AT THE MORE extreme end of the monitor
market, things don’t just get a bit pricey.
You can also find yourself with a display
that’s fine-tuned for some tasks, but not
so good for others. Enter the new Dell
S3222DGM. At just over $300, it’s an
affordable 32 -inch monitor and a decent
proposition for everything from gaming
to web browsing. It’s a true all-rounder.
The S3222DGM is a 144 0p model,
which means 2 ,560 x 1 ,4 40 pixels. That’s
adequate in terms of desktop real estate,
but also a good compromise between
detail and performance. 4K is sweet, but
it seriously hammers your GPU. Given
the cost of graphics upgrades right now,
that’s a problem.
The issue with that 3 2-inch 144 0p
combo involves general productivity
duties. The consequent 9 3dpi pixel
density doesn’t exactly make for sharp,
clean fonts. Even photos and video
streams look less crisp and detailed than
we’d like, but let’s park that while we
consider the S3222DGM’s wider qualities.
It’s based around a VA-type panel
with 165 Hz refresh. The response time
claims are 2 ms gray-to-gray (GtG) and
1ms MPRT. Helpfully, Dell also rates each
level of the user-configurable overdrive
available in the OSD menu. ‘Fast’ mode
equates to 8ms GtG, ‘super fast’ nets you
4ms GtG, ‘extreme’ is good for 2ms GtG,
and ‘MPRT’ mode is rated at 1ms.
In practice, that latter mode hammers
brightness so much we wouldn’t touch
it, while ‘extreme’ mode is a little
overcooked with some visible overshoot.
‘Super fast’ is the best compromise
with a good, but not stellar, response.
Speaking of brightness and vibrancy, this
is a purely SDR rather than HDR monitor,
with a peak brightness rating of 350 nits.
That’s modest backlight power by today’s
standards, something that’s obvious
the moment you fire up the S3222DGM.
There’s nothing strictly wrong with the
core image quality—no major flaws, no
banding, no obvious compression—but
the slight lack of zing and punch make
this a fairly subdued monitor.
Still, the 16 5Hz refresh combines nicely
with the decent response when it comes
to gaming duties. For sure, if trigger-
happy online gaming is your sole PC
purpose, an even higher-refresh 108 0p
model will suit you better. If you’re more
into eye candy, drinking in the ray-traced
visuals of Cyberpunk 2077 or soakingAffordable 32 - inch, 1440 p gamingDell S 3222 DGM8VERDICT Dell S 3222 DGMTRANSATLANTIC SLEEPER SEAT
Good all-round feature set for
the money; decent response and refresh.
LONG-HAUL CATTLE CLASS Subdued image
quality; mediocre pixel density.
$329, http://www.dell.comSPECIFICATIONS
Panel size 32-inch
Panel technology VA
Native resolution 2,560^ x^ 1,440
Aspect Ratio 16:9
Refresh rate 165Hz
Response time 1ms MPRT, 2ms GtG
HDR No
Contrast 3,000:1
Color 99 percent sRGB
Brightness 350 cd/m2
Video Inputs DisplayPort 1 .2 x1,
HDMI 2.0 x2
Other AMD FreeSync Premiumup the spectacle in the Forza series of
racing games, the lack of overall fizz and
low pixel density detract a little from the
drama. But the S3222DGM still looks
pretty good. For a multi-purpose gaming
remit, the size, refresh rate, resolution,
and response make for a sound all-round
solution at this price point.
There are two HDMI 2 .0 ports and a
lone DisplayPort 1 .2 socket, plus a slim-
bezel design and a stand that offers
height and tilt adjustment, but no swivel
or rotate into portrait mode. At just over
$300, it isn’t the deal of the century, but
it is a convincing real-world proposition.
Did we mention that the S3222DGM is
curved? It’s such a gentle 180 0R sweep
that it’s easy to forget it isn’t flat. But at
the same time, we’re not convinced the
curve adds much or that a 3 2-inch 1 6:9
aspect panel really needs any bend.
Our main reservation with the Dell
S3222DGM remains that mediocre pixel
density. It gives this monitor a clunky,
coarse feel on the desktop. But then at
this price, something’s gotta give. And as
an all-rounder with more emphasis on
gaming than the boring stuff, Dell has got
this one just about right. – JEREMY LAIRDin the lab