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Like all Asus ROG Swift monitors, the PG32UCDM3 is accurate out of the box and does not need calibration in its Racing mode. But everything you need is there if you want to take it to reference level.
Grayscale and Gamma Tracking
In the default chart, there are no visible grayscale or gamma errors. Red starts to move up as brightness increases, but it never cracks the 3dE line. Gamma is on the reference except for a small dip at the 90% step, which means it’s a tiny bit too bright there. Again, you won’t be able to see that in content. The PG32UCDM3 is visually perfect out of the box.
After a few changes to the RGB sliders, grayscale is now at reference-level with all errors at or below 2dE. Gamma is a little tighter as well. The monitor went from visually perfect to more visually perfect. This is excellent performance.
I measured sRGB by selecting that option in the Color Space menu rather than engaging the sRGB Cal mode. That way, calibration options remain available. The third chart above shows the default, which is free of errors over 3dE and just has a slight dip in gamma at 90% brightness. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Comparisons
Though the PG32UCDM3 starts out at an impressive 2.27dE in the grayscale test, its competitors are even better out of the box. Visually, there is no difference, but I’m picking nits here. Different samples might measure differently, too. After calibration, it moves up to fifth place with an impressive 0.78dE, awesome but just another day at the office for these OLEDs.
Gamma is very tight with a small 0.12 range of values and a 0.91% deviation from 2.2. The actual value is 2.22. This is on par with other premium OLEDs, which is to say, reference.
Color Gamut Accuracy
Our color gamut and volume testing use Portrait Displays’ Calman software. For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, click here.
In the color test, you can see the PG32UCDM3’s slight oversaturation of the DCI-P3 gamut. It’s only a little off and the average error is just 1.66dE, very low. There is general oversaturation but nothing that would inspire complaint. Calibration barely makes a difference in this test, but the average error is now 1.21dE. That’s pro-level accuracy.
I saw similar results in the sRGB test, where the error was 1.23dE, also reference level. This is about as close to perfect as it gets, so you can use the PG32UCDM3 for photo or graphics tasks that require correct color. It is completely qualified as a professional screen.
Comparisons
Again, the PG32UCDM3 posts superb color results that are on par with the other monitors. Ultimately, these differences are only visible to the meter, you won’t see any issues when viewing content.
In the volume test, the PG32UCDM3 sits just below 108% coverage of DCI-P3. That’s average for the Quantum Dot OLEDs I’ve tested. In practice, any of these screens would be called colorful, but the PG32UCDM3 and the HP would be more colorful, and fully qualified for color critical applications.
Test Takeaway: The PG32UCDM3 delivers accurate color in the DCI-P3 and sRGB realms both before and after calibration. It is fully qualified as a reference monitor, so you could save a lot of money by buying it over a dedicated pro screen. It switches easily between wide gamut and sRGB and supports individual calibrations for each color mode. Among its peers, it doesn’t break new ground, but it is clearly more colorful than a non-QD display.
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