AOC U32P2CA review: A big, practical 4K office monitor

The AOC U32P2CA is the third in a series of near-identical monitors I’ve tested in recent months. Sibling to the 1440p AOC Q27P2CA and 4K AOC U27P2CA, the U32P2CA is the black sheep of the family, with a larger panel, different panel tech under the hood and a higher price to boot. It’s also a replacement for the U32P2, which is virtually indistinguishable from this monitor but for the lack of a USB-C port.

That’s a lot of letters and numbers, but the bottom line is simple: the AOC U32P2CA is a big-screen 4K monitor with plenty of ports and a versatile stand. If you need a lot more room for activities on your desktop, the U32P2CA is a good pick – although it stops a bit short of a recommendation.

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AOC U32P2CA review: What do you get for the money?

At the time of writing, the AOC U32P2CA costs £425. Although monitor prices are subject to a bit of variation at the minute, it’s currently the same price as its predecessor, the U32P2. For the money, you’re getting a 32in VA panel with a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160, a refresh rate of 75Hz, a quoted response time of 4ms G2G and generic adaptive sync support including Nvidia G-Sync compatibility.

On the rear (and lining one side) you’ll find a total of four USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports and a USB-B 3.2 Gen 1 port to connect them to your PC/laptop. You’ll also find two HDMI 2.0 ports, one DisplayPort 1.2 port, a 3.5mm jack and a USB-C port that can deliver 65W of power and carry a video signal simultaneously.

The sizeable panel is mounted on an equally sizeable stand that provides 150mm of height adjustment, 180 degrees of left/right swivel, 90 degrees of pivot from landscape to portrait and 22 degrees of backwards tilt. The box contains HDMI, DP and USB-C cables alongside the power cable and documentation.

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AOC U32P2CA review: What do we like about it?

Scaled up from 27in to 32in, the matte-black design of the U32P2CA borders on the industrial, but with slim bezels and a similarly slim profile it’s definitely a smart-looking monitor. The stand has the same brushed-metal effect as that of its siblings and adjusts smoothly, which is surprisingly uncommon. I’m pleased with AOC’s commitment to maximum adjustability, too – 150mm of height adjustment is absurdly good.

In our review of the U32P2, we noted the absence of a USB-C port, so it’s great to see one adorning the rear of this monitor. In fact, the entire port selection is more than satisfactory. Like its siblings, the U32P2CA has two USB-A ports mounted on one side of the panel for easy access, which I’m really rather fond of.

Before I dive into panel performance, it’s worth touching on the benefits of the size and resolution combo. It’s something I criticised in my review of the U27P2CA, this monitor’s 27in 4K sibling; with so many pixels in play, you ideally want a larger screen size so that you’re not forced to either squint or increase the scaling (and thereby defeat the objective of 4K). The U32P2CA is a pretty big monitor, and with a pixel density of 138ppi and all that room on the screen you’ll be able to stack windows side by side without sacrificing readability.

As far as panel performance goes, the U32P2CA is a real mixed bag, but there are a few positives to note. Thanks to the VA panel technology, I measured a contrast of 2,860:1 in the monitor’s default configuration, which is a great result. Paired with a peak luminance of 375cd/m² with Eco mode set to “Sport” (the brightest setting), that means this monitor is capable of producing a bright, punchy image. It also produces a perfect 6,500K colour temperature out of the box, which means you won’t notice any red/blue tint.

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AOC U32P2CA review: What could be better?

Sadly, from here on in it’s bad news for the U32P2CA’s panel. While gamut coverage out of the box is decent (118% sRGB, 84% DCI-P3), colour accuracy is all over the place. I didn’t manage to find a single preset that produced an average Delta E colour variance score of under 3, which means colours will look visibly wonky. Locking the monitor into sRGB mode, for example, produced a high average Delta E of 3.28.

This is particularly disappointing given the relatively strong performance of the older U32P2, which in its sRGB mode produced an average Delta E of 1.09 with similar brightness and contrast to boot.

I should also note here that the U32P2CA is huge. This is a good thing fundamentally, but it does come with a few drawbacks. At 12.8kg, it’s twice the weight of its 27in siblings, which means lugging it around is hard work. And while the versatility of the stand is undoubtedly a positive, you’ll need a lot of space on your desk to accommodate the monitor’s wingspan as it swivels, pivots or rotates.

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AOC U32P2CA review: Should you buy it?

This monitor misses out on a recommendation, and it’s because I don’t feel it builds upon its predecessor sufficiently. The U32P2CA is almost identical to the U32P2 but trades panel performance for a USB-C port. Given that the two monitors are often available for similar prices, you may still want to opt for the older monitor, especially if you value colour accuracy over connectivity.

Nevertheless, the U32P2CA is a good workhorse monitor for those who need the space afforded by its bright, bold 32in 4K panel. It’s hardly the last word in colour accuracy, but unless you’re a professional photo/video editor, that shouldn’t be too offputting – there’s plenty else here to like.

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