MSI Summit MS321UP Monitor Review

How Much Does it Cost?

Stock of the MSI Summit MS321UP is a little all over the place on this monitor, it seems to come and go from Amazon at the moment. However, At the time of writing the MSI Summit MS321UP was on Amazon for around £850. However, a little Google-Fu found it for £790 – £810 at some smaller retailers, but that’s not including their shipping charges.

The MSI Summit MS321UP is priced competitively. It’s about £200 cheaper than a monitor would normally be with this level of brightness and colour reproduction. However, while spending £1000-1200 may not get you better colours, MSI has trimmed things like a portrait stand, higher refresh rate, G-Sync, and built-in Webcams that we often see on these premium models. However, if that saves £200-400 and gets you the panel technologies you desire, it’s a great deal for sure.

Overview

I really like the MSI Summit MS321UP, sure, it’s not really the monitor that suits all of my needs, but I do really like it. For my work, it’s absolutely perfect. Offering a high resolution and large 32″ panel that makes content creation a breeze. When it comes to editing videos, colour grading footage, or just doing a bit of Photoshop work, it’s hitting all the right marks. If you’re getting this monitor for the office and you’re a content creator, it’s hard to beat the value that’s on offer here for such a colour-accurate display.

If you’re a gamer, it’s not without its merits either. Having a panel that can deliver a 4K resolution and 60Hz is sitting on the limits of what mid-to-high-end GPUs are capable of with high-quality settings. Something like the RTX 2080, or even the RTX 3080 can play games with those goals in mind. Sure, a 4K 144Hz panel may appeal to some, but you’ll need a much more potent gaming PC to hit that. Either way, this monitor looks great gaming at 4K60. Plus, as I said before, the colours really pop, and since games tend to use more vibrant colours than most media we consume, it really shows on the Summit.

There are some great bonus features on this monitor, and while it’s a little more affordable than other brands’ premium monitors, it does give you some added value too. The built-in card reader really gets a thumbs up from me, as I have an external one that I rarely use these days, but when I need it, I can never bloody find it, so having one built-in is awesome.

The built-in noise-cancelling technology is great too. Sure, we see this on ASUS, Gigabyte and a few others these days too, but it’s still welcome. Plus, having a separate microphone and headphone passthrough jacks is a rare feature, and welcome addition to the Summit.

I give the biggest praise for the UI though, as so many monitors grey out features when you enable a profile, However, MSI allows full customisation of settings in almost any mode, and that’s a frustratingly rare thing on monitors. However, in HDR mode, the monitor locks down, but I must admit, the settings it locks into are actually pretty decent, so can’t complain about that too much.

Should I Buy One?

While I admit that 60Hz is a limiting factor for me these days, as I tend to game at higher refresh rates, but the MSI Summit MS321UP isn’t being sold as a gaming monitor, so it’s not something I can hold against it, just advise you on. That being said, gaming at 4K and 60Hz is hardly a poor man’s game, and with such a bright, vibrant and colourful panel, whatever you do play is really going to pop. However, if you spend more time in Unreal Editor, CAD software, Premiere, Photoshop, etc, having a high-resolution 32″ panel with accurate colours is a big win. Plus, the MSI Summit MS321UP monitor looks stunning, with its stylish black and gold design, anti-glare coating, bright backlight, and magnetic hood, it’s a wonderful thing to have on your desk.