ASUS VA326H and VA326N-W: 31.5-Inch Curved 144 Hz FHD Displays for $399
by Anton Shilov on December 16, 2016 10:00 AM EST
ASUS has introduced two new curved gaming displays that feature large 31.5” VA panels with a 144 Hz refresh rate. The VA326H and VA326N-W monitors have FHD resolution as well as a variety of ASUS’ enhancements designed for gamers. ASUS positions the new products as entry-level models for gamers in budget that also demand a large diagonal, curvature and a high refresh rate.
The ASUS VA326-series displays use 31.5” AHVA panels with 1920×1080 resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio. General specifications of the monitors are typical for this class of devices: 300 nits brightness, 3000:1 contrast ratio, 178°/178° viewing angles, a 4 ms response time (grey-to-grey) and so on. The main selling points of the two displays are their 144 Hz refresh rate as well as 1800R curvature.
The only difference between the ASUS VA326H and the ASUS VA326N-W monitors is the supported connectors: both come with a D-Sub and a DL-DVI input, whereas the VA326H also has an HDMI 1.4 header. The displays lack features like a USB hub as well as integrated speakers, which is expected for entry-level consumer devices.
| ASUS VA326-Series Curved Gaming Monitors | |||
| ASUS VA326H | ASUS VA326N-W | ||
| Panel | 31.5 AHVA | ||
| Native Resolution | 1920 × 1080 | ||
| Refresh Rate Range | 144 Hz via HDMI, DL-DVI 50~75 Hz via D-Sub |
144 Hz via DL-DVI 50~75 Hz via D-Sub |
|
| Response Time | 4 ms (gray-to-gray) | ||
| Brightness | 300 cd/m² | ||
| Contrast | 3000:1 | ||
| Viewing Angles | 178°/178° horizontal/vertical | ||
| Curvature | 1800R | ||
| Inputs | 1 × HDMI 1.4 with HDCP 1 × DL-DVI with HDCP 1 × D-Sub |
- 1 × DL-DVI with HDCP 1 × D-Sub with HDCP |
|
| Audio | Audio in/out ports | ||
| Proprietary Enhancements | Trace Free Technology Skin-Tone Selection: 3 Modes Color Temperature Selection: 4 Modes GamePlus Modes: Crosshair/Timer/Display Alignment Low Blue Light: Yes VividPixel: Yes GameVisual Modes: Scenery/Racing/Cinema/RTS/RPG/FPS/sRGB |
||
| Power Consumption |
Idle | ~5 W | |
| Active | 28 W at 200 cd/m² | ||
| Detailed Information | Link | Link | |
The ASUS VA326-series displays formally belong to the company’s Essential family of inexpensive monitors and are the first curved screens in this lineup. Nevertheless, they support a refresh rate of up to 144 Hz as well as ASUS’ proprietary enhancements like Trace Free, Crosshair, Timer and others, which are valued primarily by gamers. In fact, the combination of a large size, a 144 Hz refresh rate, and curvature, combine into an interesting package for this particular price point and will likely appeal to gamers in budget. These gamers might be focused on eSports, therefore a relatively low resolution of 1920×1080 pixels is not going to be a drawback for them, but will rather be an advantage because they will be able to play with a native resolution with high FPS and at 144 Hz.
ASUS plans to start sales of the VA326H and VA326N-W monitors in early Q1 2017. In the U.S., the company will offer the ASUS VA326H for $399. MSRP for Europe and other countries are unknown, but given the positioning of the displays and their price in the U.S., the ASUS VA326-series monitors will be rather affordable.
Related Reading:
- AOC Launches the AG352QCX: 35-Inch 200 Hz 2560×1080 Curved Display with Adaptive-Sync
- Samsung CFG70: Curved 144Hz Displays with Quantum Dot Backlighting and AMD FreeSync
- LG Announces the 34UC79G: 34-Inch Curved 21:9 Display with 2560 × 1080 Resolution, 144 Hz Refresh Rate for $700
- Acer’s Announces Predator Gaming Displays with Tobii Eye-Tracking Technology, Up to 240 Hz Refresh Rate
- Dell Unveils UltraSharp U3417W: Makes Its Curved Display More Curved
Source: ASUS
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Inteli - Friday, December 16, 2016 - link
Not to mention at $400. If this is really market at the "esports" crowd, they're fsr more likely to spend $200 on a 24" TN 144hz panel, and if they spend $400+, the Dell S2417DG pushes 1440p, G-Sync, and 144hz for $430 right now.shabby - Friday, December 16, 2016 - link
Wannabe gamers.JeffFlanagan - Friday, December 16, 2016 - link
Gamers on a budget. An inexpensive video card can drive a 1080p display at a high refresh rate. This gets them a curved screen with a high refresh rate for very little money.Inteli - Friday, December 16, 2016 - link
I get that $400 is cheap for a curved screen, but a good high refresh rate display can be had for half the price of this.temps - Friday, December 16, 2016 - link
I'm always surprised how the hardware review site with the smartest articles has a comment section populated with so many spectacularly stupid people.Inteli - Friday, December 16, 2016 - link
How is pointing out the flaws in a product with remarkably dumb combination of features stupid? If it was ultrawide and curved, we probably wouldn't be so harsh on it. If it was flat, we wouldn't be so harsh on it. If it was smaller, we wouldn't be so harsh on it.It's massive, it has a low pixel density, it has a curve on a standard aspect ratio, and it's missing DisplayPort
temps - Monday, December 19, 2016 - link
You thinking your useless posts matter is stupid. You not realizing that you want this monitor to transform into something else is stupid... and doubly so when you realize all these changes you want to make to this monitor turn it into something else that already exists. There is this thing called a "niche" - maybe Google the definition so you can try and become a little bit less of a waste of space.Inteli - Monday, December 19, 2016 - link
I have never heard anyone say "my perfect monitor is a small 1080p curved TV"snarfbot - Wednesday, January 3, 2018 - link
this review site hasn't had the smartest articles in some time now.in the first paragraph it says it has a va panel, and in the second paragraph its now an ahva panel with 3000:1 contrast ratio.
ahva being ips technology, it stands for advanced hyper viewing angle. this panel is actually an sva panel, made by samsung. which is how it achieves a 3000:1 contrast ratio. the same one is used in their own chg70 monitor which also features local dimming(only 6 zones though, so its not really much of an upgrade) and im pretty sure acer is selling one with the same panel, as well as vivitek.
if it was a good article written by someone knowledgeable they would have told you that, instead it reads like a hastily written advertisement.
pretty sad really.
twtech - Sunday, December 18, 2016 - link
How many people have systems capable of driving 4k resolution at anywhere near 144Hz? This is a gaming monitor.If you want a productivity monitor, or a good all-around monitor, sure you'd be better off getting a 60Hz 4k IPS. But that's clearly not the target market for this monitor.