Joined in 2023 
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The BenQ PD3200U features a number of ‘Picture Mode’ presets; ‘Rec. 709’, ‘sRGB’, ‘CAD/CAM’, ‘Animation’, ‘Standard’, ‘Low Blue Light’, ‘Darkroom’ and ‘User’. There are also a number of setting that can be adjusted manually, including ‘Gamma’ which can be set to various values between ‘1.8’ and ‘2.6’. Unlike on the BL3201PT/PH and many other BenQ models, these values have been given specified gamma values rather than being numbered sequentially. We won’t go through all of the preset modes and setting individually, as that would be quite tedious. If you’d like a better idea of what some of the modes like ‘Animation’ and ‘CAD/CAM’ do then refer to the calibration section of our BenQ BL3200PT review where these are looked at in a bit of detail. As far as features go, the BenQ PD3200U’s main selling point is its 4K UHD resolution (3840 x 2160), which provides excellent image quality. When working, you have a large amount of desktop real estate, enabling you to have numerous windows and programs open at once.
But what about performance for non-professional applications? We hooked it up to a gaming rig with a mighty Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti graphics card, which does a pretty decent job of pushing games at 4K resolution, and they really did look superb. That means the monitor will outlast your current desktop hardware, and will see you through at least a couple years of hard use.
A large 4K screen for your desk
The 10-bit IPS panel has a maximum resolution of 3,840 by 2,160 and covers 100 percent of the sRGB and REC.709 color gamut. It has a 16:9 aspect ratio, a 1,000:1 native contrast ratio, a 4-millisecond (gray-to-gray) pixel response, and a 350 cd/m 2 peak brightness. The embedded 5-watt speakers are loud and offer a smattering of bass, but they can't stand up to the 9-watt speakers that come with the Dell U3417W. However, this isn’t just a monitor for media consumption. It’s a monitor for media creation. In that regard, it holds its own against more expensive competitors, but it’s not the most impressive professional monitor we’ve seen. The BenQ PD3200U is an excellent choice if you're a professional who works with CAD/CAM, graphics design, or other applications that require fine detail and accurate colors. Its 32-inch UHD panel delivered accurate colors and superb grayscale performance in our tests, and the display is equipped with plenty of features, including a built-in KVM switch, a fully adjustable stand, an SD card reader, and a USB hub.
A sensitive camera and a small tool called SMTT 2.0 was used to measure input lag for the PD3200U. The monitor was compared to various screens of known latency, taking over 30 repeat readings to maximise accuracy. Using this method, we calculated 7.05ms (under 1/2 a frame) of input lag. This value is influenced both by the signal delay (element you ‘feel’) and pixel responsiveness (element you ‘see’). It indicates a low signal delay, which will come as welcome news to users sensitive to this sort of thing. The monitors interpolation process (i.e. ‘Full’ selected for ‘Display Mode’) gives significant softening to the image. Things are slightly sharper than when relying on GPU scaling and the softening is by no means the most extreme we’ve seen, but it is nowhere near as sharp as running the resolution natively on a screen of similar size. Contrary to popular belief, the monitor does not display 1920 x 1080 perfectly by 1:4 mapping onto the 3840 x 2160 pixels of the screen. Instead, exactly the same interpolation process is used as is used at other resolutions. This is the case regardless of the input used (HDMI, DP or MiniDP). The softening was more noticeable than on this model’s predecessor, unfortunately, although would potentially be a lot less noticeable if you’re sitting some distance from the screen. For example, using a games console with a controller. Even so, it seems this model is much better suited to running its native resolution on a range of devices (including new games consoles, via HDMI 2.0) than it is to running any non-native resolution. With BenQ is pitching this as a monitor for professionals, color accuracy at any angle is important, and the 100% sRGB color gamut adheres to industry standards. It also boasts Rec. 709, which is a standard for video production.To be fair, that’s the kind of improvement we saw from the HP Dreamcolor z32x also, which improved on its initials core of 1.68 by hitting .84. It’s important to point out that even though the Dreamcolor’s overall color error is lower than the BenQ’s, once you get under 1.0, the variances are rather minor. The LG 27UD88-W also improved, going from 3.97 to 2.34, but that’s still a little outside what you’d want from a professional monitor. said:I wanted to wait for 4K GSYNC >60Hz, but seems like those things aren't coming together soon, so I popped for the Acer Predator XB321HK... 2 out of three ain't bad. In Standard mode, the PD3200U consumed 44 watts of power (it does not offer a power-saving ECO mode). That's more efficient than the same-size BenQ PV3200PT (57 watts), the BenQ BL3201PH (56 watts), and the 34-inch Dell U3417W (56 watts). Conclusion Colour reproduction was very pleasing on Battlefield 1 (BF1). The environments appeared rich, natural and suitably varied with an excellent palette of varied greens and browns. Colour consistency was also strong, allowing colours to appear quite consistent in their saturation levels and aiding subtle shade variety. There was also a nice dose of vibrancy where it was warranted, for example lively-looking yellow and oranges flames and some quite lush-looking vegetation. Dirt Rally also showcased the colour reproduction capabilities of the monitor nicely, with a healthy variety of earthy browns and a vivid but natural-looking palette of greens. Different environments appeared distinct due to the particular shades showcased there – and we’re not just talking desert vs. forest here, either. Meanwhile more vibrant shades such as electric pinks, bright blues and neon greens stood out quite nicely on the car liveries. In that respect things didn’t have the same ‘pop’ or arresting vibrancy we’ve seen on some models, but only those with a more generous colour gamut (causes oversaturation) or glossy screen surface. The solid aluminum upright supports a full range of movements including 45° swivel, 5” height, and 25° tilt. You also get an impressive portrait mode. We can imagine the ease of editing orchestral scores or working on poster-sized graphics when the panel is rotated.
The Lagom text appeared a blended grey throughout with a very slight green hue to the striping on the text. There were no obvious flashes or orange or red even with a moderate degree of head movement. This indicates a low viewing angle dependency to the gamma curve of the monitor, as you’d hope for from an IPS-type panel such as this. The following image gives a rough idea of how things looked in the Lagom text test.The BenQ PD3200U is part of BenQ’s Designer Monitor range, which means it has been individually factory-calibrated before being shipped. It also comes with a range of modes for professionals, such as CAD/CAM mode, which ups the contrast for lines and shapes in technical illustrations when using CAD programs. The anti-glare layer is typical of desktop monitors with a 3H hardness rating and a matte finish that prevents reflections from harming image quality. We didn’t see any evidence of graininess or loss of clarity. The high pixel density is well utilized. While the Dreamcolor features a wider color gamut, both displays feature near-perfect color accuracy, rich, high-contrast displays, and simple, professional designs. The BenQ PD3200U is missing that “looking out a window” quality the Dreamcolor possesses, but it’s much more affordable. We also observed the monitor on Dirt Rally, where the contrast performance was again decent overall. The level of detail in dark areas was respectable on the whole, with even relatively subtle details such as car tyre tread patterns visible. There was some detail lost towards the edges of the screen, in particularly near the bottom corners, due to ‘AHVA glow’. This was by no means extreme and again a bit subdued compared to some screens of this size. Lighter elements such as car headlights appeared with a light graininess to them rather than an obvious ‘layering’ from the screen surface, helping them ‘pop’ quite nicely in some respects and stand out well against darker surroundings. That means the BenQ capable of reproducing color nearly perfectly. Any score below 1.0 is considered to be perfect, so with 1.23, the BenQ comes awfully close. Let’s see if we can shave it down with calibration. Post-calibration Quality
Calibration doesn’t always radically change a monitor’s performance, but in some cases, it will give you a little extra mileage and help gloss over some of your monitor’s flaws. Think of calibration like honing your kitchen knives. It’s not going to make them better, but it will make them sharper. With the BenQ, that’s exactly what we see after calibration. Yes. If you’re a professional looking for a display designed for creative use, you can’t do much better than the BenQ PD3200U — not without spending an extra couple hundred dollars. At this price, the BenQ is a steal. If you need a new workhorse monitor and you’re ready to step up to 4K, give this screen a serious look. will limit the appeal to some users and there were slight traces of trailing and overshoot here and there The bottom line; a solidly built screen with a convincing performance in key areas, but some issues that could prove problematic to some users depending on their GPU and sensitivity to screen surface texture.A good screen size and resolution combination in our view (3840 x 2160 and 32”), plus HDMI 2.0 and an ergonomically flexible and solidly built stand
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