MSI Creator PS321QR Review: A Monitor for Professionals

As a rule, the monitor is divided into gaming and professional, offering similar features. The new Creator PS321QR is set to work with graphics but is able to adequately prove itself in dynamic shooters. How successful was the device? Let’s learn in MSI Creator PS321QR review below.

MSI Creator PS321QR Review

The MSI Creator series is designed primarily for content creators working with graphics and 3D models. Unlike the office monitors, this series relies on color accuracy, which is important for graphics and video processing.

The MSI Creator PS321QR is a monitor for creative multitasking. At the same time, the device is equipped with a fast IPS screen and a game mode. The seller has taken care of other nice little things, but we’ll talk about them a little later.

Design

The design of the HDR monitor is inspired by the ideas of Western and Eastern styles. There are no embossed inserts and other props in the case. The front panel of the monitor also looks strong. The device will fit into any interior systematically. The bezels on three sides are kept to a minimum and remain virtually invisible during operation, and the logo on the floor of the display is unobtrusive. However, the manufacturer made an indulgence for fans of RGB aesthetics: the back cover featured a small semicircular LED. The backlight can be switched off so that it does not illuminate the room with a rainbow at night.

MSI Creator PS321QR Review

The supplied stands allow you to adjust the screen position over a wide range. The swivel angle is 35 degrees for both sides, and the tilt ranges from -5 to 20 degrees. The height reserve is 100 mm. A wire clip is provided under the rack. This reduces desktop clutter when connecting the display to a PC. Due to its weight, the monitor stands like a rock on the table, the structure does not falter and does not tremble when adjusted. The cover of the display is semi-matte. This is good for work because there is no reflection.

Backlighting from sidelight sources – a traditional problem of matte panels – is helped by a full hood with a magnetic mount. This prevents light from falling at an acute angle on the panel, greatly simplifying the life of the designer. Applied in just five seconds.

The MSI Creator PS321QR has a solid set of interfaces. There is a place on the case for DisplayPort 1.2, USB Type-C connectors (useful for connecting a MacBook), a pair of HDMI 2.0, three USB 3.2 Type-A, a minijack, as well as a slot for SD memory cards. This is sufficient for most use cases. The only thing missing is the built-in speaker – however, the acoustics in the display is generally not of very high quality.

Separately, we note the convenience and simplicity of the monitor’s underlying software: Instead of incomprehensible buttons and complex combinations, the manufacturer installed a five-way joystick. Four directions for quick access to preferred settings, click on the center to launch the full menu. In addition, there is a dedicated hotkey that is responsible for enabling the MSI Creator OSD application on PC. In the utility, you can assign individual profiles to selected programs, which will be activated automatically upon opening the desired software.

Display

Everyone who works with graphics on Windows OS knows: 2560×1440 resolution is the top choice for diagonals from 27 to 32 inches. The PPI stays within sufficient range, you can operate without scaling, the picture is clear and sharp. And if the matrix is ​​decent (and MSI has its way), then there will be no problem with the crystalline effect of the semi-matte coating. In addition, the load on the video card during work and gaming in WQHD is much lower than that of 4K. In general, in terms of the ratio of screen size and its resolution, this is almost ideal.

After the first acquaintance with the monitor, there was a feeling that the image was somehow different from normal. Not surprising: Declared color accuracy delta E> 2. However, out of the box, the tested sample showed a value at delta E> 3.3. Also, the picture was noticeably green. As it turned out, one of the previous reviewers noticed something in the settings and didn’t reset the factory preset before returning the device. It is bad to be like this!

MSI Creator PS321QR Review

After setting the standard profile and additional measurements, we found that the MSI PS321QR HDR display is able to cover 99% for sRGB and Adobe RGB space and 95% for DCI-P3 gamut with less than 1.5 standard deviations. This is an excellent indicator for many monitors after calibration, but here it is already the default. The only caveat: the newfangled Rec. 2020 for viewing UHD video with HDR is covered by only 83%, which is not enough. To work with such material, you need at least 90%. And it is the level of technology with a price tag that varies by an order of magnitude.

Now for secondary indicators. When purchasing a monitor or during this MSI Creator PS321QR review, we evaluate the monitor by several general parameters: maximum brightness, color gamut, gamma, contrast ratio. This is not an entirely correct approach, as the values may be normal, and the resulting picture on the screen may be disgusting.

Firstly, the nominal brightness of the display is 400 cd/m², but the monitor has received the Display HDR 600 certification. In other words, when playing HDR content, the backlight should produce 600 nits, ensuring high brightness in the desired areas of the frame. In other words, when playing HDR content, the backlight should produce 600 nits, ensuring high brightness in the desired areas of the frame. But this is only true for the HDR mode of the screen! The factory profiles sRGB, AdobeRGB, and DCI-P3 are humane 280-300 nits white brightness (this is about 75% of the backlight power). At the same time, the matrix produces a good gamma curve, close in shape to the reference one (although additional calibration will not hurt). The contrast ratio on the built-in profiles is around 1100: 1, which is normal for an IPS panel.

For those who still can’t get the Night Light feature in Windows 10, the developers have left a nice bonus: the option to suppress the blue spectrum of the backlight. When processing graphics, of course, it is better to turn it off so that colors do not distort rendering. But in other scenarios, this will significantly reduce eye strain.

MSI Creator PS321QR Specifications

  • Display: 32-inch IPS LCD panel
  • Resolution: WQHD (2560×1440)
  • Aspect ratio: 16: 9
  • Refresh rate: 165 Hz
  • Response time: 1 ms (GtG method)
  • Color rendering: 99% sRGB and Adobe RGB, 95% DCI-P3, 83% Rec2020
  • Brightness: up to 590 cd/m²
  • Contrast ratio: 1000: 1
  • Viewing angles: 178 ° horizontal and vertical
  • Port: 2 x HDMI 2.0, 1 x Display Port 1.2, 3 x USB 3.1, 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C, 1 x audio jack, 1 x SD card reader
  • Stand Adjustment: Tilt – -5° ~ 20°, Swivel – 35° ~ 35°, Height – 0 ~ 100mm
  • Features: Kensing Lock, 5 Ways Joystick Navigator, DisplayHDR 600
  • Vesa mounting: 100 x 100 mm
  • Dimension: 817.1 x 260.4 x 500.7 mm
  • Weight: 8.2kg (18.08 lbs)

Not only convenient for work

Work is work, but many people also want to play one or two games after a hard day. With this in full order: Creator PS321QR, in addition to a wide color gamut, received a number of features typical for gaming displays. For example, especially for owners of PlayStation 5 consoles, there is a 1440p / 120 Hz display mode.

MSI Creator PS321QR Review

Owners of powerful PCs have a lot of freedom here: the refresh rate of the device is decent: the peak value of 165 Hz allows you to comfortably hack into a dynamic competitive shooter. Given a resolution of 1440p, even a mid-range graphics card will provide adequate frame rates for modern seasons. For example, RTX 2060 is also suitable for comfortable firefights in Call of Duty: Warzone, Valorant, and Overwatch. AMD FreeSync technology provides additional smoothness of the picture (it will also work with NVIDIA, you just need to enable compatibility mode in the video card driver). The response time (GTG) is 1ms – a decent result for an IPS panel.

Final line

Despite solid design and good factory calibration, the MSI Creator PS321QR not only copes with photo and video content. You can surf the net on it even after work and relax. Fortunately, the built-in software allows you to assign different color profiles to specific applications. For example, AdobeRGB preset will help when redesigning a photo, the DCI-P3 will be turned on while editing the video, and sRGB will be activated when gaming.

The set of ports is impressive, the built-in card reader is a godsend for owners of modern laptops, even cable management is provided. He also took care of side illumination: the kit includes a hood, no need to buy anything separately for big money. At the end of the MSI Creator PS321QR review, we must say that this MSI monitor is really suitable for both gamers, who are passionate about content creation and game-loving designers.

If you talk about the price then you can buy the MSI Creator PS321QR monitor for around $700 on Amazon.com, and Adorama.com, or £799 on Amazon.co.uk online stores. Around this price range, we also get the Samsung Odyssey G7 gaming monitor, whose review you will also be able to see here.

So how did you like this MSI Creator PS321QR review? Please let us know in the comment section below.

About Ankeet Solanki

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