ViewSonic XG321UG 32 Inch 4K IPS 144Hz Gaming Monitor G-Sync Ultimate, Mini LED, Nvidia Reflex, HDR1400, Advanced Ergonomics, HDMI and DP

This is a comprehensive review is for the ViewSonic XG321UGPros:++ Full Array Local Dimming, 1152 zones, mini LED++ H.D.R. 1400++ NVIDIA G-Sync Ultimate + NVIDIA Reflex++ 144Hz native refresh rate++ 32" 4K IPS with 100% sRGB, 99% Adobe, and 98% DCI-P3 coverage++ Clear and excellent O.S.D.Cons:-- As close as you'll get, but "not an absolute perfect image" when compared to OLED.-- Some blooming effects due to the FALD, but can be adjusted-- Very expensive[INTRO] I was in the market for a 32" 4K display. I first purchased the LG 32GQ950-B at a good deal around $1000 since that monitor normally sells for $1300. However, due to a washed out HDR color issue and auto dimming problem it has, I returned that monitor and purchased the $2500 ViewSonic XG321UG. Now, I bring this up because I will be comparing the LG to the ViewSonic to help you on what to look out for and why the XG321UG came out on top.[FALD] This monitor features 1152 mini LEDs that grant Full Array Local Dimming. The 1152 zone FALD is what gives this monitor its OLED like qualities. When something is black on the screen, it is truly black! In other words, it is as black as when the monitor is off, exactly like an OLED. I have never seen this before on a non-OLED monitor and it is absolutely awesome. I also did not see any kind of local dimming issues I saw with the LG or other monitors where the local dimming causes a slow dimming/brightness issue when the screen has a 50% white image and a 50% dark image. What you will see is the white portion of the screen getting brighter and darker repeatedly because the monitor can't decide on a brightness level. No issue with the ViewSonic.Now having said that, it is still not perfect like an OLED. When you run the mouse cursor over a dark area, you will see a blooming effect around the cursor which is due to the mini LEDs turning on in that area. Though this blooming effect is noticeable, you can adjust this by decreasing the black levels of the monitor which essentially turns the FALD to "always on" to four different brightness levels to compensate for this. I leave the blackness level adjusted to off.[HDR] The HDR on this monitor is absolutely a sight to see. With 1400 Max nits and the FALD going simultaneously, images, dark movies with bright lights or explosions, games, you name it all look stunning and where this monitor really shines. As I mentioned before, the LG i purchased before had a problem with its HDR mode. Basically, when HDR was on and in Windows, all the colors would be very washed out. If you tried to compensate for the color in Windows or Nvidia settings, those colors would stack on top causing an over saturation issue in games. The ViewSonic monitor does not have that problem. Colors look great as you would expect consistently from one thing to the other. Plus this monitor still gives you the bility to adjust the color when in HDR mode. The LG would lock you out of the color settings.[OVERALL] This monitor comes with all the bells and whistles. It has awesome HDR, awesome black levels thanks to the FALD, 4K, G-SYNC, 144HZ, you name it. I purchased this monitor over the ASUS ROG Swift PG32UQX, simply because both monitors have the same technology, but the ViewSonic is $500 less expensive. Of course, you are still paying for it at $2500. However, if you are like me and use this monitor for school or anything that requires static images for long periods of time, you don't have to worry about burn in issues like an OLED, yet you can still get beautiful blackness levels of an OLED. Also wanted to mention the menu OSD. Both the LG and the ViewSonic had easy and clear on screen displays. Anyways, I hope this review educated you on what to expect when a monitor uses HDR mode and how local dimming can effect the display.

I had to return this to ViewSonic multiple times, bright pixels, flashing, etc. Avoid. I gave up on the return process and just accepted that the monitor is defective across multiple units. Really regret the purchase.

When the backlight is enabled then the blooming is both very noticeable and very distracting, particularly in HDR mode for dark content. I also found the monitor would frequently randomly just not display anything when turning on/coming out of sleep. Plus, its price is already quite absurd, but it's especially insulting when much better+cheaper options exist for far less!One really nice feature that I wish more monitors had is its ability to apply sRGB-clamping on custom color settings.

The monitor is outstanding. Most other folks have said all that needs to be said. My only complaints are that the stand is flimsy and shaky (all the way down it's not too bad) and it has way too many bloody menu options.I tried exploring all the things and found that I was experiencing some blooming on grey backgrounds (as others have reported). I tried all the things; swapping cables, machines etc. It would show up on DisplayPort but not HDMI. I tried turning on the Gsports mode and lo and behold; the problem vanished! I then knew it was somehow settings related. Turns out there is a a SDR Variable BL setting buried in the display menu. Make sure this is off. With this off, ZERO bloom!!

Pros:+ Extremely bright. It's rated for DisplayHDR1400 but it reports it can go up to 1565+ Very high color volume. It can give very pure RGB primaries at any luminance level unlike WRGB OLED TVs+ 1152-zone FALD is actually fine-grained enough to make a good experience even on the desktop with multiple windows. On the older 384-zone displays, the the zones were too largely to effectively engage.+ 144Hz 10-bit color using DisplayPort DSC+ Decently fast LCD panel once it warms up. Easily keeps up with 144Hz refresh rate.+ Slightly higher native contrast ratio than the older 27" FALD panels+ More efficient than the older 27" DisplayHDR1000. I'm measuring 10% less for the same scene due to more effective dimming despite 40% more screen area to light up.+ Almost non-existent fan noise. I have to put my ear to the panel to hear it. The panel does get hot in HDR usage but it seems to be designed to run hot since the LCD response times are bad when cold.Sounds great, right? But I have to take a star off because it's a $2500 monitor and it's not perfect.1) Local dimming issues- There are three backlight dimming modes and they're just labeled #1, #2, #3. #1 is the gaming mode that has the most aggressive dimming without any attempt to reduce haloing. #2 fixes some of the haloing but causes flickering from sudden gamma changes when a large patch of the screen goes black (i.e. scene transition in a movie). #3 quadruples the size of the dimming zones to reduce obvious haloing but then the monitor dims worse than the 384-zone predecessors.- The default #2 dimming mode seems to adjust zone aggressiveness based on how bright the total display output is, hence the flickering on bright colors when a portion of the screen suddenly goes black.- Haloing can get pretty obvious with #1 and even #2 on desktop with large patches of flat color elements because of the zone size. You may want to adjust your themes to avoid dark solid colors because your mouse will cause halos as well. The algorithm actually handles black better than dark colors.-Comparing outputs, mode #1 preserves the most shadow detail and should be used whenever possible.2) Panel issues- The 32" panel has worse horizontal and vertical viewing angles compared to the older 27" AUO FALD panels. This is particularly obvious with the monitor an arm's length away and the left/right 1/4 are visibly darker than the center.- The new panel glows a little more than the older panel but you should keep FALD on to avoid this3) Firmware issues- Poor color options. You have sRGB, Bluish, Native, Warm, and User. At least offer a pre-calibrated temperature selection. The monitor is a little too blue compared to all my other devices and I have to fiddle with the RGB channels in user to fix it.- Only the lowest 'Standard' overdrive option is usable. Everything else has huge overshoot especially when the panel is warm. Even when the panel is warm and running 'Standard', dark and light transitions are a little too slow.I've attached two photos. First set is KSP 2 trailer with local dimming on/off. Local dimming has no downsides here. Second is an HDR night scene with local dimming on/off. The second set is probably the worst case you'll ever see with this monitor since the video is blown out with the highlights being painfully and unrealistically bright against very dark backgrounds.The last photo is For All Mankind in HDR showing the dynamic range of the monitor. No blooming issues in this series.