- Overall
The HP V320 offers a large IPS screen for a host of uses such as gaming and movie watching at a budget-friendly price point. While not as fully-featured as its pricey counterparts, this monitor is a solid option if you need an all-in-one display for both entertainment and work. The HP V320’s only trade-off is its 1080p resolution but its decent responsiveness and reasonable quality at a low price are too difficult not to ignore.
HP V320 Specifications
- Screen Size: 32 Inches
- Resolution: 1920 x 1080 FHD
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Panel Technology: In-Plane Switching (IPS)
- Refresh Rate: 60Hz
- Response Time:5ms
- Contrast Ratio: 1200:1
- Brightness: 250 cd/m²
- Built-in Speakers: No
- Stand: Height – No
- Stand: Tilt – Yes
- Stand: Swivel – No
- Stand: Pivot – No
- VESA Compatibility: Yes 100 x 100 (Via Adapter)
- Connectivity: DVI-DL x 1, D-Sub x 1
- Dimensions With Stand(WxHxD): 27.5″ x 17.58″ x 7.59″
- Weight: 8.27lbs
Design and Features
The HP V320 comes in a stark white chassis with a matte finish, giving it that elegant look suitable even for high-end offices or posh homes. The cabinet is reasonably thin despite its size, and the whole package weighs in at 8.27lbs when assembled. These factors make the V320 a viable option for wall or armature mounting which is ideal if you want to watch movies or do some couch gaming.
There are thicker than we would like bezels on the HP V320, but one look will and you would agree that these strips do not pose as distractions. At least each strip eats up all the black panel borders which are usually exposed on frameless monitors. This monitor looks like a TV, but its white and silver aesthetics are a commodity in a market dominated by black and red motifs.
The biggest disadvantage with budget models like the HP V320 is the limited creature comforts we usually forget about, but end up needing in the long run. This monitor comes with a wide-stance stand that offers excellent stability despite the display’s size, but it can only provide tilt adjustments. Users can, however, remove this part and replace it with the included VESA adapter for mounting purposes.
The I/O layout on the HP V320 is sufficient for everyday use but is too basic for uses we had in mind. You only get Dual-Link DVI and D-Sub for video inputs which is fine for most computers, but the lack of HDMI means you can’t use this monitor with a gaming console like the Xbox One or PS4. You can get away with using a DVI-DL to HDMI adapter, but we don’t recommend doing so since it can induce issues.
Display and Performance
The HP V320 sports a 32-inch IPS panel with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, 60Hz refresh rate, and 5ms response time which are suitable for decent everyday use. HP also specified an extended contrast ratio of 1200:1 and 8-bit color depth which can enhance the image and color quality of the monitor. The screen comes with a 250cd/m2 WLED backlight which can only provide a limited adjustment range but is sufficient for most users.
Right off the bat, the biggest complaint about the HP V320 is its low pixel density which can make the display look grainy up close. However, this flaw wasn’t that noticeable during our test, especially when watching movies. It also helped that the screen came with a glossy coating which doesn’t affect color fidelity but is susceptible to glare.
Despite these limitations, the HP V320 does quite well when tested with a colorimeter. sRGB coverage stayed at 92%, but color accuracy post-calibration is excellent. By default, color Delta E was at a dismal 4.1 due to the cool hue, but it can be improved to .80 which warms up the image and corrects gamma.
Another excellent capability we found on the HP V320 is its high contrast ratio with an average of 1500:1 which exceeds the brand’s claim. This score almost brings the V320 into VA territory while making blacks satisfyingly thick and visibility superb. This advantage is most noticeable when watching 1080p movies and playing gritty games like Vermintide 2.
Since this model isn’t equipped with a high refresh rate, users can expect a bit of ghosting in fast-paced scenes. Fortunately, the HP V320 comes with an excellent overdrive implementation that lessens these flaws without inducing overshoot. We recommend Response Time Level 3 as the best and most balanced out of the four settings since the strongest started to add reverse trailing during our game test.
Finally, despite the mixed-use or office-oriented nature of the HP V320, it does come with excellent viability for gaming. This model doesn’t come with FreeSync, but its input lag of 9ms makes it a very responsive display for casual gamers. If HP added an HDMI slot to its connectivity, we would recommend this monitor as an excellent alternative for TVs in console gaming.
Thoughts on the HP V320
The HP V320 is a reasonable option if you are looking for a large monitor that won’t break your bank. This product is suitable mostly for entertainment purposes such as gaming and movie enjoyment, but it doesn’t mean you can’t use it for the office. The IPS panel’s performance in contrast and post calibration accuracy is the best highlight you can expect from this value model.
However, our biggest complaint about the HP V320 isn’t its pixel density or limited ergonomics. We can understand the cut corners to make a low price point, but omitting HDMI severely limits the monitor’s applications as an excellent all-rounder. We hope at some point, HP retains the fantastic aspects of this monitor and redesigns it into a better-equipped variant.
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