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00:00Typical. You wait your whole life for the ultimate gaming monitor. 32-inches, 4k, OLED, 240hz
00:07and then all of a sudden loads come out at once. They're like buses.
00:11But this may just be the best of the lot.
00:14It's the ASUS ROG Swift PG32UC-DM and it's pretty incredible actually.
00:20So I'm feeling a little bit of Groundhog Day right now.
00:23If Groundhog Day was about reviewing high-end gaming monitors
00:26because I've just finished my video on LG's 32-inch, 4k, 240hz OLED.
00:31And now I have this ROG which has similar specs and a similar price
00:35but I think there are enough differences and extra features to make them feel really different to use.
00:39And there's also a couple of slightly more affordable alternatives, again with similar specs.
00:44Including a curvy Alienware with a QD OLED screen and this MSI.
00:49Now to be fair, paying a grand or more for a gaming monitor is an awful lot of money.
00:54The good news is that because there is so much competition,
00:56hopefully we'll see some comparative pricing and deals over the next few months.
01:00And I also reckon we'll probably see updated 27-inch models sometime this summer.
01:05So if this is too big and too expensive, maybe hold out.
01:07But for me, as someone who definitely prefers a bigger 32-inch,
01:11I think this might be my new everyday monitor.
01:14So what makes this ROG so special?
01:16Well, it's using ASUS's 3rd gen QD OLED panel.
01:20And the big news is the jump to 4k at 240hz,
01:23the 32-inch size,
01:24and a new sub-pixel layer for much better definition around fine detail like text.
01:29Rough looking detail was a big weak point of older OLEDs,
01:32which suffered with colour fringing and blurriness which made them kind of lousy for work tasks,
01:37like if you had a Google Doc op.
01:38But not anymore.
01:40We get a super quick 0.03ms GTG response time,
01:44HDR10, Dolby Vision, although coming via an update,
01:47DisplayHDR 400 True Black,
01:49and of course, like any high-end gaming monitor worth its salt,
01:52we've got FreeSync Premium Pro, we've got Adaptive Sync,
01:54and G-Sync compatibility.
01:57There's also a uniform brightness mode,
01:59we have an extra low motion blur, or ELMB tech,
02:02KVM switch,
02:03and a USB Type-C port,
02:05with up to 90W power delivery.
02:07But wait, there's more.
02:09Because this also uses a graphene layer as part of their custom heatsink,
02:13which they've built into this.
02:14It's not active fans, it's just passive cooling.
02:16But with that graphene, it helps disperse the heat away from the screen,
02:19meaning we can get higher brightnesses.
02:21And crucially, higher sustained peak brightnesses.
02:24And ROG very kindly offer a 3-year warranty,
02:27which includes cover against burn-in.
02:29Of course, I love the same game in Cyberpunk where that's happening.
02:34What I was going to say is that this has been the best gaming experience
02:37I think I've ever had on a gaming monitor,
02:39in terms of the visuals at least.
02:41Less so the audio, because, well, it doesn't have any speakers built in,
02:44and I really did appreciate having the speakers on the LG I just tested.
02:48Obviously, it's not the end of the world,
02:50you're probably going to have a pair of headphones anyway,
02:52but, you know, decent built-in speakers for this kind of money.
02:55I wouldn't say no to it.
02:57Still, playing at 4K, and if you can get to it,
03:00the full 240Hz refresh rate on this semi-gloss QD OLED
03:04just looks and feels amazing.
03:07The thing is, though, very few people actually game at 4K.
03:10If you look at the Steam survey index, it's like 1% or something.
03:13It's the single digits.
03:14Not many people, because it's so demanding.
03:16You have to have a really high-end system to actually take advantage of it.
03:19But if you can, what I definitely do say,
03:21if you've used 4K screens yourself,
03:23is that 32 inches, I think, is the best size to really appreciate it.
03:27If you're 27, stick to QHD, get higher frame rates.
03:30And if you have a console, it looks just as good,
03:33although most games are still sort of 60fps, though.
03:35There's only a handful that are 120.
03:37But 4K at 32 inches, and also with the QD OLED panel,
03:41which gives us these lovely, deep, contrasty blacks
03:43and super vibrant colors, and HDR looks amazing
03:46in a way that you just can't get on an IPS or VA.
03:49However, there is a downside to this lovely, contrasty,
03:52vibrant, glossy screen, and that is reflections.
03:56It does a decent job at sort of diffusing it a little bit,
03:59but it's nowhere near the level of anti-reflectivity
04:02you get on, say, that matte LG panel.
04:04So this is definitely best used in darker conditions,
04:07and do not place it, you know, opposite a window.
04:09Not that you probably would anyway,
04:10but just bear in mind that being reflective,
04:13or semi-gloss, I should say,
04:14it is going to pick up more mirrors and lights and windows,
04:17but it's certainly not as bad
04:18as some pure glossy screens I've seen,
04:20which basically act like a mirror.
04:22And what I would also say, compared to the LG,
04:24is that the brighter whites have a much cleaner look.
04:26LG's matte anti-glare screen has slightly dirty-looking whites,
04:30and also flatter, slightly less vivid colors.
04:33Colors are nice and accurate.
04:35I measured 100% sRGB, 97% P3,
04:38and a slightly less impressive 91% Adobe RGB.
04:42And I do like the fact we have separate sRGB and P3 modes,
04:45depending on what you need.
04:46And it's been great for me editing my photos and videos.
04:49And it gets bright, especially for an OLED.
04:51I measured between 1,000 and 1,100 nits peak brightness
04:54on a 10% window,
04:55and it managed to maintain this where the LG quickly dimmed.
04:59And in HDR movies and games,
05:01the ROG was consistently 80 to 200 nits brighter than the LG,
05:05which is probably due to that custom heatsink
05:07and the fact that QD OLEDs are usually a little bit brighter
05:10than the W OLED-type panel we get on the LG.
05:14And in SDR, or on a 100% white screen,
05:17both sustained between 550 and 600 nits,
05:19which is still very impressive,
05:21but a decent mini-LED will get a lot brighter.
05:24Design-wise, well, it's ROG business as usual,
05:28with its trademark blade-like stand with projected logo
05:31and this RGB glyph which you can control via Aura on the OSD.
05:35I do like the slim frame around the edges
05:37as it kind of hides the depth,
05:38although the bezels are a little bit chunkier than the LG.
05:41And while it's a bit plasticky in places,
05:43the stand feels robust and the metal legs feel great.
05:46And I really appreciate that the rear part of the stand
05:48doesn't stick out too far either,
05:50so you can still push this reasonably close
05:52to the back of your desk.
05:54And you do also get this screw thread on top
05:56for attaching extras like streaming webcams
05:58or this ROG Aura light bar.
06:00They also make a desk-mounted ROG monitor arm
06:03to give you a bit more flexibility,
06:05and while it is a standard VESA attachment,
06:07unlike generic arms,
06:08this design fits with the rest of the monitor's aesthetic.
06:11There's also a good amount of adjustability, flexibility.
06:14You can rotate and pivot and tilt.
06:17Actually, you can't rotate.
06:18That's one thing it can't do.
06:19Well, like three or four, maybe five degrees.
06:22That's the most you can do.
06:23You can't turn it vertically and have it in portrait mode.
06:25And actually, it's a little bit annoying
06:27that you can even do that
06:28because then it's really difficult
06:29to actually find the straight level again.
06:32It also doesn't really get high enough,
06:34at least for my use case,
06:35because sometimes I plug in my MacBook Pro,
06:37my 16-inch,
06:38and you can see I've got my little bit of script here,
06:40and that's the result.
06:42I know the 16-inch is a big laptop,
06:44but I kind of have to move it all the way forward,
06:46tilt the screen.
06:48Not ideal at all.
06:49So, yeah, a little bit more height would have been nice.
06:52Also, a bit of a nitpick,
06:53but because this IO shield is so low down,
06:55the power cable has no option
06:57but to droop down behind the monitor,
06:59meaning you can pretty much always see it,
07:01even if you route it through the cutout in the stand.
07:04Anyway, around the back,
07:05we have the usual little joystick
07:07for controlling the on-screen display,
07:09and we've got tons of picture options
07:10and Game Plus extras like an FPS counter,
07:13crosshair, sniper, sniper night vision.
07:15This is fun.
07:16You can basically make your entire screen
07:18night vision at all times,
07:19shadow boost,
07:20and you can tink with all the image
07:21and color settings as well.
07:22Lots of options there, which is great.
07:24And we get loads of connectivity.
07:26Two HDMI 2.1s,
07:27a single DisplayPort 1.4 with DSC
07:30for connecting desktop PCs
07:32at the full 4K 240,
07:34as well as three USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-As,
07:37headphone jack,
07:38and an audio optical out.
07:40The big deal for me, though,
07:41is not only do I use my desktop PC,
07:43but I do regularly plug in my MacBook,
07:45which, while I could also use the HDMI 2.1 port,
07:48it doesn't charge it,
07:49so I prefer using the Type-C,
07:50and this has a Type-C with DisplayPort support,
07:53meaning I can connect and charge my laptop
07:55with one cable.
07:56Now, the caveat is you can set it to charge
07:58at 90 watts if you want,
08:00although this does limit the panel brightness to 60%,
08:03so I prefer to have the 65-watt charging
08:05with the maximum brightness.
08:07So given how good this is for gaming,
08:09you'd imagine it's also pretty good
08:10for getting some work done,
08:11for productivity as well.
08:13And you'd be right.
08:14Editing photos and videos at 240Hz
08:17with this quality OLED screen is fantastic.
08:20And at 32 inches,
08:21there's plenty of screen space
08:22for having multiple apps side-by-side,
08:24and the improved panel clarity
08:25versus previous-gen OLEDs
08:27makes it so much nicer to use.
08:29Plus, there's a picture-in-picture mode,
08:30along with a built-in KVM switch,
08:32where you can plug in one set of peripherals,
08:33like a mouse and keyboard,
08:34and then share them between devices.
08:36Now, of course, being OLED,
08:38you're never that far from the conversation
08:39around burn-in.
08:40Now, I've never experienced this myself,
08:42but I've also not used a single monitor
08:44for many years,
08:45and I've also tried not to abuse it necessarily,
08:47because all these OLED monitors
08:48have pixel refresh and shift
08:50and screensavers and auto-dimming.
08:52Like, there's lots of safety features
08:54to mitigate the chances of burn-in,
08:56but it's not impossible.
08:57But the good news,
08:58and what I really appreciate about Asus ROG,
09:00is that the three-year warranty
09:01does also support burn-in.
09:03But that is more reassuring
09:04than some rival brands.
09:06So, to wrap up,
09:07between this and the LG,
09:09now I've reviewed both of them,
09:10both exceptional monitors
09:12and also very expensive,
09:13personally, I would probably go
09:15with the ROG here
09:17for the USB Type-C port
09:18with DisplayPort,
09:19and I also prefer the glossy screen.
09:22I do like the fact that the LG
09:23has speakers,
09:25and also it does have that 480Hz gaming option
09:27at 1080p,
09:28although that's not something
09:29I would use that often
09:30and the quality isn't fantastic.
09:31But all else being equal,
09:33I would probably go with the ROG.
09:35I just like the screen a bit more.
09:37Although I would be tempted
09:38to go with the cheaper MSI or Alienware,
09:40but I haven't tested those yet.
09:41So as ROG say on their own website,
09:43this monitor is the chosen one.
09:45And I guess you can see why.
09:47It's pretty much perfect.
09:49There's a couple of design niggles.
09:51It would have been nice
09:52if we could have it portrait mode,
09:53and also there's no speakers.
09:54It is also very expensive,
09:56and fundamentally,
09:57it is quite hard to actually
09:58get that 240Hz at 4K
10:00in most recent AAA games.
10:02But what do you reckon?
10:03Would you be tempted to go for one of these?
10:04Or one of the rivals?
10:06Or none of the above?
10:07Too expensive?
10:08Let me know what you make of this
10:09in the comments below.
10:10If you enjoyed the video,
10:11a little like and subscribe
10:12would be fantastic,
10:13and I'll see you next time
10:14right here on The Tech Chat.