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For gaming and entertainment, it’s hard to argue with the cliché, “bigger is better.” Playing first-person titles on a large monitor is more engaging and more addictive, and I suspect few would argue with that statement. But desktops have limits. One can only sit so far back, and few offices can accommodate a 55-inch panel.
In my experience, 32 inches is an ideal screen size. It fills my peripheral vision for gaming and video, lets me manage multiple document windows with ease and still leaves room on the desk for papers and other things.
(Image credit: Pixio)
If you’re running a budget-conscious gaming rig, a monitor like the Pixio PXC325 is a good choice. It fulfills the size requirement and comes in well under $300. It sacrifices pixel density with FHD resolution, which means high frame rates are easy to achieve with a reasonably-priced video card. And with around 4,100:1 contrast after calibration, it delivers a realistic image with deep blacks and solid detail. Though it needs a grayscale adjustment out of the box, it hits the mark for color gamut and gamma accuracy.
I was a little disappointed in the PXC325’s video processing. Adaptive-Sync was no problem with either FreeSync or G-Sync PCs, but a weak overdrive left me wanting in the motion clarity department. The MPRT feature didn’t improve things, and it cut brightness too much to be a viable option. Input lag scores were slightly lower than average in testing, but that did not translate to hesitation when I played fast-paced FPS games.
It’s hard to fault the PXC325 when you consider that it’s a 32-inch monitor for $270. The only consideration is that Pixio offers a QHD version of this screen for $40 more. Either way, it’s a great deal. Gamers looking to maximize performance at a low price should definitely check it out.
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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.
