BenQ EX3203R Curved 144Hz 32 Inch QHD 2K Gaming Monitor

BenQ EX3203R Curved 144Hz 32 Inch QHD 2K Gaming Monitor

Freesync Premium Pro technology delivers supremely smooth gaming experiences with the enhanced support of HDR content. Users can fully enjoy the sharpened details and clarity of the HDR games and fluid gaming enjoyment without image tearing, broken frames, and choppy gameplay. With 144Hz high refresh rate, EX3203R brings out an ultra-smooth gaming experience. Ergonomic height and tilt adjustments lets user customize for comfort. Get the edge over gaming enemies. Brightness Intelligence Plus (B.I.+) uses a sensor to detect screen content and environmental lighting. It adjusts display brightness and color temperature so dark areas become more clearly defined and bright areas don't get overexposed. Headaches, eye strain, and fatigue become a thing of the past. User's dream of a monitor that adapts to its surroundings just came true. EX3501R has multiple HDMI, DisplayPort, USB 3.1 ports, along with USB-C . Get the content want, on own terms.

BenQ EX3203R Monitor Review

Multiple hot new features and innovations have been rocking the PC monitor market recently. For BenQ’s latest large format and gaming-centric model, therefore, standing out isn’t going to be easy. It’s tough out there.

Luckily, the new BenQ EX3203R offers an intriguing mix of features and capabilities. Highlights include 144Hz refresh, a curved panel, USB-C connectivity and adaptive sync support, all wrapped up in a 32-inch package. 

The kicker, arguably, is VESA DisplayHDR 400 certification. That’s a pretty compelling core proposition and will tick a lot of gamer’s boxes.Those looking for a more general purpose display might like the look of that feature set, too.

However, at this relatively competitive price point - and arguably at almost any current price point - you can’t quite have everything. Notably, the EX3203R is what you might call a 2.5K rather than 4K or UHD monitor. 

It also lacks support for Nvidia’s particular take on adaptive syncing and, if you’re a fan of super-wide aspect ratios, you’re not going to find satisfaction here. On the other hand, the sub-4K resolution can make for a better fit for gaming in terms of enabling faster frame rates with any given graphics card.

Performance

Expectations suitably managed, how does the BenQ EX3203R actually perform? Immediate impressions certainly tally with the underlying VA panel technology on offer. Colours are punchy and vibrant, whites are bright and clean, while blacks are deep and inky. The EX3203R’s panel is rated at 3,000:1 for static contrast capability and it looks every bit as good as that. The panel’s gentle curve also makes for a nicely immersive experience.

What the EX3203R doesn’t obviously look like - and perhaps shouldn’t be a surprise given the realistic limitations of the DisplayHDR 400 standard - is a true next-gen HDR display. With the full HDR stack enabled, HDR content does look pretty stellar. But the EX3203R can’t compete with brighter ‘full’ HDR displays with local dimming when it comes to blowing your socks off with highlighted details popping out of dark scenes.

It’s also worth noting that HDR remains a problematical technology in terms of everything from ensuring it’s enabled both on the display and in Windows 10 and having content, be that games or video, that is HDR enabled. Enabling HDR globally in Windows, for instance, makes for a rather dull look for desktop elements. HDR, in short, remains complicated and the supporting content relatively scarce.

As a general purpose monitor, the EX3203R’s most obvious shortcoming is its relatively modest 2,560 by 1,440 native resolution. That makes for fairly big, coarse pixels when spread across a 32-inch panel. A high-DPI display this most certainly is not.

That said, as a gaming device the lower resolution makes for pretty pleasing results. The VA panel prevents it from being at the cutting edge in terms of response. But inverse ghosting is not a major issue here and the benefits of that 144Hz refresh in terms of in-game smoothness are absolutely undeniable, even if you’ll need a powerful and pricey graphics card to make the most of it despite the restrained 2.5K native resolution.