Gigabyte G32QC Gaming Monitor Review: 32 Inches of Class-Leading Contrast

Solid big-screen performance at a more accessible price

Reviews
By Christian Eberle
published
Gigabyte G32QC
(Image: © Gigabyte)

Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Admittedly, I am partial to 32-inch monitors. For work tasks, there’s enough desktop space to put two pages of a document on the screen or 35 columns of a spreadsheet. Watching movies is fun too; when you sit close, it’s amazingly theater-like. Add some quality near-field speakers, and you could build a home cinema right in your office. This also holds true for gaming. A 32-inch 16:9 screen is wide and tall enough to completely dominate your cone of vision when sitting 3-4 feet away. Add a curve, and the sense of immersion increases. Gigabyte’s G32QC delivers all that, plus solid gaming performance courtesy of its 165 Hz refresh rate, both Nvidia and AMD flavors of Adaptive-Sync and HDR. 

(Image credit: Gigabyte)

Gigabyte has included one of the best VA panels we’ve tested with contrast around 5,000:1 without any dynamic manipulation. It also delivers accurate DCI-P3 color; although sRGB mode has room for improvement. And with some of the best black levels we’ve seen from an edge-lit VA panel, the G32QC has tremendous image depth and detail. 

The monitor's QHD resolution provides a great balance between speed, response and detail. Pixel density is 93 ppi and while we prefer numbers north of 109 ppi, but there was no time during our gameplay that we wished for more. When frame rates stay solidly over 144 fps, the action was super-smooth with excellent motion rendering, plus an effective overdrive. 

Among value-oriented monitors, the Gigabyte G32QC stands out. If you’re looking to go jumbo, it deserves serious consideration.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: How We Test Monitors

MORE: All Monitor Content

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.

7 Comments Comment from the forums
  • warezme
    Looks nice for the price. This one is definitely worthy of consideration based on stats. I wish it was 4K but no big deal if it isn't.
    Reply
  • Carlos Enrique
    8 bit, VA, no USB hub...Next, please.
    Reply
  • milleron
    For my money, Carlos, you're exactly right. But I suppose this monitor is pretty good for the US$400-500 range.
    Reply
  • snowlock
    Don't do it.
    I had this thing 35 days before the backlight started failing. Gigabyte refuses to do return shipping on their defective items after 30 days. Return shipping was $300 via fedex. Skip the middleman and just burn your money instead.
    https://ibb.co/6XM72Yb
    Reply
  • BlackHoleBox
    The explosion of VA "gaming" monitors over the past few years is one of the worst things that could happen to people who value image and motion quality.

    Samsung and AUO flooded the market with low grade 32" VA panels leading to countless no-name companies dropping them into cheap cabinets with other substandard components and overpricing them in the name of "gaming" monitors. And since idiots bought them up in droves, the availability of IPS displays shrank and their prices skyrocketed.

    So screw you Samsung. Screw you too, AUO.
    Reply
  • TK31
    Had this monitor for about 3 months now... It's great! Sure the backlight isnt the best in the market if you really squint on a completely white screen but for the purpose it serves me (gaming/movies) its perfectly fine. Its hard to find a 165hz 1440p 32" monitor for this price (in my local market anyway).

    One gripe though is it takes ages for the monitor to wake up. From the time signal is given to when an image appears on the screen.

    I had doubts originally with Gigabyte and how much money I was about to sink in, but it was all good in the end. Admittedly my experience seems rare, or just nobody bothers sharing positive experiences.
    Reply
  • shaolin95
    BlackHoleBox said:
    The explosion of VA "gaming" monitors over the past few years is one of the worst things that could happen to people who value image and motion quality.

    Samsung and AUO flooded the market with low grade 32" VA panels leading to countless no-name companies dropping them into cheap cabinets with other substandard components and overpricing them in the name of "gaming" monitors. And since idiots bought them up in droves, the availability of IPS displays shrank and their prices skyrocketed.

    So screw you Samsung. Screw you too, AUO.
    Nonsense. And calling others idiots because they have different requirements just shows how childish you are.
    IPS with the blooming, pathetic contrast level and light gray blacks is not perfect either. Both have pros and cons depending on the user needs.
    Reply