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To read about our monitor tests in-depth, please check out Display Testing Explained: How We Test PC Monitors. We cover brightness and contrast testing on page two.
Uncalibrated – Maximum Backlight Level
The MPG321UR-QDX pumps out plenty of light in its SDR mode, over 418 nits peak. That’s enough for outdoor use, perhaps in a film or television production setting. The downside is that minimum brightness is quite high, 121 nits, which makes it difficult to use in a dark room. You can work around this by using the Eco picture mode or by selecting the Custom color temp which limits output to 143 nits and allows a correspondingly lower minimum.
Black levels are about average for an IPS panel, so the contrast is just under 1,000:1. If you engage HDCR, that ratio goes up to around 3,000:1 but it makes the picture brighter with no way to adjust the peak level.
After Calibration to 200 nits
My calibration consisted only of reducing the brightness slider to hit 200 nits. I made no changes to the color temp because the custom mode limits output to 143 nits, too low for a fair comparison to other monitors. Contrast remains solid at 979.8:1.
The MPG321UR-QDX Xbox Edition's ANSI score was harmed by its uniformity issue in the lower right corner. 809:1 isn’t a bad result, but it is a tad below average for an IPS panel.
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Prev Page Response, Input Lag, Viewing Angles and Uniformity Next Page Grayscale, Gamma and ColorChristian 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.
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Leszek L. Hello!Reply
I am looking for a solution for PS5 and I am thinking about Inzone m9 or maybe something 32". This MSi looks nice. Is the quality of the image on both similar and difference only in size? Or maybe there is something else? Could you share your own choice, if you would have to make one?