Display Enlightment by NCX

All 4k monitors are matte aside from the HP Spectre 32 and Qnix UHD32R which use an almost-glossy coating or low haze (more information).

The BenQ EW3280, (wide gamut AHVA with 40-60hz Free-Sync), BenQ PD3200U (low glow AUO AHVA 2017 monitor with HDMI 2.0 and a perceived black depth increasing matte grey bezel), Eizo EV3285-BK and, LG 32UD99 (AMD Free-Sync, Hardware Calibration via LG True Color Pro and HDR Color), Qnix UHD3216R (low glow AUO AHVA panel with AMD Free-Sync), Qnix UHD325 Plus (PLS with Free-Sync) and ViewSonic VP3268-4k (AH-IPS with hardware calibration and 14 bit 3D LUT) are the best. The Eizo has the best preset color accuracy, but like most Eizo 1440p+ monitors, the EV3285 has high input lag (27-28ms) for no reason, and is very expensive.

The BenQ PD3200U is the best for non-Sync gaming and media viewing since it has a low glow AHVA panel and perceived black depth increasing matte grey bezel.  The BenQ EW3280 is similar, has 40-60hz Free-Sync, but has a wide gamut panel which over-saturates SDR color (HDTV/REC 709 & sRGB) significantly (around 40%), and has a perceived black depth decreasing inner black bezel since it has a fake bezel or frame-less casing.  The EW3280 does have a REC 709 mode, but it locks the color controls and raises the gamma to 2.4 which causes black crush or loss of detail in dark scenes.

The LG 32UD99 is is competitively priced against the BenQ, supports hardware calibration (requires a colorimeter like the X-Rite i1 Display Pro) and decent HDR color support (it actually has a wide gamut panel and offers 550cdm/2 brightness unlike most HDR monitors), but does not have good preset color accuracy for the price.  The LG is a great display for experienced users with quality room lighting and a colorimeter to truly take advantage of the monitors hardware calibration feature.  Since HDR cranks the brightness, proper display height (more information) and decent room lighting are imperative (more information), otherwise AHVA/IPS/PLS look awful when not used properly.  The 32UD99 is a waste of money if not purchased by a colorimeter owner since it needs to be hardware calibrated to ensure maximum performance, and lacks preset color accuracy worth of its 1000$ price tag.

The almost-glossy/low haze coated Qnix UHD32R is also good, but has a few significant flaws which are the preset green tint, the overdrive (choose between slightly slow pixel response times or some obvious overshoot), and build quality of the casing which is flimsy, does not properly support, as well as puts pressure on the panel which causes back-light bleed. I was able to reduce the bleed by loosening some of the screws of the front casing pieces and putting them back in with the lights off while looking at a black screen, but not get rid of it completely.  It can be considered delay free, but the pixel response time or overdrive performance is a bit slower than many newer AHVA/IPS/PLS panels matte 32" 4K monitors like the Acer XB321HK and BenQ PD3200U which are more competitive with 60hz TN panels pixel response time wise.

The Qnix UHD325 Perfect Plus is good value, but it has a 22ms delay and lacks a proper warranty and can not be easily returned and exchanged since it must be ordered from South Korean eBay sellers.  The same applies to the Qnix UHD3216R as well, which has a 30ms delay (15ms with connected to a PC with the Free-Sync setting in the menu enabled).

The NEC PA32W is also great since it supports hardware calibration (requires purchase of the NEC SpectraView kit which comes with a colorimeter) and has uniformity compensation, but it uses a wide gamut panel and needs to be calibrated to be used properly.

The Acer XB321HK is the only 4K 32" monitor with G-Sync, is less accurate and less consistent panel quality wise compared to the BenQ PD3200U, but the Acer does offer top tier gaming performance with 60hz overdrive or pixel response time performance which rivals "1-2ms" TN panels.

Blur Busters G-Sync Input Lag Testing & Optimal Lag Reducing Game Settings


The Philips 328P6VUBREB is the best of the 32" 4K VA panels image quality wise followed by the BenQ EW3270U, LG 32UD59 and Samsung S32R750UEI which do not have a wide gamut panel with HDR support like the Philips (best; HDR 600 certification) and BenQ do.  Unlike most semi-wide gamut VA panels the Philips and BenQ have a good sRGB mode which gets rid of the over-saturation without under-saturating colors.  The Philips has a 28ms delay while both the BenQ and LG have negligible input lag. 

The Philips 326M6VJRMB has low input lag, offers very accurate DCI-P3 color accuracy out of the box, but the sRGB mode significantly under-saturates colors which leaves one with over-saturated and inaccurate color when viewing SDR or non-HDR content created for the HDTV/REC 709 and sRGB color spaces.  The HDR image quality offered is quite good due to the high brightness (>700cdm/2), high DCI-P3 color space coverage and edge-lit back-light dimming. 

The curved MSI MAG321CURV and Philips 328E1CA offer great 60hz gaming performance for VA panels, are fairly accurate, but have slightly too low preset gamma (2.1 averages), the MSI can not fully cover the SDR (HDTV/REC 709 & sRGB) color spaces, the Philips over-saturates colors, and both and have a fake bezel or frame-less casing with a perceived black depth decreasing inner black bezel.

The Samsung S32R750 is a good, non-curved and wide-gamut VA panel, but only has 1x HDMI, 1x mini-Displayport and low contrast (<2,400:1) for a VA panel.