Designed for creative professionals, the 32-inch BenQ PD3225U monitor ($1,099.99) is primarily geared to Mac users, though it works well for Windows PCs, too. The PD3225U is brighter than its predecessor, the BenQ PD3220U, and its contrast ratio is much improved over that Editors’ Choice winner. It’s also more cost-effective than Apple’s own Studio Display while including a larger screen and more versatile stand. All of this makes it our new Editors’ Choice pick for 4K creative pro monitors. Design: Mac- and Windows-Friendly The PD3225U’s 31.5-inch, 10-bit IPS panel has a 4K UHD resolution (3,840 by 2,160 pixels) at a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. The pixel density works out to 140 pixels per inch (ppi), which is more than adequate for work with finely detailed images and intricate illustrations, though not as high as some professional monitors with smaller screens. The Apple Studio Display, for example, has a 27-inch screen with a 5K resolution (5,120 by 2,880 pixels) and a pixel density of 218 pixels per inch.
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(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
The PD3225U uses LG’s IPS Black technology, an in-plane switching variant that doubles the contrast ratio (to 2,000:1) of standard IPS panels. While IPS Black can’t compete with OLED’s effectively infinite contrast ratios in which groups of pixels can be turned off, achieving a “true black,” it produces considerably deeper blacks than standard IPS.The panel fits in a matte-black cabinet, which measures 24.7 by 28.1 by 10.8 inches (HWD) with the stand fully extended and weighs 18.1 pounds. The gray base has a large 8.5-by-11-inch footprint, and a sturdy shaft extends upward from it to connect to the cabinet.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Despite being a Mac-friendly monitor, the PD3225U plays well with Windows computers, unlike the LG UltraFine 4K Display (24MD4KL-B), which we don’t recommend for use with Windows PCs. And unlike many other Apple-friendly third-party peripherals, the PD3225U does not try to emulate the Mac aesthetic in color or design. Nor does it have egregious upsells. The Apple Studio Display’s base model’s stand is limited to tilt adjustment, and for an extra $400, you can get a stand with both tilt and 4.13 inches of height adjustment. The PD3225U, in contrast, includes a stand that supports height, tilt, swivel, and pivot adjustment.The PD3225U includes the HotKey Puck G2 controller, which we first saw in the PD3220U. It sits in front of the monitor, to which it’s connected by a USB cable, and has three programmable buttons plus a Return button. It adds a knob on top that, by default, lets you adjust brightness. Rotating the knob lets you cycle through all of the OSD’s settings. Picture modes are abundant, among them DCI-P3, Display P3, HDR, sRGB, Rec. 709, CAD/CAM, Animation, Low Blue Light, Darkroom, M-book, DICOM, and User. Display P3, a color gamut that Apple designed, is the native color space for most recent Macs.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Using the HotKey Puck G2 to control the PD3225U’s on-screen display (OSD) settings is more convenient than doing the same by reaching behind the monitor to manipulate the joystick controller.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Connectors include two HDMI ports, one DisplayPort 1.4 port, and two Thunderbolt 3 ports. One Thunderbolt port is upstream, which supports DisplayPort over USB Alt Mode and provides up to 85W of power delivery, and one is downstream, which provides up to 15W of power delivery; through the Thunderbolt-out port, you can daisy-chain a second monitor.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
The PD3225U also includes a USB-B and a USB-C port (both upstream) and three downstream USB-A ports. The USB-C and one USB-A port are side-facing for easy access, and so is an audio-out jack.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
The PD3225U includes a pair of 2.5W speakers, which demonstrated passable sound quality and volume typical of monitor speakers in our testing. The audio-out jack can be used for headphones or powered external speakers.Testing the PD3225U: Good Contrast, Color Accuracy, and CoverageI tested the BenQ PD3225U’s brightness, contrast ratio, and color coverage using our standard test gear: a Klein K-10A colorimeter, a Murideo SixG signal generator, and Portrait Displays’ Calman Ultimate for Business calibration software.BenQ rates the PD3225U’s luminance at 400 nits (candelas per meter squared), and in our standard dynamic range (SDR) testing, its best score was just short of that, at 371 nits. As an IPS Black monitor, its rated contrast is 2,000:1, and it bested that in our testing with a 2,236:1 measured contrast.We normally test brightness and contrast in standard (or default) mode without changing any settings, except for setting the brightness to 100%. But when we tested the PD3225U in that manner (in Display P3 mode), it turned in much lower than expected results, a brightness of 224 nits and contrast of 1,240:1. A BenQ spokesperson suggested disabling the uniformity compensation setting in the OSD. Sure enough, I turned off the Uniformity setting, located in the Color menu’s Advanced settings, and got the much better results listed above. The purpose of the Uniformity setting is to correct for differences in brightness or color consistency across a display, but clearly it can negatively affect both brightness and contrast. We encountered the same issue when testing the Dell UltraSharp 38 USB-C Hub Monitor (U3824DW), although in that case, only the contrast was adversely affected. BenQ notes that screen uniformity can be improved through monitor calibration (toward that end, the PD3225U is Calman Verified) and that most high-end professional monitors offer uniformity compensation. In our experience, though, it is usually an opt-in setting that’s turned off by default. With the PD3225’s Uniformity setting enabled, for whatever benefits you might get, you take a hit in contrast and brightness.BenQ notes that the PD3225U is DisplayHDR 400 certified; in HDR testing, it averaged 386 nits, with a peak HDR luminance of 411 nits.
(Credit: Portrait Displays)
According to BenQ, the PD3225U covers 98% of the P3 color space and 99% of sRGB. In our testing, it covered 98% of DCI-P3 (see the chromaticity chart above) and 99.6% of sRGB (see the chart below). BenQ doesn’t rate it for the Adobe RGB space, where the PD3225U turned in a mediocre 87.8% coverage. If you’re producing photos intended for print, you will want a monitor with Adobe RGB coverage in the high 90s, such as the Dell UltraSharp 27 4K PremierColor (UP2720Q) or the Asus ProArt Display OLED PA32DC.
(Credit: Portrait Displays)
Our final benchmark is Delta E (dE), a measure of color accuracy, namely the difference between the hue of a displayed color and the color input that the monitor received. The dE figure that appears in monitor specs is the average of a large number of individual color readings from across the spectrum; the lower the value, the more accurate the color. An average dE of below 2 indicates color accurate enough that a casual observer may be unable to distinguish any variation between the color on screen and the intended (source) color. BenQ claims a (dE) out of the box of less than 2 for the PD3225U, and our testing (in Display P3 mode) bore that out, with a dE of 1.45.We also did our usual ad-hoc testing, viewing selected photos and video clips with a recent Mac laptop and with our usual Windows test PC. In both still images and video, colors looked rich and seemed accurate, and the PD3225U did well in retaining detail, especially in darker images and video scenes.Verdict: A Creator Monitor That Outclasses the Studio DisplayAs a professional monitor for creators, BenQ PD3225U is a couple of steps up from its predecessor, the PD3220U, providing higher brightness and much better contrast, while adding a second Thunderbolt port that enables daisy-chaining monitors. Our testing shows that its color accuracy out of the box easily bests BenQ’s rating, and it covers nearly the full sRGB and DCI-P3 color spaces.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Although the PD3225U is fine for Windows PCs, it is especially good for Macs. It comes in at $500 less than the Apple Studio Display while packing a more versatile stand and a larger screen, plus HDR capability. (The Studio Display does have a higher pixel density.) Between its overall excellence and its Mac-friendliness, the BenQ PD3225U earns our Editors’ Choice award as a professional creator monitor.
Pros
32-inch 4K UHD screen
IPS Black tech means high contrast
Thunderbolt ports let you daisy-chain a second monitor
Supports Mac-friendly color spaces like Display P3 and M-book
Stand offers height, tilt, swivel, and pivot adjustments
View
More
The Bottom Line
The BenQ PD3225U monitor is a go-to alternative to the Apple Studio Display, with excellent color accuracy, brightness, and contrast. It’s much cheaper and works well with Windows PCs, too.
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About Tony Hoffman
Senior Analyst, Hardware
Since 2004, I have worked on PCMag’s hardware team, covering at various times printers, scanners, projectors, storage, and monitors. I currently focus my testing efforts on 3D printers, pro and productivity displays, and drives and SSDs of all sorts. Over the years, I have reviewed iPad and iPhone science apps, plus the occasional camera, laptop, keyboard, and mouse. I’ve also written a host of articles about astronomy, space science, travel photography, and astrophotography for PCMag and its past and present sibling publications (among them, Mashable and ExtremeTech), as well as for the PCMag Digital Edition.
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