ViewSonic XG320U review: a 32-inch Ultra HD 144 Hz monitor for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series

The ViewSonic XG320U monitor has a 32-inch IPS panel displaying an Ultra HD definition of 3840 x 2160 px. It stands out from the competition by its compatibility with a native frequency of 144 Hz and the presence of an HDMI 2.1 input supporting 4K 120 Hz signals and VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), perfectly in line with Xbox Series game consoles S/X and PlayStation 5. It also benefits from careful ergonomics, a USB hub for comfortable use on a PC and a few significant extras, such as a guide for the mouse cable, a headset holder or yet another system for inserting black images.

Ultra HD 144 Hz monitors are expensive and the ViewSonic XG320U is no exception to the rule since to date, this model is sold for around 1200 €, more expensive than a 48-inch Ultra HD 120 Hz OLED television like the LG 48C1, also FreeSync/G-Sync compatible and featuring four HDMI 2.1 inputs. That said, the latter ignores the DisplayPort and is obviously more cumbersome. Ultra HD 144Hz monitors under $1000 are fairly recent on the market and the direct competitors of the ViewSonic XG320U are the Asus TUF VG28UQL1AAOC U28G2XU, Samsung S28AG700NU, Acer XB273KGP and Gigabyte M32U-EK, sold at around €900.

As is the current trend, the ViewSonic Elite XG320U, although aimed at gamers, is aesthetically sober. Point of red, neon or garish colors: this monitor is entirely adorned with black plastic.

The foot allows rotation over ±25° to the left or to the right. It’s not much, but allows you to widen the viewing angles a little.

The ViewSonic XG320U has height adjustment of 12 cm and tilt between -5° and +20°. The foot does not allow switching to portrait mode.

The rear of the chassis is entirely made of good quality grainy black plastic, while the connectors are oriented downwards. The screen is also compatible with VESA 100 x 100 mm mountings once the stand is removed. It is also equipped with a handy helmet holder. No cable management system here, just a hole in the midfoot to bundle them.

What would a gaming monitor be without the famous customizable RGB LEDs? This connects to the PC via a microUSB connector in order to manage the colors more easily without having to go through the system integrated into the screen.

Rather original, the ViewSonic offers a retention system for the mouse wire, present on both sides. It allows the latter not to drag on the desk and not to cling to surrounding objects. An accessory that will be prized by some players.

The connection consists of two HDMI inputs, one of which is HDMI 2.1 compatible (4K 120 Hz / VRR), a DisplayPort 1.4 input, a headphone output, a microUSB port for LED management and three USB 3.0 ports. This model also has two 5 W speakers that are far from exceptional, but which help with system sounds and watching short videos.

The monitor offers a joystick to easily access and change settings, as well as two buttons: one to exit the menu, the other to power on. If the joystick remains the most effective way to navigate the menus, they lack clarity. The interface does not seem adapted to the definition of the screen and the texts are difficult to read.

On our 140 x 60 cm desk, the ViewSonic Elite XG320U and its 32-inch panel are almost too big. The fault with a very deep foot (26.5 cm) and especially with a screen which is found very far from the wall. Despite its very high resolution, we still find ourselves too close. We therefore recommend a desk at least 70 cm deep, or even 80 cm to properly use this model. The latest versions of the Windows and macOS operating systems also perfectly manage the Ultra HD definition and allow effective scaling to 150% or even 200% (Full HD equivalent). The text elements are large enough to be readable and the image is perfectly sharp.

The native definition of 3840 x 2160 px of this 32-inch panel, or 138 pixels per inch (ppi), can be used without scaling as long as you have a good view or are close enough. of the screen. Note that photo editing software such as Photoshop manage it perfectly in the interface, but display images with the native definition of the panel, which allows you to benefit from a very high level of detail for editing enthusiasts. In games, Ultra HD brings a significant gain in precision. However, on a PC, you will need a high-performance graphics card to use the monitor’s 144 Hz, i.e. 144 fps.

Right out of the box, the monitor’s image quality isn’t bad, but it lacks approximate colorimetry. The temperature curve is perfectly stable with an average measured at 6970 K, quite close to the reference value of the video standard (6500 K). The gray levels are good: the gamma curve is perfectly stable over the entire spectrum, but the average of 2.4 is not set to the correct reference value on the PC (2.2).

Finally, with an average delta E measured at 7.3, the colors cannot be considered accurate. The human eye begins to perceive a difference between the colors requested and those displayed when the delta E exceeds 3. Once the standard preset mode has been chosen and the brightness has been lowered to 55, the gamma locks to the reference value whereas the color temperature is still good. With an average delta E measured at 5.3, color accuracy improves slightly, but still cannot be considered accurate. Too bad since the calibration using a probe shows that this monitor contains great resources. This calibration makes it possible to obtain a color temperature even closer to the reference value (6530 K) and perfect colors with a delta E of 1. You can download the colorimetric profile by following this link.

The native contrast of 1020:1 is a bit behind those measured on theAsus TUF Gaming VG27AQ and theAOC 27G2U, in both cases greater than 1200:1. This contrast is average for an IPS panel, without being bad. In any case, this device remains far from the contrast raised on the best VA monitors on the market, such as the Philips Momentum 436M6 where the MSI Optix MAG271CR which benefit from a ratio greater than 4000:1. Darker scenes and solid blacks look greyish, especially in a darkened room, but that won’t be a problem during the day.

The average difference in white homogeneity is 5% on this 32-inch panel. There is thus no variation in brightness perceptible to the eye. We did not notice any light leaks around the corners or any clouding (cloud effect) on our test model. IPS technology also offers very good viewing angles with very little variation in the angles.

As for the image quality in HDR, an important criterion for those who want to play with a console, it is good, even if the color fidelity could be better.

The ViewSonic XG320U does not use Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) to adjust brightness; it is therefore devoid of flicker and will not cause headaches for those who are sensitive to this phenomenon. It also incorporates a Low Blue Light mode to reduce the emission of blue light.

This monitor manages FreeSync – and by extension G-Sync – between 48 and 144 Hz and therefore works optimally when the graphics card sends between 48 and 144 fps. The range supported is therefore very wide and covers all uses. We would still recommend a high-performance graphics card, such as theAMD Radeon RX 6800XT or the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, in order to take advantage of the native Ultra HD definition and a high number of images. In all cases, the fluidity is there and the image does not suffer from tearing problems (tearing) or jerks (microstuttering).

This screen gives the possibility of activating the black image insertion system via backlight scanning (PureXP) which only works above 100 Hz. This system makes it possible to take advantage of the absence of tearing and micro-jerks, while benefiting from perfect sharpness of moving objects.

We measured the afterglow time at 7.5ms with the overdrive set to “fastest”. We didn’t notice any difference between the different overdrive modes on offer. Even with this value — the highest available — we did not see any reverse ghosting. This is often a sign that the screen can do even better. This is a good afterglow time for an IPS Ultra HD panel. This monitor thus does better than the Asus TUF VG27AQ which, with 8 ms, is considered to be the most responsive IPS Quad HD monitor on the market. However, we find more “impulsive”, like the VA models Samsung Odyssey G7 27” and 49G9 with an afterglow of only 4.5 ms, but not yet in Ultra HD.

Finally, we measured the display delay (input lag) at 9.9 ms (at 60 Hz). There is therefore no lag between the action with the mouse and its repercussion on the screen.