BenQ EX3210U Mobiuz review: a great 4K and gaming monitor
The BenQ EX3210U Mobiuz 4K monitor impresses in a number of areas. Here's our review.
The BenQ EX3210U Mobiuz monitor is rather expensive, but there are plenty of features here to appeal to both creatives and gamers alike – and with a flexible design and some well-picked extras, it's definitely worthy of your consideration.
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4K resolution
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Rich, vivid colours
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Remote control
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No USB-C connectivity
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It's going to cost you
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Contrast could be better
Why you can trust T3
The BenQ EX3210U Mobiuz has designs on being one of the best gaming monitors available, and while you're going to have to pay a significant amount of money in order to get it, this piece of hardware does have the specs and the style to stand out in a crowd.
With colour performance and configuration options that are going to appeal to creative professionals, this screen can go way, way beyond gaming too – in fact it's also in contention for our best 4K monitors list, proving what an impressive all-rounder it is.
In our full review below we'll get into the details of why you might want to or not want to pick up the BenQ EX3210U Mobiuz as your next monitor. Once you've digested it, check out our comprehensive guides to the best gaming laptops and the best gaming chairs as well.
BenQ EX3210U Mobiuz monitor review: price and availability
You can pick up the BenQ EX3210U Mobiuz gaming monitor from most of the usual electronics retailers, including Amazon and Scan in the UK. Pricing can vary, so check out the widgets embedded in this page to find the best deals online, but at the time of writing the monitor is going for a little over £1,000/$1,000.
BenQ EX3210U Mobiuz monitor review: design and setup
You'll have this monitor set up in a matter of minutes, and you don't really need anyone else to help you either: the stand slots into the base, the screen slots into the stand, the power cable gets connected, and then you're good to go. Once everything is assembled, you can adjust the height of the display, tilt it up and down, and swivel it from side to side – you just can't rotate it (to use it in portrait mode, for example).
As for the aesthetics, the back of this monitor is one of the nicest we've ever seen: a stylish white-grey finish, with darker accents here and there, and with four RGB lighting strips that can be customised to show whatever colours you like. However, the front of the unit (aside from the screen) doesn't look as impressive, with standard black bezels and a red accent to the base that feels a bit half-hearted.
The port selection is better than average, with two HDMI 2.1 ports, one DisplayPort 1.4 port, and a USB hub with four USB-A 3.0 sockets available. USB-C would've been welcome as well, but it's good to see the latest HDMI 2.1 standard here. The downward-facing ports can be a bit of a pain when it comes to connecting cables, but they're par for the course for this type of monitor, and you do get a simple cable management opening built into the stand to keep everything reasonably tidy.
When you've got it all put together, the BenQ EX3210U Mobiuz gaming monitor measures 726.7 x 587.4 x 269.9mm when set to its tallest height, and weighs 9.5kg. It is VESA compatible too, should you want to mount it on a wall.
Included in the box you get HDMI and DisplayPort cables (which isn't always the case), as well as a dinky remote control that makes it easier to switch inputs and adjust the volume – it's certainly easier than using the joystick and buttons under the bottom edge of the screen to navigate your way through the on-screen menus.
BenQ EX3210U Mobiuz monitor review: features and picture
Take a look at the specs offered by the BenQ EX3210U Mobiuz and there's no way you can't be impressed. The 32-inch IPS monitor offers a 4K (3840 x 2160) resolution, a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz (DisplayPort) or 120Hz (HDMI), a 1000:1 native contrast level, a 2ms grey-to-grey response time, a typical brightness of 300 nits, and a maximum peak brightness of 600 nits with HDR.
Add in 98% P3 coverage and 99% AdobeRGB coverage, plus support for variable refresh rate (VRR), AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync, and it's a great package. We're pleased to say all those specs translate into some seriously good visuals when you actually start gaming or working on this monitor too – while the brightness and colour accuracy are good rather than best-in-class, the richness of the colours and the smoothness of the motion can't be faulted and leave a great impression.
Other reasons to like this monitor: an integrated 2.1 speaker system with a 5W subwoofer that's more than good enough for watching movies and games (a 3.5mm headphone jack is available too), an integrated microphone so you can do away with a headset completely, plus a choice of HDR and colour modes to cycle between, so if you're doing something specific then you can tailor the monitor's output accordingly.
Particularly when you're not in one of the HDR modes, contrast can be a little on the underwhelming side, but by and large you're going to get a picture that you're very happy with no matter what task you're giving the screen. In certain areas the BenQ EX3210U Mobiuz can be beaten by other screens, but when you take it as an entire package across all the important metrics, it stands up much better against its competitors.
BenQ EX3210U Mobiuz monitor review: verdict
The BenQ EX3210U Mobiuz gaming monitor is well put together and easy to set up, it offers some great specs for gamers and creative professionals alike, and it looks pretty cool too – add in that the visuals produced by the monitor are as impressive as the spec sheet would suggest, and this is clearly one of the best options around if you're after a screen of this size and style.
It's worth noting that there are a lot of monitors around of this size and with these specs, so as always you should do your research before parting with your cash. The price of the unit is going to be off-putting to some people as well: it's certainly on the more expensive end of the scale and not everyone is going to be able to justify it. We'd say if you're a content creator who also wants high-quality gaming performance on the same screen, it could well be worth the outlay.
Bear in mind that while the BenQ EX3210U Mobiuz works fine out of the box, some tweaking and calibrating may be required to get the picture looking exactly as you want it – and if that sounds like too much trouble to you then you might want to look elsewhere. It's also not for those who are looking for a USB-C connection, as it lacks this modern port (you do get a USB-A hub though, which is welcome).
Overall though, the BenQ EX3210U Mobiuz gaming monitor has enough about it in terms of its specs (especially the 4K, the refresh rate and the colour), its design, its connectivity options and its extras (the integrated speakers and the remote control) to be considered as one of the best monitors around. It can do double duty as a computer monitor and a console monitor too, which adds to the appeal.
Also consider
Take a peek at our best gaming monitors guide or our best 4K monitors guide, and you'll see that there's lots of choice out there.
The LG 27GP950-B, for example, is a little bit smaller than the BenQ model that we've reviewed here, but it's also designed with both creative professionals and gamers in mind – take note of that support for HDMI 2.1 and a 144Hz maximum refresh rate as well, just like the BenQ EX3210U Mobiuz.
If you find the BenQ EX3210U Mobiuz really appealing but just want more of it, then have a look at the BenQ EW3880R: it's bigger and wider and keeps the integrated sound system so you don't need to set up a separate audio system. It's great for playing games, watching movies, and doing just about everything you need to do on a monitor, though it does come with a pretty substantial price tag attached.
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Dave has over 20 years' experience in the tech journalism industry, covering hardware and software across mobile, computing, smart home, home entertainment, wearables, gaming and the web – you can find his writing online, in print, and even in the occasional scientific paper, across major tech titles like T3, TechRadar, Gizmodo and Wired. Outside of work, he enjoys long walks in the countryside, skiing down mountains, watching football matches (as long as his team is winning) and keeping up with the latest movies.
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