The Sceptre C325W-1920R is a budget 1080p VA 32-inch LCD monitor with mediocre picture quality and decent motion handling. It has a high native contrast ratio and can get decently bright to overcome glare in an average lit room. It has good reflection handling and very good gray uniformity. Unfortunately, the input lag and the pixel response time are not good for serious gaming. Finally, the bad ergonomics might have you looking for a good VESA mount to help you place it comfortably.
We buy and test more than 30 monitors each year, with units that we buy completely on our own, without any cherry-picked units or samples. We put a lot into each unbiased, straight-to-the-point review, and there's a whole process from purchasing to publishing, involving multiple teams and people. We do more than just use the monitor for a week; we use specialized and custom tools to measure various aspects with objective data-based results. We also consider multiple factors before making any recommendations, including the monitor's cost, its performance against the competition, and whether or not it's easy to find.
Our Verdict
The Sceptre C325W-1920R is a mediocre monitor for most usages. The size is great but the resolution is not enough to make it stand out. The picture quality is below average but has a good contrast ratio for darker rooms. The motion blur and input lag are decent but they will not please any competitive gamer.
- High native contrast ratio.
- Large size.
- Poor vertical viewing angles.
- Disappointing motion blur.
- Bad ergonomics.
The Sceptre C325W is only acceptable for office use. It has a large size screen but its resolution is only 1080p, and thus the usable area is limited. The picture quality is below average, but it does remain quite accurate when viewed at small angles so you can share the screen with your coworkers. Unfortunately, the stand's mobility is very restrictive, and it might be hard to position according to your preferences.
The Sceptre C325W is a mediocre monitor for playing video games. It only supports 60Hz and has no extra features to improve the gaming experience. Most serious gamers will be disappointed due to the input lag performance and the pixel response time, which leaves a longer than usual blur trail. Although the monitor has a nice curve, the subpar picture quality and low pixel density do not deliver an immersive gaming experience.
the Sceptre C325W is a passable monitor for multimedia use. Although it has a large screen size, its FHD resolution does not allow you to put much detail on the screen and thus some high-res content will not show as intended. The ergonomics are bad and you will have a hard time positioning it to your likings.
The Sceptre C325W is an unremarkable monitor for media creation. It has a large screen size but only an FHD resolution that limits the amount of detail you can display. The input lag is ok for most users but if you are creating media you might not find it satisfactory.
The Sceptre C325W doesn't support HDR.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Sceptre C325W, however, there are a series of Sceptre monitors with differing sizes, resolutions and other features - some of these are listed below.
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their monitor doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review. Note that some tests such as the gray uniformity may vary between individual units.
| Model | Size | Refresh Rate | FreeSync | Resolution | Curved |
| E248W-19203A | 24" | 75Hz | Yes | 1080p | no |
| E275W-1920 | 27" | 60Hz | No | 1080p | no |
| C275B-144R | 27" | 144Hz | Yes | 1080p | yes |
| C328B-144KN | 32" | 144Hz | Yes | 1080p | yes |
| C325W-1920R | 32" | 60Hz | No | 1080p | yes |
Popular Monitor Comparisons
The Sceptre C325W is a very basic monitor with mediocre performance. You should be able to find better monitors out there. See our recommendations for the best monitors under $200, the best 1080p monitors, and the best gaming monitors under $200.
The HP V320 is much better than the Sceptre C325W. The HP V320 has a lower input lag and a faster pixel response time that only leaves a small blur trail in fast action scenes which is great if you play games. It also has wider viewing angles because of its IPS panel, so you can show your work to your colleagues easier. On the other hand, the Sceptre C325W has better reflection handling and is suitable for a room with many light sources.
The Dell U2717D is much better than the Sceptre C325W. The Dell U2717D has much better ergonomics so you can position it to your liking much easier. Also due to its IPS panel, it has wider viewing angles to allow sharing your work with a colleague. The Dell U2717D also has a faster pixel response time that displays less blur trail, and a much better resolution that allows it to show more detail on the screen. The Sceptre C325W has a higher native contrast ratio which makes blacks look deep in a dim environment.
The LG 27UD58-B is significantly better than the Sceptre C325W. The LG 27UD58-B has better viewing angles due to its IPS panel. It also has a much lower input lag and a faster pixel response time and supports the FreeSync VRR implementation which is excellent if you play games. The LG 27UD58-B has a much better resolution that allows it to display more detail on the screen. The Sceptre C325W, on the other hand, has a higher native contrast ratio that delivers deep blacks, and a better reflection handling so it can be placed in a room with many small light sources.
The Dell D3218HN is significantly better than the Sceptre C325W. The Dell D3218HN has wider viewing angles due to its IPS panel and a better input lag which is great if you play video games. The Dell D3218HN also has a faster pixel response time and will leave a shorter blur trail. The Sceptre C325W, on the other hand, has better reflection handling, which is great if you have a room with many small windows.
Test Results
The design of the Sceptre C325W is decent. The entire casing feels sturdy and it has a clean, professional look. The stand has a unique design and supports the monitor well, while the curved profile enhances the horizontal viewing angles. The monitor, however, has very bad ergonomics. Titling is the only allowable adjustment, if you wish to raise the monitor, you will have to find something to place it on. The entire monitor-stand construction is relatively thin and you can push it pretty close to the wall.
The stand of the Sceptre C325W is unique in design. It supports the monitor well, although the monitor will wobble a little if knocked.
Update 07/02/2021: We previously had incorrectly listed the Height Adjustment as 'N/A' as opposed to '0'. The review has been updated to reflect this change, as the Ergonomics score has dropped slightly.
The Sceptre C325W-1920R has bad ergonomics. The only adjustment this design allows is tilting. VESA mounting will save you a lot of trouble while trying to position it comfortably.
The rear of the monitor is quite plain. All the inputs are pointed outwards and there is no cable management planning.
The borders of the monitor are plastic and have an average thickness. When placed side-by-side in a multi-monitor setup, there will be a small gap between screens.
The monitor looks thin when you look at it from the side. Even when attached to the stand, you will still be able to place it close to the wall.
The Sceptre C325W is mostly made out of plastic. The entire build quality gives off a solid feel. Some small details could have been avoided, like a small gap between the lower front bezel and the screen, but this should not cause any issues.
The Sceptre C325W-1920R has a VA panel and thus a great contrast ratio. Blacks look deep in a dark room, just like the MSI Optix G27C, and this enhances the picture quality.
The Sceptre C325W-1920R does not have a local dimming feature. The video is for reference only.
The Sceptre C325W-1920R can get decently bright. However, in very bright rooms, the monitor might look a little dim just like the MSI Optix G27C. For most rooms with a regular ambient light, it should be fine.
HDR is not supported.
The horizontal viewing angles of the Sceptre C325W are mediocre. This a surprising result and slightly inconsistent with other VA panels. This monitor's blacks remain at a low level throughout our entire range of horizontal viewing angle measurements, and this is great. The brightness shift and color shift, however, are the worst we have measured in VA panel monitors thus far. The overall score is boosted by the score in the blacks.
The vertical viewing angles of the monitor are poor, worse than the MSI Optix G27C which had the worst performance up until now. Unfortunately, the angles are so bad that even the slightest movement from the vertical axis and the picture quality degrades drastically. This will create some uniformity issues when you sit close to the monitor.
The gray uniformity of this monitor is very good, especially in the darker gray levels. The only uniformity issues present are the ones caused by the poor vertical viewing angles (the corners are slightly darker). Most people will not notice any dirty screen effect when browsing the web.
The Sceptre C325W-1920R monitor has bad black uniformity. Clouding is clearly visible all over the screen and this is not good, especially in dark scenes, in a dark room.
The out-of-the-box color accuracy is decent. The most accurate picture mode was 'Text', but because we cannot change the backlight we are scoring with the best picture mode that allows us to do this, which was 'User'.
The white balance dE is above our reference point of 3 which is noticeable for the enthusiasts out there, whereas the color dE is below 3 making it hard for most to spot color inaccuracies. The color temperature is cold, the gamma is below our s.RGB target and the curve is not really tracking our target curve.
Excellent color accuracy of the monitor after calibration, which was done on the 'User' picture mode. The white balance dE and color dE were diminished to a point where it is almost impossible to notice any inaccuracies. Gamma is now tracking more closely our target s.RGB curve. Finally, we managed to correct the temperature closer to our target of 6500 K, only slightly warmer.
You can download our ICC profile calibration here. This is provided for reference only and should not be used, as the calibration values vary per individual unit even for the same model due to manufacturing tolerances.
s.RGB Picture Mode: User (calibrated)
Adobe RGB Picture Mode: User
The color gamut of this monitor is excellent. It actually covers the entire s.RGB space and for normal usage the colors are great. However, if you are a professional in the publishing industry the coverage of the wider Adobe RGB color space is not enough.
s.RGB Picture Mode: User
Adobe RGB Picture Mode: User
Excellent color volume. The monitor can display its perfect s.RGB gamut at a large range of brightnesses. Its Adobe RGB volume suffers due to its limited gamut.
There is no image retention after displaying our 10-minute high contrast scene, which is excellent.
The gradient for this monitor is very good. You can notice slight banding in the darker shades of green and gray.
The Sceptre C325W's screen uniformity isn't affected by large areas of uniform color, and this is great.
The monitor diffuses direct reflections across the screen but unfortunately, it can not significantly reduce their intensity. This can sometimes be bothersome if there is only one light source but the entire screen reflects that light.
The Sceptre C325W-1920R has a bad pixel response time. As a result, a long blur trail follows the fast-moving objects on the screen. This is far worse than all the other monitors we have tested so far. Furthermore, there is no overdrive setting that could help improve the results.
This monitor does not use PWM Dimming to lower the backlight and this is good as flicker can bother some people. At the same time, there is no option to insert flicker to make the image crisper.
This monitor has the very basic refresh rate of 60Hz. There are no advanced features like overclocking or VRR.
The input lag of this monitor is okay, but not good enough for hardcore gamers. For most people though this is ok.
This large screen monitor supports only FHD resolution. This is a disappointment as you can not display much detail or multitask easily.
