Image properties
Gaming monitors are available in various sizes, formats and curvatures. We’ve had a few 27″ models here lately, representing the current mainstream. But what if you want something bigger, but ultrawide isn’t right for you? In that case, you’ll probably reach for a 32″ display. Would you also like a curve, a lot of Hz and various gaming features? Then you may be interested in Gigabyte G32QC.
Image properties
We tested the properties of the display using the Datacolor Spyder5Elite tool. The display has a VA panel with a diagonal of 31.5″ and an aspect ratio of 16:9, the resolution is 2560 × 1440 px, anti-glare coating and minimalist frames on three sides. This is the sweet spot in terms of pixel density and graphics demands. Full HD is low for nowadays, and 4K is too much due to the complexity of the displaying, unless you have a really high-end graphics card or plan to upgrade to RTX 3000. Therefore, 2K 27″ monitors are currently very popular among gamers, so the review unit is slightly larger than the current mainstream. Most gaming models on the market offer a refresh rate of 144 Hz, Gigabyte has a few Hz more, namely 165. AMD FreeSync Premium adds to this, but I can also confirm compatibility with G-Sync. As with other tested pieces, here we find the VESA Display HDR 400 certification, which, as far as we know, rather speaks about the possibility of playing HDR content, but there is no question of a full HDR experience.
We compared the display quality in the basic mode, i.e. the one the monitor will run immediately after unpacking. On the manufacturer’s website you will find information on 124% sRGB coverage, 94% DCI-P3, 3000:1 contrast and 350 nit brightness. Thanks to the VA panel, you can look forward to slightly better color rendering and especially viewing angles than in the case of models with TN panels. What values did we measure with the tool?
It confirmed more than 100% sRGB coverage and added information about 87% Adobe RGB, 96% DCI-P3. These are really great values that even significantly more expensive and non-gaming monitors can envy. Gamma has a value of 1.9, which is slightly different from the usual 2.0. The Delta E color difference is 2.09, which means that the monitor’s color interpretation is very accurate. The monitor also offers sRGB mode, designed for work and say for printing and the like. The reduction in displayed colors is reflected at 86% sRGB, 65% AdobeRGB, and 65% DCI-P3 coverage. Gamma changed to 1.8 and only a slight change of Delta E to 3.42. Personally, I consider this to be too big a change from the default mode, and the accuracy is not what I would expect from a dedicated mode. Therefore, it will be better to stay with the default settings.
The monitor offers up to six Gamma modes – Off, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. The measured values are 2.1, 1.6, 1.8, 1.9, 2.1 and 2.2. The maximum measured brightness is 361 nits, which is a little more than specified by the manufacturer. The contrast ranged around 2200–2500:1 depending on the color mode and color temperature. I criticized the uniformity at the beginning, but we did not measure large deviations with the tool. The reason is the fact that in such a measurement, the area of the display is divided into 9 parts – 3 vertically and 3 horizontally, and measurements are subsequently performed in these areas. However, the area of the display is relatively large, so one part where measuring takes place is relatively large. As you could already see in displaying of black, the differences were significant but at the same time relatively small. Therefore, they could not be captured well when measured with the tool.
Input Lag and Response Time
We also measured input lag on the monitor in several Overdrive modes.
Basic settings Balance has a relatively good input lag of only 11.1 ms, which is one of the better measured values. After switching to Picture Quality, the input lag will increase slightly to 13.6 ms. Conversely, in Speed mode, it drops to 10.7 ms. Input lag is not one of the weaknesses of the monitor, on the contrary, it is a better average.
On the manufacturer’s website you will find information about 1 ms response time, ie the pixel recovery speed. In the three Overdrive modes, it is possible to observe visible differences in ghosting. Picture Quality leaves a relatively large trail behind objects, which is significantly reduced when switching to Balance. On the other hand, no trail is visible in Speed, but inverse ghosting appears, which is even more visible. For an optimal gaming experience, I would therefore recommend staying in Balance mode.
