Range of settings
Until recently, 32-inch monitors were a relatively marginal category and manufacturers were pushing mainly the smaller 27″ versions. Recently, it seems as if the market is swarming with 32″ monitors, and after the latest from AOC, we take a look at two new gaming models from MSI right away. At first glance they look the same, but besides the name they differ in panels, connectivity, or other small details, which we will gradually break down.
Range of settings
Controlling the OSD menu is simple and quick thanks to the presence of a 5-way joystick.
The menu itself offers many sections and settings, and the design is one of the most beautiful on the market. The first section features quick adjustments for brightness, RGB lighting, KVM switch control as well as gaming features such as crosshair and zoom.
The second section focuses on gaming and offers the choice of game mode, night vision (adjusting the black levels), refresh rate and countdown display, or enabling Adaptive-Sync or changing the response time.
The third section, aimed at professional use, offers in particular Low Blue Light mode or image enhancement and Pro Mode with Eco setting. You can change the image parameters in the fourth section where you can change the brightness, contrast, aspect ratio, colour temperature and sharpness.
This is followed by input selection, options for adjusting joystick functions, and then just settings, where you can choose both Slovak and Czech language, change the time and transparency of the OSD menu display or HDMI 2.1 settings, and the behaviour of the RGB lighting and the power button.
A quick look at the Optix Scope shows us three options for zoom size and zoom area dimensions. This feature can be a distinct advantage, especially in FPS games.
In the quick menu, which you activate by moving the joystick side to side, you can choose from the inputs, turn on the crosshairs with different designs but also which input is preferred for the KVM switch. That said, the quick actions are fully configurable in the OSD menu, which I highly commend.
The designs of the crosshairs are diverse and you are sure to find the right one for you.
The refresh rate or timer display is complemented by other connection parameters such as resolution, colour depth, mode and type of displayed content (SDR/HDR).
PiP and PbP
PiP and PbP modes are definitely important at larger screen sizes, and MSI has not forgotten about it in this case, quite the contrary. I feel that this section is the most sophisticated among the monitors tested so far, as it offers a few more features than standard.
In picture-in-picture mode, you have a choice of three secondary input sizes.
You can place it in each of the four corners. But new to me is the arbitrary placement in space, which is the fifth optional state.
You can also swap the main input for a secondary input at any time and vice versa.
The monitor also offers a PbP mode, which is picture-by-picture, where you can split the display in half and display the inputs side by side. You can choose from several configurations, namely splitting it in half horizontally and vertically, and the third option is to prefer one of the inputs, which occupies a larger part of the image.
Apps
Application support tends to be better with big gaming brands than smaller manufacturers, and MSI has certainly not let this area put them to shame. MSI’s Gaming Intelligence app offers all of the OSD menu options mentioned so far, but adds a few more as well. For example, you can create app configurations with specific on-screen layouts, specify what app to launch when you press the macro button or control a connected joystick.
There are also mouse settings, image cloning, app connectivity and image zooming options. Among the standard settings, we then find quick settings for image properties, gaming functions or the selection of one of the preset profiles (AdobeRGB, sRGB, etc.), which are not directly displayed in the OSD menu. Finally, there is also the RGB backlight option with the possibility of synchronisation via MSI Mystic Light.
In the advanced settings, you’ll find options for input switching, quick shortcuts, as well as editing the joystick’s quick action functions. So again, this is a duplication of the OSD menu, with a few little extras thrown in for good measure.
I rate the app very positively, it offers a lot of settings and tweaks, it is dressed in a nice outfit and above all it works as you would expect. So I praise MSI for this area and other manufacturers could be “inspired”.