MSI Optix G321CU Monitor Review

The MSI G321CU has a simple design with an all-black body that features matte and glossy plastic. It also has a slight curve to bring the edges of the screen within your field of vision.

The build quality is good. The all-plastic body feels good as it doesn't flex, but the bottom bezel isn't perfectly flush with the screen and moves easily. Luckily, the stand feels sturdy, and the screen doesn't wobble.

The stand has limited ergonomics as you can only tilt the screen, meaning it's hard to place in an ideal position. It doesn't have any cable management either.

The V-shaped stand has enough space between the legs to put smaller keyboards or other objects, and the stand also holds the screen well. The thickness is measured from the center of the screen, and the thickness is 9.06" (23.0 cm) when measured from the sides.

The thickness is measured from the center of the screen, and when measured from the sides, the thickness is 4.1" (10.5 cm).

There's a joystick on the back of the monitor to control the on-screen display, and a power button underneath the bottom bezel to turn it on and off.

• HDMI cable
• Power cable
• Power supply
• 6x wall mounting screws
• User manual

The MSI G321CU has a decent native contrast ratio. While it doesn't display the same deep blacks as other monitors with VA panels and is lower than the advertised 3000:1 contrast, it's still better than IPS monitors.

This monitor doesn't have a local dimming feature. We still film these videos on the monitor so you can compare the backlight performance with a monitor that has local dimming.

This monitor has good SDR peak brightness. While it isn't strong enough to fight intense glare from bright light sources, like if you place it opposite a window with direct sunlight, it's good enough for most well-lit rooms. Different scenes also maintain the same brightness. These results are from after calibration in the 'User' Game Mode and Pro Mode with the Brightness at its max and Color Temperature set to 'Normal.'

The HDR brightness is mediocre. It doesn't get bright enough to make highlights pop, and small objects don't stand out against the rest of the screen. Luckily, the EOTF follows the target PQ curve fairly well until there's a sharp roll-off at the peak brightness, meaning it isn't tone mapping after the PC has already done it.

These results are with HDR enabled in the 'User' Game Mode and Pro Mode. HDR automatically locks the following settings:

• Brightness
• Contrast
• Color Temperature
• HDCR
• Low Blue Light
• MPRT Sync
• Night Vision
• Optix Scope
• PIP/PBP

The MSI G321CU has an okay horizontal viewing angle, especially for a monitor with a VA panel, but the image still looks inconsistent from the sides. The black levels and gamma raise from a narrow angle, causing the image to appear brighter.

The vertical viewing angle isn't bad, but the image looks inconsistent if you're standing up and looking down on it or if you have it mounted above eye level.

The gray uniformity is great. The edges are a bit darker than the rest, but there's minimal dirty screen effect in the center, which is great for browsing the web or working with documents in full-screen mode.

The MSI G321CU has disappointing black uniformity. There's a noticeable backlight bleed along the edges, and it doesn't have a local dimming feature to further improve it.

The accuracy before calibration is good in the sRGB mode, which is selected in the Pro Mode setting. It limits colors well to the sRGB color space, but most colors are still off. The white balance is also off, the color temperature is on the warm side, and gamma doesn't follow the target sRGB curve, meaning images are darker than intended.

The sRGB mode locks many settings, including the Contrast and Color Temperature. You can use another mode if you want to customize those settings, but colors are oversaturated, as you can see here.

The accuracy after calibration is fantastic, as most inaccuracies are fixed. You can adjust the RGB controls with the 'Customization' Color Temperature setting, but it also makes the screen nearly 200 nits dimmer compared to leaving it on 'Normal.'

The SDR color gamut is fantastic. It has near-perfect coverage of the commonly used sRGB color space and decent coverage of Adobe RGB. However, greens are undersaturated in Adobe RGB, and it oversaturates reds.

The HDR color gamut is good. It has good coverage of the DCI-P3 color space used in most HDR content but worse coverage of the wider Rec. 2020 color space. Tone mapping is good in DCI-P3 but worse with Rec. 2020, as white is particularly off.

The HDR color gamut is okay. It struggles to display bright and dark colors very well.

The text clarity is fantastic. Enabling Windows ClearType (top photo) helps make some letters sharper. These photos are in Windows 10, and you can also see what it looks like in Windows 11 with ClearType on (here) and with ClearType off (here).

The MSI G321CU has decent reflection handling. While it's fine with a few lights, it really struggles to diffuse light in very bright rooms.

The gradient handling is remarkable, and you won't see any banding with shades of the same color.

To get the monitor's max refresh rate over HDMI, you must set HDMI 2.1 in the OSD to '4k 144Hz - PC.'

On top of supporting FreeSync VRR and G-SYNC compatibility, this monitor also supports HDMI Forum VRR.

The MSI Optix G321CU has okay motion handling with VRR enabled. There's a ton of smearing and motion blur, which is distracting, and there's even a bit of inverse ghosting. The 'Fast' Response Time setting has the lowest CAD with most refresh rates, but it worsens at lower refresh rates, leading to more blur.

The refresh rate compliance is decent. Its response time isn't fast enough to keep up with fast frame rates, as it only becomes better at lower refresh rates.

The CAD at the max refresh rate is mediocre. There's noticeable blur and smearing with fast-moving objects, and while the 'Fast' overdrive setting has a faster response time than 'Normal' and less overshoot than 'Faster,' it doesn't result in sharp motion.

The CAD at 120Hz is unremarkable. While the 'Fast' overdrive setting has the lowest CAD, it still has blur, inverse ghosting, and smearing, all of which are distracting with fast-moving objects.

The CAD at 60Hz is unremarkable, as there's noticeable smearing and blur. Unlike at higher refresh rates, the recommended overdrive setting is 'Fastest' because it has less overshoot than at 120Hz and at 144Hz. That said, 'Fast' performs similarly, so it's a good choice if you want a set-and-forget mode.

Refresh Rate	VRR - On	VRR - Off
144Hz
120Hz

The MSI G321CU has an optional backlight strobing feature to reduce persistence blur. You can either enable it at 144Hz or 120Hz with fixed refresh rates, or you can set it at either refresh rate and use VRR to go down to 60Hz, but it doesn't look good at low refresh rates. The feature also results in a dim screen and image duplication, and there isn't any customization.

The MSI Optix G321CU has noticeable VRR flicker with changing frame rates. It's distracting in dark scenes, and you can also notice it in dark areas of bright scenes, but it doesn't happen with all content or with a consistent frame rate.

This monitor has a flicker-free backlight, which helps reduce eye strain if you're sensitive to flicker.

The input lag is low, so you won't notice any delay and get a responsive feel.

This monitor works without issue with the PS5, but you must change HDMI 2.1 in the OSD to '4k 120Hz - Console' for 4k to work; otherwise, you're limited to 1440p.

The MSI G321CU works well with the Xbox Series X|S thanks to its HDMI 2.1 bandwidth. You need to set HDMI 2.1 to '4k 120Hz - Console' in the OSD for 4k to be enabled, but 1440p only works if you enable the HDMI override from the Xbox. This also disables VRR, meaning VRR doesn't work at all with 1440p. The console doesn't support HDR with 1080p or 1440p signals, so this isn't a limitation of the monitor.

There's a USB-C port that supports DisplayPort Alt Mode, letting you display an image from a compatible device. However, because the power delivery is limited to 15W, it's only enough to charge smaller devices like a phone, not your laptop.

This monitor works well with macOS. You can enable VRR and HDR simultaneously, and VRR works between 48Hz and 144Hz. When using a MacBook, windows return to their original position when reopening the lid or waking the laptop up from sleep.

The MSI G321CU has a few additional features, including:

• Alarm Clock: Activates a timer on the screen.
• HDMI CEC: Supports the HDMI CEC standard and will automatically turn the monitor on when you turn on compatible devices like a PS5 or Xbox Series X|S. It also changes the picture modes to their default settings of 'User.'
• Low Blue Light: Reduces blue light to help reduce eye strain.
• Refresh Rate: Displays the current refresh rate of the screen.
• Optix Scope: Zooms in on the center of your virtual crosshair, making it easier to see opponents. However, you can't use this at the same time as VRR.
• Smart Crosshair: Displays a virtual crosshair that your system won't detect, giving you a competitive advantage.