Unless you’re willing to pay thousands, rarely do you get every great feature modern monitors can offer. But LG’s new 32-inch display comes close for just $350. It has a 2,560 x 1,440 resolution, a 75Hz refresh rate with Freesync support, and an 8ms response time. It’s not perfect and it’s not got everything you might want, but for the price tag, it has an impressive array of features.
Our favorite monitors include some great budget options like the Dell S2418H. It’s cheaper at $250, but is restricted to 1080P, lacks any kind of enhanced refresh rate, and is limited to just 24 inches of screen real estate. In comparison, the new LG 32QK500-W is far more impressive. For not much more you get near 50 percent extra screen space, a higher resolution, a higher refresh rate, and reasonable features besides.
Alongside the mainstream specifications for the new LG display, it sports a reasonable contrast ration of 1,000:1 and since it’s an IPS panel, it should have good viewing angles and decent color reproduction. It’s not particularly bright at between 250 and 300 nits, but that’s a relatively common range for mid-range monitors and this one offers that at a much cheaper price.
It does lack USB-C, which is becoming a more common connection type as it offers a more minimalistic cable profile. However, you do have the option of DisplayPort, mini DisplayPort, or a pair of HDMI connectors when it comes to hooking it up to your PC. It also has a headphone jack for those who like to connect straight to their monitor’s audio and has a number of smart LG features like flicker-free operation, black stabilization, and reader mode.
On top of all of the important stuff, it’s even quite an attractive display. The silver bezel won’t be to everyone’s liking, but it’s reasonably thin and uniform and the base is minimal and provides tilt control for angle adjustment. It’s also VESA-compatible, so you can mount it to your wall, if you prefer.
By the numbers at least, this should be a decent mid-range display for work or gaming. While it wouldn’t be recommendable for super, high-speed play, it’s more than enough for the kind of mid-range PC gaming experience you would expect from hardware at this price.
For a look at more of the displays we recommend, check out our selection of great monitor reviews.
