Conclusion
If we’ve learned anything about what makes a monitor suitable for gaming, it’s that users have a wide variety of requirements. Certainly, speed is the one commonality we can all agree on. To provide an experience superior to that of a business-class 60Hz screen, a high refresh rate and adaptive sync is a must. You won’t find too many companies adding the term “gaming” to their product these days unless it includes those two things.
With the appearance of curved screens, the landscape has broadened significantly. There’s no question about the reason for their existence now. Curved screens provide a sense of immersion that just cannot be experienced with a flat panel, even an ultra-wide one. One only needs to review the extremely short history of 21:9 flat monitors to realize that. But that wide aspect ratio means you’ll need a lot of desktop real estate, while giving up screen height at the same time. That’s what makes the Asus ROG Strix XG32V so appealing. It's wide and tall.
Speed and smoothness is provided by an ample 144Hz refresh rate, FreeSync down to 48Hz, and Low Framerate Compensation. Along with a solid overdrive feature, gamers will have little to complain about. And excellent image quality is assured with a high-contrast VA panel that provides clarity despite a somewhat-low resolution of 2560x1440 pixels. And that resolution means gamers can expect high framerates without spending top dollar on a top-end graphics card.
The only area that gives us pause is Asus’ choice of color gamut. By itself, a DCI-P3 specification is not a bad thing. It’s what most Ultra-HD displays are using now, and it’s a good match for the latest video and gaming content. But the XG32V lacks a true sRGB option. Even though there is a picture mode with that label, it doesn’t quite hit the mark. So, you wind up getting extra color whether you want it or not. The question users should ask themselves is, “Do I want more color or do I want the right color?” There is no right answer really. It’s a matter of personal preference.
We should also note Asus’ implementation of BT.1886 gamma. We like that slightly darker presentation when coupled with a VA panel. Our gaming experience was sublime thanks to that extra depth.
When considerations turn to price, the XG32V represents a good value. At this writing, it sells for around $700 on the street. For that you’re getting a jumbo curved screen with 144Hz, FreeSync, and a unique lighting package that should appeal to style-conscious players and modders alike. We just wish the OSD included accurate sRGB color and a 2.2 gamma. These two things would make the monitor far more flexible.
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