BenQ MOBIUZ EX321UX Announced with 4K 144Hz IPS Panel and 1,152-zone Mini LED Backlight

Originally published 4 March 2024, last updated 12 September 2024

BenQ have recently announced that their first 4K MOBIUZ gaming monitor, originally unveiled in Japan back in March, is going to be released in other regions as well now. The 31.5” sized EX321UX LCD monitor has a high-end Mini LED backlight and a range of impressive specs and features including DisplayPort 2.1 connectivity. Loads more details below.

BenQ MOBIUZ EX321UX Specs

The screen is 31.5” in size and built around an IPS-type panel. This offers a 3840 x 2160 “4K” resolution, 1ms G2G response time spec, 1000:1 contrast ratio, 178/178 viewing angles, 10-bit colour depth support and a wide colour gamut covering 99% DCI-P3 and 99% Adobe RGB. The screen has a 144Hz refresh rate as well with support for adaptive-sync for variable refresh rates from compatible NVIDIA and AMD systems, including certification under the AMD ‘FreeSync Premium Pro’ scheme. The stand will provide tilt, height and swivel adjustments.

Central to the EX321UX’s performance is BenQ’s all-new PixSoul Engine. This technology leverages BenQ’s Game Colour Database to create game-oriented colour modes and utilizes AI for real-time adaptive fine-tuning of brightness and contrast. The result is an impressive visual experience tailored for gamers.

Mini LED backlight

One of the key features of the new monitor is its 1,152-zone Mini LED backlight, offering impressive local dimming capabilities for HDR. This backlight allows for a 1000 nits peak brightness spec, along with associated improvements to contrast ratio and black depth. Along with the support for 10-bit colour depth and a wide colour gamut this should allow the screen to conform to the VESA DisplayHDR 1000 tier once released.

Audio capabilities

In terms of sound, which is one of the features of the MOBIUZ series, it has been expanded to a maximum of 7.1 channels for more three-dimensional and realistic sound, and supports eARC, which can transmit stereophonic audio signals such as Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. In addition, it supports HDMI CEC and allows you to control the volume of devices connected via HDMI with the included remote control. Note that this model doesn’t include any integrated speakers though.

Connectivity

In terms of connectivity, it has a USB Type-C port that supports DisplayPort Alt Mode and fast charging up to 65W. In addition, it supports KVM, which allows you to control multiple devices connected to the monitor with a keyboard and mouse. Apparently the screen will also feature 3x HDMI 2.1 ports (capabilities not listed beyond 4K 120Hz support) and even DisplayPort 2.1. 1x USB-C and 3x USB data ports are expected as well.

DisplayPort 2.1 confusion

In terms of DisplayPort 2.1 support, we checked this with BenQ who told us that the screen uses DisplayPort 2.1 with UHBR10 bandwidth. This allows for 38.69Gbps of bandwidth which, along with some custom timings they have implemented, they tell us should allow full support of 4K 144Hz 10-bit 4:4:4 chroma without DSC being used or needed. However, having reported this we had a follow up conversation with Tim at Monitors Unboxed who has reviewed this screen, who told us that “when I plug it into my DP2.1 UHBR20 supporting Radeon Pro W7800 it reports just 32 Gbps of bandwidth in the 10-bit mode, but when switching to 8-bit it reports 40 Gbps. And if you turn off DSC in the OSD, it won’t let you use the 10-bit mode.”

There seems to be some compatibility issues at least here, so we’ve reached back out to BenQ to investigate and discuss further. This is one of many reasons why DP 2.1 is so complicated right now, and why there’s been slow adoption of it from the monitor side. We discussed this a lot more in our article here.

Pricing and Availability

The EX321UX was released first in May 2024 in Japan, and we now have confirmation that it will be available in the US, UK and European regions at the end of July 2024, with a price of $1,199.99 USD and £1,099.99 GBP listed.

Source: BenQ

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