MSI Reveals Optix MAG322CR: A 31.5-Inch Curved Monitor with a 180 Hz Refresh Rate
by Anton Shilov on February 5, 2020 4:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Display
- MSI
- Monitors
- FreeSync
- Curved Display
As high refresh rates increasingly become a standard feature in monitors aimed at the gaming market, manufacturers have started to turn their eyes towards what's next in the ever-ongoing race to stay ahead of their competition. So, with 144Hz displays seemingly conqured, that attention has turned to ever higher refresh rates. Following this trend, MSI this week introduced its Optix MAG322CR LCD, one of the industry’s first displays with a 180 Hz maximum refresh rate.
The MSI Optix MAG322CR uses a slightly curved 31.5-inch 8-bit+FRC VA panel with a 1920x1080 resolution. All told, the monitor offers a maximum brightness of 300 nits, a 3000:1 contrast ratio, a 1 ms MPRT response time, and a maximum refresh rate of 180 with VESA Adaptive-Sync support. As well, the monitor is also AMD Freesync certified. Meanwhile MSI is using a wider-gamut backlighting system, so the monitor can display 96% of the DCI-P3 and 125% of the sRGB color gamuts.
The MAG322CR is also marked as ‘HDR Ready’; though with 300 nits peak brightness it doesn't even meet the VESA's lowest DisplayHDR tier. So it's hard to imagine the monitor delivering a quality HDR experience.
As far as connectivity is concerned, the Optix MAG322CR is equipped with one DisplayPort 1.2a, two HDMI 2.0b connectors, and a USB Type-C port (with DP Alt Mode support). Also, the monitor has a dual-port USB 2.0 hub, and an earphone out.
Being aimed at serious gamers who demand not only performance, but also style, the Optix MAG322CR comes equipped with Mystic Light addressable RGB LEDs on the back that support a variety of modes.
| The MSI Optix MAG322CR Monitor | ||
| Optix MAG322CR | ||
| Panel | 31.5" VA 8-bit+FRC | |
| Native Resolution | 1920 × 1080 (16:9) |
|
| Refresh Rate | 180 Hz OC | |
| Dynamic Refresh Rate | Technology | VESA Adaptive-Sync (AMD Freesync Certified) |
| Range | ? | |
| Response Time | 1 ms MPRT | |
| Brightness | 300 cd/m² | |
| Contrast | 3000:1 | |
| Color Gamut | 96% DCI-P3 125% sRGB |
|
| Viewing Angles | 178°/178° horizontal/vertical | |
| Curvature | 1500R | |
| Inputs | 1 × DisplayPort 1.2a 2 × HDMI 2.0b |
|
| USB Hub | 2 × USB 2.0 | |
| Audio | earphone out | |
| Stand | Height | 130 mm |
| Tilt | +20° ~ -5° | |
| Swivel | - | |
| Power Consumption | Idle | ? |
| Typical | ? | |
| Maximum | ? | |
| MSRP | ? | |
MSI’s Optix MAG322CR is currently listed at the company’s website, so it is reasonable to expect it to hit the market shortly. Amazon.com currently lists the monitor as available for pre-order for $329.99, with the monitor slated to ship within one or two months.
Related Reading:
- Faster & TUFer Gaming: The ASUS VG27WQ 27-Inch 165Hz Curved Monitor w/ FreeSync
- MSI’s Optix MAG342CQR Ultra Curved Monitor: 34 Inch & 144Hz with a 1000R Curve
- MSI Reveals Optix MEG381CQR 37.5-Inch HDR600 144 Hz Curved Monitor
- Lenovo Announces ThinkVision T34w-20 Curved Monitor
Source: MSI (via Hermitage Akihabara)
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Makaveli - Wednesday, February 5, 2020 - link
31.5' 1080p Hard Pass!prophet001 - Wednesday, February 5, 2020 - link
Yeah that's weird.Steelbom - Wednesday, February 5, 2020 - link
Yeah, I thought jeeze 180Hz 2560x1440 seems all right. Then I see the "1080p"... but why?Korguz - Wednesday, February 5, 2020 - link
why not ??crimson117 - Thursday, February 6, 2020 - link
This monitor prioritizes framerate over resolution. It's nearly impossible to drive AAA games at anywhere close to 180 fps on a 1440p monitor.sharath.naik - Thursday, February 6, 2020 - link
So the only thing this monitor can do is game. Content at 1080p 31" will look so blurry and pixelated. I donot see how games are not going to look pixelated at this low resolution and size.lilkwarrior - Thursday, February 6, 2020 - link
Gaming is a reach w/ its abysmal nits (laughable they said HDR-ready missing the mark on getting the minimum recognized VESA HDR rating).smartthanyou - Thursday, February 6, 2020 - link
Don't be ridiculous, the image certainly will not look "blurry and pixelated." Maybe you were born recently but there was a time when 1080P displays were all that was available and at sizes bigger than that didn't look bad.schujj07 - Thursday, February 6, 2020 - link
At normal viewing distances from a computer monitor a 32" 1080p will look fuzzy. If you are using normal viewing distances for TVs then yeah you really won't notice the pixels until you get to 65"+ sizes.Valantar - Thursday, February 6, 2020 - link
>30" displays have been far beyond 1080p for a long, long time. TVs have not, but TVs are viewed from >3x the distance of a PC monitor. Anything less than 96ppi gets genuinely problematic for text rendering and similar things that require sharpness, no matter your eyesight - a blurry or jagged display makes it harder to see things properly with poor eyesight after all.Still, this is obviously a budget high frame rate gaming oriented display, and text rendering sharpness is likely not a consideration whatsoever. Probably good for its use case.