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Unless you look through the BenQ monitor catalogue and find the PD3220U, which is one of the company’s DesignVue series. It’s mostly for graphic designers, but a quick look at the key specs shows that it has a lot in common with the Benq SW321C, at least in terms of physical features and even some display features, but is much cheaper.
The SW321C from BenQ should be near the top of your list. BenQ is becoming known for making cheap, high-performance photo monitors, but the SW321C may be too expensive for many people right now. If you already want a 32-inch screen with 4K UHD resolution, there aren’t really many cheaper options.
So, yes, this monitor is mostly made for designers, and it has a lot of features that are useful for designers, but some of them are also useful for photographers… especially if you do some graphic design work for yourself or for other people. The most important things for photographers are that it is a factory-calibrated display with a 31.5-inch panel and a resolution of 3840×2160 pixels.
BenQ PD3220U Monitor specifications
| Screen Size | 32 inches |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:9 |
| Resolution | 4K (3840×2160 pixels) |
| Brightness | 350 cd/m2 |
| Response Time | 4ms |
BenQ PD3220U Monitor review: Design
The BenQ PD3220U has a sleek, modern design with thin bezels that make it look clean and professional. The outside of the monitor is black and simple, and the ports are hidden by a panel when they are not in use. The base of the monitor is made of metal, which makes it more stable and makes it easy to change the angle at which you look at it.
The BenQ PD3220U has a sleek, modern design with thin bezels that make it look clean and professional. The outside of the monitor is black and simple, and the ports are hidden by a panel when they are not in use. The base of the monitor is made of metal, which makes it more stable and makes it easy to change the angle at which you look at it. You can buy this monitors from its official website
BenQ PD3220U Monitor review: Display quality
First of all, the 4K resolution and high pixel density make for a display that is very sharp and detailed. Text is clear and easy to read, and images and videos look amazing. This monitor is great for editing photos and videos because the colours are accurate and bright and the colour depth is 10 bits. The colour gamut is 100% sRGB.
High dynamic range (HDR) is another feature that makes the PD3220U stand out. This lets the monitor show more contrast between light and dark parts of the image, which is especially helpful when working with photos or videos with a wide range of colours.
BenQ PD3220U Monitor review: Features
The BenQ PD3220U DesignVue Designer Monitor has more than one cool feature, but the KVM Switch is one of the best. If you don’t know what it is, it lets you use the same mouse and keyboard on all of the computers that are connected to the monitor.
By plugging the mouse into the USB-A port on the USB hub of the BenQ PD3220U, I can use the same mouse on both my Alienware m15 and my MacBook Pro, which are both connected to the monitor at the same time. Only, if one of your source PCs is connected to the monitor via HDMI or DisplayPort, you must also connect it to the monitor via the USB Type B port for the mouse to work on that PC.
BenQ PD3220U Monitor review: Performance
The display of the PD3220U has 10-bit colour processing, which gives it a palette of 1.07 billion colours and makes shading, colour changes, and tonal gradations smoother. The In-Plane Switching (IPS) technology gives a fast response time of 5.0 ms and a wide viewing angle of 178 degrees. This is especially important for people who make videos.
In terms of colours that can be reproduced, the panel covers 100% of the sRGB colour space and its video equivalent, Rec.709, which is the standard for colour reproduction on transmissive displays like tablets and smartphones. The screen also shows 95 percent of the DCI-P3 colour space, which is used in movies. The PD3220U can also handle HDR10 content for people who make videos.
BenQ PD3220U Monitor review: Image Quality
The BenQ PD3220U has everything a photographer needs to process and show off images, even if they don’t plan to print many of them. It is a lot cheaper than the similar photo monitors from BenQ and others, but it still lets Mac and Windows users work more efficiently and gives them a lot of options.
It’s also a great monitor for editing videos, which is another important thing for photographers to think about these days. Overall, though, the price-to-performance ratio is hard to ignore, so even though the box says “Designer Monitor,” the PD3220U is more than capable of being a photo/video monitor as well.
BenQ PD3220U Monitor review: Price and availability
The price of the BenQ PD3220U is $1,200. It’s expensive, but it’s worth it if you need a high-quality 32-inch 4K IPS panel for color-sensitive work and can make good use of the monitor’s premium features.
If you want something similar in this price range, you should also look at the Lenovo P32u-10 with full Adobe RGB colour gamut, the Dell U3223QE with an IPS Black panel, and the ViewSonic VP3268a-4K.
Final Words
Overall, the BenQ PD3220U is a great monitor because of how well it’s made, how many ways it can connect, and how many unique features it has. It has a good IPS panel, but even though BenQ’s factory calibration report says the colour temperature is 6500K, we measured 6900K in most colour modes, which is too high.
Also, BenQ’s Uniformity Technology makes the brightness much more even, and because the panel has a high native contrast ratio, the monitor can still keep a good 1,000:1 contrast ratio in this mode, which isn’t true of all displays with this kind of technology.
BenQ PD3220U Monitor Ratings
Pros
- Good color accuracy.
- Ergonomic stand supports height, tilt, swivel, and pivot adjustment.
- Large screen.
Cons
- Built-in speakers are not great
- Limited Adobe RGB coverage
FAQs
Is BenQ PD3220U worth it?
The price of the BenQ PD3220U is $1,200. It’s expensive, but it’s worth it if you need a high-quality 32-inch 4K IPS panel for color-sensitive work and can make good use of the monitor’s premium features (Thunderbolt 3, KVM, etc.).
How color accurate is PD3220U?
In terms of colour coverage, the BenQ PD3220U doesn’t let you down. Even though it met BenQ’s 100% sRGB rating, it also did better than expected in the DCI-P3 colour space, giving us a colour gamut of 98% DCI-P3.
Is BenQ high quality?
In 2023, is BenQ a good brand? BenQ is a great brand if you want to buy something for gaming, prosumers, or entertainment. The brand has been around for a long time and is known as a veteran in the computer market, so they know what fans want and need.