Gigabyte Aorus FI32U Review: 4K 144Hz 1ms FreeSync IPS Gaming Monitor

The Gigabyte Aorus FI32U was the first 32″ 4K 144Hz gaming monitor available for under $1,000 – let’s see how it fares today!

Image Quality

The Aorus FI32U was also the first monitor based on a 31.5″ IPS panel with the Eyesafe certification that ensures reduced emission of harmful low-blue lights even when a dedicated low-blue filter mode is not activated and without a negative impact on color accuracy.

The 4K UHD resolution looks incredible on the 31.5″ sized screen of the monitor thanks to the high pixel density of 140 PPI (pixels per inch). You get sharp details and text as well as plenty of screen space. Some users don’t use any scaling here, but others might prefer ~125% scaling to make small text easier to read.

Keep in mind that you’ll need a high-end PC system in order to maintain decent frame rates and picture settings at 4K UHD in the latest games.

Moving on, the IPS panel of the Gigabyte Aorus FI32U monitor ensures 178° wide viewing angles for flawless image quality regardless of the angle you’re looking at the screen.

It covers 90% of the DCI-P3 color space (~123% sRGB), which results in rich and vivid colors. You can also use the provided sRGB emulation mode to restrict the gamut to ~100% sRGB for more accurate output when viewing SDR content. In this mode, you can adjust the brightness, but not other settings.

The peak brightness amounts to 350-nits, so the screen can get more than bright enough under normal lighting conditions, while the contrast ratio is 1,000:1 – as expected from an IPS panel display.

Blacks won’t be quite as deep as that of VA panels with a ~3,000:1 contrast ratio, but they’re decent nonetheless. Some IPS glow is present as well, but its intensity varies across different units of the monitor; in most cases, it’s completely manageable.

Related:What Is IPS Glow And How Can I Reduce It?

Now, the low contrast ratio and IPS glow can take away from the overall viewing experience in dark rooms, but that’s the expected drawback of IPS technology. VA panels have their own flaws, such as narrower viewing angles and gamma/contrast shifts.

The Gigabyte Aorus FI32U also supports HDR (High Dynamic Range) and has VESA’s DisplayHDR 400 certification. Even though the entry-level HDR400 certification doesn’t require local dimming, the monitor does have a 16-zone local dimming solution.

Further, HDR content gets a boost in brightness up to 400-nits – which in addition to the 16-zone local dimming, wide color gamut and high screen resolution can make some HDR scenes look noticeably better than SDR.

Still, you’re not getting the ‘true’ HDR viewing experience, which would require a much more expensive full-array local dimming solution, but at least there’s some improvement in HDR content.

In other words, you shouldn’t buy this monitor for its HDR support. Some HDR content won’t look any better, but some scenes, especially those with bright and dark objects far apart, will look great!

Performance

The Gigabyte Aorus FI32U 4K 144Hz gaming monitor boasts a rapid 1ms GtG pixel response time speed for no noticeable trailing behind fast-moving objects and a smooth fast-paced gaming experience.

There are five response time overdrive modes: Off, Picture Quality, Balance, Speed, and Smart OD.

The default Off setting offers the best gaming experience with no particularly noticeable ghosting or overshoot across the entire refresh rate range.

Between 120Hz and 144Hz, the Picture Quality mode is better as it has less ghosting at the cost of minor overshoot, whereas between 60Hz and 100Hz (or if you’re using VRR), Picture Quality will have too much overshoot.

Smart OD is supposed to automatically select the best overdrive setting according to frame rate, but it’s not well-optimized and should be avoided.

The Aorus FI32U has AMD’s FreeSync Premium Pro certification, ensuring flawless VRR performance and optimal HDR tone/gamut mapping in compatible games. The supported VRR range is 48-144Hz over both HDMI and DisplayPort.

While the monitor is not officially certified as ‘G-SYNC Compatible’ by NVIDIA, VRR works without issues with GeForce cards as well.

Gigabyte’s Aim Stabilizer Sync is also available, which allows you to use the Aim Stabilizer backlight strobing technology at the same time as VRR. This reduces perceived motion blur and prevents screen tearing, but picture brightness is reduced.

It also introduces screen flickering that’s invisible to the human eye, but those sensitive to flicker may experience headaches after prolonged use. When Aim Stabilizer/Sync is disabled, the backlight is completely flicker-free.

Input lag is low, so there’s no perceptible delay between your actions and the result on the screen. To ensure the lowest latency, make sure you have at least the F06 firmware version installed.

Features

The Gigabyte Aorus FI32U offers plenty of features and adjustments, all of which are neatly organized in the OSD (On-Screen Display) menu or the OSD Sidekick desktop application.

Beneath the monitor’s bottom bezel is a directional joystick for quick and easy navigation through the menu.

Useful gaming features include Black Equalizer (improves visibility in darker scenes), crosshair overlays and various picture presets (FPS, RTS/MOBA, three customizable modes, etc.).

You’ll also find PiP/PbP, 6-axis hue/saturation, sharpness and gamma settings.

The Dashboard feature allows you to track PC system performance, such as CPU/GPU temperature, utilization, etc. on the screen.

At the rear of the monitor, there’s customizable RGB Fusion 2.0 lighting (color cycle, static, flash and pulse).

Lastly, the monitor has an integrated KVM switch, allowing you to effortlessly swap your keyboard/mouse control between multiple devices connected to the screen.

Design & Connectivity

The stand of the monitor is robust and versatile with up to 130mm height adjustment, 90° pivot, +/- 20° swivel, -5°/20° tilt and 100x100mm VESA mount compatibility.

The bezels are ultra-thin at the top and at the sides, while the screen has a light matte anti-glare coating that eliminates reflections.

Connectivity options include DisplayPort 1.4 with DSC, two HDMI 2.1 ports, USB-C (DP 1.4 Alt Mode), a headphone jack, a microphone jack with ANC (active noise canceling), an audio line-out port and a dual-USB 3.0 hub.

The FI32U also supports the 4K 120Hz mode for the XSX and PS5, as well as 1080p 120Hz (Xbox and PS5) and 1440p 120Hz (Xbox).

Note that the HDMI 2.1 ports of the monitor are limited to 24 Gbps and use DSC (Display Stream Compression) for 4K 144Hz 10-bit color 4:4:4.

This is not an issue for Xbox consoles or modern graphics cards, however, the PS5 is limited to 4K 120Hz 10-bit color with 4:2:0 instead of 4:2:2 as it lacks DSC; you most likely won’t notice it in games though.

Price & Similar Monitors

The Gigabyte Aorus FI32U price ranges from ~$700 to $1,000, which is too expensive.

Nowadays, you can find 32″ 4K high refresh rate OLED or mini LED displays in this same price range for proper HDR support, such as the MSI MPG 321URX and the Innocn 32M2V.

If you just want an affordable 32″ 4K high refresh rate SDR display, the LG 32GR93U can be found for $500, although if you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can get the Innocn 32M2V for $500, which has a significantly better value for the money.

For more information and similar monitors, visit our comprehensive and always up-to-date best gaming monitor buyer’s guide.

Conclusion

All in all, the Gigabyte Aorus FI32U delivers excellent SDR image quality thanks to its high pixel density and vibrant colors, while its quick response time and VRR support ensure smooth performance.

Sadly, it’s too expensive considering it lacks proper HDR support in this price range.

Specifications

Screen Size	31.5-inch
Resolution	3840×2160 (UHD)
Panel Type	IPS
Aspect Ratio	16:9 (Widescreen)
Refresh Rate	144Hz
Response Time	1ms (GtG)
Response Time (MPRT)	1ms (MPRT) Aim Stabilizer Sync
Adaptive-Sync	FreeSync (48-144Hz)
Ports	DisplayPort 1.4, 2x HDMI 2.1
Other Ports	Headphone Jack, Microphone Jack, Audio-Out, 2x USB 3.0
Brightness	350 cd/m²
Brightness (HDR)	400 cd/m²
Contrast Ratio	1000:1 (static)
Colors	1.07 billion (8-bit + FRC) 90% DCI-P3, 123% sRGB
HDR	DisplayHDR 400
Local Dimming	16-zone
VESA	Yes (100x100mm)