Bottom Line
The Gigabyte Aorus FI32Q-X ensures buttery-smooth performance thanks to its low input lag, quick response time, high refresh rate and VRR + MBR support, while the big 32″ sized screen with wide color gamut and high brightness offer immersive image quality. It also has a robust design and rich connectivity options.
If you want a 32″ 1440p gaming monitor with a flat IPS screen and a refresh rate of at least 240Hz, check out the Gigabyte Aorus FI32Q-X!
Image Quality
Based on an IPS panel by AU Optronics (M320DAN02.0) with a quantum dot enhanced film layer, the Gigabyte FI32Q-X boasts a wide color gamut covering the entire Adobe RGB and 95% DCI-P3 color space with an sRGB gamut size of ~150%.
This makes the monitor suitable for professional color-critical work after proper calibration via a colorimeter. However, the colors will also be richer and more saturated in games and movies due to the wide Adobe RGB color space coverage, especially when it comes to blue, cyan and green colors.
In case you don’t like the over-saturation, you can use the provided sRGB emulation mode, which will clamp the gamut down to ~100% sRGB coverage.
Further, the Gigabyte Aorus FI32Q-X monitor has a strong peak brightness of 400-nits, so it can get more than bright enough even in well-lit rooms. The static contrast ratio amounts to 1,000:1, which is expected from an IPS display.
You won’t get as deep blacks as that of VA panels with a usual contrast ratio of around 3,000:1, but VA technology has its own drawbacks, such as narrower viewing angles with gamma shifts and a lack of flat-screen models with fast response times.
Another downside of IPS technology, however, is IPS glow. It can be described as visible glowing around the corners of the screen with changing intensity depending on the angle you’re looking at the screen. It’s mainly noticeable when viewing dark content in a dark room with a high brightness setting, so there are ways to manage IPS glow.
Moving on, the Gigabyte Aorus FI32Q-X supports HDR10 and HLG HDR (High Dynamic Range) formats – and has VESA’s DisplayHDR 600 certification.
Overall, HDR content can get a boost in peak brightness up to 600-nits and there are 16 dimming zones that can dim parts of the image that are supposed to be dark.
Sadly, the monitor has an edge-lit backlight and too few zones for such a large screen, so unless you’re looking at a scene with dark and bright elements far apart from each other, the HDR viewing experience won’t be significantly improved.
Of course, this is typical for a display with these specifications at this price range. So, don’t expect an amazing HDR image quality. Some scenes will look a bit better thanks to the decent brightness and wide color gamut, but with some content, you might prefer to disable HDR.
Next, on 32″ sized screens, the 1440p resolution provides you with a pixel density of 91.79 PPI (pixels per inch), which is equivalent to that of a 24″ 1080p display. So, you get the same level of screen real estate and detail/text clarity, just on a much larger screen.
However, since you’ll be sitting further away from the screen than you would from a 24″ display, the individual pixels won’t be as noticeable, while the bigger screen contributes a lot to the overall immersion. Additionally, 1440p is not nearly as demanding as 4K UHD, allowing you to maintain higher frame rates.
Lastly, note that the monitor uses a regular RGB subpixel layout, so you won’t have any issues with text fringing.
Performance
The Gigabyte Aorus FI32Q-X has a native refresh rate of 240Hz, which you can overclock up to 270Hz for a tiny boost in motion clarity.
Input lag amounts to only ~2ms, so there is no perceptible delay between your actions and the result you see on the screen.
There are five response time overdrive modes: Off, Picture Quality, Balance, Speed and Smart OD.
Smart OD is supposed to function as an adaptive overdrive, but it doesn’t always pick the optimal mode, so you should avoid it, whereas ‘Speed’ is too aggressive and adds too much overshoot.
You will have to swap between the remaining three modes depending on your frame rate if you are using a variable refresh rate (VRR).
At ~165FPS and above, you can use the ‘Balance’ mode. At ~60FPS, the ‘Off’ mode looks best – and at ~120FPS, you should use the ‘Picture Quality’ mode.
While having to manually change the overdrive setting depending on your frame rate is far from ideal, at least it’s possible to get an enjoyable gaming experience with no visible trailing behind fast-moving objects and overshoot at any frame rate.
If you’re gaming at a fixed 240Hz or 270Hz refresh rate, you can just set the overdrive to ‘Balance.’
Variable refresh rate is supported for tear-free gameplay up to 270FPS at no perceptible input lag penalty via AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and HDMI 2.1 VRR. While the Gigabyte Aorus FI32Q-X has no official G-SYNC Compatible certification, VRR works without issues with supported NVIDIA GPUs.
Gigabyte’s Aim Stabilizer Sync is available too, which allows you to pair backlight strobing with variable refresh rate for smoother motion clarity, albeit at a cost of picture brightness and introduced screen flickering (invisible to the human eye, but can cause headaches to those sensitive to it after prolonged use). The brightness is still quite high at ~250-nits with this feature enabled, but it cannot be adjusted.
Finally, the backlight of the monitor is flicker-free (unless Aim Stabilizer-Sync is enabled) and there’s an integrated low-blue light filter.
Features
There’s a directional joystick beneath the bottom bezel of the screen for quick and easy navigation through the OSD (On-Screen Display) menu. Alternatively, you can use Gigabyte’s OSD Sidekick desktop application.
Noteworthy gaming features include Black Equalizer (improves visibility in dark scenes by altering the gamma curvature), Color Vibrance, crosshair overlays, a refresh rater tracker, on-screen timers and various picture presets (including 3 customizable profiles).
Besides the standard image adjustment tools (brightness, contrast, color temperature, etc.), the Gigabyte FI32Q-X offers some advanced settings as well, such as gamma and sharpness. Auto Input Switch is supported too.
Other useful features include Picture in Picture and Picture by Picture, as well as an integrated KVM switch, which allows you to connect two PCs to the monitor and easily control both devices via one set of keyboard and mouse.
At the rear of the display, you’ll also find customizable RGB lighting that can be synchronized with other RGB Fusion 2.0 compatible peripherals.
Design & Connectivity
The stand of the monitor is robust and versatile with up to 130mm height adjustment, -5°/21°, +/- 20° swivel, 90° pivot and 100x100mm VESA mount compatibility.
The screen has a light matte anti-glare coating that prevents reflections without making the image too grainy.
Connectivity options are abundant and include two HDMI 2.1 ports with 24 Gbps and DSC, DisplayPort 1.4 with DSC and USB-C (DP 1.4 Alt Mode, 18W Power Delivery).
Other ports include a dual-USB 3.0 hub (1 upstream + 2 downstream), a microphone jack with active noise canceling, a headphone jack with ESS Sabre HiFi audio quality and an audio line-out.
All four display inputs support 1440p 270Hz with 10-bit color depth. The 4K 120Hz mode is also supported for the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles.
Price & Similar Monitors
The Gigabyte FI32Q-X can be found for as low as $500. It’s a much better option than the more expensive Corsair Xeneon 32QHD240 and the Acer XB323UGX, which have similar specifications but fewer features.
The LG 32GQ850 can sometimes be found on sale for $600 – it doesn’t have quite as wide color gamut (it targets DCI-P3 more), but it has better overdrive implementation and an A-TW polarizer which helps with IPS glow a bit. No KVM switch or as many connectivity options though.
If you want something cheaper, check out the Titan Army P32A2S2 with a 32″ 4K 240Hz IPS panel as well. It can be found for ~$360 though it doesn’t have quite as premium design or as wide color gamut.
The KTC H32S25E is another 32″ 1440p 240Hz display worth considering. It has a 1000R curved VA panel for ~$270.
To learn more about monitors and ensure you’re getting the model most suited for your personal preference, visit our comprehensive and always up-to-date best gaming monitor buyer’s guide.
Conclusion
All in all, the Gigabyte Aorus FI32Q-X is an excellent gaming monitor, but it’s a bit expensive, so it’s up to you if its premium features are worth the extra cost over the alternatives we mentioned.
Specifications
| Screen Size | 32-inch |
| Resolution | 2560×1440 (QHD) |
| Panel Type | IPS |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:9 (Widescreen) |
| Refresh Rate | 240Hz (270Hz OC) |
| Response Time (GtG) | 1ms (GtG) |
| Response Time (Aim Stabilizer-Sync) | 1ms (MPRT) |
| Adaptive-Sync | FreeSync Premium Pro (48-270Hz) |
| Ports | DisplayPort 1.4, 2x HDMI 2.1, USB-C (DP 1.4 Alt Mode, 18W PD) |
| Other Ports | Headphone Jack, Microphone Jack, Audio-out, 2x USB 3.0 |
| Brightness | 400 cd/m² |
| Brightness (HDR) | 600 cd/m² |
| Contrast Ratio | 1000:1 (static) |
| Colors | 1.07 billion (8-bit + FRC) 100% Adobe RGB, 95% DCI-P3 |
| HDR | DisplayHDR 600, HLG |
| Local Dimming | 16-zone edge-lit |
| VESA | Yes (100x100mm) |
The Pros:
- High peak brightness and full Adobe RGB color gamut (with sRGB mode)
- Quick response time, low input lag
- Plenty of features, including VRR + MBR to 270Hz
- Fully ergonomic stand and rich connectivity options
The Cons:
- IPS glow and mediocre contrast ratio (as expected from this panel technology)
- Only 16 dimming zones
- Subpar overdrive implementation
