Yearning for a 32-inch 4K OLED gaming monitor? You should be. All of a sudden, there are numerous options, with excellence all around. Having tested and awarded both the Alienware AW3225QF 4K QD-OLED and the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM, we now turn to yet another mid-sized OLED: the MSI MPG 321URX QD-OLED ($949). Like its contemporaries, the new MSI monitor rocks a winning formula: a 4K OLED display at 240Hz with a 0.03ms response time. But some striking differences are worth considering before you pull the trigger. The MPG has a less-extensive port selection, but also a much thinner body and a lower price. It performs almost identically to both previously mentioned 32-inch OLED monitors, and some minor quirks are the only reason why it doesn’t join them as our top recommendations. Still, your choice among any of the three top-notch OLED middleweights we have seen so far really comes down to design preference and price.
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Design: A More Subdued OLED ChallengerThis 32-inch MSI monitor’s design is not as loud as that of the Asus PG32UCDM. It doesn’t have RGB lighting blasting out of its sides or its bezels (though you’ll find a bit of RGB glowing on the back of the monitor, controlled by MSI’s Mystic Light software). Instead, it employs MSI’s signature understated industrial design, which gives the monitor a look and feel that could work in office spaces as well as your personal battle station. The monitor’s all-black hexagon stand provides ample support with no wobble, and it separates itself from the tripod-like stands of the Alienware and ROG Swift, saving you valuable desk space at the same time.Given its lack of in-your-face flourishes, the first thing that truly struck me about the MSI MPG 321URX was its flat screen. At 19 by 28.2 by 9.5 inches (HWD), it’s slightly slimmer than both the Asus and Alienware offerings. It weighs about 21.1 pounds with its stand attached—slightly heavier than the ROG Swift. VESA mounting is supported, as well as pivot, tilt, and other height adjustments.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Turning to the back side of the monitor, we find the ventilation system. The MPG employs a graphene film, as does the Asus ROG Swift, that works in tandem with the monitor’s heatsink to handle heat dissipation. This does result in a thicker back side compared with the Alienware, but MSI uses the extra real estate as an opportunity to apply some RGB lighting to the monitor.
Looking at the MPG’s port selection, you’ll find one DisplayPort, two HDMI 2.1 ports, two USB-A ports, a USB-B port, and a USB-C port compatible with DisplayPort Alternate Mode. The USB-C port allows for charging connected devices with up to 90 watts of power delivery. The monitor also includes a headphone jack, something that’s sorely missed on the Alienware AW3225QF. Finally, the MSI offers a built-in virtual KVM feature for those who want to use it for both work and play by connecting it to multiple PCs at once.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Moving back to the screen itself, the MPG 321URX uses the same state-of-the art QD-OLED panel tech as its two competitors. It’s not curved, but the Quantum-Dot display promises a wide color range (which we will take a closer look at in our testing section) than conventional OLED. It’s no secret that the screen is dazzling—I’ve yet to meet an OLED display that doesn’t impress, and that’s still true here. The 321URX displays color that’s leaps and bounds more vibrant than what you see on IPS gaming monitors. As OLEDs become more commonplace, I expect them to eventually take the place of IPS gaming monitors as the go-to option, at least in the minds of gamers looking for a flagship monitor.And to take that place, gaming performance is key. While the monitor is not certified for G-Sync or AMD FreeSync, it does support variable refresh rates (VRR). The monitor is also VESA ClearMR 13000 certified. Unfamiliar with that jargon? Let me break it down like this: VESA, a display standards organization, uses ClearMR to provide a metric for grading motion-blur performance. According to VESA, each ClearMR tier represents a range of blur performance based on the ratio of clear pixels versus blurry pixels expressed as a percentage. ClearMR 13000 is defined as 125 to 135 times clearer pixels than blurry pixels. In short, the blur effect in games should never hinder the video quality.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
All of this might seem very familiar if you’ve already checked out the specs of the Alienware and Asus monitors, and it is. The differences among the three premier displays are minor, but as you’ll see in our performance section below, a few key differences may sway your purchase.Testing the MSI MPG 321URX QD-OLED: An All-Around HitMSI’s latest is a stunner, but how well does its performance compare with the recent string of 32-inch OLED releases? To quantify that, we tested the MPG’s color gamut, brightness, color accuracy, and contrast ratio using Calman monitor calibration software, a Murideo Six-G signal generator, and a Klein K-10A colorimeter. We also ran the monitor through a gauntlet of games to measure input lag and judge its real-world performance.In our first test, we measure the monitor in its default picture mode with an SDR signal. Under these conditions, it saw an average brightness of 245 nits (candelas per square meter). That’s the brightest in the trio of mid-sized OLED gaming monitors, besting the AW3225QF’s 238 nits and PG32UCDM’s 197 nits. Switching over to HDR, we measured 455 nits of brightness while using the Standard preset profile with the True Black 400 setting and reached 1,010 nits when testing peak HDR brightness. (We measure sustained HDR brightness at a 10% window size, but to measure peak brightness, we drop the test size down to 2%). However, you probably won’t reach this brightness level in normal gaming conditions. OLED displays become brighter as the test patch size gets smaller, but there are few scenes in video games and movies where the highlight is reaching this measurement.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
In short, all three monitors registered similar results, with slight differences in brightness across the board. This remains true regarding the OLED’s color range. The MPG M321URX spanned 137% of the sRGB color gamut, 96% of Adobe RGB, and 93% of DCI-P3 in our tests. Those are excellent ratings, but it’s important to note that tipping beyond 100% on the sRGB color gamut doesn’t mean the sRGB color coverage is better. In fact, more than 100% can potentially over-saturate the content, even leading to color inaccuracies when viewing sRGB images, particularly in applications that do not support color management. It’s not all bad, though, as sRGB ratings above 100% do exhibit improved color grading and color vibrancy. Conversely, the lower DCI-P3 coverage is slightly worse than the two other 32-inch OLED monitors. Last year’s crop of ultrawide OLED monitors (like last year’s Samsung OLED G9 and the Alienware 34 Curved QD-OLED Gaming Monitor) offer better color-gamut spreads overall, but the differences really matter once you get into content creation. While playing games, the differences are often too slim to tell with the naked eye.Color accuracy impressed us, as we recorded an excellent Delta E measurement of 0.7. That’s not as low as the Alienware’s 0.6, but better than the Asus’ 1.5. The higher the Delta E, the more colors tend to stray from their intended hue. A value under 2 is ideal, so all three are quite strong.Like the Asus AW3225QF, the MPG 321URX is rated for a peak contrast ratio of 1,500,000:1, an even deeper contrast than the Alienware. But when dealing with contrast ratios that high, it’s hard to tell the differences with just your naked eye. OLED and mini LED panels can reach dramatically higher contrast ratios than other panel types. They’re technically infinite, at least in theory, due to the nature of the black pixels. For comparison, IPS panels typically target contrast ratios of 1,000:1 to 3,000:1.Media and Gaming PerformanceWhile the MPG 321URX’s color coverage is excellent, the draw to these new OLED panels is not just the 4K resolution, but their 240Hz refresh rates. To evaluate them, we used our HDFury Diva HDMI matrix to measure the monitor’s input lag, and we played a handful of games from our library. The results were unsurprisingly spectacular. We recorded a nearly imperceptible amount of input lag—less than 1 millisecond.Input-lag prowess aside, the MPG 321URX does have some interesting quirks worth noting regarding some visual modes. MSI has a new AI Vision mode that’s supposed to enhance overall brightness and saturate colors, but no actual AI upscaling is at work here. The “AI” in question is simply adjusting the contrast and brightness, something you can do manually.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Despite the monitor not being certified for AMD FreeSync or G-Sync, I didn’t detect any perceptible screen tearing across any of the game tests. It’s also worth mentioning that Dolby HDR skips this monitor, though it’s technically also missing from the Asus ROG Swift, pending an update to that monitor’s firmware. Speaking of updates, I did run the latest firmware update to squash some bugs and minor issues reported by early adopters. It’s an extra step that most modern monitors are subject to, so if you’re looking for a glass-smooth out-of-the-box experience, know that the MPG may mandate a few extra steps vital to getting the most out of your monitor.Verdict: Another Superb 32-Inch OLEDOverall, the MPG 321URX QD-OLED projects excellent picture quality while watching movies, playing games, and simply browsing the internet. As I said earlier, the differences are so slight the decision among recent OLED panels in its class might come down to personal preference and your budget. MSI’s monitor is the easiest on the wallet, selling for just $950, and that savings might be worth some of the sacrifices here. It may sound like a broken-record message, but this is the third 32-inch OLED that has stolen our hearts. MSI’s entry doesn’t quite beat the Editors’ Choice-winning Alienware or Asus, but MSI has crafted an excellent monitor that excels at both game performance and visual clarity. There are some quirks, but MSI’s new gaming monitor is one of its most impressive. And while it’s not cheap, it’s a great value. For pure gaming excellence, you can’t go wrong with the MPG 321URX.
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