ASUS has released a range of new monitors over the past year, though among them, the ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDP stands out. That’s not only because it’s a huge 32-inch gaming monitor, but also for the fact that it has an impressive 4K WOLED panel with a fast 240Hz resolution.
If that’s not fast enough for you though, the screen also has a 1080p option which increases the refresh rate to a whopping 120Hz. That’s on top of its fast 0.03 GTG response time, along with G-SYNC compatibility and an array of other premium features.
Based on the specs alone, the ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDP has all the makings of being the ultimate gaming monitor for gamers who have a top-of-the-line rig. Of course, we had to test it to see if it is indeed the best 32-inch gaming monitor that you can get right now.
So, should you get this new ROG Swift OLED gaming monitor? Here’s what we think in our full review.
Geek-sthetic
Before we get into its screen quality for gaming and its general usability, let’s first take a look at the ROG Swift OLED PC32UCDP’s design. What immediately stands out is its size. As someone who’s used to smaller monitors and laptops, this 32-inch display is massive as it’s the size of a small TV. Of course, there are bigger gaming monitors out there, but this one is still definitely on the larger side.
Still, even with its size, it’s not an unwieldy monitor to set up as the screen itself is quite thin. What makes this more impressive is that the display didn’t get too warm, even when we used it in a room with no AC. This is thanks in part to the display’s custom heatsink (an important feature especially in warmer climates).
Meanwhile, the stand is hefty, though I quite like the design of it. Aside from having enough heft to make it stable (meaning you won’t have to worry about the screen toppling over), it’s also easy to assemble. Even without reading the instructions, you should have no problem assembling it and setting it up on your table.
Also worth noting is that the bottom of the stand features RGB lighting which you can easily tweak. This isn’t the only RGB lit part of the screen as behind the monitor is an ASUS ROG logo with RGB lighting. These are small touches that add to the “gamer” aesthetic of the display which should delight users who have eye-catching PC setups.
For connectivity, the screen has plenty of I/O ports, including a DisplayPort 1.4, two HDMI 2.1, a USB Type-C (with DP Alt Mode), an SPDIF out, a headphone jack, and a USB hub with three USB Type-A ports. These ports should be more than enough for users, even for those with setups that include a gaming PC, a game console, and even an extra laptop.
Speaking of laptops, the USB-C port not only has display input but also has 90W Power Delivery, meaning you can connect a laptop to the screen and have it charge simultaneously. This is a bit of a niche feature, but it’s nice to have for users who have a laptop that’s part of their setup (for streaming or content creation).
From the design point of view, this new ROG Swift monitor does not disappoint as it not only looks good but it’s also designed well in terms of connectivity.
Binge-watching Factor
While the design is great overall, does the screen quality live up to the promise? Well, as it has a WOLED panel, the screen promises to have vibrant colors and deep blacks.
In case you’re wondering what a WOLED panel is compared to QD-OLED, here’s a simple explanation. While both panels are OLED, a WOLED screen emits white light which passes through color filters. Meanwhile, QD-OLED screens emit blue light which then passes through a quantum dot layer. These result in various differences, but the advantage of a WOLED screen is that it generally has a less reflective coating and brighter whites. This makes WOLED displays a potentially better option for users who often use their screens in a bright room.
Of course, the difference between WOLED and QD-LED in general use isn’t massive, though it’s still nice to have a WOLED ROG Swift version to complement the QD-LED ROG Swift PG32UCDM. While we aren’t able to compare the two ROG Swift versions, we can say that the WOLED PG32UCDP is a great partner for binge-watching.
Thanks to the 4K resolution coupled with its vibrant colors, we loved watching movies and shows on the ROG Swift. While 1080p content still looked nice, the screen definitely shines when watching 4K content, meaning you may want to get a more premium streaming service to take full advantage of this screen.
Aside from being great for movie/show marathons, the screen also has Delta E<2 and 99% DCI-P3, meaning you get accurate color reproduction, though you may want to put the screen on sRGB mode (which we’ll talk about later).
Gaming Visuals
As it’s great for watching movies, it should also come as no surprise that the ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDP is a top-notch partner for gaming.
Given the 4K resolution and 240Hz refresh rate, this monitor shines when playing the latest AAA games, as long as your rig can handle it. While playing games on this monitor, we ran into no issues and we enjoyed a tear-free experience thanks to its G-SYNC compatibility.
While it’s not a weakness, it’s worth noting that you really need a top-of-the-line gaming PC to enjoy this screen to the fullest. After all, it looks best at 4K, and only a select few GPUs can run AAA games at 4K with a framerate of over 100 FPS.
Aside from PC gaming, this display is also excellent for console gaming, especially the PS5. As with our recommendation for PCs though, this display might be overkill for the base PS5 as you’ll need a PS5 Pro to take advantage of its capabilities.
After trying out AAA titles, we also played multiplayer games on this screen. The 4K 240Hz mode is great for esports games, but for users who want an even faster refresh rate, the screen has Framerate Boost mode which turns down the resolution to 1080p but increases the refresh rate to 480Hz.
For us, we preferred the 4K 240Hz mode as a 1080p resolution on this screen just doesn’t look as sharp. Still, it’s a nice feature to have for players who want even more frames given that’s still a notable advantage for serious multiplayer gamers.
Everyday Reliability
If you also work at home, the ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDP shouldn’t disappoint. Aside from having plenty of screen real estate for your productivity apps, the display also has a subpixel layout with ASUS’ Clear Pixel Edge algorithm, reducing color fringing. It may not be that apparent, but it does help in making text more readable – important if you’re working on documents and presentations.
Now, if you’re more of a content creator, the screen is also a great work partner as it has great color accuracy, though you may want to stick with the sRGB visual mode. While you can set the screen to automatically change the visual mode depending on what app is running, we don’t really recommend going with the automatic. In our experience, the visual mode changes were frequent and distracting, so we just stuck with the sRGB mode even when playing games or watching movies.
Of course, there were times when we changed the mode. That was easy to do as you can change the display’s visual mode via the Display Widget Center. There, you can also tweak various settings, including the MultiScreen modes. Yes, with this screen, you can enable a picture-in-picture or a picture-by-picture mode which is great when you have two systems connected to the monitor. This might not be useful to some, but it’s another feature that’s nice to have in a high-end display.
Also available on the Display Widget Center are various AI features, including an AI Crosshair which automatically changes the crosshair color to make it stand out more. There’s also the AI Shadow boost which, in theory, makes enemies easier to spot in dim areas. Plus, there’s the MOBA Map Helper which flashes reminders when a team fight is detected in the mini-map.
We can’t speak on whether these AI enhancements count as “cheating” for multiplayer titles, but we didn’t really use these features much while testing the monitor. It may be nice inclusions for some, but we preferred to keep them off as they were sometimes more distracting than helpful.
What we did keep on are the various OLED Care features that ASUS added to the monitor to avoid burn-in and other OLED display issues. These include Pixel Cleaning which periodically shuts off the screen for a couple of minutes to recalibrate. There’s also a Screen Saver that dims the screen after 2 minutes of inactivity. Then, there are the Logo Brightness and Taskbar adjustment options that reduce the brightness of logos and the taskbar to prevent burn-in in certain areas.
Given that burn-in can still be an issue for some OLED monitors, it’s good to have these options as standard with the PG32UCDP, especially given how premium the display is.
To tweak these settings, we recommend installing the aforementioned Display Widget Center, though it’s nice that you can still control these settings via the menu which is controlled with a nub at the back of the screen. This is useful in cases where you want to adjust some settings but are playing on a console or plugging in a laptop.
ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDP – Final Geek Lifestyle Verdict
Based on its design, screen quality for videos/gaming, and reliability for daily use and productivity, the ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDP is indeed one of the best 4K OLED gaming monitors you can get right now.
There are some caveats though. For one, you’ll need deep pockets as this screen has an eye-watering PHP price tag of nearly PHP 100k. What’s more, you also need a top-of-the-line gaming PC to take full advantage of its 4k resolution and 240Hz refresh rate.
If you’re a serious gamer with a high-end gaming PC (and a healthy bank account) though, the ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDP is certainly worth a look if you’re looking for a top-notch monitor to match.
Note: Our review focused on the usability and overall experience of the monitor. If you want a deeper dive into how it stacks up to other high-end gaming monitors, this review by TechSpot offers a bevy of tests that you may want to check out as well.