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OSD Setup, GamePlus, & Calibration
The XG32V’s on-screen display (OSD) is flexible and comprehensive. Pressing the joystick brings it up and moving it around takes you quickly through the many features and options. The control keys provide access to the image modes and GamePlus, which offers aiming reticles, a timer, frame-rate counter, and an alignment guide for multi-screen setups.
GameVisual refers to the eight picture modes. The default is Racing, which provides decent accuracy and allows access to calibration controls. You can also create your own settings in the User mode. The other presets are task-specific, and there’s an sRGB slot which locks out all adjustments and fixes brightness at 165nits. Unfortunately, this setting doesn’t reduce the color gamut properly, which means it still operates at the XG32V’s native DCI-P3 gamut. It appears as though that is the only available color option.
Blue Light Filters are standard on nearly all monitors these days. The XG32V has four strength levels plus an off setting. If you plan to spend a long time in front of a word processor or spreadsheet, this can reduce eye fatigue without requiring one to change other calibration settings. Once you go back to level 0, correct color returns.
The Color menu has the usual brightness and contrast sliders, plus a color saturation control (grayed out in some modes), three color temp presets plus a user mode, and three gamma options. They range from 1.8 to 2.5 which is quite coarse. The difference between them is significant. The 2.2 setting comes closer to 2.4 or BT.1886, according to our measurements. Given the panel’s high native contrast, we feel this is appropriate.
The Image menu contains a five-level overdrive, aspect ratio options, dynamic contrast, and a FreeSync toggle. When the XG32V detects a FreeSync-compatible graphics card, this gets turned on automatically. Overdrive is well-implemented and even the highest setting produces only slight ghosting.
Light In Motion, Aura Sync, and Aura RGB all refer to the monitor’s lighting effects. There are numerous settings for color, effects like pulse or breathe, and intensity. The possible combinations are vast and made even more so by software, which is included in the box. You don’t even need to play a game to enjoy this screen; it's fun to just watch the monitor when everything’s set up.
Other options allow you to turn off the USB ports in standby to save power; change the OSD language, timeout and transparency; and view signal information. You can always see the input resolution, refresh rate, and picture mode in the upper right corner of the OSD. Finally, there are four memory banks which can load and save a group of settings.
GamePlus
GamePlus is a part of all Asus ROG monitors and seems to add more functionality with each new model. The Strix XG32V has one of the coolest frame counters we’ve seen yet.
The initial screen offers four options; crosshair, timer, FPS counter, and display alignment. You get two different aiming reticles, in either red or green. Once activated, you can move the crosshairs around with the joystick. Countdown timers range from 30 to 90 minutes, letting you know when it’s time to get back to work.
The frame counter can be just a large number on the screen, or you can add a progress meter which graphs the framerate over a five-second span. The last option is a screen alignment graphic which makes it easy to line up multiple monitors for a perfect blend between images.
Calibration
Both the Racing and User modes are highly adjustable, though the former grays out the color saturation slider. You won’t likely want to mess with that anyway, because it changes all six colors simultaneously. The sRGB mode cannot be calibrated, which is a shame because its color gamut retains the XG32V’s native DCI-P3 spec. That means there is no way to dial in an accurate sRGB or Rec.709 spec. Ultimately, we went with Racing mode’s superior gamma tracking and achieved a high standard of accuracy. Speaking of that, gamma is set to the BT.1886 spec, rather than 2.2 power function. This works well with the high-contrast VA panel in use here. Our recommended settings are below.
| Asus ROG Strix XG32V Calibration Settings | |
| GameVisual | Racing |
| Brightness 200cd/m2 | 74 |
| Brightness 120cd/m2 | 33 |
| Brightness 100cd/m2 | 23 |
| Brightness 80cd/m2 | 14 |
| Brightness 50cd/m2 | 1 |
| Contrast | 78 |
| Gamma | 2.2 |
| Color Temp User | Red 100, Green 97, Blue 97 |
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