I desperately want a 'cheap' OLED upgrade but there's no way I'm ditching a 32-inch monitor to do it

HardwareGaming MonitorsI desperately want a ‘cheap’ OLED upgrade but there’s no way I’m ditching a 32-inch monitor to do itWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Future)

A PC gaming setup showing a 32-inch monitor, two Xbox Wireless Controllers, and a gaming PC

Andy Edser, hardware writer(Image credit: Future)This month I’ve been testing:Flight sticks, headsets and German kebabs. Reviews are incoming on the first two, but as for the last I can confidently say that Cologne has one of the best. Gamescom was pretty sweet too, for reference.

Andy Edser, hardware writer

(Image credit: Future)This month I’ve been testing:Flight sticks, headsets and German kebabs. Reviews are incoming on the first two, but as for the last I can confidently say that Cologne has one of the best. Gamescom was pretty sweet too, for reference.

(Image credit: Future)

Andy Edser, terrifying in blue

This month I’ve been testing:Flight sticks, headsets and German kebabs. Reviews are incoming on the first two, but as for the last I can confidently say that Cologne has one of the best. Gamescom was pretty sweet too, for reference.

There are some things in life you wish you could unsee.XXX: Return of Xander Cage, for example. But if I had a choice, I’d like to erase all memory of using a 32-inch screen as my main display for the past year. It’s not that the experience has been bad, like watching a poorly-written Vin Diesel sequel. In fact, quite the opposite.

But now I’m hankering for anOLED gaming monitor, and since my poor eyeballs have been treated to 32-inches of glorious display for a significant amount of time, I know I won’t be able to go back down to a 27-inch or 24-inch screen again. Nor am I quite ready to commit to an ultrawide full-time, despite their advantages, for reasons I’ll go into later.

I’ve come perilously close, it’s true, and even at points thought I was converted. They are brilliant, after all, and I’ve flip-flopped on my decision so many times I’ve lost count. But there’s something about the 32-inch screen format that keeps pulling me back in—and OLED-wise, that means my next monitor purchase is likely going to beexpensive.

For those of you that haven’t known the glory of a 32-inch screen, allow me to wax lyrical for a second: A screen of this size, I’ve finally decided, is theperfectamount of panel. And I can hear your complaints already: whatever your particular preference is, you’ll argue it’s the best, and that’s fine.

But I’ve had the pleasure of sitting in front of many fabulous displays recently, from 49-inch ultrawides to 27-inch high refresh rate marvels, and I’ve oohed and aahed at them appropriately. That being said, every time I return to my desk and sit in front of my sensible 32-inchMSI G321Q, there’s something about it that feels like coming home.

There are many 32-inch monitors like it, but this one is mine.(Image credit: Future)

My MSI 32-inch gaming monitor, on a VESA mount.

It’s not the greatest of displays, this. It’s an IPS panel, which might still be the best LCD tech around, but the low-light contrast isn’t great. It’s got a 170 Hz refresh rate—which is plenty fast enough for me, but positively glacialcompared to some. Its colour reproduction is pretty decent, which means well-lit scenes do look appropriately lush, but HDR-wise it’s only “HDR Ready”, which effectively means it can’t really give me the benefits of HDR at all. It’s also got a matte finish that point-blank refuses to clean up to a perfect surface.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

That 32-inch panel size means that I can happily have two, three, or four windows on screen at the same time without straining to read them. Yes, they’d be more spread out on an ultrawide, but a 32-incher still gives you plenty of room for multiple screen elements, without dominating your field of vision. I can also look around it to my (real life) window behind and spot the endless delivery drivers ferrying packages to my front door. I can stare at the bin man, ignoring my recycling collection once again. It just feels a bit more…civilised, than a super-wide display.

Yes, I am a nosy neighbour. Please ignore my partner’s horrible taste in lampshades.(Image credit: Future)

Looking past a monitor to a window, with a horrible lamp

And as for gaming? If I’m playing an intense first person shooter, thanks to that large panel, I can sit forward and immerse myself. For chilled out controller stuff, I can lean back in my chair, kick my feet up and relax. I’ve even got it setup on a VESA arm mount, so I can swing it towards my partner’s chair and we can both play a bit of local co-op in comfort.

Ever tried two-player gaming on a curved ultrawide? Thanks to that bend, the experience isn’t great. They’re brilliant screens, but I can’t quite bring myself to replace my traditional experience just yet. I’ve thought about it, hemmed and hawed, but as good as modern wide bois are, and as much fun as I’ve had using them, I can’t quite shake the 16:9 bug. And as for smaller displays? Nah. Bigger really is better, I’m afraid.

Now I’ve resigned myself to the 32-inch, 16:9 format, I know my next screen purchase is going to be expensive—at least for the foreseeable future

But I do want an OLED. Again, once you’ve seen one, you can’t quite unsee how much better an OLED screen is than just about everything else out there. Of course, plenty of 32-inch options are available, but given my preferences, I’m going to have to spend up a bit if I want my next display to be on the large side.

Not that smaller OLEDs are cheap, you understand. But good OLED 32-inch monitors are often that bit more expensive—and that means that every time I’m about to pull the trigger, I stop myself. Our currentbest gaming monitor, the 32-inchMSI MPG 321URX QD-OLED, has earned its place at the top of our recommendations for having a fantastic panel that’s cheaper than the competition. Cheap-er, not cheap.

It’ll still cost you$950 at the time of writing, and it’s got a tendency to sell out very quickly thanks to that more reasonable, but still teeth-clenchingly high price. Top level hardware can be expensive, and large OLEDs are certainly no exception.

The display I covet most, still just out of financial reach…for now.(Image credit: Future)

MSI MPG321URX

I’ve thought about going back to 27-inches to try and save a bit of money, I really have. Or putting aside my nitpicking and going for the magnificent 34-inch ultrawideAlienware 34 AW3423DWF, which can often be foundaround the $700 mark. But it’s no use. Now I’ve resigned myself to the 32-inch, 16:9 format, I know my next screen purchase is going to be expensive—at least for the foreseeable future.

Nevermind the fact that 32-inch OLEDs are all 4K screens. To get the most out of that resolution, I’d need toupgrade my GPUas well, and now I’m looking at a total that’s closer to $2,000. And that’s the sort of cash that could be spent on a lovely holiday—or heavens forbid,asavings account. Perish the thought.

But in the meantime, here I sit, scanning for bargains on my admittedly inferior display. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out around the Black Friday sales forgood OLED deals, but being UK based I’m sure it’ll be our stateside friends that’ll get the lion’s share of the great discounts. Perhaps the 32-inch OLED display of my dreams will suddenly appear, bathed in glorious HDR light, at a price point that won’t make my bank manager call me to check that I’m feeling alright.

Perhaps not. Still, I can dream, can’t I?

TOPICSHardware

TOPICS

More about gaming monitors

A display at CES 2025 showing several huge transparent screens mounted and motorised around a chandelier, lit up in purple.

A LG Smart TV hangs on the wall of a well-lit living room, surrounded by house plants. On screen, LG’s touted Gaming Portal can be seen, featuring games such as Avowed, Starfield, and NBA 2K25.

LG wants to turn your Smart TV into an Xbox, announces cloud gaming partnership with Microsoft

LatestAll Zenless Zone Zero 1.5 livestream codesSee more latest►

Latest

All Zenless Zone Zero 1.5 livestream codes

Zenless Zone Zero codes - Miyabi and section four

All Zenless Zone Zero 1.5 livestream codes

See more latest►

Most Popular

These are the 14 biggest upcoming RPGs of 2025—get ready for another amazing year for the genre

Five new Steam games you probably missed (January 6, 2025)

I’ve seen enough: No more forcing singleplayer studios to make mediocre live service games

6 games that could be bigger hits than you’re expecting in 2025

What are your 2025 gaming resolutions?

The FBI put a $5 million bounty on the ‘Cryptoqueen’ last year but still hasn’t found her, so take your pick: Russia, South Africa, or murdered on a yacht in 2018

The Witcher season 4: Everything we know about Hemsworth’s debut on The Continent

8 bold gaming predictions for 2025

The PC game releases we’re most excited about in January

Twitter is dead, X is a cesspit, let’s make 2025 the year of the message board

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals