Dough ( formerly Eve ) is n’t the first brand that comes to mind when you ’re talking about thebest gaming monitors . Infamously overambitious , the community - drive brand name has founditself in hot waterover the preceding few years with unrealised customer parliamentary procedure and a lack of communicating with its community . The Spectrum Black 32 , Dough ’s second OLED display , is a memorial to the next era of the company .
The days of strife seemed to have pass for Dough , with its monitor now uncommitted on Amazon and seemingly in the hands of customers .
The Spectrum Black 32 present other problems , however . Despite showcasing prognosticate features , a net ton of customization options , and an envy - get third - gen WOLED panel , the Spectrum Black 32 still needs a lot of work before it can keep up withbest OLED monitorson the market place .
Dough Spectrum Black specs
Design
You could stack up the Dough Spectrum Black up against theEve ( Dough ’s late name ) Spectrumfrom a few years ago and barely detect a difference of opinion in pattern . It ’s a grim rectangle , but that ’s not a unfit matter . Even with no stigmatization and a minimal design , the Dough Spectrum Black feels premium , even more so than something like theMSI MPG321URX .
A bighearted grounds for that is the dark - gray coating that wraps around the back side of the monitor , which is constructed to the full of metal . Like similar OLEDs I ’ve reviewed , such as theSony InZone M10S , the panel itself is very thin . Dough stuffs all of your connections and the guts of the admonisher in a conjure section at the back of the display . It ’s completely out of view , which cause the monitor feel much thinner than it in reality is when viewed from the front .
It ’s a great - looking exhibit , but the great thing that stands out from a blueprint perspective is the stand . Dough does n’t let in a stand by nonremittal . You ’ll need to spend an extra $ 99 to get the pedestal . It ’s a nice stand , constructed fully of metal and with a cable television routing channel through the eye to keep your cable length clutter at bay . But it ’s an extra that you ’ll have to ante up for , while near every other admonisher you’re able to buy includes a stand in the box .
The lack of a standpoint by default option could be expert or bad depending on your position . For starters , Dough only use one bandstand . If you have a previous version of the Spectrum , you could swap over the stand . In accession , the stand mount uses a standard 100 mm x 100 mm VESA mount , so you’re able to throw the monitor up on an subdivision if you want . If you already have a monitor sleeve , you ’re saving money , and that ’s great .
On the other hand , if you just desire a monitor with all of the normal conveniences ( like a stand ) , you ’ll terminate up spend more than the contention . As someone who has several monitor arms I ’ve acquired over the years , I ultimately like the decision to separate the stand out . However , it ’s something you ’ll postulate to keep in mind when shopping around if you have nothing to prop the Spectrum Black up on .
Features
If you ’re marvel if the Dough Spectrum Black has a finicky lineament you might need , there ’s a well opportunity the answer is yes . It ’s packed to the lip with extras . The standout feature is the dual refresh rate , reserve you to switch over between 4 one thousand at 240Hz and 1080p at 480Hz . Like theLG UltraGear Dual Mode OLED , there ’s a consecrate button under the front mouth of the monitor that changes between the two modes ( you’re able to rebind the instruction of this button , as well ) .
That ’s the standout , but there ’s a lot more here . For starters , you get Black Frame Insertion , or BFI . I ’ve insure this feature before on monitor like theAsus ROG Swift 32 QD - organic light-emitting diode , which halve the refresh rate and inserts a black soma in between each refresh . You do n’t actually see those black frame of reference . alternatively , you get more stable frame during each refresh .
If you ’re , for example , playing game interlock at 60 frame per 2nd ( fps ) on a cabinet , you ’ll see question fuzz between two frames . BFI provides good motility limpidity by melanise out the screen between each frame so you do n’t get any strange conversion where multiple frames show up on the screen at once . It ’s a great characteristic for consoles , though you ’ll have to importantly sacrifice the luminance of the display to use it .
In summation to BFI , Dough includes clamp for popular color spaces like DCI - P3 and AdobeRGB , as well as an anti - flicker setting for the varying refresh pace ( VRR ) in the exhibit . The latter will raise the lower bound of the VRR range , forestall flutter on subject running at a humble frame rate . in conclusion , Dough supports two inputs at once , either through stock split screen or picture - in - picture mode .
My favorite feature is screen emulation , though . The Spectrum Black includes pixel - perfect grading , and it allows you to emulate a 27 - inch , 25 - column inch , or 21 - inch monitoring equipment . That ’s exceedingly useful for free-enterprise gamers who are used to play on a smaller 1080p display , especially consider the 480Hz refresh pace option .
Ports and menu
It ’s rare to observe a monitor with customization choice , but that ’s exactly what Dough offers with the Spectrum Black . you’re able to pick up the monitor with or without a USB hub , and with unlike DisplayPort standards . Getting the barebones model will save you a good deal of money compared to the competition , and all with the same image quality .
Without the USB hub , you ’re getting a standard lineup of ports — two HDMI 2.1 connections and a DisplayPort 1.4 port . You ’ll have to use the lossless Display Stream Compression ( DSC ) to achieve 4 K at 240Hz , but that ’s dependable of even much more expensive monitors packing this instrument panel , such as theAsus ROG Swift PG32UCDP . If you need to work off DSC at the monetary value of your refresh rate , you could .
This model , which is the most cheap at $ 900 for a flatness coating and $ 1,100 for a lustrous program , does n’t have any USB ports . It include one USB - atomic number 6 connection , but that ’s only for firmware update . If you desire USB ports , you ’ll need to spend $ 1,300 for the highest - end configuration .
Dough makes the highest - terminal model worth the money . You ’re getting the glossy Gorilla Glass program , along with DisplayPort 2.1 so you’re able to have the full resolution and refresh rate without DSC — newer OLED option like theHP Omen pass 32are transitioning to DisplayPort 2.1 , as well . More importantly , you get a total of four USB port ( two USB - coke and two USB - A ) , along with a USB - C stimulant that ’s open of 100W of power delivery .
I sleep together the fact that you’re able to ditch the hub and keep some money . For a long ton of user , a USB hub is orthogonal in a monitor , and no other brand name offer this level of flexibility . If you desire to go with the USB hub , you even get a KVM switch , which I love to see .
The menu side of thing is n’t as rosy-cheeked . The on - covert showing ( OSD ) has everything you require , but it ’s hard to pilot . Dough makes some attempts at clarity with short explainers for each of the options , but I mistrust a lot of users will still get lost in the OSD . There are a ton of options , and with only a four - way control stick to get around , regain all of them can be a pain .
Image quality
Great pattern , a ton of feature , and a price that — minus the sales booth — is very free-enterprise with more mainstream options ? So , what ’s the collar with the Dough Spectrum Black ? Image quality , it turns out . I ’ve test the exact same instrument panel plenty of times before , and the result here do n’t line up with what I ’d expect . This is still an OLED varan , and it still looks bully , but Dough has a lot of work to do .
Gamut carrying out , which you could see below , sic the stage for why . In SDR , the gamut is spot on . I ’ve seen some QD - OLED panels like theAlienware 32 QD - OLEDcrack above 90 % of AdobeRGB , but for the most late WOLED pick , the gamut here is right . By default , the admonisher sticks to DCI - P3 , but it has option to clamp the gamut to different color spaces , as well .
And then HDR comes into the picture . These results are all off , but that ’s because the musical note function for SDR content is all off . You get that horrific grayed - out looking that was conversant with HDR monitor a few years ago . HDR content wait sound , but trying to persist any SDR content on the display will throw the colors and dividing line way off .
Dough has address SDR tone mapping a bit with a new microcode update . More on that later in this section .
Colors are a pain point in general , as you could see from my people of colour truth result below . This panel should be hitting a color error of just over 1 , but Dough ’s display is hitting a colouring error of over 2 when measured against sRGB . You do n’t need any fancy calibration creature to see that the coloring is off , either . Regardless of the preset I opt , it seemed like something was off . The Display - P3 setting pushes too heavily into the viridity , for instance , while the sRGB modal value is too risque .
The firmware I tested is n’t the final firmware for the monitor , or so Dough differentiate me . And a firmware update here can fix the lack of proper tone mapping in HDR , as well as the color truth issues . Still , this is a fair psychoanalysis of the exhibit properly now . Dough has been selling this monitor lizard for a while , and based on the Dough subreddit , there are plenty of user with the display in - hand .
gratefully , the color exit do n’t run into brightness . Some of LG Display ’s late WOLED panels , such as the one on theAsus ROG Swift PG32WCDM , can reach above 1,200 nits , but the brightness functioning is still great here . Dough is able to earn 1,000 nits for highlights with ease , and SDR luminance , although not the best I ’ve seen , is n’t high-risk .
Ultimately , this is still an OLED display . It look outstanding , particularly when you ’re wager games or showing right HDR content . It ’s empty the sliders are off , though , and you do n’t have a ton of options to bring the image quality back in - line without a proper firmware update . I ’d be happy to advocate the Dough Spectrum Black if it ’s capable to get close to what this board is open of after a firmware update . As it stands now , however , the monitor take more work .
A note on firmware updates
I earlier quiz the Dough Spectrum Black 32 with firmware 1.0.4 , which is what the varan shipped with . Most substance abuser will never do a firmware update on their monitor , and I ’d wager a good chunk do n’t even recognise that monitors have firmware . Unless there ’s some significant variety with new microcode , I care to quiz how the monitor lizard execute the way it shows up — that ’s the experience most drug user are choke to get .
throw my results , I reached out to Dough , and it told me it had a microcode update almost quick that addressed some of the offspring I noticed . What was theorize to be a delay of a few days ended up being nigh to two weeks . The firmware update continually flush it , even after I resorted to scouring the Dough subreddit for a handful of tips that other users had come up with to get a microcode update to stick .
I eventually update to firmware 1.0.7 , which is the current firmware at the time of publication . Without the gory details , bank me when I say that it was a pain to even show off the update on the proctor — something other Dough user are already talking about in the company ’s subreddit . This update does , indeed , cover some problems . But it introduces just as many .
For instance , the SDR tone chromosome mapping with HDR turned on is much better . It ’s not consummate , but that ’s a significant point of melioration . On the other hand , the microcode introduces an issuance where the colors will importantly shift green with a full - screen app , and the only way to remove the green tint is to toggle HDR on and off .
It ’d be one thing if there was some major issue with the monitor that Dough fixed with a single microcode update . It bump . But at this point , it ’s generous to label any of these firmware update as 1.0.x . It ’s commendable that Dough want to cover community feedback with microcode update , but at this point , these update only serve to get the Spectrum Black 32 up to equivalence with other OLEDs that be the same damage .
Gaming
A wad of what you involve to experience about gaming on the Dough Spectrum Black has been covered up to this point . You ’re get flicker - costless VRR , BFI for console gaming , and the basically exigent response times of an OLED venire . Add on a 480Hz refresh charge per unit , emulation for multiple screen sizes , and pixel - perfect scaling for retro game , and you have a monitor that can palm just about any gaming scenario you’re able to cast at it .
In light of the current image quality , it ’s hard to say it ’s a outstanding play monitor lizard , however . This is an OLED display , and games look expert on it , but a variety of monitors from Asus , MSI , Alienware , and more have better color performance out of the box . It ’s not too distracting on the Dough Spectrum Black , but it largely comes down to the games you play . In some titles and with some display scope , the colors do n’t look quite right .
That does n’t intend it ’s unuseable . I was able to have an enjoyablegaming experience with Special K , which I used to shoot HDR into games with nifty control over the output . These variety of tools can counteract some of the issues baked into the current microcode , and if you do n’t beware getting your hands dirty , you ’re leave with a square gaming experience . Still , you should n’t have to resort to third - party puppet , specially when Dough is involve for just as much as the mainstream competition .
Warranty and burn-in
The Spectrum Black has a long ton of burn - in mitigation features — too many , in fact . You get pixel shifting , pixel refresh , a screen saver , static component catching , and logo detection , but Dough goes much further . You ’ll find preferences like temporal peak luminance control , temporal fair game curve , and convex great power control — and those are just a few of the option .
If you ’re a display wonk , you might realize some of these options or their link up acronym , but I ’d wager that most people wo n’t . I do n’t think Dough needs to get rid of these configurations , but it ’d be helpful to either substantially excuse them with the tooltips in the OSD or to enshroud them in an innovative fare so free-and-easy users know which burn - in prevention configurations are the most important .
That ’s a suggestion , as Dough is clearly still work on some aspects of this monitor . The warranty is a unfavorable judgment . Dough proffer a two - class warranty that covers tan - in , matching LG , but falling behind most other monitor brands . The going timeframe for an OLED guarantee is three years . I do n’t think you ’ll develop burning - in within three year in most cases , much less two years , but Dough is still behind the competition here .
pelf does n’t have a great reputation for customer service , either . There’sa subreddit dedicatedspecifically to horror narrative with the steel , particularly preorders that never send . Theofficial Dough subredditshows that client are fix monitors , but there are still a ton of threads asking about where orders are .
You should n’t have issue ordering a monitor — they ’re available and ship from Amazon now , which is the path I ’d suggest going with if you ’re interested in picking one up — but the warranty does n’t inspire a lot of confidence . render Dough ’s history , I hop for a clearer commitment to customer service with its OLED liberation .
It needs more time
I need to like the Dough Spectrum Black . I love the design , and I appreciate Dough ’s approach to customization options . The wealth of features even manages to help the Spectrum Black stand up out from the heaps of other OLED monitors that have flooded the market place . Still , it feels like a monitor that ’s in beta testing .
I can appreciate the hard workplace that drop dead into optimizing a product after it ’s available , as well as the communicating Dough has with its community online after a troubled few years . But when the Spectrum Black monetary value just as much — and sometimes even more — than the competition , it ’s hard to justify . There ’s not enough meat on the bone here , and in some areas , such as image lineament , you ’re drop the same price for a bad show .
