Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
To read about our monitor tests in-depth, please check out Display Testing Explained: How We Test PC Monitors. We cover brightness and contrast testing on page two.
Uncalibrated – Maximum Backlight Level
BenQ rates the EX3210R at 300 nits in SDR mode, but my sample came up slightly short of that mark with 274 nits. That’s close enough that it will be difficult to tell the difference in a side-by-side test. A panel this large doesn’t need more than 200 nits peak to be bright enough unless you’re in a room that receives a lot of sunlight. The EX3210R provides enough output for nearly any environment.
Black levels are low, though not as low as some other VA screens like the PXC327. But the resulting contrast is still around double that of an IPS monitor. That’s a difference that can easily be seen. The EX3210R provides plenty of deep blacks, good shadow detail and a picture that pops in its default RPG picture mode.
After Calibration to 200 nits
Calibration improves the EX3210R’s contrast slightly; it is now just over 2,000:1. While it is visually better than the other screens, it isn’t quite as good as the Pixio with a 3,421.6:1 ratio. However, it definitely has a greater dynamic range than the IPS screens.
The ANSI test reveals good screen uniformity and good quality control. 1,725.8:1 means content will appear sharp and detailed. And it will look sharper than a 32-inch IPS monitor in QHD resolution. This is very good performance.
30-year-old Pentium FDIV bug tracked down in the silicon — Ken Shirriff takes the microscope to Intel's first-ever recall
Cyberpunk 2077 update 2.2 claims to improve Arrow Lake performance by up to 33%, theoretically matching the Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Empyrean Technology gives control to CEC after U.S. blacklisting — China’s top developer of chip design systems hands reins to state-owned firm
