Asus ROG Swift PG32UCDP review: A spectacular, versatile OLED monitor

Asus ROG Swift PG32UCDP is an excellent 32-inch 4K OLED monitor capable of running at 480Hz at 1080p, too.

OLED monitors, which already delivered exceptional SDR image quality in 2023, have improved this year thanks to a wider range of options from dozens of monitor makers. Samsung’s QD-OLED panel, which took the lion’s share of attention in 2023, is now joined by a new generation of LG WOLED panels that are more competitive than their predecessors. The Asus ROG Swift PG32UCDP is a great example of what LG WOLED panels can achieve — complete with a nifty feature that lets you choose between maximum fidelity and maximum smoothness while gaming.

Asus ROG Swift PG32UCDP specifications

The Asus ROG Swift PG32UCDP, like most other 32-inch OLED monitors, has a maximum resolution of 3840 x 2160 and a refresh rate of up to 240Hz. But unlike most 32-inch OLED monitors, it also has a 1,920 x 1,080 mode with a refresh rate up to 480Hz, which is designed to offer peak motion clarity for competitive gamers.

• Display size: 32-inch 16:9 widescreen
• Native resolution: 3,840 x 2,160 / 1,920 x 1,080 (dual resolution mode)
• Panel type: 240Hz / 480Hz (dual resolution mode) WOLED
• Refresh rate: Up to 480Hz (at 1080p) and 240Hz (4K)
• Adaptive Sync: Adaptive Sync, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, Nvidia G-Sync Compatible
• Ports: 2x HDMI 2.1, 1x DisplayPort 1.4 with Display Stream Compression, 1x USB-C with DisplayPort Alternate Mode and 90 Watts of Power Delivery, 1x USB-B 3.2 (upstream), 3x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 (downstream), 3.5mm audio out, 1x SPDIF
• VESA mount: 100mm x 100mm
• Speakers: No
• Price: $1,299 MSRP

Asus also packs the monitor with connectivity. It has two HDMI 2.1 ports and one DisplayPort 1.4, all of which can handle the monitor’s maximum resolution and refresh rate. USB connectivity includes a USB-C port with DisplayPort and 90 watts of power delivery for charging devices, as well as three downstream USB-A ports. The typical 3.5mm audio jack is joined by SPDIF for an alternative audio.

Asus ROG Swift PG32UCDP design

The ROG Swift PG32UCDP, like other Asus gaming monitors, has a black and gunmetal design that includes thin display bezels on all sides. Compared to alternatives like LG’s UltraGear 32GS95UE-B and the Alienware AW3225QF, the Asus has an edgier look that works in a gaming den but might seem out of place in a home office.

The monitor has two RGB LED lighting features, one on the rear of the panel and one beneath the stand, which add flair to your desktop. They’re Aura Sync compatible, so they can be synced with other Asus Aura Sync devices. Both RGB LED lights offer a good variety of customization options, and I didn’t find them overly bright at their default settings.

The Asus ROG Swift PG32UCDP is a jaw-dropping OLED monitor with a crisp 32-inch 4K image, yet also provides a 1080p 480Hz mode for extreme motion clarity. That makes it unusually versatile.

Like other Asus ROG monitors, the Swift PG32UCDP has a wide tripod-style stand that takes up more space than necessary. It also sits closer to the viewer than most, which can prove awkward if your desk is only 25 or 26 inches deep. LG’s similar UltraGear 32GS95UE-B has a smaller, flat stand, so the desk space it occupies is still usable. Asus’ stand offers ergonomic adjustments for height, tilt, swivel, which is standard for a monitor in this price range. The height adjustment was stiffer than I prefer, however.

While I’m not a fan of the default stand’s size, Asus offers a 100mm x 100mm VESA mount for connecting a monitor arm or a different stand. Asus offers an ROG-branded ergonomic arm that can be used with the Swift PG32UCDP and other Asus ROG monitors. I’ve not tested this arm, but the design matches Asus’s ROG aesthetic.

Unlike most competitors, the ROG Swift PG32UCDP includes a threaded mount at the top of the stand. It can be used to attach a streaming camera or a light.

Asus ROG Swift PG32UCDP connectivity and menus

Asus offers a solid range of connectivity with the ROG Swift PG32UCDP. Its video inputs include two HDMI 2.1 ports, one DisplayPort 1.4, and a USB-C port with DisplayPort Alternate Mode, for a total of four inputs. All video inputs can handle the monitor’s maximum resolution and refresh rate.

The USB-C port also provides 90 watts of power delivery. While it doesn’t provide enough power for a typical gaming laptop, it can charge most thin-and-light and mid-range consumer notebooks. The USB-C port also connects to three downstream USB ports, providing connectivity for wired devices like a gaming keyboard or an external hard drive. If you don’t have a USB-C port on your computer, the USB-A ports can be driven by a USB upstream port.

The Swift PG32UCDP is one of several monitors to offer an SPDIF audio out. This is a popular choice for sound bars and home theater speakers, making the ROG Swift PG32UCDP more viable as a small television. A few monitors, like the Alienware AW3225DWF, also offer SPDIF, but most don’t. A 3.5mm audio out is still available.

Asus’s on-screen menu provides easy access to options through a responsive and intuitive joystick control centered on the display’s lower bezel. The monitor’s menu options are well-labeled and offer a wide range of image quality controls, including precise color temperature and gamma adjustments. Also, like other Asus OLED monitors I’ve recently tested, this one has a uniform brightness mode. It lowers the brightness of the OLED panel overall but prevents the brightness swings that can sometimes occur with OLED displays.

My only complaint about the on-screen menu is that the text is too small for people with less than perfect eyesight. However, Asus provides a software utility that is available on Windows and can be used to adjust most monitor settings. The utility is more accessible and easier to use.

The monitor also includes a range of gaming-centric features, such as a shadow booster to reveal foes in dark areas of a map, an on-screen crosshair, and a magnification feature to assist in sniping distant enemies. And like many other OLED gaming monitors, the Swift PG32UCDP offers alternative display size modes that restrict the viewable area to that of a 27-inch or 24-inch monitor—a feature that competitive gamers may find useful.

The monitor doesn’t have speakers, which is a minor disappointment but not unusual for a gaming monitor. Most competitors also lack speakers. LG’s UltraGear 32GS95UE-B is a notable exception, as it has a unique Pixel Sound system that ranks among the best audio available from a monitor.

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Asus ROG Swift PG32UCDP SDR image quality

The Asus ROG Swift PG32UCDP has an LG WOLED display panel. We’ve tested the panel in the 27-inch size with prior monitors like the Asus ROG Strix XG27AQDMG and found that while it performs well, it has trade-offs when compared to monitors with Samsung QD-OLED panels, such as the Alienware AW3225QF and Asus ROG Swift PG32UCDM. The Swift PG32UCDP doesn’t change the story, but it’s an excellent monitor overall.

SDR brightness is an area where LG WOLED and Samsung QD-OLED monitors tend to perform similarly, and the Asus ROG Swift PG32UCDP was as bright as expected. Its maximum measured SDR brightness of 256 nits is fine for most situations but might look a little dim if the monitor is used in a room with bright sunlight. Shoppers looking for brighter SDR performance should consider a Mini-LED display instead.

The Swift PG32UCDP’s contrast is exceptional, with an effectively infinite contrast ratio thanks to the LG WOLED panel’s ability to reach a perfect minimum brightness of zero nits when required. This provides an exceptional sense of depth and immersion, especially when enjoying a movie or playing a game. The same is true of other OLED panels and monitors, though, so the Asus doesn’t have an edge here.

Color performance is where the LG WOLED and Samsung QD-OLED panels start to differ. The LG WOLED panel tends to have a slightly narrower color gamut than QD-OLED. As a result, the Swift PG32UCDP can achieve only 96% of DCI-P3 and 89% of Adobe RGB. These are still excellent results that allow the Asus to deliver a punchy and vivid image. However, when compared to the Alienware AW3225QF, which has a QD-OLED panel, the Swift PG32UCDP falls behind.

Personally, I think this is more of a concern for content creators than it is for gamers. This difference in color gamut won’t noticeably change how games look on the Asus ROG Swift PG32UCDP versus the Alienware AW3225QF or Swift PG32UCDM. However, content creators who need to work in a wide color gamut, like DCI-P3 or Adobe RGB, would be better off with a QD-OLED monitor.

Color accuracy also swings in favor of the QD-OLED monitors. The Asus ROG Swift PG32UCDP had a color error of 2.01, which is not bad and not noticeable in most situations. However, as the graph shows, the Alienware AW3225QF and Swift PG32UCDM are far more color accurate out of the box.

Clearly, there’s a difference in out-of-box color accuracy between LG WOLED and Samsung QD-OLED panels. WGOLED