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High refresh-rate 4K monitors have really started to take off over the last 18 months – one could even say they have gained… Momentum. Terrible puns aside, the Philips Momentum 32M1N5800A is another capable contender to join the 4K/144Hz space, making use of an IPS panel in the 32in form-factor.
The key takeaway from our testing today is the speed of this panel. Rather impressively, it offers faster response times than a number of its key rivals, including the Corsair 32UHD144, ASUS PG32UQ and the MSI MPG321UR-QD, with a sub-5ms grey-to-grey average. At 144Hz, it definitely gives a very fluid feel to shooters and racing games, though you will need some serious GPU horsepower to drive frames that high, or otherwise dial image quality back a bit.
Overall image quality is strong, too. Out of the box colour accuracy is very impressive, the gamma settings track near-perfectly, and a peak contrast ratio of 1070:1 is not bad at all for an IPS panel. It's also good to see a total of four video inputs, including two HDMI 2.1 ports, that can run the panel at its native 4K/144Hz refresh rate (though the HDMI 2.1 ports are limited to 120Hz when used with a PS5 or Xbox Series console.)
As for drawbacks, the first thing to mention is a certain lack of ‘nice to have' features that would have added value. There's no USB-C for instance, and no KVM feature either, while the lack of a single overdrive mode is annoying. While we're on the subject, I would have loved to see user-configurable overdrive settings too.
The biggest miss, however, would be the near lack of any HDR support. Technically it is DisplayHDR 400 certified, but that means next to nothing these days and doesn't require any form of local dimming, not even edge-lit dimming, so it certainly doesn't pass as HDR in my book.
The flipside to that is most 32in 4K displays around this price point only offer DisplayHDR 600 certification anyway, which isn't much better in my opinion, so you're not really losing much in the HDR department by sticking with the 32M1N5800A over a competitor. For a proper HDR experience you'd want something with full-array local dimming (FALD), but in the 32″ class those are significantly more expensive.
Ultimately, at the £759.99 asking price, the value on offer from the Philips Momentum 32M1N5800A is very strong, so it's certainly worth a close look for those in the market for a 32in 4K/144Hz gaming monitor. It'd pair very nicely with a high-end PC or current-gen console and is faster than a number of key competitors, while also undercutting them on price by £50-100.
You can buy the 32M1N5800A for £759.95 from Overclockers UK HERE.
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Pros
- Fastest response times of any 4K/144Hz monitor we've tested.
- Solid contrast for an IPS panel.
- Impressive out of the box colour accuracy.
- Sleek overall design.
- Metal stands offers the full set of ergonomic adjustments.
- Two DisplayPort 1.4 and two HDMI 2.1.
- Price is competitive against the likes of Corsair, ASUS and MSI.
Cons
- No real HDR – only DisplayHDR 400 certification.
- Lacks a single overdrive mode.
- Missing a few quality of life features, including USB-C and KVM.
KitGuru says: The Philips Momentum 32M1N5800A ticks a lot of boxes for 4K/144Hz gaming and offers the best response times that we have seen so far in this class. We have a few small complaints, but for £760 this is a very capable screen.
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