So much is put into your computer to give you the best possible gaming experience, but you are only reaching half of your potential if you don’t have the right monitor. The refresh rate, response time and resolution are all integral to successful gaming as they give you a small, albeit meaningful advantage in PvP games.
I had the chance to take a look at the ViewSonic Elite XG320U, a 32” 4K UHD monitor that is big and beautiful. It boasts a 150 Hz refresh rate, 1ms response time and has a Vesa certified DisplayHDR 600 rating, meaning it meets a verified criteria for its detail, backlighting, contrast, and black levels.
The first impression was just that it was so big! I have a small desk and the monitor took up a lot of real estate, but what a wonderful use of the space. The difference between this and my 25” monitor felt like the newest version of Crocodile Dundee’s “That’s not a knife. THIS is a knife.”
The Elite XG320U also comes with some fun little extras built-in. A fold out lever on the side of the monitor is a place to hang up your headset and another fold out lever is an anchor for your mouse cable. It’s little extras like these that are appreciated because, while they aren’t necessary, they are thoughtful.
The 150Hz refresh rate gives you a hyper-realistic motion while you game. It is worth noting that the default is 144Hz but, depending on your computer, you can overclock to 150Hz. With my RTX 2060, I was pulling in 144 fps easily on Fortnite and about 110-120 fps on Apex Legends easily.
“While, yes, most people will use the Elite XG320U as a computer monitor, it’s also gorgeous for console gaming too.”
While, yes, most people will use the Elite XG320U as a computer monitor, it’s also gorgeous for console gaming too. Since the next gen consoles are putting out 120 fps, they will never overpower the Elite XG320U on you. It also has plenty of inputs to accommodate any setup, including 2 HDMI, a DisplayPort and a headphone-out port. It also has a really nice set of speakers built in should you ever use it without headphones on (which I rarely do, but the quality was great nonetheless).
It’s HDMI 2.1 connection ensures the fastest possible bandwidth to transfer the immense data that a game played in 4K is bound to be passing along. HDMI 2.1’s bandwidth can support up to 8K, so it should be able to handle whatever burden you can put on it with a 4K limit on the Monitor.
The colour accuracy of the Elite XG320U was such that I actually questioned the colours when I saw the difference between it and my own monitor. Not because there was an issue with the monitor, but that the limits of my own monitor actually meant that I had never seen the games I am playing in their full detail until now.
“The colour accuracy of the Elite XG320U was such that I actually questioned the colours when I saw the difference between it and my own monitor.”
The 1ms MPRT (Motion Picture Response time) reduces the perceived motion blur while you game (fun fact that I just learned, without the blur reduction backlight that accommodates this, you would have to have a 1000Hz monitor playing at 1000 fps to achieve the same quality.
The Viewsonic Elite XG320U also comes with AMD Freesync Premium Pro, giving you a top-notch look by delivering dynamic refresh rates, helping to give you a tear/stutter/artifact-free experience. The Premium Pro version of the technology gives you an enhanced experience for more select HDR games, such as Borderlands 3, Devil May Cry 5 and Far Cry 6.
It is also worth noting that I didn’t limit my experience with the ViewSonic Elite XG320U to playing games, I watched my share of Netflix on it and did much more than my share of editing YouTube videos and streaming. The picture was beautifully crisp, as would be expected after having such a stellar gaming experience, but beyond the good picture was the amount of space provided for me on DaVinci Resolve and OBS Studio. My pre-designed layouts for a 25” monitor were made to look like vast deserts when the resolution was nearly quadrupled.
“The prettiest thing about the ViewSonic Elite XG320U is the RGB on the back of the monitor, giving you a beautiful ambient light on your wall.”
On the aesthetic side, the monitor itself is beautiful. The sleek design of the stand (should you need it) is nice. It’s flat on the bottom, allowing for something to sit on top of it if space becomes an issue and the monitor height adjustment is smooth. The stand also has a hole in the back for cable management.
The prettiest thing about the ViewSonic Elite XG320U is the RGB on the back of the monitor, giving you a beautiful ambient light on your wall. It’s a wonderful feature without an added cost because, frankly, even if you are a streamer, that light is mainly for your eyes only, so why spend more on lighting if you don’t need to?
Speaking of your eyes, the Elite XG320U will help save them with their built-in blue light filter. As someone who works in front of computers constantly (both from the office and at home) as well as taking on a career as a content creator, I spend almost all my waking hours in front of a screen and have a ton of eyewear to protect me from the strain of blue light as a result. Having the filter built in is a game changer. It’s not that I mind the glasses, but I can do without the headphones pressing them into the sides of my head.
A price tag of just shy of $1000 USD is a lot to be sure, but is not out of line given what it offers in comparison to other monitors. The relative prices of the monitors seem reasonable enough, so if the Elite XG320U is within your budget, it is definitely worth a look.
