Acer EB321HQU Review: Affordable 32″ 1440p IPS Gaming Monitor

Looking for a big 32″ monitor with a high enough resolution, great image quality, and affordable price? Then the Acer EB321HQU might be just the monitor for you! 

Image Quality

Based on an IPS panel with 10-bit color depth via dithering (8-bit + 2-bit FRC), the Acer EB321HQU 32″ monitor ensures accurate, vibrant, and consistent colors.

Moreover, thanks to its WQHD resolution of 2560×1440 pixels, the picture has sharp and clear details with a decent amount of screen real estate available.

Note that the image is not as crisp as that of 27″ 1440p monitors, which have a higher pixel density due to the smaller screen size.

In fact, in terms of pixel density, you get the same pixel per inch ratio as you’d get on a 24″ 1080p display.

With a peak brightness of 300-nits and a static contrast ratio of 1,200:1, the picture is quite bright with an excellent relation between the darkest and the brightest shades.

There is some minor IPS glow present, which is an expected downside of the panel.

In dark rooms, this glowing effect can make blacks around the corners of the screen appear somewhat grayish.

This can be easily solved by slightly lowering the screen’s brightness or introducing some ambient lighting to your room.

Performance

The Acer EB321HQU input lag performance is top-notch at just below 10ms of imperceptible delay.

Further, the monitor’s response time speed performance is excellent as well, with no prominent ghosting or smearing of fast-moving objects.

There’s an OD (Overdrive) setting for response time in the OSD (On-Screen Display) menu, but leaving it on ‘Normal’ does the job just fine.

Unfortunately, the Acer EB321HQU monitor is limited to 60Hz, so if you’re used to a higher refresh rate display, you will notice and feel a decrease in motion clarity while gaming.

If you’re just upgrading from a smaller/lower resolution display, you’ll be able to enjoy the monitor’s stunning image quality without any issues.

Features

As you can see, the OSD menu of the Acer EB321HQU 1440p display looks outdated since it’s an older model, after all.

However, it’s quite easy to use and has all the adjustments you might need.

Opening up the menu provides you with four options: changing the picture preset (User, Eco, Standard, Graphic, Movie), activating the Picture in Picture mode, entering the OSD settings, and changing the input source.

Further, the Acer EB321HQU has advanced picture adjustments available, including the gamma and 6-axis color settings.

It also has a low blue light filter mode that blocks out the blue lights that are harmful to your eyes.

Design & Connectivity

The Acer EB321HQU IPS monitor features a relatively thin design with reasonably thick bezels. It’s VESA mount compatible, but the stand is tilt-only by -5°/10°.

On the right side of the display, you will find DL-DVI-D, HDMI 1.4, DisplayPort 1.2, and a headphones jack while the power jack is on the left side.

Price & Similar Monitors

The Acer EB321HQU price is around $250.

For basically the same price, you can get the LG 32QN600 instead, which is a newer 32″ 1440p IPS monitor with more features including AMD FreeSync up to 75Hz.

Visit our always up-to-date gaming monitor buyer’s guide for more deals and information.

Conclusion

Overall, the Acer EB321HQU is an excellent monitor for the price. It will provide you with a big screen, a high resolution, and gorgeous colors, making it ideal for everything ranging from any multimedia use to PC and console gaming.

Specifications

Screen Size	31.5-inch
Resolution	2560×1440 (WQHD)
Panel Type	IPS
Aspect Ratio	16:9 (Widescreen)
Refresh Rate	60Hz
Response Time	4ms (GtG)
Ports	DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 1.4, DVI-D
Other Ports	Headphone Jack
Brightness	300 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio	1200:1 (static)
Colors	1.07 billion (8-bit + FRC)
VESA	Yes (100x100mm)