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Gigabyte M32U

Inle

Staff member
Joined
Apr 6, 2017
Messages
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System Name Efrafa
Processor Intel Core i7-5960X @ 4,3 GHz
Motherboard Asus X99 STRIX Gaming
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Memory G.Skill Ripjaws 4 32 GB
Video Card(s) Asus ROG STRIX GeForce GTX 1080 OC Edition
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Display(s) Acer Predator XB271HU
Case Corsair Crystal 460X
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Power Supply Seasonic X-850
Mouse Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum
Keyboard Cherry MX Board 6.0
Software Battlefield 1
The Gigabyte M32U is one of very a few reasonably priced 4K gaming monitors. For the asking price of $800, you're getting excellent everyday and gaming performance, as well as an impressive list of extra gaming and productivity features.

Show full review
 
I will stick with my $200 1440p monitor for now. 4k isn't worth $900 to me..
 
Walking into this review, it was just another nice monitor that I'm far too cheap to buy ($300's about my max). Then I got to the built-in KVM switch. WANT. Now, $600 is still WAY more than a decent standalone switch, but if this feature becomes more common on mainstream monitors in the future, I may just need to adjust my monitor spending cap upward a bit.
 
As Tftcentral and rtings pointed out in their reviews of the FI32U, and this applies to the MI32U too, this generation of gigabyte 4k HFR monitors takes advantage of a 24Gbps hdmi 2.1 controller.
While this isn't an issue for pc users, both ampere and Rdna2 support DSC over hdmi, this doesn't apply to consoles. That's why gigabyte reports 4k120hz 4:2:0 in the datasheet.


  • Refresh Rate
    144Hz
    120Hz for Console Game*

*HDMI2.1 supports PS5 and Xbox Series X at 4K UHD@120Hz (4:2:0)
hdmi-2-1-support-large.jpg
 
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As Tftcentral and rtings pointed out in their reviews of the FI32U, and this applies to the MI32U too, this generation of gigabyte 4k HFR monitors have 24Gbps hdmi 2.1 ports.
While this isn't a problem for pc users, both ampere and Rdna2 support DSC over hdmi, this doesn't apply to consoles. That's why gigabyte reports 4k120hz 4:2:0 in the datasheet.


  • Refresh Rate
    144Hz
    120Hz for Console Game*

*HDMI2.1 supports PS5 and Xbox Series X at 4K UHD@120Hz (4:2:0)
hdmi-2-1-support-large.jpg

Reason I still prefer that LG 48 inch oled monitor TV at moment, we still don't have good 120hz plus 4k monitors, 4:4:4 chroma is very important for me. Sadly, in the meantime I'm still using a 4k IPS 60hz rgb full color 10 bit 7 years old monitor.
 
Looking good. I was looking for some way overpriced 4K monitors until I saw this review. seems like it has it all, mostly. HDR never was a PC-Monitor thing for me (as Windows 10 as well as 11 will show a very washed-out HDR colors) rather than a TV thing.

I'm only wondering, won't a 8-bit colors instead of 10-bit be a downgrade?
 
Nice to see Techpowerup get into panel reviews.
Nice to see this have DP1.4

questions
Is the backlighting PWM?
Who is the OEM panel maker?
Can a typical user easily update the firmware?

I currently have a 27” 4k just 60hz but was $330 CAD when I got it.

What I would like to see in a monitor?

DP1.4 minimum

Semi-gloss anti glare it would actually be nice if it came with none and with a few films included that stay in place with static or something

120hz refresh rate as standard instead of 60hz. No reason not to be except market segmentation using the gaming gouging moniker

true 10-bit colour

fully adjustable stand

integrated speakers I find a nice addition if you use headphones and have to speakers and don’t feel like wearing your headphones

more smaller sizes. I sit fairly close to the screen (20”) since at a desk. I find 27” at the large limit. I would actually prefer 24”. Then get two of them :)

colour range would be nice if it covered the Adobe at least

no PWM backlit it bugs my eyes. Also local backlighting would be a nice bonus

contrast ratio 1000:1 min. 3000:1 or better would be nice

3 yr warranty. Used to be like that. Now typically only 1 year

be nice if monitor makers would list the OEM panel model and specs

be nice if monitor makers would put a rating on anti-glare film from 0 none to 10 strong or something at least. Or come with none and a few films in the box

I could go on but that covers the most important things to me. Monitors are probably the most important and overlooked item when it comes to desktops
 
Hello there!, could you please include the larger test verification charts for colors, and include the gamma parts, as the datacolor lines are borderline useless and impossible to tell apart?
Also, if possible, please include the testufo test bars in the shots, and state the PPS used
 
You should test that USB port and see how it behaves with USB-C devices like samsung phones with Dex, and nintendo switch

They dont have native 4k support, but i can easily see someone connecting a switch or phone to this and hoping it'd charge the device and provide video output
 
hmm, LCD monitor 4K vs LCD ultra wide screen 3K = IMAX movies ratio vs standard cinema movie screen ratio ??
 
Nice review - I appreciate the detailed blurbusters ufo testing with a pursuit camera.

The biggest problem with 4K/144Hz is that the GPUs required to drive games at those framerates are outrageously priced.

A 3070 can just about justify 1440p/144Hz in current games, though you'll likely have to tweak the settings to a custom mix of medium/high to ensure that you're always running triple-digit framerates.

4K is still too demanding, even for most of the Ampere/RDNA2 lineup.
 
for 800$ its garbo
 
As we can see by examining the CIE diagram, we get a 119% coverage of the sRGB and an 87% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space with our adjusted settings.

We can't really see that, since DCI-P3 is not represented in the diagram :D
Nevertheless, while the monitor goes well beyond sRGB, it still falls short of being a wide-gamut monitor. Not an issue for a gaming monitor, but just sayin'.
 
Nice review - I appreciate the detailed blurbusters ufo testing with a pursuit camera.

The biggest problem with 4K/144Hz is that the GPUs required to drive games at those framerates are outrageously priced.

A 3070 can just about justify 1440p/144Hz in current games, though you'll likely have to tweak the settings to a custom mix of medium/high to ensure that you're always running triple-digit framerates.

4K is still too demanding, even for most of the Ampere/RDNA2 lineup.
Yeah, by the time GPUs catch up we will have more matured displays available on the market.
 
I paid mint for my 4K gsync 144Hz HDR Acer X27 a while back ... it wasn't until FC5 that I got my socks knocked off with HDR with my recent 3080Ti. I suspect HDR > ray tracing.
 
At first I wanted to make some smug remarks , but after reading through the list of features I'm actually considering it for my next upgrade.
Always wanted a high refresh rate monitor, but I'm too used to 4K to sacrifice the resolution. And all the "insignificant extras" are basically a must-haves for me. 18W PD is good enough to charge my phone, KVM is definitely a must (right now I'm juggling mouse/kb between my rig and my rack if I want to use my primary monitor). Headphone DAC is also pretty cool, especially after I broke 3.5mm jack on the front I/O panel of my CM Cosmos (crumbled of old age). Laptop docking might be a bit of a stretch for that one, but DEX or upcoming MIUI+ will be fun to try.
For the right target audience $900 doesn't sound too bad either.
 
This reminded me to check for firmware updates on my Gigabyte G32QC
I forgot how bad giga software is, and needed to warn people: it installs a lot of bloatware:

I had patriot M2 RGB software, gigabytes fusion RGB, and a few other pieces of RGB related crapware... this monitor has no RGB.
 
Still not ready to switch to 4K. Will stick to my 144Hz 1080P monitor for a while until new fabs open and hopefuly GPU prices come down. So 2023-24.
 
TPU is on a roll @W1zzard or what? The quality and sheer number of reviews...

Awesome! This is near tftcentral quality reviewing for monitors. All TPU needs is more data / comparison material, which will automatically build in due time.

Very nice, and a strong display of written media versus all the 'Tube BS.
 
TPU is on a roll @W1zzard or what? The quality and sheer number of reviews...
Indeed ... got an awesome team here that's pushing out crazy amounts of content that's still top-quality (which is very important to me).

In the first years I dreamed of the day when I would we able to post one review each day .. now I'm posting 2 or 3 per day and in some categories I still can barely keep up
 
Indeed ... got an awesome team here that's pushing out crazy amounts of content that's still top-quality (which is very important to me).

In the first years I dreamed of the day when I would we able to post one review each day .. now I'm posting 2 or 3 per day and in some categories I still can barely keep up
Much appreciated, just make sure you don't burn out :toast:
Because that would mean like 0 reviews/day for us to read :P
 
just make sure you don't burn out
Alder Lake NDA is tomorrow, I'm sure you can imagine how burned out I am right now, just 24 hours to go, won't be able to sleep probably
 
Alder Lake NDA is tomorrow, I'm sure you can imagine how burned out I am right now, just 24 hours to go, won't be able to sleep probably
I'll let it slide this once. Just don't make a habit out of it ;)
 
First of all sorry for coming a bit late to the party! My hands are currently very full with my newborn/firstborn so I'm either focusing on writing reviews to save myself from a massive backlog or changing diapers. Sometimes both at once :laugh:

As Tftcentral and rtings pointed out in their reviews of the FI32U, and this applies to the MI32U too, this generation of gigabyte 4k HFR monitors takes advantage of a 24Gbps hdmi 2.1 controller.
While this isn't an issue for pc users, both ampere and Rdna2 support DSC over hdmi, this doesn't apply to consoles. That's why gigabyte reports 4k120hz 4:2:0 in the datasheet.

  • Refresh Rate
    144Hz
    120Hz for Console Game*
*HDMI2.1 supports PS5 and Xbox Series X at 4K UHD@120Hz (4:2:0)

This is correct. While I didn't notice any noteworthy compression while gaming on a PS5, I've updated my review with a couple chroma subsampling-related remarks. Thanks for pointing this out.

I'm only wondering, won't a 8-bit colors instead of 10-bit be a downgrade?

For everyday usage and non-HDR gaming, you won't lose anything by not having a "true" 10-bit panel.

questions
Is the backlighting PWM?
Who is the OEM panel maker?
Can a typical user easily update the firmware?

All these questions are answered in the review :) The backlight is DC-controlled. The panel is made by Innolux. The firmware can (and should) be updated by using the OSD Sidekick Windows app.

Hello there!, could you please include the larger test verification charts for colors, and include the gamma parts, as the datacolor lines are borderline useless and impossible to tell apart?
Also, if possible, please include the testufo test bars in the shots, and state the PPS used

I'm trying to keep the size of the color accuracy chart within reason, but yeah, I can definitely experiment with even larger versions in my future monitor reviews. This is actually the first time I'm posting this larger version of the chart; I used to go with the shorter, more concise version of it :) As for the UFO test bars, don't think I'll be posting those, they take away the focus from what's important (the UFO photos themselves) and require quite a bit of explaining. You'll have to trust my results :) I'm taking 10+ photos at every OD/refresh rate setting, until I get the lines as straight as possible. I'm even using the exact camera/slider setup which is recommended by the guy who came up with this testing methodology, Mark Rejhon of Blur Busters.

You should test that USB port and see how it behaves with USB-C devices like samsung phones with Dex, and nintendo switch

They dont have native 4k support, but i can easily see someone connecting a switch or phone to this and hoping it'd charge the device and provide video output

Afraid I don't own a Nintendo Switch to test this. I'm planning to upgrade to a Samsung phone soon though, and I'm regularly testing the USB-C port with a USB-C laptop.

Nice review - I appreciate the detailed blurbusters ufo testing with a pursuit camera.

Thank you, that montage alone takes a ton of time to produce, kind of great to see someone commenting on it :)

We can't really see that, since DCI-P3 is not represented in the diagram :D
Nevertheless, while the monitor goes well beyond sRGB, it still falls short of being a wide-gamut monitor. Not an issue for a gaming monitor, but just sayin'.

You're right, I have to update the CIE diagram with the DCI-P3 color space. I'll probably drop the Adobe RGB color space from it, to keep it as clutter-free as possible. I do measure the DCI-P3 coverage though, so the numbers are correct.

At first I wanted to make some smug remarks , but after reading through the list of features I'm actually considering it for my next upgrade.
Always wanted a high refresh rate monitor, but I'm too used to 4K to sacrifice the resolution. And all the "insignificant extras" are basically a must-haves for me. 18W PD is good enough to charge my phone, KVM is definitely a must (right now I'm juggling mouse/kb between my rig and my rack if I want to use my primary monitor). Headphone DAC is also pretty cool, especially after I broke 3.5mm jack on the front I/O panel of my CM Cosmos (crumbled of old age). Laptop docking might be a bit of a stretch for that one, but DEX or upcoming MIUI+ will be fun to try.
For the right target audience $900 doesn't sound too bad either.

Once you get used to it (within a day), the KVM switch is something you can't live without, if you're using the monitor in a multisource scenario. Just keep in mind that the M32U doesn't come with a higher-end ESS Sabre headphone DAC and/or microphone noise cancellation. These two features are reserved for the more expensive Aorus FI32U.

This reminded me to check for firmware updates on my Gigabyte G32QC
I forgot how bad giga software is, and needed to warn people: it installs a lot of bloatware:

Yep, exactly what I've mentioned in the software section of the review. The OSD Sidekick has a stealth installation of the RGB Fusion built-in, and the monitor doesn't even have RGB effects. I find it baffling that a respected company like Gigabyte would pull stunts like these.

TPU is on a roll @W1zzard or what? The quality and sheer number of reviews...

Awesome! This is near tftcentral quality reviewing for monitors. All TPU needs is more data / comparison material, which will automatically build in due time.

Very nice, and a strong display of written media versus all the 'Tube BS.

Thank you for your kind words. TFT Central does some amazing work with their monitor reviews, and they have just about every instrument under the sun at their disposal, so to be compared with them, while using the testing setup and methodology which I've built from scratch with what funds I was able to allocate to it, is a massive compliment.

I do have more monitor reviews in the works so please keep the feedback coming!
 
Dont need that newish Gamor Shit, i still use a 1920x1200 NEC from 2009 :p
 
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