[nextpage title=”Introduction”]MSI has just launched the new MPG Artymis 323CQR after its two brothers: the 323CQR and the 273CQR. A 32-inch curved monitor that immerses gamers in the action thanks to a strongly curved screen. The 16:9 format VA panel has a WQHD (2560 x 1440 pixels) resolution with a pronounced 1000R curve. This 32-inch gaming monitor is also Display HDR-400 certified. Let’s see in real life how this MPG Artymis 323CQR display from MSI performs, which will still cost you €599.
XG43UQ specifications:
- VA panel
- A QHD resolution (2560×1440),
- HDR400 certified brightness – P3 color coverage that reaches 90% (not on all pre-configurations).
- A contrast of 2500:1
- 178° viewing angles
- 4ms refresh rate (1ms MPRT)
- A maximum frequency of 165Hz
- AMD Freesync Premium
- Anti-glare coating
- VESA 100x100mm
- 2 USB 2.0 ports
- 1x DisplayPort 1.2a
- 2x HDMI 2.0b
- 1x USB Type-C (with DisplayPort Alternate mode , Power Delivery 15W)
- Features: Night Vision, Smart Crosshair, Anti-Flicker, Less Blue Light and Mystic Light
Design
A light sensor for automatic brightness control is located in the front center on the bottom frame of the screen. The MSI screen follows the trend of the time and has a 3-sided borderless on 3 sides. It should be noted that the mix of glossy, matte and honeycomb plastic will not please everyone. As for the stand, it is quite heavy and breathes solidity. For the fixing system of the foot, you will have to take out your screwdriver. The stand is directly attached to the VESA 100 mounting system.
Ergonomics
Some of the connectivity is on the bottom of the screen, but much higher than most screens, making it easy to install new cables without having to lay the screen flat. MSI adds a headphone holder on the side and a mouse bungie on the bottom of the screen, a great idea that should please all types of gamers.
To adjust the screen, there is a mini joystick on the back of the screen, which simplifies the settings in the OSD. The OSD is simple and the pre-configurations are numerous.
And the rest?
For the PlayStation 5, the MSI MPG 323CQR has a special console mode that allows the monitor to accept the 4K signal on the QHD display and support HDR technology. By making the gaming PC monitor accept 4K signals and convert them to QHD, the image quality should be much better than other displays with QHD resolution.
[nextpage title=”Test methodology”]Test methodology
We want our monitor tests to be as objective as possible. Therefore, we do not use subjective remarks for our rating. The scores are derived from numerical analyses. We use Datacolor’s SpyderX Elite probe to evaluate display quality. And we use a custom-made probe to testinput lag at the screen’s maximum refresh rate. These results add extra utility to our tests, allowing us to more accurately compare features. For the tests, we don’t touch the screen’s default settings. We just adjust the brightness for the test of it, as the vast majority of buyers will change the defaults little or not at all and do not have a calibration probe. This also shows how much time the brand spends making the screen look good out of the box.
[nextpage title=”Backlight leakage”]As far as backlight leakage is concerned , nothing obvious, very few light leaks at the top and bottom of the screen, with the screen on a black background in a room with as little light as possible. The result obtained is therefore correct. The panel does not suffer from light leakage at all. The darker blacks in the center are due to my reflection. In the photo, we have increased the contrast significantly to show the uniformity of the blacks. To the naked eye, the differences are hardly noticeable.
Please note: this subjective observation is not taken into account in our rating system, which is intended to be as objective as possible.
[nextpage title=”Viewing angle”]Being a VA panel, the viewing angles are generally very good. The Artymis 232CQR is no exception to the rule and does very well..
Warning: this observation is considered as subjective and is not taken into account in our rating system, which aims to be as objective as possible.
[nextpage title=”Ghosting”]For this test, a certain methodology must be applied, you can do the tests yourself on your screen by following these instructions. At 165Hz, the sharpness is exemplary on all our pictures. The ghosting is present, even when playing with the Response Time and MPRT options.
Warning: this observation considered as subjective is not taken into account in our rating system, which is as objective as possible.
[nextpage title=”Color range & accuracy”]
Color range / Gamut
The gamut is the set of colors that a device can display. Note that any score above 90% P3 is excellent. A high refresh rate and adaptive sync are nice features to have, but don’t sacrifice gamut and color either. On the configuration “Professional – sRGB” The sRGB coverage is 95%, AdobeRGB 70%, DCI-P3 71%, an average score for a VA panel. However, the values change according to the presets. After a D65 calibration, here is the coverage observed sRGB: 99%; AdobeRGB: 85%; DCI-P3: 80%.
Color accuracy
For this measurement, we want a Delta-E as low as possible. An average Delta-E of less than 2 is considered as good. The average score of the MSI Artymis 232CQR is 1.31 which ensures very good colors. It is now several tests that a blue color distorts the average, and I think this is due to our probe, Datacolor support has been contacted.
[nextpage title=”Color uniformity / Luminance”]Color uniformity
Uniformity varies for tiles of the same production, so always take its values for a trend. We generally want a color variance of less than five on a 24/27 inch screen. Obviously, the larger the screen, the more difficult this becomes. The Artymis 232CQR again scores very well, below 2.6.
Luminance uniformity
One usually expects luminance uniformity with a maximum score around 10%, but the larger the screen the more difficult the task. The MSI Artymis 232CQR shows a maximum of 10%.
[nextpage title=”Brightness levels and contrast ratio”] We measured 400.9 nits using the screen’s default settings. As for the whites, they are rather badly calibrated when the brightness is above 25%. VA panels are known for their deep blacks and high contrast. We note a contrast of 1920:1 (a little below the specs announced at 2500:1) and a black level of 0.21 at 400 nits which is a correct score. For indication, an HDR400 screen must be below 0.4.
[nextpage title=”Input lag”]The measurement of input lag is very different from that of refresh rate. Input lag is the time it takes for the video signal to enter the video port (HDMI/DisplayPort) and display the image on the screen. Few manufacturers communicate on this value which is however crucial for the player. A refresh rate of 1ms is useless if the input lag is high. It is important to note that the more pixels to display, the higher the input lag. So it will be hard to find very good results on a 4K screen. Another important information, all the pixels are not displayed at the same time, the refreshment is done from top to bottom. So we will find a much better response time at the top of the screen when low. We make 3 measurements (top, center, bottom) and calculate the average for our rating.
Rating:
- 5 stars – Less than 4ms lag – excellent, e-sport display
- 4 Stars – 4ms to 8.33ms – equivalent to the frame shift of a 120Hz refresh rate monitor – good for competitive gamers
- 3 stars – 8.33 to 12.33 ms – more than one frame lag at 120 Hz refresh rate – good for most gamers
- 2 stars – 12.33 to 16.66 ms – less than two frames at 120 Hz refresh rate – good for most gamers, not recommended for FPS
- 1 Star – More than 16.66 ms – equivalent to more than 2 frames at 120 Hz refresh rate – noticeable lag in everyday use, not optimal for fast games
The MSI Artymis 232CQR gets a good score (4 stars) with 0.7 ms at the top of the screen, 4.5 ms in the middle and 8.8 ms at the bottom.
[nextpage title=”Conclusion”] The MSI Artymis 232CQR can be found on the market for 599 €. The performance of the MSI MPG Artymis 323CQR is solid, but the rather low resolution for this size of screen makes it lacking. It’s a good gaming monitor, but in office use, you’ll quickly notice the large pixels at this resolution. The calibration is the other flaw of this screen, which, however, makes a flawless on the gaming features.
MSI Artymis 232CQR
We liked:
- Excellent input lag
- The integrated mouse bungie
- The ease of adjustment
We liked less :
- The QHD on a 32″ screen
- The factory calibration
In the end, we choose to award silver to the MSI Artymis 232CQR. As displays get bigger, MSI has taken the gamble of combining large size and curve. The 32″ QHD gaming market is very competitive, however, and if you don’t need the features of this monitor, you’ll surely find it expensive.