ASRock Phantom Gaming PGO32UFS WOLED Monitor Review - 4K 240Hz / 1080p 480Hz for $899

TweakTown Rating: 91%

Our Verdict

ASRock has undercut the 32-inch WOLED gaming monitor market with the Phantom Gaming PGO32UFS, offering gamers a 4K at 240Hz display capable of switching to 1080p at 480Hz for cheaper than a QD-OLED panel at the same size.

Pros

• One-press dual mode
• Extensive connectivity
• Suitable for console gaming
• Competitive price
• 240Hz at 4K

Cons

• Limited OLED care features
• No easy access USB ports
• Pixel density at 1080p

Should you buy it?

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Introduction & Specification Details and Close-up

ASRock has jumped into the WOLED gaming monitor market with a 32-inch offering that I'm betting is going to shake up the competition, given its humble price of $899 (currently on Newegg).

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The gaming monitor under the spotlight today is the Phantom Gaming PGO32UFS, a 32-inch WOLED panel rocking a 3840 x 2160 resolution, 240Hz refresh rate, 0.03ms (GtG) response time, and a secret feature under its hood, the ability to easily switch to 1920 x 1080 (FHD) at 480Hz with a single press of a button. QD-OLED monitors competing with the PGO32UFS from the likes of MSI and ASUS are priced well above the asking of PGO32UFS, with MSI's own variant coming the closest at $999, and it doesn't have the 1080p @ 480Hz feature.

ASRock's gaming brand "Phantom Gaming" is making its way into the gaming monitor market, and it seems to have kicked things off with a bang with the PGO32UFS. Today, I'm going to be evaluating the PGO32UFS against its relative competition and attempt to see what type of gamer is best suited for this 32-inch 4K, 240Hz WOLED gaming monitor. Let's jump into it.

Specifications

Close-up

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Design

The PGO32UFS is quite gamery, as the back of the monitor features subtle RGB light strips that straddle either side of where the stand connects to the back of the display. The PGO32UFS arrives in a matte black design and features a borderless panel and very thin black edges. This thinness can be attributed to the WOLED pixel technology, which doesn't require much thickness at all.

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As for the RGB, if they aren't to your liking, you can turn them off within the On-Screen Display (OSD) options or change the color to whatever you prefer. Keeping to the back of the monitor, the stand can be removed via the quick-release mechanism, and a monitor arm can be attached via the VESA 100x100mm mounting support.

On the bottom right-hand corner of the PGO32UFS, there are two buttons and a multi-directional joystick. The bottom button enables the dual mode, and the top button powers the monitor on/off. The multi-directional joystick is used to navigate the OSD options, which can be brought forward by pressing the multi-directional joystick. ASRock separates itself from the competition on the market with its unique stand, which features a built-in WiFi antenna intended for those who keep their PC on the ground and require a little bit of extra connection.

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The idea behind this antenna is that ASRock believes many people keep their PC on the floor under a desk, which can impede WiFi connection. So, the idea is that with the provided SMA connectors, a user will connect the cables to their motherboard and then to the antenna, providing an extended WiFi connection via the monitor.

While this feature is potentially useful for some users who are trying to game on one bar of WiFi connection, it does require a compatible motherboard, ruling out a large portion of users. However, if you do have a compatible motherboard and have an inconsistent WiFi connection due to your PC being under your table or just out of reach of the router, the included WiFi antenna in the PGO32UFS could be a lifesaver.

Keeping to the stand, ASRock has constructed a very well-built, premium-feeling stand that offers good tilt and general adjustability. The feet of the stand don't protrude too far out from the base of the monitor, meaning users who play games at low mouse sensitivity won't have to worry too much about colliding their mouse into the feet of the monitor.

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Notably, the tilt adjustments can be quite stiff, but I'm not sure if this is just the specific model that I have in the lab or across the whole range of PGO32UFSs. Nonetheless, this wasn't too much of an issue and definitely not enough of a problem to take away any points.

Underneath the PGO32UFS is the array of connectivity options, which is one of the main value providers here. The PGO32UFS is equipped with 2x DisplayPort 1.4 (with DSC), 1x USB-C Type-C with DP Alt mode and 65W of power delivery, 2x HDMI 2.1 ports, 3x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, and a USB-B port for connecting the monitor to the PC and enabling those other USB 3.2 ports.

Additionally, there is a headphone jack and a USB Type-A for software updates. Moreover, ASRock has also equipped the PGO32UFS with 2x 5W speaker, which are about as good as you'd expect in a monitor - passable for any necessary video watching, but definitely not recommended for general use.

Panel Breakdown

The WOLED panel used in the PGO32UFS is made by LG, and is the other form of OLED technology that isn't as popular as QD-OLED, developed by Samsung. The difference between QD-OLED and WOLED is quite minimal to the untrained eye, but on a technical level, there are some key differences. WOLED uses white OLED light made from stacking red, green, blue, and yellow OLED materials, which then white light passes through RGB color filters to produce the final image.

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By comparison, QD-OLED uses blue OLED light as a base and then converts the light using Quantum Dots (QD) into red and green, with blue passing through unchanged. The difference? WOLED is a proven technology that has been around for many years in consumer TVs and has a lower risk of burn-in. However, due to its color filters, it has a slightly lower color volume. Additionally, WOLED isn't as bright in the highlights as QD-OLED in some scenarios.

As for QD-OLED panels, colors are more saturated, and the panel is generally more efficient due to the lack of color filters. Additionally, QD-OLED offers better color accuracy at wider angles and doesn't have a white sub-pixel, meaning colors can stay nice and rich at higher brightnesses. The cons of a QD-OLED are that it's still relatively new and has been prone to some burn-in problems, which are being mitigated through OLED Care features, which will get into a bit later on. QD-OLED panels are generally more expensive than WOLED, as well.

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Previous WOLED panels used Red-White-Blue-Green (RWBG) sub-pixel layout, which produced an unfortunate effect on text when it was displayed. Text appeared to have a fringes around its edges making it quite difficult to read, and resulted in these panels being hard to recommend for users looking to split to have a monitor that's also good for word processing tasks as well as gaming. However, the PGO32UFS uses an updated layout that places the white subpixel in the third slot, making it RGWB.

This updated sub-pixel layout and the monitor being 32 inches at a resolution of 3840 x 2160 (4K) means the PGO32UFS rocks a 140PPI pixel density, which is enough of a combination of factors to almost completely eliminates any text fringing at all. The text on the PGO32UFS looks very sharp and much better than the previous WOLED panels I have tested. I would be happy to recommend the PGO32UFS for productivity tasks such as word processing.

The panel itself features an anti-glare matte coating, and when placed alongside a competing QD-OLED panel, such as the MSI 322URX, which I'm writing this review on now, the QD-OLED loses to the PGO32UFS in terms of dissipating reflections. The matte coating excels here, and judging by its win over MSI's 32-inch QD-OLED panel, I would say this would be the same for other competing QD-OLED panels in the same size. This means the PGO32UFS is much better suited for bright rooms and daytime use, perhaps in an office space where lighting cannot be controlled and placed behind the display.

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Let's talk OLED Care. As I previously mentioned WOLED panels have been around for quite some time and are less prone to burn-in and the technology has matured quite well compared to QD-OLED panels. However, if you are still hesitant about burn-in occurring, ASRock has equipped the PGO32UFS with a selection of OLED Care options that can be found in the OSD. These options are, unfortunately, relatively limited but do include the main features, such as pixel refresh.

Performance

So, how does the PGO32UFS fair in what matters most - games? Firstly, with every monitor I test, I like to include several different genres of games to see where the monitor performs the best and to hopefully inform a gamer what their experience will be like if they played their favorite type of game on the display under the spotlight. For the PGO32UFS, I tested the following games: League of Legends, Apex Legends, Overwatch 2, Black Myth: Wukong, Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher 3, God of War Ragnarok, Valorant, DOOM: The Dark Ages, and Age of Mythology: Retold.

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I haven't yet decided what I like gaming on more: a 32-inch 4K panel or a 27-inch 4K panel. Both are equally good in their own way, and I believe both are the premium gaming experiences available on the market as they cover the widest variety of games without hardly any downside. My only recommendation is that if you lean toward more cinematic, RPG-esc type games, which would be your God of War Ragnarok's, Black Myth: Wukong's, and Cyberpunk 2077's, go for the 32-inch.

It may seem big at first, but that extra screen size is really worth it if that's the type of games you typically play. If you are more into competitive games, such as League of Legends, Counter-Strike, Call of Duty, or Overwatch, go for the 27-inch, as its smaller size will enable you to track your targets much more easily.

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These same principles apply to the PGO32UFS, as ASRock's WOLED display really excelled more in the slower cinematic experiences where I could really soak in those rich colors provided by the OLED pixel technology. Now, this doesn't mean competitive titles such as League of Legends, Overwatch, and Apex Legends didn't perform admirably because they did; it just means the slower, more cinematic experiences are where I was most impressed. In all honesty, the PGO32UFS provided an awesome experience in every single game I threw at it, much like any OLED gaming monitor at this size and refresh rate.

The dual-mode. What will likely be the main attraction for this monitor is its ability to switch from 4K @ 240Hz to 1080p @ 480Hz. This feature is aimed directly at competitive gamers who want to be able to switch from cinematic titles that benefit from higher graphical fidelity to competitive titles that benefit from a higher framerate for the smoothest gameplay possible. An example would be playing Cyberpunk 2077 at 4K 240Hz and then wanting to jump into a game of Counter-Strike where you don't necessarily need that resolution and want as high FPS as possible.

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Firstly, this feature works as intended. The switch from 4K to 1080p is quite quick, as the monitor goes black briefly, and then Windows has to catch up to the implemented change. Moreover, the switch can be made with a game open, depending on the title. I tested this feature with DOOM: The Dark Ages, and it worked perfectly. Now, the downside here is when in 1080p mode, you are stretching 1920 x 1080p across a 32-inch panel, which means your pixel density has dropped from 137 at 4K down to 68 at 1080p.

That is an incredibly significant drop, and as a result, the image quality takes a major hit. While the gameplay is buttery smooth because you are pushing up to those insanely high frame rates, your image clarity is so low that it makes it difficult to see what you are looking at.

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I can see this feature working on a 27-inch panel with the same specs, as that would mean your pixel density is dropping from 163 at 4K to 81 when in 1080p mode. This is a much more favorable PPI when at 1080p. As I wrote in my MSI MAG 321CUPDF review, I wish there was a third mode for 2560 x 1440p (QHD) at 360Hz, as that would be the perfect middle-ground between increased framerate and still maintaining a reasonable PPI at 32-inches (91 PPI).

Final Thoughts

So, is the PGO32UFS worth buying? Well, it depends on what you are after. If you are looking for an WOLED gaming monitor capable of 4K at 240Hz and don't want to shell out for a QD-OLED panel, the PGO32UFS undercuts every QD-OLED panel on the market with an almost unnoticeable level of image quality comparatively.

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The dual-mode feature is a nice touch, but I would argue it isn't necessarily the star of the show here, and while I would say it isn't for me personally, I can see some gamers that really want as many frames as possible taking advantage of it. For the price of $898, ASRock has really put together a fantastic gaming monitor, as it hits all the right marks for what is most needed in a gaming monitor display.

Great work here, ASRock.