Asus ROG Swift PG32UQXR with 32″ 4K,160Hz, Mini LED Backlight and DisplayPort 2.1

Originally published 4 January 2023, last updated 5 October 2023

At CES 2023 back in January 2023, Asus their forthcoming ROG Swift PG32UQXR gaming monitor which has now been launched and is available to buy. This is a 32″ sized screen with a 3840 x 2160 “4K” resolution and 160Hz refresh rate combined, and it has a Mini LED backlight for high-end local dimming and HDR capabilities. Perhaps most interesting of all in the initial press announcement earlier in the year is that the PG32UQXR will be the first ROG monitor to feature the new DisplayPort 2.1 connectivity.

Is DisplayPort 2.1 really needed here? Is it even really being offered?

Previous 4K 144 / 160Hz monitors would have used DisplayPort 1.4 as the video connection to run the screen, with Display Stream Compression (DSC) used to fit within the connections bandwidth. DSC is a visually lossless technology and so this didn’t really have any drawback, so whether or not it’s any real benefit in trying to use DP 2.1 and having a higher bandwidth to avoid DSC is questionable. Asus referenced this in their January press release too, saying “Many gamers find DSC to be perceptually lossless, but if you’d rather just keep compression out of the equation, then a DisplayPort 2.1 monitor is just what you need.” They also said at the time that using DP 2.1 will allow the screen to run at these settings without any compression.

However, with the screen now being formally released, the product page on Asus.com seems to contradict this. It talks about DP 2.1 connections (there are two of them provided), but nowhere does it list the bandwidth supported, or whether it has any of the new UHBR (Ultra High Bandwidth Rates). We know from our investigation of DP 2.1 last year that the new UHBR speeds are an optional requirement for a screen to be listed as DP 2.1 confusingly, so it’s possible that we could see bandwidths that were possible from DP 1.4 (HBR) even on a product where DP 2.1 is listed. Asus then go on to specifically talk about how DSC is being used, implying that to get to 4K 160Hz it will still use that technology, which previously they’d suggested would not be necessary. Is this screen really using a DP 2.1 connection with any of the new speeds, or is it just DP 1.4+DSC, certified under the new scheme as actually VESA allow you to do?

We have reached out to the Asus product team to try and get more information about the DP speeds and capabilities.

576-zone Mini LED backlight and HDR 1000

The screen also has a high end Mini LED backlight with 576 local dimming zones, supports a peak brightness of 1000 nits, and conforms to the VESA DisplayHDR 1000 certification. This includes a wide colour gamut with 96% DCI-P3 coverage thanks to a Quantum Dot coating, and 10-bit colour depth support. The screen also comes factory calibrated with a dE < 2 apparently.

Asus ROG Swift PG32UQXR Specs

Confirming the other specs of the screen, the PG32UQXR is 32″ in size and uses a ‘Fast IPS’ panel from AU Optronics. It has a 3840 x 2160 “4K” resolution, quoted 1ms G2G response time (as usual), 1000:1 static contrast ratio, 400 cd/m² brightness (SDR), 178/178 viewing angles, 10-bit colour depth and a wide colour gamut covering 96% DCI-P3 and ~160% relative sRGB coverage.

The 160Hz refresh rate is supported by adaptive-sync for VRR from compatible NVIDIA and AMD systems, with certification under the AMD ‘FreeSync Premium Pro’ scheme applicable. Asus have added their ELMB (Extreme Low Motion Blur) technology as well for a strobing blur reduction backlight option (not at the same time as VRR here though).

As well as the dual DisplayPort 2.1 connections there are 2x HDMI 2.1 connections provided, and although Asus suggest these would have sufficient bandwidth to support Xbox Series X and PS5 without chroma sub-sampling (where supported by the console), there’s no mention of other HDMI 2.1 capabilities like HDMI-VRR or ALLM. We expect the former to be included though. Additionally there are 2x USB 3.2 data ports and a headphone jack connection. The stand offers tilt, height and swivel adjustments.

Pricing and Availability

Update 5 Oct 2023 – The PG32UQXR is available now in many regions from major retailers including here from Amazon and here from Newegg. It retails for ~$1500 USD and £1500 GBP at the time of writing.

Source: Asus (press release Jan 2023) and Asus (product page)

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