BenQ PD3225U review

Designed for creative professionals, the 32-inch BenQ PD3225U monitor ($1,099.99) is primarily intended for Mac users, although it works well for Windows PCs as well. The PD3225U is brighter than its predecessor, the BenQ PD3220U, and its contrast ratio is much better than the Editors’ Choice winner. It’s also more affordable than Apple’s own Studio Display, with a larger screen and a more versatile stand. All of this makes it our new Editors’ Choice pick for 4K creative pro monitors.

Design: Mac- and Windows-friendly

The PD3225U’s 31.5-inch, 10-bit IPS panel has a 4K UHD resolution (3,840 by 2,160 pixels) in a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. Pixel density works out to 140 pixels per inch (ppi), which is more than adequate for working with fine detail images and complex images, though not as high as some professional monitors with smaller screens. The Apple Studio Display, for example, has a 27-inch screen with a 5K resolution (5,120 by 2,880 pixels) and a pixel density of 218 pixels per inch.

The PD3225U uses LG’s IPS Black technology, an in-plane switching variant that doubles the contrast ratio (to 2,000:1) of standard IPS panels. While IPS black cannot compete with OLED’s effectively infinite contrast ratio where groups of pixels can be turned off, achieving a “true black”, it produces significantly deeper blacks than standard IPS.

The panel fits into a matte-black cabinet, measures 24.7 by 28.1 by 10.8 inches (HWD) and weighs 18.1 pounds with the stand fully extended. The gray base has a large 8.5-by-11-inch footprint, and a sturdy shaft extends upward from it to connect to the cabinet.

Despite being a Mac-friendly monitor, the PD3225U plays well with Windows computers, unlike the LG UltraFine 4K Display (24MD4KL-B), which we don’t recommend for use with Windows PCs. And unlike many other Apple-friendly third-party peripherals, the PD3225U doesn’t try to mimic the Mac aesthetic in color or design. Or it has serious upsells. The stand on the base model of the Apple Studio Display is limited to tilt adjustment, and for an additional $400, you can get a stand with both tilt and 4.13 inches of height adjustment. The PD3225U, in contrast, includes a stand that supports height, tilt, swivel and pivot adjustments.

The PD3225U features the HotKey Puck G2 controller, which we first saw in the PD3220U. It sits in front of the monitor, to which it is connected by a USB cable, and has three programmable buttons and a return button. It adds a knob at the top which, by default, lets you adjust the brightness. Rotating the knob allows you to cycle through all of the OSD’s settings. Picture modes are plentiful, among them DCI-P3, Display P3, HDR, sRGB, Rec. 709, CAD/CAM, Animation, Low Blue Light, Darkroom, M-Book, DICOM, and User. Display P3, a color gamut designed by Apple, is the native color space for recent Macs.

Using the HotKey Puck G2 to control the PD3225U’s on-screen display (OSD) settings is more convenient than reaching behind the monitor to manipulate the joystick controller.

Connectors include two HDMI ports, one DisplayPort 1.4 port, and two Thunderbolt 3 ports. one Thunderbolt port upstream, which supports DisplayPort in USB Alt mode and provides up to 85W power delivery, and one downstream, which provides up to 15W power delivery; With the Thunderbolt-out port, you can daisy-chain a second monitor.

The PD3225U has one USB-B and one USB-C port (both upstream) and three downstream USB-A ports. USB-C and a USB-A port are on the side for easy access, and an audio-out jack.

The PD3225U has a pair of 2.5W speakers, which in our tests exhibited sound quality and volume typical of monitor speakers. The audio-out jack can be used for headphones or powered external speakers.

PD3225U tested: good contrast, color accuracy and coverage

I tested the BenQ PD3225U’s brightness, contrast ratio, and color coverage using our standard test gear: a Klein K-10A colorimeter, a Muridio SixG signal generator, and the portrait display’s Kalman Ultimate for Business calibration software.

BenQ rates the PD3225U’s brightness at 400 nits (candelas per meter squared), and in our Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) test, its best score was lower than that at 371 nits. As an IPS black monitor, its rated contrast is 2,000:1, and it bested our tests with a measured contrast of 2,236:1.

We usually test brightness and contrast in standard (or default) mode without changing any settings other than setting brightness to 100%. But when we tested the PD3225U in that mode (in display P3 mode), it turned in much lower than expected results, with a brightness of 224 nits and a contrast of 1,240:1. A BenQ spokesperson suggested disabling the uniformity compensation setting in the OSD. Sure enough, I turned off the Uniformity setting located in the Advanced Settings of the Color menu and got the better results listed above.

The purpose of the uniformity setting is to correct differences in brightness or color consistency across a display, but obviously it can negatively affect both brightness and contrast. We encountered the same issue when testing the Dell UltraSharp 38 USB-C Hub Monitor (U3824DW), although in that case, only contrast was adversely affected. BenQ notes that screen uniformity can be improved through monitor calibration (to that end, the PD3225U is Kalman verified) and most high-end professional monitors offer uniformity compensation. In our experience, though, this is usually an opt-in setting that’s turned off by default. By enabling the PD3225’s Uniformity setting, you can take a hit in contrast and brightness, for the benefit you get.

BenQ notes that the PD3225U display is HDR 400 certified; In the HDR test, it averaged 386 nits, with a peak HDR luminance of 411 nits.

According to BenQ, the PD3225U covers 98% of the P3 color space and 99% of sRGB. In our tests, it covered 98% of DCI-P3 (see chromaticity chart above) and 99.6% of sRGB (see chart below). BenQ doesn’t rate it for the Adobe RGB space, where the PD3225U turned in a mediocre 87.8% coverage. If you’re creating images for print, you’ll want a monitor with Adobe RGB coverage in the high 90s, such as the Dell UltraSharp 27 4K Premier Color (UP2720Q) or the Asus ProArt Display OLED PA32DC.

Our final benchmark is Delta E (DE), a measure of color accuracy, i.e. the difference between the color of a displayed color and the color input the monitor received. The dE figure that appears on the monitor’s glasses is the average of a large number of individual color readings across the spectrum; The lower the value, the more accurate the color. An average dE below 2 indicates sufficiently accurate color that a casual observer may be unable to distinguish between the screen color and the intended (source) color. BenQ claims a (dE) in the box of less than 2 for the PD3225U, and our test (in Display P3 mode) nailed it with a dE of 1.45.

We also did our usual ad-hoc tests, viewing selected photos and video clips with a recent Mac laptop and our typical Windows test PC. In both still images and video, colors appeared rich and accurate, and the PD3225U did well in maintaining detail, especially in darker images and video scenes.

Verdict: A creator monitor that outperforms studio displays

As a professional monitor for creators, the BenQ PD3225U is a step up from its predecessor the PD3220U, offering higher brightness and better contrast, while also adding a second Thunderbolt port that enables daisy-chaining monitors. Our tests show that its color accuracy out of the box easily bests the BenQ’s rating, and that it covers almost the entire sRGB and DCI-P3 color spaces.

While the PD3225U is good for Windows PCs, it’s especially good for Macs. It comes in at $500 less than the Apple Studio Display while packing a more versatile stand and a larger screen and HDR capabilities. (The Studio Display has a higher pixel density.) Between its overall excellence and its Mac-friendliness, the BenQ PD3225U earns our Editors’ Choice award as a professional manufacturer’s monitor.

About Tony Hoffman

Senior Analyst, Hardware

Since 2004, I’ve worked on PCMag’s hardware team, covering printers, scanners, projectors, storage, and monitors at various times. I currently focus my testing efforts on 3D printers, pro and productivity displays, and all types of drives and SSDs.

Over the years, I’ve reviewed iPad and iPhone science apps, the occasional camera, laptop, keyboard, and mouse. I’ve written numerous articles about astronomy, space science, travel photography, and astrophotography for PCMag and its past and present sibling publications (among them, Mashable and ExtremeTech), as well as for the PCMag digital edition.

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