Gigabyte Aorus FI32Q gaming monitor review

The Gigabyte Aorus FI32Q gaming monitor is from the FI-family of screens featuring super-speedy IPS panels for excellent color accuracy and gaming performance. With a wealth of sizes ranging from 25-inches to a massive 43-inches, there's something here for every kind of gaming setup. 

The $800 unit reviewed here is the 32-inch variant boasting a QHD resolution (hence the FI32Q name), VESA DisplayHDR 400, 8-Bit color with 94% DCI-P3 and 120% Adobe sRGB, and a 165Hz refresh rate overclockable to 170 Hz. If that's not good enough for you, there's also the FI32U which is a 4K monster with HDMI 2.1 to boot. 

In terms of design, the FI32Q is a handsome-looking monitor from the front and an absolutely nerdy art piece from the back. I can't help but think of Mercy from Overwatch because of the intricate, wing-shaped RGB lights that can be found on its rear. While they look good, you'll hardly ever see them since they aren't bright enough to light up a wall. Unless you are at a LAN party (remember those?) or an eSports tournament. In that case, even the chunky stand with its handle grip makes more sense for easily carrying the monitor around. The stand is solid with a good range of tilt, swivel, and can also pivot 90-degrees.

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Ignoring the back, the large 32-inch Super Speed IPS flat panel is where you'll be focussing 99.85% of the time, and thankfully it's a beauty. The pin-sharp 2560x1440 resolution with gorgeous color reproduction and accuracy makes working and playing an absolute joy. The goodness continues with support for not only VESA DisplayHDR 400 but also Hybrid Log Gamma or HLG format supported by broadcasters.

I've often noted that monitors with sub-600 nits brightness and no local dimming are usually lackluster in their HDR reproduction. The FI32Q is an exception to that rule, delivering excellent results in HDR gaming on PC and console. Highlights retained plenty of detail especially in bright, skies in Assassin's Creed Valhalla while darker corridors of Destiny 2 still had sufficient detail to see enemies lurking within.

Gigabyte adds in several assistive modes to help you get the picture exactly the way you need it. These include 6-axis color control and Black equalizer, which work as advertised without destroying the overall picture. I was impressed at the noticeable changes the many preset picture profiles offer making it easy to quickly switch from color-accurate Photo or Video work to watching an HDR movie or playing Doom Eternal at 200fps. 

You have full access via the OSD to tweak colors, contrast, and gamma to suit your tastes. Navigating the main menu is a breeze thanks to the well-placed joystick nub found under the bottom bezel. I love this implementation because it means I don't have to keep reaching around the right back side of the monitor to find it. The menu is intuitive and I never had any problem finding what I was looking for. Alternatively, you can install the Aorus OSD sidekick app for Windows and access the menu using your mouse, which is a neat touch.  

Performance in gaming is excellent too thanks to the naive 165 Hz refresh and 1ms GtG response. This can overclock to 170 Hz but I'm not sure that makes enough of a difference—at least not to my eye. Regardless, I never experienced any stuttering or tearing issues in any of the games I played. The FI32Q is both FreeSync and G-Sync compatible and it worked flawlessly with the RTX 3070 I used for testing.

For inputs, there are two HDMI 2.0, a DisplayPort 1.4, USB Type-C Thunderbolt with power pass-through so you can have one of those sexy single cable laptop setups. For downstream, you get two USB Type-A and Audio that's powered by a built-in ESS Sabre Amp for HiRes audio and Active noise cancellation. However, my headsets didn't necessarily sound better plugged into the monitor than directly into my computer. 

And that's just one of the many tricks up the FI32Q's sleeve. It also offers A KVM switch so you can control multiple devices with the same keyboard and mouse which is great for laptop and desktop users. Additional assistive features that I enjoyed using included Picture-in-picture and picture-by-picture allowing me to use my PC and console at the same time. Additionally, Super Sampling allows the monitor to accept 4K signals from my Xbox and display them at QHD 120Hz. 

There are plenty of other features that help make your games pop on this panel, which given its price, absolutely should be the case. Gaming monitors are a dime a dozen and it's getting hard to justify one over the other. But I must confess, the FI32Q is one of the most enjoyable and versatile monitors that has ever crossed my desk and it's just a joy to use for work and play. At $800, there is a world of competitors that could be better for more budget-conscious gamers but I'd happily splurge for this one.