Asus ROG Swift PG32UQXE 32″ 4K with Increased 160Hz Refresh Rate and AmLED Backlight

Asus have announced for CES this week their new ROG Swift PG32UQXE monitor, which they say is “loaded with luxuries for the discerning gamers” and “at a price tailored to fervent enthusiasts” – that’s code for “it has loads of high end features but will be bloody expensive”. The screen is an update to the existing PG32UQX that we reviewed back in May 2020 and maintains many of the same specs and features of its predecessor, but also updating in several areas.

Some Specs are the same as the older PG32UQX model

Like the older model the new E screen has a 32″ IPS-type panel with a 3840 x 2160 “4K” resolution, combined with a Mini LED backlight for exceptional LCD local dimming capabilities. This helps offer excellent black depth, contrast ratio and HDR performance. Note that the number of dimming zones has actually been reduced by half here though, as discussed in a moment. A Quantum Dot coating remains, offering a wide colour gamut covering 97% of the DCI-P3 colour space. The screen is factory calibrated too with dE <2.

The screen is supported by a Native NVIDIA G-sync module and achieves the ‘G-sync Ultimate’ certification too. This helps ensure super-smooth VRR experience and provides other built-in benefits like variable overdrive and super-low input lag.

PG32UQXE Updated Specs and Changes

The new model has a slightly updated refresh rate via an overclock from the original 144Hz to 160Hz now. As well as the Native NVIDIA G-sync module from the original version, the E update also adds NVIDIA’s Reflex Latency Analyzer so you can measure and track system and display latency straight from the monitor itself. Obviously you are going to need a top-end graphics card to power 4K at 160Hz though.

In terms of the Mini LED backlight there are some changes there too. The E model uses AUO’s brand new “Adaptive mini-LED” (AmLED) panel tech. It’s explicitly optimized for gamers they state as well as helping “resist burn-in and luminance decay”. Some more information about AmLED is provided in the AUO video below for those interested. However, in doing so AUO have cut the number of zones from the old model by half, moving from 1,152 to “only” 576 zones now on the new E model. This results in a lower peak brightness of 1000 nits compared with 1400 nits on the older model, and therefore certification under the VESA DisplayHDR 1000 scheme (instead of HDR 1400 before).

HDMI 2.1 – or is it?

Asus also state that the new E model “gets an HDMI 2.1 port, giving PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X owners a chance to enjoy 4K using a 120Hz refresh and the best image quality.” This is an interesting area and we would advise some caution with assumptions, as currently to the best of our knowledge the Native G-sync module does not feature HDMI 2.1 capabilities. Perhaps there is an updated module though? Asus were able to squeeze the performance out of the older HDMI 2.0 port on the PG32UQX, even supporting 4K 120Hz thanks to chroma sub-sampling. Check out our review of that screen for more information, but they did a good job making the most out of the more limited bandwidth on offer.

Asus do not explicitly talk about the capabilities of this HDMI 2.1 port on the PG32UQXE, only that it can support 4K 120Hz – but the older model could do that too as we’ve just discussed! On the press release for their newly announced ROG Swift OLED gaming monitors they seem proud to tout the capabilities of the HDMI 2.1 ports, talking about FRL, 48Gbps bandwidth, no chroma sub-sampling and support for VRR and ALLM too.

They don’t do that in the press release for the PG32UQXE though, which may imply that they are perhaps hiding behind the HDMI 2.1 brand, as the HDMI LA actually allow them to do, but without offering any capabilities beyond the older 2.0 generation and the older PG32UQX screen. They do make a point though that there is 1x HDMI 2.1 and 2x HDMI 2.0 ports which implies there is something different about this additional port. We will seek further clarification on the HDMI 2.1 capabilities for this new E model and report back. Great news if the module has been updated to allow a proper HDMI 2.1 port though with associated capabilities, but we want confirmation of bandwidth, colour levels and additional gaming features please!

DisplayPort 1.4 with DSC is included though we know that for PC connectivity. There is also a USB hub provided.

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More info on specs, pricing and availability when we get it.

Source: Asus

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