Asus ProArt PA32UCDM 4K 240 Hz QD-OLED gaming monitor review: Precision, performance and elegance

32-inch gaming and reference monitor with 240 Hz, HDR10, Dolby Vision, 1000 nits, and wide gamut color.

Reviews
By published
Asus ProArt PA32UCDM
Editor's Choice
(Image: © Tom's Hardware)

Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

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

The PA32UCDM is one of the most capable HDR monitors available. It supports every standard including HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision. Only HDR10+ is missing. Each has a selectable luminance curve and HDR10 can be set to DCI-P3 or BT.2020 color. It is also possible to adjust peak brightness between 250 and 1,000 nits.

HDR Brightness and Contrast

Image 1 of 3
Asus ProArt PA32UCDM
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

OLEDs are not noted for high brightness in HDR mode, but a few, like the PA32UCDM, manage to crack 1,000 nits peak for a 3% window pattern. My generator has 25% patterns and there, I measured 709 nits, extremely bright. To achieve this, Uniform Brightness must be turned off and HDR Brightness set to Max. That puts it on par with the Dough and the ROG Swift Asus monitors. Like all OLEDs, black levels and contrast cannot be measured.

Grayscale, EOTF and Color

Image 1 of 3
Asus ProArt PA32UCDM
(Image credit: Portrait Displays Calman)

I encountered a couple of issues in the HDR color tests that I suspect will have Asus issuing a firmware fix, perhaps by the time you read this. I had already updated it to version MCM104 right before testing.

I tested both HDR10 modes, DCI-P3 and BT.2020, and all three PQ options and saw similar results. Though grayscale tracking is visually perfect, there is some black crush. This means information below 25% brightness is not visible. I confirmed this with measurements and visual observation. Many games have their own adjustments to compensate for this, but video content will have some missing shadow detail.

In both color tests, there is oversaturation at the inner red and blue points. While this doesn’t have a negative visual impact, it isn’t at the standard of accuracy seen in the PA32UCDM’s SDR modes. I also saw magenta hue errors in the DCI-P3 test, but not the BT.2020.

Test Takeaway: Despite some measured errors, the PA32UCDM’s HDR rendering looks awesome. It just isn’t on spec and that is what the monitor is made to do. If you plan to use it for gaming and entertainment, you’ll love it. If you need an HDR reference monitor, it’ll need an update to get closer to the mark.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: How We Test PC Monitors

MORE: How to Buy a PC Monitor

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.

6 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Geef
    You've convinced me! I'm gonna buy one... just as soon as I win the lottery.
    Reply
  • JTWrenn
    No Displayport? That's just weird to me.
    Reply
  • qwertymac93
    Is it possible to use a usb-c to display port adapter backwards to plug in a graphics card to the monitor? A single HDMI input and no display port is a real PITA for those of us with normal graphics cards that also want to plug in a gaming console.
    Reply
  • gamer_jim
    I've read the gaming sections of this review twice. I bought a new PC for Lightroom and flight Sim 2024, Hunt Showdown and Age of Empires with a 9800x3d and 5080.

    I'm wanting a monitor to photo edit (hobby enthusiast) and game.

    Given adaptive sync cuts at 120hz but I may able to achieve above this. Will I get screen tearing or any issues. I've only ever known my 165hz 27" that supports gsync to the refresh rate limit of the monitor.

    Is this something they can update with firmware. Guessing it's a limit of the HDMI port.....wish they included display port.

    Basically should I buy this or get something like the Gigabyte Aorus fo32u2p or PG32UCDM??
    Reply
  • oofdragon
    No bling advert.. coff review will shake the fact this product is a utterly fail at this price point. No monitor justify costing more than a grand, even $600 for every other 32 inch OLED is kind of too much already. And you know, 32 inch is such a dumb size l, c'mon. It's 27 for 2k and 40 for 4k, in between is dumb. Just give it another resolution if you want to sell it at 32
    Reply
  • gamer_jim
    gamer_jim said:
    I've read the gaming sections of this review twice. I bought a new PC for Lightroom and flight Sim 2024, Hunt Showdown and Age of Empires with a 9800x3d and 5080.

    I'm wanting a monitor to photo edit (hobby enthusiast) and game.

    Given adaptive sync cuts at 120hz but I may able to achieve above this. Will I get screen tearing or any issues. I've only ever known my 165hz 27" that supports gsync to the refresh rate limit of the monitor.

    Is this something they can update with firmware. Guessing it's a limit of the HDMI port.....wish they included display port.

    Basically should I buy this or get something like the Gigabyte Aorus fo32u2p or PG32UCDM??
    Thought I'd come back and say I decided not to go with this screen and Bought the Gigabyte Aorus FO32U2P which RTINGS had as a great gaming and photography monitor.

    Asus did a big fail not making this a proper use for color critical workers who also game in the offline at home. All they had to do was add DP1.4 (or 2.1) and add features from their 32" PG32xxxx gaming line and it would have been a home run.

    Asus support on the phone told me VRR 120Hz cap is a hardware limit and won't be able to go to 240hz in future firmware updates.

    Plenty of us gamer dads are willing to pay slightly more for something not so RGB crazy in their office. Hopefully in the future they add a DP port and VRR through to the max frame rate of the monitor.
    Reply