motion pictures by well-liked streaming providers, which additionally appeared fairly good.
Subsequent, I booted up Crimson Useless Redemption 2 with HDR turned alternately on and off to see how the monitor dealt with it. The HDR image in video games was simply inside expectations for an HDR 600 display screen and appeared simply pretty much as good because the Costa Rica video, whereas SDR efficiency was expectedly below the norm, given our so-so brightness outcomes above. Colours have been extra washed-out than we might have preferred with out the required distinction ratios required to make them pop.
For testing conventional enter lag (the period of time between when a monitor receives a sign and when the display screen updates), we use an HDFury 4K Diva HDMI matrix. Given a 60Hz check sign, the Elite joins a rising record of shows we have examined currently that return outcomes under 1 millisecond, and our detector cannot measure precisely how far under. However that is a very good displaying.
To see how that low enter lag felt in motion, I attempted just a few rounds of Counter-Strike: International Offensive, Valorant, and Overwatch. In every of those, the ViewSonic felt snappier than any 4K monitor I’ve performed on but. The “4K” is a caveat of its personal, although. Although probably the most aggressive esports hounds will hold their decision low (which is to say, decidedly not 4K) to play on the highest tiers of velocity, personally I did not thoughts taking part in a sport of CS:GO at 4K decision (particularly on a GPU that may maintain not less than 150fps in 4K). Enjoying at 4K could seem a bit self-defeating, at first, however aggressive gamers might not need to fully dismiss this ultra-quick 4K show out of hand. Due to FreeSync Premium Professional (we test-played the panel with a Radeon RX 6800 XT card in our testbed), there was little or no display screen tearing, and the low enter lag added as much as a high-performance expertise all through.
A Practically Stellar 4K Gaming Show
After a collection of Editors’ Selection award wins in its rising household of Elite gaming screens, ViewSonic provides one other sturdy effort within the XG320U. It falls simply in need of the medal spherical, although. The low default SDR brightness ranges, mixed with some troubles testing the primary unit we obtained, take a little bit of the rating off what’s in any other case a top-notch gaming and content-watching expertise in HDR.
When the ViewSonic works because it ought to (learn: hits its HDR brightness targets), it is a implausible new entry into the rising line of succesful 4K gaming screens that push refresh charges to ranges that exceed the wants of the preferred gaming consoles. For console house owners, the monitor slots in completely as a 4K/120Hz possibility alongside section slayers just like the LG CX OLED collection of high-refresh 4K TVs. Nonetheless as a result of low brightness end result we noticed in SDR testing, you might end up wanting to make use of the XG320U in HDR-enabled mode solely, which may result in eyestrain over time.
Although looking for a graphics card that may energy a PC at something above 60fps in 4K decision seems like a little bit of a idiot’s errand as of late, should you’ve bought the GPU or gaming console to again it up, the ViewSonic Elite XG320U is a strong and succesful (if underwhelming in SDR) entry into the world of high-speed 4K gaming shows.
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