Asus ROG Swift PG32UQ Gaming Monitor Review: 4K, 155 Hz Excellence

An excellent 32-inch 4K IPS monitor with 155 Hz, Adaptive-Sync, extended color, HDR 600 and a zone-dimming edge backlight.

Reviews
By Christian Eberle
last updated
Asus ROG Swift PG32UQ
Editor's Choice
(Image: © Tom's Hardware)

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A 32-inch Ultra HD gaming monitor is a premium purchase. You will pay between $900 and $1,000 at the minimum, and you can easily pay three times that for something like the Asus PG32UQX Mini LED model. If your budget doesn’t accommodate a $3,000 monitor, do not despair. There are excellent choices out there that deliver the same gaming performance and nearly the same superb image quality for less money.

(Image credit: Asus)

The Asus ROG Swift PG32UQ is one of the best gaming monitors I’ve encountered. Its edge backlight uses zone dimming effectively to increase contrast for both SDR and HDR content. And the huge color gamut, which is the main draw here, makes every picture drip with hues you won’t see on too many other screens. With HDR contrast over 9,000:1 there are a few screens that offer greater dynamic range, but they are mostly either OLED or FALD, and will certainly cost you more money.

The PG32UQ raises the bar for color saturation and accuracy. With one of the largest gamuts I’ve ever measured, it sets itself apart from most of its similarly priced competition. Only the MSI MPG321UR-QD also has this much color.

I expect top gaming performance from any Asus ROG monitor and the PG32UQ definitely delivers there. The ability to use a backlight strobe along with Adaptive-Sync is a rarely-seen feature. Though it won’t enhance every game, it makes a subtle improvement to motion resolution while keeping frame tears at bay.

Though it works as advertised, the 155 Hz refresh rate didn’t do anything for speed or response in my tests. 11 Hz isn’t much faster and on its own than 144 Hz, so it isn’t a reason to choose the PG32UQ over another similar display.

That minor criticism aside, the Asus ROG Swift PG32UQ is one of the best Ultra HD gaming monitors I’ve tested. It’s the ideal size and shape for gaming and work. It delivers a bright and sharp picture, and it has one of the largest color gamuts available. There’s a tight race between it, the ViewSonic XG320U and the MSI MPG321UR-QD. Pricing is close between all three too, so I’d say the PG32UQ wins based on its ELMB Sync feature and tremendous color. If you can budget around $1,000 for a 32-inch Ultra HD monitor, definitely check it out.

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
  • bolweval
    How is it that we can buy a 55" 4k TV for $300 but a 32" 4k monitor is $1000?
    Reply
  • blacknemesist
    bolweval said:
    How is it that we can buy a 55" 4k TV for $300 but a 32" 4k monitor is $1000?

    Supply and demand and the fact that this is still a very niche market therefore "new" hence pricy and outdated.
    Also 55'' for PC is not an option for anyone.
    Reply
  • emitfudd
    I've been looking for a monitor with these specs for a long time. Then I read a bunch of recent 2022 reviews for this exact model on Amazon and the majority of them were bad. Monitor died, bad pixels, etc. There are also a lot of comments that you can only get to 120Hz with 4K. What is the point of 155Hz if you can't use it?
    Reply
  • drivinfast247
    bolweval said:
    How is it that we can buy a 55" 4k TV for $300 but a 32" 4k monitor is $1000?
    That $300 dollar 4k TV will have garbage picture quality no VRR and more than likely horrendous input lag.
    Reply
  • Kridian
    cracks knuckles$1,000 dollars! WAT!?oh! ASUS, that explains the greed.
    Reply
  • gggplaya
    bolweval said:
    How is it that we can buy a 55" 4k TV for $300 but a 32" 4k monitor is $1000?

    It's called economies of scale, 32" 4K Tv's sell very little. It's a niche segment.

    Now LG is making a 42" OLED 120hz panel which will start selling in several TV brands like LG and Sony, as well as ASUS. That will have enough economies of scale to keep the price somewhat ok, thanks to the console market.
    Reply