ASUS has been known to be a producer of some of the prettiest gaming hardware and peripherals on the market for a very long time. This however also comes with a bigger price tag, but with the great quality, the nudge on the price tags is justified. Since the inception of the TUF brand within ASUS, they have grabbed a large chunk of the market that doesn’t quite have the budget to buy the more expensive ROG range. Although more budget-conscious, there has never been a lack of quality, and in the gaming monitor market, there is no room for error on any front. The ASUS TUF VG32V steps into a highly populated market of being a 1440p, 144hz gaming monitor. What it has in its favour is the fact that it boasts HDR, Freesync and a massive 32inch VA Panel.
What is it like? We are about to find out…
specifications
- Screen Size: 32-inches
- Display: 2560×1440 QHD /Anti-Glare coating / 1800R curvature
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- HDR: Yes
- Refresh Rate: 144Hz
- response time: 1ms
- Contrast Ratio: 3000:1
- Brightness: 400 cd/m
- Speakers: Yes / 2×2 Watts stereo speakers
- Stand: Tilt + swivel + pivot + height adjustment
- Mountable: Yes
- IO: 1x DisplayPort 1.2 / 2x HDMI 2.0 / 3.2mm Mini-Jack
Design
The TUF range is a more budget-orientated division of ASUS and therefore it focuses less on swag and glamour like the ROG Strix versions of ASUS have, and has more toned down styling but still features the great quality that ASUS is known for. When unboxing the monitor you can immediately see that it is made well. Although TUF is more budget-friendly, they have not jeopardized the quality to cut the price. The monitor is well-weighted and features a patterned backside. The back of the monitor is made from matte black plastic and it does give the VG32V a very clean and low-key elegance. The massive 32-inch monitor stands on a square foot piece, unlike many other monitors that stand on a claw-like foot piece. Not only does this square foot piece allow for the VG32V to have a smaller footprint allowing it to take up less space on your desk, while still keeping the behemoth of a monitor standing strong and sturdy.
Attaching the monitor to the foot stand and arm is very simple and the movements, tilting, sliding and angling feel really easy and smooth, yet firm enough to provide confidence in the said movement. The ports of the VG32V, which consists of 1 Display Port, 2 HDMI 2.0, and a headphone jack is located at the bottom of the panel. This is a little tricky to get the cables plugged in as the monitor does not tilt quite far enough, and the lack of feedthrough space in the mounting arm does mean you will need to do some neatening of the cables once you are done. The OSD buttons are situated on the right rear and consist of 4 big buttons and a small joystick. The OSD interface is very simple and easy to get the hang of. most of the adjustments can be done through the use of the joystick which makes for really easy navigation.
The sleek design of the VG32V is accentuated even more by the fact that the screen is bezel-less on three of the four sides which makes it perfect if you plan to use more than one monitor. Although the TUF VG32V design might not fit everyone’s style, it is something for the person who prefers minimal styling. The VG32V can easily be taken to an office environment and no one would notice it apart from its sheer size. This is a win in my book especially since I want my gaming/workspace to be one and the same, the TUF VG32V slots into that space perfectly.
Performance
The ASUS TUF VG32V’s specifications are nothing to be scoffed at, it is a very capable monitor with 1440p resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, and 3000:1 contrast ratio. The VA panel is rated to be good for 400nits of brightness. HDR400 is also a welcome feature as well as FreeSync. The ASUS TUF VG32V is fitted with a curved VA panel. Curvature is at 1800R, which on a display this size, feels right. This monitor, like other VA panels, has a wonderful contrast ratio, which provides wonderfully deep blacks. Straight out of the box, I did find the general colour to be slightly dull. This was easily fixed with the very adjustable settings and presets of the VG32V. The standard presets range from a scenery mode, racing, Cinema, RPG, FPS, Moba and an sRGB mode, each of which adjust the image quite drastically, but fortunately, they are not locked and can be adjusted.
I had the ASUS TUF VG32V connected to my PC via Display Port to the ASUS TUF RTX3080. This allowed me to truly give the monitor a good test by throwing everything I had at it. I tested the VG32V through a plethora of games such as R6 Siege, Apex Legends, Escape from Tarkov, Warzone, and even Sea of Thieves. All of these games were tested at 1440p and no framerate limiters so that we could enjoy the 144Hz goodness. After adjusting the colour, contrast and brightness of the monitor I jumped straight into R6 Siege. For a game that tends to not “pop” too much in terms of colour, the VG32V gives the game a significant improvement and colour differentiation in-game was easily seen. The 144Hz is wonderful and for someone who has not experienced a 144Hz monitor. Do yourself a favour and find one, it is single-handedly one of the biggest advantages for fast-paced shooters that you can find. Other titles like Escape from Tarkov enjoyed the same vividness improvement from the VG32V which is a worthy advantage in a title where spotting and shooting first is the difference between winning and losing.
Jumping from the doom and gloom of Siege and Tarkov I headed over to Apex Legends and Sea of Thieves. All I can say is WOW!!! The vibrant colour palettes of both these titles simply blew me away when viewed on the VG32V! The richness of the foilage in Sea of Thieves as well as the way the water breaks and the glow of the fires around the tavern really look incredible.
The ASUS TUF VG32V is however not perfect. When it comes to black uniformity it did struggle somewhat. This is made more apparent if you are using it in a dark room. Naturally, this would affect those who are planning to use the monitor for video or photo editing more than just gaming. In gaming scenarios such as dark moments in Tarkov, I did see the odd light bleed at the top and bottom of the display but nothing that was bad enough to cause me any worry. Another slight disappointment was the HDR, although it is marketed as an HDR400 capable monitor I was not that impressed. With HDR activated the videos and images simply lacked the “oomph” in the brightness and contrast department to really make it blow me away. This might be caused by the pixel density of a 1440p display stretched to 32 inches, but once again nothing to seriously spoil my opinion on this monitor. If HDR is a must-have then you would probably not be looking at a curved VA panel anyway.
Verdict
The ASUS TUF VG32V is not cheap, that needs to be said first. But, there is always a but, for the quality of the product that you are receiving it is not that outlandish. Coming in at around the R12 000 mark, give or take, it is a significant chunk of your hard-earned cash that you need to dish out for this monster. There are other brands that you might find to be cheaper, but when you are buying ASUS you are buying a premium product, no matter whether it is in its TUF moniker or ROG, quality is quality. That being said the ASUS TUF VG32V is a very good and capable gaming monitor that packs all the features that you would expect from a gaming monitor. With the massive 32inch display it is as big as I would recommend for any competitive gaming. The 144Hz and 1ms response time has become the standard for gaming and with new GPU’s allowing 1440p gaming to be more accessible the 2560×1440 VA panel provides stunning visuals, even though a little tinkering will be needed.
If you are looking for a low-key, professional-looking 32inch display that will slot into gaming and office setup, then the ASUS TUF VG32V is a no-brainer. For those looking for an editing monitor then an IPS panel would be the recommended monitor. As a gaming monitor, it is a wonderful piece of kit. You could find a smaller sized monitor with the same feature for nearly half the price though…
special thanks to ASUS South Africa for the review content
