Introduction

While OLED gaming monitors have dominated the headlines over the last year, another technology has quietly been gaining steam and appears ready to hit the mainstream. The BenQ Mobiuz EX321UX goes with a mini-LED display that sidesteps the burn-in risks of OLED and offers incredibly bright and vibrant 4K image quality and promising HDR. Retailing for $1,100, however, I wish it came better dialed-in out of the box.

Design and Build

BenQ compares the Mobiuz EX321UX design to a spaceship with its large 31.5-inch display housed in a white frame that contours along its back edge like a hull. The stand equally embraces those design sensibilities, connecting in the center of a vented hexagonal cut-out that also houses the I/O. It’s not gaudy or overdone, though, just stylized.

Its size is imposing, but is just about perfect for the experience BenQ promised to deliver. It uses a 4K (3840×2160) IPS panel backed with a dense array of mini-LEDs for impressive brightness and 1,152 local dimming zones. There’s also a quantum dot layer for richer colors and enhanced brightness.

Performance and Features

On paper, the Mobiuz has a lot going for it. It’s rated for 700-nits SDR brightness on average, but is also DisplayHDR 1000 certified to express bright highlights at a full 1,000 nits. Its 1,152 local dimming zones create a dense web of dynamic contrast that allows it to display much deeper blacks than normal IPS monitors can achieve. Considered with its crisp 4K resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, HDMI 2.1 support, and built-in KVM, you have a recipe for a pretty killer display that doesn’t run the risk of burn-in or looking dim in bright lighting.

While OLED monitors have been all the rage for more than a year now, they have some pretty significant drawbacks that the EX321UX doesn’t suffer from. Because every pixel is self-emitting, OLED monitors can decay at different rates leading to image retention (or burn-in). These displays also limit maximum brightness to prevent excess energy draw and limit heat which can also diminish the lifespan of the panels. While manufacturers have come a very long way in preventing burn-in and minimizing potential risks, it’s not impossible that your very expensive gaming monitor could wind up damaged and returned on a warranty claim if you’re not careful.

OSD and Software

The Mobiuz EX321UX uses an on-screen display for all of its configuration options. There’s also a companion app called Color Shuttle that can be used to select color profiles for individual games, but it’s completely optional. With so many monitors offering downloadable software as an alternative to the OSD, I was surprised to find that the Mobiuz lacked it.

Conclusion

As impressive as it is, it still doesn’t give results at the same level as a competing OLED panel. With 1,152 zones, it’s able to get quite close to objects that need bright backlighting, like highlights or even the mouse cursor, but blooming can still be an issue. This was especially noticeable in Photoshop with its grey background: the mouse cursor perpetually had a purple cast around it. It’s not terrible, and I did get used to it over time, but it’s more noticeable than on the Xiaomi G Pro 27i, which offers the same amount of dimming zones in a smaller form factor. Blooming (or haloing, as it is sometimes called) is still the biggest trade-off when opting for mini-LED over OLED.