BenQ PD3226G monitor review: For Photoshop pros who like to game

Monitors meant for gaming and entertainment have traditionally existed in a separate realm from monitors for professional and creative productivity. That, however, has started to change with the rise of remote work and the proliferation of independent creative professionals who work for themselves—and, as a result, find themselves at the same desk both on and off the clock.

The BenQ PD3226G is a monitor built for this modern vision of work, as it combines an accurate image and great color performance with a refresh rate of up to 144Hz and adaptive sync for smooth PC gaming.

Read on to learn more, then see our roundup of the best monitors for comparison.

BenQ PD3226G specs and features

The BenQ PD3226G is a 31.5-inch widescreen monitor with 3840×2160 resolution. However, unlike many high-end monitors meant for professional creative work, the PD3226G has a refresh rate of up to 144Hz and supports adaptive sync.

• Display size: 31.5-inch 16:9 widescreen
• Native resolution: 3840×2160
• Panel type: 10-bit IPS LCD
• Refresh rate: 144Hz
• Adaptive sync: AMD FreeSync Premium
• HDR: HDR10, VESA DisplayHDR 400 certified
• Ports: 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x Thunderbolt 4 with 90 watts of USB Power Delivery and DisplayPort, 1x Thunderbolt 4-out with 15 watts of USB Power Delivery, 1x Thunderbolt 3-out for daisy chain video connection, 1x USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 upstream 10Gbps data only, 3x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 downstream with 10Gbps data and up to 4.5 watts USB Power Delivery, 1x USB-C Gen 2 downstream with 10Gbps data and 4.5 watts USB Power Delivery, 3.5mm headphone jack
• VESA mount: 100x100mm
• Audio: 2x three-watt speakers
• Warranty: 3 years
• Additional features: Wireless remote, KVM switch
• Price: $1,099.99 MSRP (U.S.)

It also leans heavily into Thunderbolt. Though it lacks the extensive connectivity of some recent Dell monitors, which include Ethernet, it can connect to a PC over Thunderbolt and provides both Thunderbolt 4 and USB-C downstream ports. It also has a Thunderbolt 3 port for daisy-chaining a video connection to a second monitor.

BenQ asks $1,099.99. That’s expensive but not uncommon for a high-end 32-inch monitor. It places the BenQ PD3226G in the same price range as 32-inch 4K QD-OLED monitors, however.

BenQ PD3226G design

The BenQ PD3226G is part of the company’s Designer series. That word—“Designer”— speaks to its target audience, but also describes the monitor’s look and feel. It’s a slick, elegant, well-built monitor that uses silver and white materials for a modern look. The design is subtle and doesn’t immediately grab attention, but the plastics used feel sturdy when handled.

Looks aside, the BenQ PD3226G is functional. It has an ergonomic stand that adjusts for height, tilt, swivel, and can pivot 90 degrees for use in portrait orientation. While many 32-inch monitors in this price range can adjust for the first three, pivot is less common and sets the PD3226G apart from less expensive competitors.

The stand has a small, flat base, which means it doesn’t take up excessive desk space, and the space it does occupy can still be used. The stand also provides cable management in the form of a clip-on cable guide, though it’s a bit finicky and may not be enough to handle every cable if you end up using all the monitor’s many ports simultaneously.  A 100x100mm VESA mount is available and makes the display panel usable with third-party monitor stands and arms.

BenQ PD3226G connectivity

The BenQ PD3226G’s video connectivity includes one HDMI 2.1 port, one DisplayPort 1.4, and one Thunderbolt 4 port with DisplayPort. That makes for a total of three video inputs. I would have liked to see a fourth, but three video inputs is enough for most people.

Thunderbolt connectivity is a key feature, and the monitor uses it in several ways. The Thunderbolt 4 port with DisplayPort also includes 90 watts of Power Delivery, so it can be used to power a connected laptop. There’s also a Thunderbolt 4-out port for data that handles up to 15 watts of power, which is enough to charge a smartphone and many tablets.

A Thunderbolt 3-out is included, too, for daisy-chain connections to a second display. If you connect a laptop to the monitor’s Thunderbolt 4-in, for example, you can connect a second monitor to the BenQ PD3226G’s Thunderbolt 3 port. It’s a handy feature that most monitors don’t provide, though competitors like the Dell U3225QE also offer it.

Additional connectivity includes USB-C upstream and downstream ports and three USB-A downstream ports. A KVM switch is included, as well, for easy swapping between multiple connected PCs.

BenQ PD3226G menu and features

The BenQ PD3226G’s menus and features can be controlled with a responsive joystick behind the lower-right bezel. You might never touch it, however, because the monitor also ships with BenQ’s unique puck controller.

This dial-shaped control (which, with the PD3226G, is wireless) provides full access to menus and settings. You can also bind it for use in Windows software (to scroll, for example). It’s incredibly useful if you’re the type of user who needs to dig into the options to customize and calibrate the image or frequently use features like the monitor’s picture-in-picture/picture-by-picture modes. The monitor’s features can also be controlled with Display Pilot 2, a software utility for Windows and Mac.

The monitor’s image quality options are extensive and include color temperature values in specific degrees kelvin (like 6500K), specific gamma modes, 6-axis color hue and saturation controls, a luminance uniformity mode, and sRGB, DisplayP3, DCI-P3, and Rec.709 presets, among other features. These features mark the BenQ PD3226G apart from monitors that target more general professional productivity, like the Dell U3225QE, and from monitors that target both entertainment and professional use, like the HP Omen Transcend 32.

You’ll also find support for a range of software utilities designed to help users target specific color accuracy targets and conform to a specific color gamut. These include Palette Master Ultimate (which is used for image calibration with a hardware calibration tool) and ColorTalk (which is used for color matching without a calibration tool). As I’m not a professional designer or artist, I can’t judge these tools in much detail. Even so, they’re another feature that sets the PD3226G apart from a more general-use productivity monitor, which won’t include such software.

What about audio? The BenQ PD3226G includes a pair of three-watt speakers that provide acceptable sound at lower volumes but, like most monitor speakers, they sound hollow and tinny when the volume is turned up. Most people will want to use external speakers or headphones, and the monitor has a 3.5mm audio jack for passing audio through to these devices.

The PD3226G comes with a unique puck controller that provides full access to menus and settings, and can also bind to Windows software (to scroll, for example).

BenQ PD3226G SDR image quality

SDR image quality is important for the BenQ PD3226G. Shoppers planning to buy this monitor don’t just want a display that looks nice, but one that objectively achieves high scores and has great color performance. The PD3226G delivers, though its competitors are right there with it.

First up is brightness, which is a strength of the BenQ PD3226G. The monitor can achieve a maximum brightness of up to 468 nits, which is high for any monitor in SDR, and better than most competitors.

Brightness this high isn’t usually required and, in fact, many users will prefer to use the monitor at a much lower level of brightness. I’d even recommend leaving the brightness at a low level, as an overly bright display can cause eye strain.

However, a high maximum brightness means the PD3226G remains usable in brighter rooms and lighting conditions. That’s handy if your room has poor light control, or if the monitor will be used in an office with bright lighting.

Contrast, on the other hand, is a weakness for the PD3226G. It achieved a maximum measured contrast ratio of 1180:1 at 50 percent of maximum brightness. As the graph shows, this is low for a monitor in this category.

It’s not that the PD3226G’s IPS LCD panel performs poorly. On the contrary, it’s good for a conventional IPS LCD panel. However, competitive panel technologies, including IPS Black and OLED, deliver much better contrast performance. Both the BenQ PD3225U and Dell U3225QE have an IPS Black panel.

In practice, the PD3226G’s limited contrast is noticeable. The image can look dull and flat next to some alternatives with IPS Black and OLED panels. I also noticed significant “IPS glow,” which caused a grayish sheen to appear across darker images.

This is a trade-off, however. The IPS display’s contrast doesn’t hold up, but going for this panel allows the display to provide better motion clarity, which I’ll touch on later in this review.

The BenQ PD3226G strikes back in color performance. It provides color that spans 100 percent of sRGB, 99 percent of DCI-P3, and 92 percent of the AdobeRGB color gamut.

As the graph shows, this is towards the upper end of what’s typical for even high-end monitors. The PD3226G’s performance in DCI-P3 was particularly strong, as very few monitors have ever achieved 99 percent of DCI-P3 in this test. On the other hand, the HP Omen Transcend 32’s QD-OLED panel might be preferable if you intend to work with the AdobeRGB gamut (or Rec.2020).

The BenQ PD3226G also does well in color accuracy. While the graph might seem to show a loss, in truth an average color error below 1.0 is effectively indistinguishable to the human eye and considered an extremely good result.

As the graph shows, many high-end monitors can now achieve this level of accuracy. The Asus ProArt PA278CFRV is the only monitor that falls much behind the pack, but it’s also by far the least expensive monitor in this comparison.

Importantly, the BenQ PD3226G’s great color accuracy is matched with great gamma and color temperature performance. I expect a gamma curve of 2.2 and color temperature of 6500K, and the PD3226G hit both targets.

However, different people may expect different targets. Here, too, the PD3226G again does well, as it provides both image quality controls and calibration software to finely tune the image for your needs. It’s not uncommon for price-competitive monitors to offer at least some of these features, but the PD3226G hits all the marks.

BenQ PD3226G HDR image quality

The BenQ PD3226G supports HDR and is VESA DisplayHDR 400 certified. However, it’s not a great display for enjoying HDR. This is not only because of its brightness, which in my test didn’t exceed the monitor’s SDR brightness while in HDR mode, but also its contrast, which isn’t any better in HDR than in SDR.

As a result, the PD3226G can’t provide the extra luminance detail that HDR is meant to offer, and HDR content tends to look flat and dull compared to a more capable HDR monitor.

However, this flaw is rather common to monitors in the PD3226G’s category which have an IPS LCD panel, including monitors with newer IPS Black panels (like the Dell U3225QE and BenQ PD3225U). You’ll need to opt for a Mini-LED or OLED monitor for better HDR performance.

BenQ PD3226G motion performance

BenQ doesn’t come out and say that the “G” in PD3226G stands for gaming, but it’s an easy connection to make. The monitor’s 144Hz refresh rate is the highest I’ve yet seen from a monitor meant for creative professionals, beating Dell’s IPS Black alternatives, which reach up to 120Hz. BenQ’s marketing pitch says the refresh rate is optimized for “game development and animation,” among other tasks. The PD3226G also provides official Adaptive Sync and AMD FreeSync support, which is notable, because many monitors in this category omit it.

A refresh rate of 144Hz already puts the PD3226G ahead of most competitors, which typically have a refresh rate of 60Hz to 120Hz, but it’s not the whole story. The PD3226G also quotes gray-to-gray pixel response times down to 1 millisecond. By comparison, monitors like the Dell U3225QE quote response times of 5 to 8 milliseconds. Put simply, a lower pixel response time means pixels can change color more quickly, which reduces ghosting behind fast-moving objects.

The benefit is obvious. While displays like the Dell U3225QE offer good motion clarity compared to a 60Hz office monitor, they still look a bit blurry. The PD3226G’s motion clarity provides a lot more detail to moving objects and significantly reduces ghosting behind moving text. Reading text that scrolls on the PD3226G is often quite comfortable, which isn’t true on many competitive monitors.

This is the silver lining to the PD3226G’s modest contrast ratio. IPS Black panels in monitors like the Dell U3225QE and PD3225U offer much better contrast, but I’ve yet to see an IPS Black panel that quotes a pixel response time below 5 milliseconds. So, the PD3226G has an advantage in motion clarity.

Of course, there’s an elephant in the room: OLED. An OLED monitor like the HP Omen Transcend 32 can provide a refresh rate up to 240Hz and pixel response times down to 0.03 milliseconds. Because of that, 32-inch 4K QD-OLED monitors will clearly defeat the PD3226G in motion clarity, which makes OLED preferable for PC gaming. Even so, the PD3226G’s motion clarity is great for a professional monitor.

Should you buy the BenQ PD3226G?

The BenQ PD3226G is another strong option in the company’s line-up for professional artists, designers, and content creators, and it stands out from the competition in several areas. It has a wide range of connectivity, good motion clarity, many image quality features and options, and top-tier color performance.

These strengths are balanced, though not outweighed, by the monitor’s lackluster contrast and so-so HDR, which are noticeable downsides when compared to 32-inch 4K QD-OLED peers.

Even so, the PD3226G is a great choice for people who want a monitor for professional creative work that also holds up in gaming and entertainment.