I reviewed the AOC Graphic Pro U32U3CV and it's a staggeringly pro-grade monitor for the price

For a brand that used to be unambiguously budget-orientated, AOC has come a long way. For proof, look no further than the new AOC U32U3CV. This is an extremely well specified 32-inch, 4K professional monitor.

Without giving away too much, too soon, its performance is also excellent. Happily, however, one legacy attribute AOC has retained is aggressive pricing. This is an awful, awful lot of monitor for your money. As the "Graphic Pro" branding implies, this monitor gives you a lot of the features and performance of much more expensive content-creation screens for a much more accessible price.

That starts with a high-spec 4K IPS panel which offers 98% coverage of the DCI-P3 gamut and Calman Ready support for rapid calibration. You also get HDR 400 certification and a USB-C hub with power delivery, KVM support and ethernet. For anyone looking for the best monitor for photo editing or the best video editing monitor, this is a strong contender for the price.

At the price point AOC is pitching the U32U3CV, it would look fairly appealing as a straight up 32-inch 4K IPS monitor. With the added professional features, it looks like a very strong proposition.

Of course, the spec list isn't absolutely comprehensive. There's no local dimming, for instance, and the refresh rate is only 60Hz. But you'd expect to pay at least twice the price for a 32-inch 4K display with high refresh of 144Hz-plus and full-array local dimming. So, that's not really a criticism.

AOC Graphic Pro U32U3CV: Design & features

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• Outstanding feature set
• Great connectivity
• Patchy ergonomics

For the money, the AOC Graphic Pro U32U3CV gives you a remarkable amount of monitor. Along with the 32-inch 4K IPS panel, you get a nicely-engineered metal stand and slick, slim-bezel aesthetics. That includes comprehensive adjustability, with tilt, height, swivel and rotation into portrait mode.

Practicality is also boosted by a small collection of additional ports behind the left-hand bezel covering USB-A, USB-A with charging, USB-C and headphone. However, the ergonomics aren't flawless. The U32U3CV has an unusually large and wide stand base. It juts out quite a long way in front of the display as well as stretching across most of its width.

It certainly makes for good stability, but is surely overkill in that regard and eats pretty horribly into desktop space. It's hardly a deal breaker, but the stand base ergonomics are a notable misstep in what is otherwise a well-considered package.

As for connectivity, it's truly comprehensive. There's a full USB-C hub with 96W of power delivery and DP 1.4 Alt Mode, two HDMI 2.0 ports, and DisplayPort. Complementing the USB-C hub are four USB-A ports and ethernet. What's more, the display has full KVM switch capability, allowing you to share this monitor across two PCs or Macs.

As the HDMI 2.0 spec implies, however, it's worth noting that you are limited to 60Hz at 4K. This isn't a gaming monitor, so high refresh is not critical. However, 120Hz and above brings benefits beyond gaming and refresh is one of the few areas where this monitor could feel lacking in the long run.

Of course, this is a display designed for serious work and content creation in particular. To that end you get <2 DeltaE factory calibration and Calman Ready support for rapid hardware calibration. The U32U3CV's OSD menu is also comprehensive, offering a wide array of SDR gamut presets, including but not limited to sRGB, Adobe RGB, DCI-P3, Display-P3, and DCI-P3 D50, the latter being a version of wider P3 gamut with a D50 white point for printing.

AOC Graphic Pro U32U3CV: Performance

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• Lovely 4K IPS panel
• Excellent calibration
• Comprehensive gamut support

If there's one aspect that really makes the AOC Graphic Pro U32U3CV stand out, it's out-of-the-box calibration. This monitor is really lovely. That applies across the multiple colour space presets, including sRGB, DCI-P3 and the rest. It's just a really beautiful IPS display which also benefits from the excellent pixel density offered by any 32-inch 4K panel.

It's punchy, too, and if anything the subjective experience exceeds the 400 nit specification. As that number implies, this is a VESA DisplayHDR 400 Certified monitor. That means it has entry-level HDR support, but lacks local dimming. In other words, it's not a true HDR monitor but can at least decode an HDR signal.

That said, it is also very nicely calibrated in HDR mode and offers multiple SDR clamps to various gamuts in the OSD, which can make it easier in terms of running this display in HDR mode all the time and not having to jump back and forth between SDR and HDR modes depending on content type.

Another relative limitation is the 60Hz refresh rate. Historically, high refresh hasn't been a clear part of the remit for a professional display like this. But that's arguably beginning to change and a higher refresh would make for a more responsive computing experience.

That said, the actual pixel response is just fine for this class of IPS monitor. AOC has included three levels of user-configurable pixel overdrive in the OSD and the fastest setting makes for reasonable blur reduction without introducing excessive overshoot or inverse ghosting. Long story short, it's unlikely you'd reject this monitor on the basis of pixel speed.

But really, it's the combination of broad colour coverage, excellent calibration and the 4K pixel grid that's the main appeal here. By those metrics, the AOC Graphic Pro U32U3CV punches well, well above its weight.

AOC Graphic Pro U32U3CV: Final verdict

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True professional-grade monitors are and remain extremely expensive with price tags running into five figures. Where the AOC Graphic Pro U32U3CV aims is that difficult-to-define zone in between those exotic displays and generic productivity monitors.

Many such monitors attract a significant price premium. But not the AOC Graphic Pro U32U3CV. It's barely any more expensive than a basic 32-inch 4K monitor, but offers fantastic connectivity features as well as an lovely IPS panel that's at least as well calibrated, if not more so, than monitors at twice the price.

If the AOC Graphic Pro U32U3CV had either the connectivity features it offers, including USB-C and KVM support, or the elevated colour support and calibration, it would look like a good deal. With both attributes, it's an absolutely fantastic package for the price.

For high-resolution displays, we've rounded up all the best 5K and 8K monitors.