Dell S3225QC 32-inch 4K QD-OLED Monitor Review: Compelling gaming value

The Dell S3225QC is a 32-inch 4K QD-OLED monitor with 120 Hz, HDR10, Dolby Vision, Adaptive-Sync, wide gamut color, and spatial audio.

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Dell S3225QC
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Uncalibrated – Maximum Backlight Level

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Dell S3225QC
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The S3225QC isn’t a super bright monitor, but it should be considered that larger screens like this wouldn’t normally be set to high levels. In other words, 243 nits from a 32-inch screen is perceptually brighter from the greater screen area. And even the 200 nits I use for testing is very bright in practice. There is no variable brightness available for SDR, so window and full field patterns measure the same. Like all OLEDs, both black levels and contrast are unmeasurable.

After Calibration to 200 nits

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Dell S3225QC
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Calibration changes nothing except the peak output, which has been set to 200 nits. In practice, I’d go a bit lower due to the size of the S3225QC, but for testing, this puts it on equal footing with competitors. In the ANSI test, the black squares are unmeasurable.

Test Takeaway: The S3225QC has the same infinite blacks and contrast as every OLED. Its peak SDR output is a bit below the rest, but it is still more than bright enough for any indoor environment. There’s no variable brightness option, but it does work for HDR, which I’ll talk about on page five.

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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.