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Uncalibrated – Maximum Backlight Level
I talk frequently about OLEDs and variable brightness. The feature is more common in the newest panels, but since I reached back in time a bit for this group of screens, you can see that three of them don’t have it. They run constant brightness all the time. That means you’ll see the same output level from a full field pattern and a 25% window. The X32 X3 however does have the toggle so it hits 439 nits in SDR mode. The two Asus screens have the feature also but don’t drive quite as hard.
Since black levels and contrast are infinite regardless, the visual difference is small. But turning the X32 X3’s Constant Brightness off gives the picture a little more verve.
After Calibration to 200 nits
For indoor use, 200 is the highest nit level my eyes can tolerate for more than a few minutes. It’s a good field leveler for testing as well. Like any OLED, this makes no difference to the X32 X3’s black levels or contrast. And it doesn’t affect the ANSI checkerboard pattern either, intra-image contrast is infinite as well.
Test Takeaway: The range of OLED monitor brightness levels isn’t that wide. The principal difference is whether there is a constant brightness option, which makes the picture pop a bit more when turned off. The X32 X3 has this, whereas some other OLEDs don’t. That may be a factor in some user’s purchase decisions.
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