Asus ProArt PA32QCV 6K professional monitor review: Plenty of pixels, color, and brightness

Asus ups the pixel density ante with its 6K ProArt PA32QCV.

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Asus PA32QCV
(Image: © Tom's Hardware)

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Our HDR benchmarking uses Portrait Displays’ Calman software. To learn about our HDR testing, see our breakdown of how we test PC monitors.

The PA32QCV supports HDR10 signals by switching automatically. There are three PQ options available, each with a slightly different luminance curve.

HDR Brightness and Contrast

  • HDR White Luminance – 644.9141 nits
  • HDR Black Level – 0.0660 nit
  • HDR Sequential Contrast – 9,771.3:1

To find the highest possible contrast ratio, I turned on the dynamic dimming option with its default parameters. At nearly 10,000:1, the PA32QCV delivers superb HDR image quality. Black levels are deep with clear detail, which highlights pop with texture. The best option is PQ Optimized, which, as you’ll see below, delivers the correct luminance tracking.

Grayscale, EOTF and Color

Image 1 of 3
Asus ProArt PA32QCV
(Image credit: Portrait Displays Calman)

The grayscale result has no issues to report aside from a touch too much blue around 60 and 65% brightness. The luminance curve starts a tad light but meets the reference line by 10% and correctly transitions to tone-mapping at the 70% step.

The DCI-P3 color result shows some undersaturation, which is also likely to be a sample-specific issue. The PA32QCV is fully capable of rendering all of this gamut as the SDR tests showed. In practice, HDR color looks a bit muted though there is no shortage of brightness. The BT.2020 test shows the same behavior with general undersaturation until color runs out at 82% red, 65% green and 95% blue.

Test Takeaway: The PA32QCV has more HDR brightness and contrast than typical IPS monitors with edge backlighting. Dynamic dimming is very effective and takes the ratio up to nearly 10,000:1 without penalty. HDR grayscale and EOTF tracking is on point but color in my sample was slightly muted.

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Christian Eberle
Christian Eberle
Contributing Editor

Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors. Christian began his obsession with tech when he built his first PC in 1991, a 286 running DOS 3.0 at a blazing 12MHz. In 2006, he undertook training from the Imaging Science Foundation in video calibration and testing and thus started a passion for precise imaging that persists to this day. He is also a professional musician with a degree from the New England Conservatory as a classical bassoonist which he used to good effect as a performer with the West Point Army Band from 1987 to 2013. He enjoys watching movies and listening to high-end audio in his custom-built home theater and can be seen riding trails near his home on a race-ready ICE VTX recumbent trike. Christian enjoys the endless summer in Florida where he lives with his wife and Chihuahua and plays with orchestras around the state.

1 Comment Comment from the forums
  • wakuwaku
    Remember that the PA32QCV has Adaptive-Sync? It’s in the Settings menu under the heading MediaSync. Confusing, yes. Not only is it apart from other video processing options, but it’s also called a term only used by Asus. But now that you’ve read this, you know, and can tell your friends.

    Firstly NO. Don't tell your friends what Tom's AI tells you. They will laugh at you, then the AI will laugh at you too when you complain about it.

    The reason why Asus calls it MediaSync because that is the name of the standard that they are using. The MediaSync standard was introduced by VESA back in 2022!!!

    https://vesa.org/featured-articles/vesa-launches-industrys-first-open-standard-and-logo-program-for-pc-monitor-and-laptop-display-variable-refresh-rate-performance-for-gaming-and-media-playback/
    The reason why Asus does not call it AdaptiveSync is because it doesn't meet the requirements of the Adaptive Sync standard. It's not necessary to meet those standards for a creator monitor anyway. Here's a simple explainer:

    https://www.displayninja.com/what-is-vesa-adaptivesync-mediasync/
    Lastly, no Asus is not the only brand to use the term, since VESA introduced the term. And there are other brand that also use the same term: (Scroll down, MediaSync list of monitors is at the bottom)

    https://www.adaptivesync.org/certified-products/
    Seriously, the standard is not that new, although there are relatively low amount of monitors that are certified, but that is because only just recently that creator/professional monitors are getting variable and higher refresh rates. As a monitor reviewer, you could at least, you know? Keep up with what VESA does every now and then since they determine standards that hopefully make our monitoring experience better.
    Reply