Curved 32-inch 165 Hz Freesync gaming monitor with 1 ms response time from MSI

It’s not often we see a new Freesync monitor on the market, with Gsync options being far more common in the last year or so. However, there has been increased interest in AMD cards at the higher-performance end of the market with the improvements that RX Vega 56 and RX Vega 64 have offered over the older RX 580. The flow on effect of this is more manufacturers seeing the value proposition in bringing new Freesync monitors to market.

This is likely what MSI was planning when they designed and released their new Optix AG32C. The front of the Optix AG32C is adorned with a 32-inch VA panel that measures at 110% sRGB, 85% NTSC, and has a 1800R curve. The refresh rate is a buttery 165 Hz, and the response times are quick at 1 ms (moving pixel) and 4 ms (grey to grey).

The main downside to the monitor is the 1920 x 1080 resolution. This is still the most common resolution used by gamers, but its inclusion on a 32-inch panel leads to large pixels that will be readily noticeable at a standard desktop sitting distance. Alternatively, being FullHD does make the screen much more likely to hit frame rates that justify the 165 Hz refresh rate.

Connection options are provided by 1 x DVI, 1 x HDMI 2.0, and 1 x DisplayPort 1.2, also in a nod to the monitors gaming focus, MSI has included an OSD toggle that enables a crosshair overlay for games with small crosshairs or no crosshair at all. This feature is sometimes controversial as it gives users of monitors with this overlay an advantage in games that are designed without an aiming assistant.

There aren’t many listings for the Optix AG32C yet, but OverclockersUK has it up for pre-order at GB£420 (US$560), and FrontierPC has it on order for CA$482 (US$386) — keeping in mind that UK pricing usually includes tax.