Acer EB321HQU Review – Budget 32-inch 1440p Monitor

Acer EB321HQU Review

Our Verdict:
The Acer EB321HQU is an excellent ultra-wide monitor for mixed usage. You can use it for everyday usage, office work, multi-media consumption, and casual gaming. It comes at an affordable price and offers a good value for money to its users. Overall, it has no major drawbacks and is a great choice for those looking for an affordable 32-inch monitor.

Image Quality:
4/5
Ergonomics:
3.5/5
Performance:
3.5/5
Value for Money:
4/5
3.75
3.7/5

What’s Good

  • Eye-Friendly
  • Affordable Price
  • Impressive Image Quality
  • 32-inch screen size

What’s Bad

  • Tilt-only Design

What is The Acer EB321HQU?

The Acer EB321HQU is a widescreen monitor. It has decent specs and comes at a great price. Read this review of the Acer EB321HQU to know more about it.

Acer EB321HQU – Image Quality

The Acer EB321HQU is a 32-inch WQHD (2560×1440) Monitor. It is based on the IPS panel. It covers 99% of the sRGB color gamut and supports 10-bit color depth via dithering (8-bit + FRC).

The 1440p resolution offers a better screen real-estate than the 1080p resolution. You can stuff more applications side by side without worrying about running out of space.

The color accuracy of this monitor is excellent. The images look full of life and the colors appear vibrant. You don’t get washed out images as you see in TN panel monitors. This is not surprising as IPS panels are the go-to choice for those who prefer better colors and viewing angles. It is also good for casual photo editing.

Most ultrawide monitors in this price range use VA panels because IPS panels are more expensive. Though they offer better contrast levels, their picture quality is not on par with the IPS panels. It is impressive to see Acer use the IPS panel on this monitor.

Overall, the color quality is more than satisfactory. Most people will not have any issues. You will have an immersive experience while watching movies and playing games thanks to its amazing image quality.

The combination of a 32-inch monitor and the 1440p resolution results in a pixel density of 93PPI. It is easy on the eyes as the images are detailed and the text appears sharp.

The 32-inch 1080p monitors suffer from low pixel density due to which they have blurry text and pixelated images. You won’t have such problems with this monitor.

The IPS panels also have wide viewing angles. You will have no change in colors, brightness, and contrast levels even when you view it from skewed angles.

The Acer EB321HQU has a contrast level of 1200:1 and a brightness level of 300-nits. The monitor is fairly bright. You won’t have any issues even when you use it in a well-lit environment. The contrast level is sufficient to make pictures stand out.

The panel uniformity is decent. The colors are consistent throughout the panel without any major change in brightness levels.

The monitor we reviewed had no dead pixels on it. It has a small amount of IPS glow present towards its edges. It is definitely tolerable and is common to all IPS monitors. You can reduce the brightness of the monitor to solve it to some extent.

It also has a matte anti-glare coating on it that will prevent any reflections from forming on it.

Acer monitor EB1 Series EB321HQA black photogallery 03

Acer EB321HQU – Design, Ergonomics, and Connectivity

The Acer EB321HQU has a slim design. Its bezels are relatively thick and will cause a bit of distraction if you use it for multi-monitor setups. The cabinet comes in black color and has a matte finish.

The build quality of this monitor is decent. It is made of plastic that feels strong and durable. The stand has an elegant design and a metallic finish. It is sturdy and has no wobble.

There are OSD buttons present on the lower bezel. They are easy to reach and responsive. They help you navigate the OSD menu. It would have been nice to see a joystick instead of buttons.

In terms of ergonomics, you are left with -5°/10° tilt functionality. Other features like height adjustment, screen swivel and rotate are absent. Thankfully, there is a 100x100mm VESA mount present using which you can wall mount it or connect it to a third-party stand.

The connectivity options include 1x DisplayPort 1.2, 1x HDMI 1.4, 1x DVI-D. They should be sufficient for most users. It also has a 3.5mm headphone jack. It doesn’t have any inbuilt speakers.

Acer monitor EB1 Series EB321HQA black photogallery 04

Acer EB321HQU – Gaming Performance

The Acer EB321HQU is a decent option for casual gaming. Do keep in mind that this is not a gaming monitor and is more suited for work/office purposes and multimedia consumption.

It has a refresh rate of 60Hz. Its response time is around 4ms which is impressive. Its input lag is around 9ms and is totally imperceptible. You won’t have any issues with ghosting and motion blur.

You can also lower the response time further using the Overdrive option in the OSD menu but that introduces ghosting. I recommend you use it at “Normal” which is the default setting.

It is not the monitor for competitive gaming but is a great choice who prefer image quality to performance. It doesn’t have the FreeSync VRR technology.

You can also use it for Xbox One S and Xbox One X but I wouldn’t recommend it for PS4. 

Acer monitor EB1 Series EB321HQA black photogallery 02

Acer EB321HQU – Features

The Acer EB321HQU has a blue light filter that can filter the harmful light emitted from the monitor. You will not have any eye strain even after prolonged usage. It is also flicker-free. People sensitive to flickering will no more experience headaches.

The Picture-in-Picture (PIP) mode helps you to multi-task effectively. You can divide the screen into segments and assign applications to them without always having to switch between tabs.

You also get access to various color settings which you can adjust in the OSD menu. They include brightness, contrast, color temperature, Gamma, etc. The menu is user-friendly.

Acer monitor EB1 Series EB321HQA black photogallery 05

Monitors similar to the Acer EB321HQU

The AOC Q32V3 is an excellent alternative to the Acer EB321HQU. It has a wide color gamut, a 75Hz refresh rate, supports FreeSync technology, and comes with many useful features. It also costs less than the Acer EB321HQU providing you with an excellent bang for the buck. Definitely check out this monitor.

The LG 32QK500-C is a decent alternative to the Acer EB321HQU. It is a high-quality QHD monitor and it also supports AMD’s FreeSync technology. It comes with many other useful features and offers its users good value for money. It costs you $10 – $15 more than the Acer EB321HQU and is totally worth that small premium.

The ViewSonic VX3276-2K-MHD is another good alternative to the Acer EB321HQU. It has an excellent image quality and offers you many connectivity options. It costs $20 – $30 more than the Acer EB321HQU. It is definitely worth looking into.

The Sceptre E325W-2560AD is a very good QHD Monitor. It has an 85Hz refresh rate and is FreeSync and G-Sync compatible. It is an excellent gaming monitor and is also great for mixed usage. It is priced similar to the Acer EB321HQU.

The Acer ET322QU Abmiprx costs you the same as the Acer EB321HQU. It comes with FreeSync support and many sufficient connectivity ports. It is a decent ultrawide monitor for mixed usage.

Acer EB321HQU Review

Acer EB321HQU Review – Final Thoughts

The Acer EB321HQU comes at an affordable price and has all the features an average user would want on his monitor. It delivers great value for money to its users. If you’re looking for an ultra-wide monitor for mixed usage, the Acer EB321HQU is definitely worth looking into.

Who should buy the Acer EB321HQU?

1. Those who want an affordable eye-friendly ultra-wide monitor for long hours of office work, programming, working with Microsoft office, managing documents, etc.

2. Those who want an ultra-wide monitor for regular usage like surfing the web, casual gaming, watching movies, YouTube

Acer EB321HQU Cbidpx Specs

Screen Size: 31.5 Inch
Resolution: WQHD (2560×1440)
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Panel Technology: IPS
Refresh Rate: 60 Hz
Response Time: 4ms (GtG)
Contrast Ratio: 1200:1 (Static)
Brightness: 300 cd/m²
Built-in Speakers: No
Stand: Tilt Only
Adaptive Sync: No
VESA Compatibility: Yes (100 x 100)
Connectivity: 1x DisplayPort 1.2, 1x HDMI 1.4, 1x DVI-D
Dimensions (W x H x D): 28.6″ x 18.9″ x 7.1″
Weight: 14.1 lbs

Acer EB321HQU Review
Acer EB321HQU Review

This review of the Acer EB321HQU covers everything you need to know about it. All the pros and cons of it are covered along with its specs and suitable alternatives.

Product In-Stock: InStock

Editor's Rating:
3.75
Avatar of Vishwak
About Vishwak

Vishwak is the man behind Your Tech Bro, now part of the Spacehop family. He has been into technology ever since his dad brought him a PC when he was a 10-year old. He is an avid PC gamer, Android Fanboy, and a Tech geek.

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