Gigabyte M32UC 160Hz 4K VA with HDMI 2.1
As an Amazon Associate and Newegg Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases made using the “Buy” button at the bottom of this post. Where possible, you'll be redirected to your nearest store. Further information on supporting our work.The high refresh rate ‘4K’ experience is attractive for both PC users and console gamers, with ~32″ generally considered a nice screen size with this in mind. So far such models have been restricted to IPS-type panels. The Gigabyte M32UC shakes things up by offering a curved VA alternative instead. To keep users of modern games consoles such as the PS5 and Xbox Series X happy, HDMI 2.1 is offered to provide a 120Hz ‘4K’ UHD signal. The monitor offers the usual styling associated with the series, with a low-profile dark matte plastic stand base and moderately thick bottom bezel. The top and side bezels are dual-stage, including a slim panel border flush with the rest of the screen plus a slender hard plastic outer part. The OSD (On Screen Display) is controlled by a joystick at the rear, towards the right side as viewed from in front. A dedicated KVM button is also included, allowing rapid input switching and sharing of USB peripherals between systems.
The monitor adopts a 31.5″ 3840 x 2160 (‘4K’ UHD) VA panel with 1500R (moderate) curve, designed to draw you into the experience a bit without it feeling unnatural. We believe this to be the AUO M315QVR02.0, more specifically. A 160Hz refresh rate (144Hz + factory overclock) is supported alongside Adaptive-Sync with the monitor in its ‘non-overclocked’ state. This includes AMD FreeSync Premium Pro with 48 – 144Hz VRR range (plus LFC). A 3000:1 static contrast is specified alongside a matte anti-glare screen surface, 178°/178° viewing angles and 8-bit colour support. A flicker-free WLED backlight provides a 350 cd/m² (400 cd/m²+ HDR peak) typical maximum luminance and 93% DCI-P3 (123% sRGB) colour gamut. The monitor is VESA DisplayHDR 400 certified, allowing it to respond to HDR10 content in a basic way with use of 10-bit colour processing and allowing it to put its reasonably wide colour gamut to good use. It doesn’t necessitate local dimming or require particularly high brightness output by HDR standards.
A 2ms grey to grey response time is specified – huge pinch of salt required. A 1ms MPRT response time is also specified using ‘Aim Stabilizer Sync’, a strobe backlight setting which can be used in a VRR environment. The stand attaches centrally via a quick-release mechanism and provides tilt and height (100mm or 3.94 inches) adjustment. 100 x 100mm VESA mounting is supported if you don’t wish to use the included stand. The ports face downwards and include; a 3.5mm headphone jack, 2 HDMI 2.1 ports (with DSC), DP 1.4 (with DSC), USB-C (18W PD, DP Alt Mode, upstream data), 3 USB 3.0 ports plus upstream and a DC power input (external ‘power brick’). 2 x 3W speakers are included for basic sound output, whilst 2-system PiP/PbP and KVM support is offered.
Further details can be found on the manufacturer’s website. The monitor is listed for ~$800 USD.
