The monitor has a 31.5-inch panel and a 2560 x 1440 resolution that adheres to the traditional 16:9 aspect ratio. Given Cooler Master’s audience focus on gaming, it is not surprising that the IPS panel has a 165Hz refresh rate, targeting the gaming market with this monitor. Due to its 95% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut and significantly more accurate IPS panel than other high-refresh alternatives available, the panel is being marketed as a good option for professionals. This panel checks a number of our boxes, but we’ll examine its technologies in more detail later. The monitor also has some great Cooler Master-specific features, such as a stand that is shaped like the company’s logo. The monitor is neatly packaged and includes all of the necessary cables in the box, ensuring that you can power it on and connect to it right away. you can read our article on Cooler Master GM32-FQ review.
Cooler Master GM32-FQ review: Design
The sleek design of the Cooler Master GM32-FQ is similar to that of its 27-inch sibling. The panel’s bottom bulge, which houses all the I/O and components, is just 18mm thick, which is still rather thin by today’s standards. The top half of the panel is only 7mm thick. There are VESA 100mm screw holes on the monitor’s back, making monitor arm mounting possible. The stand is composed of aluminum and feels upscale and reliable. However, this lacks the ARGB lighting present on the GM27, but I do like the clean, modern style that Cooler Master used. The stand has a portrait mode, tilt, and height adjustments as well. The panel itself includes 7mm top and side bezels, an 18mm bottom bezel, and a Cooler Master logo in the middle that is designed in a simple hexagon shape. Although they are located in the back, the OSD controls lack a joystick. The Cooler Master GM32-FQ has speakers housed at the back, unlike the GM27, which produce decent sound and worked well for me in a pinch.
Display
One of the most precise screens at this price point is found on the GM32-FQ. We were astounded by the image quality and color accuracy right out of the box. By changing the color temperature to BT709, you have the option to put it in sRGB mode. Except for the most demanding creative professionals, it covers 95% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, which is more than enough. To have a decent experience, there is no requirement for additional calibration or tinkering with the color temperature. A 32-inch IPS panel with a 2560 x 1440 resolution, a 165Hz refresh rate, and an improved reaction time of 1ms is featured in the Cooler Master GM32-FQ. The peak brightness of the backlight is 400 cd/m2, and the contrast ratio is 1200:1. Although this model has HDR 400 certification, the HDR effects it produces have never been particularly extensive. Because they strike the perfect balance between sharpness and visibility, 1440p monitors are very popular. You still get more pixels than a 1080p display, but it is not as sharp as the more popular 27-inch models. Although your framerates will drop if you are switching from a 1080p setup, it is easy on the eyes for reading and browsing while making games look more detailed. also you can check our article on Cooler Master GM32-FQ review.
Cooler Master GM32-FQ review: Features
We anticipated the OSD in the GM32-FQ to be identical to that in the GM27-FQS, but there are a few differences that are noteworthy. Eight picture modes, including a sRGB preset, are available on the GM32-FQ. Different settings are available for each mode, such as dynamic contrast for SDR content only and Black Stabilization to lighten shadow areas. The sRGB mode offers that color gamut, but we found that selecting BT709 in the Color Space sub-menu, under Color Adjust, resulted in better accuracy. We’ll go into more detail about that later. Additionally, there are six presets in the Game mode that alter the gamma to best suit various game genres. Any level above the lowest of the Response Time (overdrive) feature’s four settings results in clear ghosting. The GM27-FQS’s color temperatures, 6-axis sliders, and color space options are all present in the Color Adjust menu as well, but there are no gamma presets. This is acceptable because the GM32-FQ has superior gamma tracking compared to its smaller sibling. Choose BT709 over the sRGB picture mode if you prefer the smaller gamut; it is much more accurate. Stick with Auto; it offers professional-level color and the full extended gamut. You can toggle Adaptive-Sync or activate the backlight strobe, which Cooler Master refers to as Motion Clearness, in the Setup Menu, which also contains options for video processing. Even on its highest level, the strobe only consumes about 30% of the total light output. Although the menu contains a Crosshair option, we were unable to figure out how to use it. In all picture modes, it remained greyed out.
Calibration Settings
If you have the right calibration instrument and software, calibration and profiling can yield extremely good results. This was profiled to the sRGB color space, 2.2 gamma, and 6500k color temperature. The screen was left in wide gamut native mode, but in this case, this profile will be used in applications that are color-aware to map back to sRGB. The suggested OSD settings for this profile are displayed above. You can also test out our calibrated ICC profile if you’d like.
Cooler Master GM32-FQ review: Performance
The IPS panel on the Cooler Master GM32-FQ reproduces over 100% sRGB and 94% DCI-P3 for vibrant colors in games and movies. Most users won’t need to calibrate it because it has an amazing deltaE average of only 1.27 with the stock settings. The only thing left to do before using the screen is to choose a comfortable brightness level because it looks balanced and good out of the box. The monitor’s dE average increased after calibration to 0.89, which is good for a gaming model. Because of this, it can be used for color-critical work, although getting this kind of improvement requires a colorimeter. Only if you need the monitor for editing or content creation is it practical to copy the settings from reviews because colorimeters are expensive and there is no guarantee that you will get the same results. The backlight of the Cooler Master GM32-FQ reached 415 cd/m2 at 100% brightness, and at 50% brightness, the contrast peaked at 1191:1. It can reduce glare, but unlike VA, OLEDs, or FALD-equipped IPS variations, it cannot produce deep blacks. That also means that its HDR performance is constrained, and if you want a better experience in this area, you must move up a few tiers. Due to backlight leakage and clouding issues on the top edge of the screen, the panel’s uniformity wasn’t great. In low-light situations, these flaws are more obvious, but elsewhere they are less obvious. Because not all IPS panels are created equal, not all GM32-FQs have this problem, hence it is always feasible to find a better model. The model’s pixel reaction time, which felt slower than comparable options, is its main flaw. The monitor has different overdrive settings, but the maximum setting, which adds a little overshoot, helped clear up some of the smudges. The most meticulous competitive gamers might find it less suitable because of this, but most people shouldn’t find it to be a deal-breaker. Since the Cooler Master GM32-FQ is G-Sync and FreeSync compatible, VRR functionality won’t be compromised. Nowadays, it’s difficult to find GPUs from both companies, thus dual compatibility is useful in case you can’t find your favorite card at the proper price and timing. There is no need to be concerned about delays while playing your favorite games because input lag is 4ms at 165Hz.
Gaming and Hands-on
We prefer 32-inch displays because they make it simple to write in Word with two documents side by side and examine spreadsheets with little scrolling. The mouse wheel can also be used very little to view web pages. When we need to refer to data from the internet, we can keep a page open next to a document. The sole criticism we have with the GM32-FQ is the same criticism we have of any 32-inch QHD monitor. also you will learn our article on Cooler Master GM32-FQ review. While 93ppi is sufficient to depict fine detail in graphics and read small text easily, it is hardly Ultra HD, a resolution to which we have grown accustomed. Extended color is beneficial for editing videos and photos since the additional color saturation increases the appearance of sharpness. Gaming is a different matter. The key consideration is motion resolution, and in that regard, QHD at 165 Hz is on par with Ultra HD at 144 Hz, if not better. A GeForce RTX 3090 video card can provide frame rates of 150–165 fps in QHD and 100–110 fps in Ultra HD that are realistic. That is more than enough to distinguish visually. The optimum compromise between resolution and speed is still QHD. Input latency is not a concern for the GM32-FQ. When compared to an Ultra HD screen, we could sense that it had a quicker control response. Higher frag rates in the Horde mode of Doom Eternal serve as proof that our aim was more precise. Although we are not very good players, some monitors work better for us than others. The GM32-FQ made me a better player.
Conclusion
For the price, the Cooler Master GM32-FQ is an excellent monitor. It has a panel that displays correct color information and has a lively appearance. A quick refresh rate and little input latency go hand in hand with the pleasant image quality to give gamers a choice that doesn’t just trade image quality for refresh rate. There just isn’t anything else that comparable for the pricing point. We concur that Cooler Master has done a fantastic job with this.
