Dough Spectrum Black 32

[Inle]

The Dough Spectrum Black 32 is a community-(co)developed 32-inch 4K OLED gaming monitor, offering lightning-fast response times, very low input lag, and Dual-Mode functionality, which transforms it from 4K@240 Hz to Full HD@480 Hz in an attempt to give you a competitive edge in multiplayer shooters.

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[Endymio]

For anyone who hasn't viewed one in person, the MLA-enhanced OLED monitors and TVs are a substantial step up from the last-gen OLED panels.

 

[LabRat 891]

No DP2.1? Unless I'm missing something, this has absolutely ZERO sell over a 1st party LG (at the same price).

https://www.lg.com/us/monitors/lg-32gs95ue-b-gaming-monitor (black)
https://www.lg.com/us/monitors/lg-32gs95uv-w-gaming-monitor (white)


As far as I can tell, the LGs are literally the same monitor(panel) as this Dough brand.

R-tings review of the LG

LG 32GS95UE-B Review

The LG 32GS95UE-B is a flat 32-inch, 4k gaming monitor with a 240Hz refresh rate. As a part of LG's UltraGear gaming lineup, it sits alongside other OLED monitor...

www.rtings.com

 

[Toss]

what's the point of OLED, my IPS has blacks black enouhg. I don't get the point of even blacker blacks.
Also burn in.
Also subpixels with wrong layout so texts are fringing

 

[LabRat 891]

what's the point of OLED, my IPS has blacks black enouhg. I don't get the point of even blacker blacks.

It's so much more than that... The $1k I spent on my lg-32gs95uv-w was the only thing I spent on this upgrade, that I actually felt I got my money's worth out of.

Games, and even simple old media, look spectacular on self-emissive pixels. -It's like looking into a window, not at a computer screen.
NtM, the responsiveness and 'smoothness' are most of the way to what I'd missed most about CRT displays.

Also burn in.

This terrifies me. But, I view it kinda like ultra performance brake pads.
It *will* wear out (consumable), but the performance in the interim is of value. -and, that limited lifespan can be extended-out with attentiveness and care.

Also subpixels with wrong layout so texts are fringing

Text fringing sucks. I swear ClearType and Windows' scaling has gotten worse, since 7... Even my old 144hz 1080P VA panel had text and scaling issues in 10 and 11.
Though, with some fiddling, it's largely correctable.

 

[mechtech]

I didn't know DP1.4 would drive 240Hz @ 4k?

Did you capture power use at 120 nits and is this panel without glass or only glass variants??

 

[Toss]

It's so much more than that... The $1k I spent on my lg-32gs95uv-w was the only thing I spent on this upgrade, that I actually felt I got my money's worth out of.

Games, and even simple old media, look spectacular on self-emissive pixels. -It's like looking into a window, not at a computer screen.
NtM, the responsiveness and 'smoothness' are most of the way to what I'd missed most about CRT displays.

This terrifies me. But, I view it kinda like ultra performance brake pads.
It *will* wear out (consumable), but the performance in the interim is of value. -and, that limited lifespan can be extended-out with attentiveness and care.

Text fringing sucks. I swear ClearType and Windows' scaling has gotten worse, since 7... Even my old 144hz 1080P VA panel had text and scaling issues in 10 and 11.
Though, with some fiddling, it's largely correctable.

monitor here works 16 hr/day, so OLED for me will last 2-3 year tops.

I didn't know DP1.4 would drive 240Hz @ 4k?

Did you capture power use at 120 nits and is this panel covered with glass?

dp 1.4 is cheap slow garbage monitor manufactures try to run away with. You should use HDMI with it for sure

 

[LabRat 891]

I didn't know DP1.4 would drive 240Hz @ 4k?

Display Stream Compression (DSC)
As much as I don't like HDMI('s implementations/limitations), I run my LG 32 OLED on HDMI.

Did you capture power use at 120 nits and is this panel without glass or only glass variants??

99+% chance it's the same display as the 32gs95ue-b. Easier to find answers on those kinds of questions, on that monitor.
AFAIK, most OLEDs use glass as part of the base substrate that everything else is built upon.

monitor here works 16 hr/day, so OLED for me will last 2-3 year tops.

Fair point. -Probably why you don't see OLEDs w/ a warranty beyond 2-3years

Regarding 'work':
While I would say OLED is 'easier on the eyes' than LCD, it's 100% not appropriate for high-brightness (mostly) static images. (Even given reduced brightness, and other mitigations)
Unfortunately, it's also likely the best display type for 'graphics work'.
I have 0 doubts that Pros and Hobbyists alike, have bought OLEDs for their needs, and accepted the display's early death. -It's that big of an improvement over ever LCD I've ever laid my eyes on.

dp 1.4 is cheap slow garbage monitor manufactures try to run away with. You should use HDMI with it for sure

100% agree. At the begining of the yr when I bought my LG, I literally could not find a DP2.1-supporting OLED.

The *one* DP2.1 model I found
A. Used a Samsung panel, no dual-mode (FWIW), pixel layout issues, etc.
B. Was Gigabyte. (I have a sordid history with them, reaching back to the nVidia GeForce 7000series. Last 'try' I gave them, came w/ loose and missing screws.)
C. Tested to be slightly higher input latency than the LG

HDMI does still suck, though.
My 7900 XTX decrees the DP ports as 'first' and the HDMI port(s) as 'second', at the hardware/firmware level.
If I plug my old 144hz 1080p LCD in over DP, the LG 32" OLED over HDMI *always* is display #2. -Meaning, I only get POST, etc. on the old DP-connected screen, not the OLED

 

[bug]

Why buy from an unknown brand if it's not cheaper than mainstream alternatives?

I mean, if I need to get one of these serviced, who do I turn to?

For bonus points:

 

[ZoneDymo]

what's the point of OLED, my IPS has blacks black enouhg. I don't get the point of even blacker blacks.
Also burn in.
Also subpixels with wrong layout so texts are fringing

Its not for everyone, I also dislike how some people hype up some stuff only to then check it out for myself and barely noticing a difference.
Ive had that with resolution, Ive had that with refresh rate.

I have a VA monitor and it looks fine, blacks are only not great when the whole screen is black, then I can see some blodgy blue spots but for the rest, in use its perfectly fine.
I alos have my phone of course which does have an Oled screen which I do watch content on every day but is that a miles better experience? the true blacks? the complete absence of smeary motion blur artifacts because Oled's are instant? nope, non of it, I cannot say I have seen anything that looks transformatively better on my phone then on my monitor.

Course that wont stop me from getting a Qdel screen eventually but for now, eh.

 

[Axaion]

Wow, i did not expect TPU to do such little research into a brand before taking a review unit\money from them.
This company is ran by scammers, in case anyone is wondering, check /r/evev to look for information on a subreddit not ran by the brand, where people have been scammed for years by them.


Just.. wow.

 

[AnarchoPrimitiv]

Would have been MUCH MORE interested in a review of the Glossy coating

 

[bug]

Its not for everyone, I also dislike how some people hype up some stuff only to then check it out for myself and barely noticing a difference.
Ive had that with resolution, Ive had that with refresh rate.

I have a VA monitor and it looks fine, blacks are only not great when the whole screen is black, then I can see some blodgy blue spots but for the rest, in use its perfectly fine.
I alos have my phone of course which does have an Oled screen which I do watch content on every day but is that a miles better experience? the true blacks? the complete absence of smeary motion blur artifacts because Oled's are instant? nope, non of it, I cannot say I have seen anything that looks transformatively better on my phone then on my monitor.

Course that wont stop me from getting a Qdel screen eventually but for now, eh.

No offense, but you don't know what you're talking about. Walk into a showroom, you can spot OLED 10m away, that's how much of a difference OLED makes. And it's not even about blacks, it's about proper dimming and being able to display HDR content properly.
A phone screen is not a good reference, those have auto-everything and more often than not they kill the purpose of OLED (though even then, a poor OLED screen will beat the crap out of a poor IPS).
Also, QLED is not OLED (https://www.whathifi.com/advice/oled-vs-qled-which-best-tv-technology).

 

[dyonoctis]

Its not for everyone, I also dislike how some people hype up some stuff only to then check it out for myself and barely noticing a difference.
Ive had that with resolution, Ive had that with refresh rate.

I have a VA monitor and it looks fine, blacks are only not great when the whole screen is black, then I can see some blodgy blue spots but for the rest, in use its perfectly fine.
I alos have my phone of course which does have an Oled screen which I do watch content on every day but is that a miles better experience? the true blacks? the complete absence of smeary motion blur artifacts because Oled's are instant? nope, non of it, I cannot say I have seen anything that looks transformatively better on my phone then on my monitor.

Course that wont stop me from getting a Qdel screen eventually but for now, eh.

what's the point of OLED, my IPS has blacks black enouhg. I don't get the point of even blacker blacks.
Also burn in.
Also subpixels with wrong layout so texts are fringing

OLED is the best for HDR PC media consumption, as screen manufacturers mostly ignore mini LEDs. Movies and series look fine on an edge-lit panel, but HDR content on an OLED really makes things more lifelike: the picture looks less flat since different parts of the picture can have different levels of luminosity. HDR photo editing is also slowly becoming a thing (real HDR, not that ugly "HDR" that was trendy a few decades ago)
Edit and Export in HDR - Lightroom Classic

For work though, I haven't had the occasion of using an OLED screen in that context so I can't say But the fringing isn't an issue at high DPI/ and a few classic RGB panels are coming as well.

 

[csendesmark]

dp 1.4 is cheap slow garbage monitor manufactures try to run away with. You should use HDMI with it for sure

Only DP1.4, What a shame!

I didn't know DP1.4 would drive 240Hz @ 4k?

According to wikipedia only at QHD and only at 8-bit/channel:

 

[WholesomeGuy69]

"Dough Spectrum" is the name of my travelling self-portrait gallery. I'm coming to a food court/county fair near you this summer, dates to drop later

 

[Cheeseball]

They should've sent you the Gorilla Glass version. That will really let the colors shine on what an OLED MLA panel can do (e.g. LG C4-like).

But I do agree with the negatives. The OSD is slow as hell and they should've worked on implementing DisplayPort 2.1 at this point. The USB-C port is loose even on this Gorilla Glass version that I'm testing.

That and the stand needs to be purchased separately for $100 USD.

But hey, it does have a better price than the original MSRP of the LG 32GS95UE, although one of the selling points of the LG is the good built-in speakers and proper stand.

 

[toooooot]

what's the point of OLED, my IPS has blacks black enough. I don't get the point of even blacker blacks.
Also burn in.
Also subpixels with wrong layout so texts are fringing

I have had this realization after getting a decent 4k IPS monitor. I did not realize IPS panels can produce such black colors. When I set black wallpapers, it looks flawless.
And it is not to say that I would refuse an OLED eventually. I do not like the idea that it can "expire" in 2-3 years. And I know very well what the warranty length means. It means manufacturer is confident how long the thing will work, then it is just luck.
I own m28U, a very popular model in the past. It had some firmware issues in the past which was my main issue, but the picture quality was always amazing.

 

[Onasi]

They should've sent you the Gorilla Glass version. That will really let the colors shine on what an OLED MLA panel can do (e.g. LG C4-like).

But I do agree with the negatives. The OSD is slow as hell and they should've worked on implementing DisplayPort 2.1 at this point. The USB-C port is loose even on this Gorilla Glass version that I'm testing.

How’s it holding up to reflections? Is it just glossy glass or do they use micro-etching AG as Apple
Did in the Studio Display? How usable it’s in a well lit room?

 

[Chomiq]

Missing the "But manufacturer is shady AF" award.

what's the point of OLED, my IPS has blacks black enouhg. I don't get the point of even blacker blacks.
Also burn in.
Also subpixels with wrong layout so texts are fringing

1. In bright room? Yeah, maybe - in dark room, not so much. Also point is near instantaneous response times which IPS can't do. That and per pixel lighting, which is not achievable with any standard LED display tech.
2. Yes but this is an enthusiast grade product, people are willing to risk it for the benefits the technology brings. In case of any other brand I would also say "Burn in warranty" but since it's Dough don't expect much.
3. Subpixel layout is improved with the RGWB panel using this pixel density. According to people that complained about previous subpixel layout rendering this one looks as good as standard RGB.

 

[Toss]

I have had this realization after getting a decent 4k IPS monitor. I did not realize IPS panels can produce such black colors. When I set black wallpapers, it looks flawless.
And it is not to say that I would refuse an OLED eventually. I do not like the idea that it can "expire" in 2-3 years. And I know very well what the warranty length means. It means manufacturer is confident how long the thing will work, then it is just luck.
I own m28U, a very popular model in the past. It had some firmware issues in the past which was my main issue, but the picture quality was always amazing.

same, I own m27u, blacks are perfectly black for my eyes, I just crank gamma 1 stop below default. I put my iphone with oled side by side and there is no difference at all. Also our brains always adapt to colors so there is even there diminishing returns, black without any white elements are much darker than fully black screen to it. (eyes have dynamic aperture and when it's white and something is white on screen it dynamically shrinks)
ANd we always have something white and bright on screens

 

[Battler624]

I'm still missing $100 from them since 5 years ago i think.

 

[_roman_]

Old Displayport Connections, OLED and external power supply unit but new HDMI Connections. No thanks. DP 2.1a claims to improve cable length and signal integrity.

It's seems to be impossible to integrate the power supply unit in a monitor.

 

[LabRat 891]

Old Displayport Connections, OLED and external power supply unit but new HDMI Connections. No thanks. DP 2.1a claims to improve cable length and signal integrity.

When I got set on an OLED display, I could not find any with DP2.1, that did not have other major caveats or were China Market Only*. (there were only 1 or 2 Gb's w/ Samsung panels Stateside, IIRC.)

*

ViewSonic's XG323-4K-OLED2 brings dual-mode, DisplayPort 2.1 and 140 W USB PD

ViewSonic has launched a new OLED gaming monitor in the Chinese market that not only is a dual-mode 4K 240 Hz / 1080p 480 Hz display, but it also brings DisplayPort 2.1 connectivity as part of the package. The XG323-4K-OLED2 is said to sport a 31.5-inch LG OLED panel with an anti glare coating...

www.techpowerup.com

Edit:
I wasn't 100% correct. There's three US-avail DP2.1 4K 32" 16:9 OLEDs...
Notice, the HP doesn't do 80Gbps DP2.1, only 40Gbps; leaving HDMI2.1's 48Gbps as 'the better input', again.

MSI MPG 321URX QD-OLED Review
Gigabyte AORUS FO32U2P Review

It's seems to be impossible to integrate the power supply unit in a monitor.

IIRC, OLEDs deteriorate almost logarithmically w/ thermals.
While I could support the argument that a fine finished product should be able to integrate everything and maintain thermal tolerances...
Personally, I'm thankful they leave the PSU out. 'Don't need the extra heat.

 

[Frick]

No offense, but you don't know what you're talking about. Walk into a showroom, you can spot OLED 10m away, that's how much of a difference OLED makes. And it's not even about blacks, it's about proper dimming and being able to display HDR content properly.
A phone screen is not a good reference, those have auto-everything and more often than not they kill the purpose of OLED (though even then, a poor OLED screen will beat the crap out of a poor IPS).
Also, QLED is not OLED (https://www.whathifi.com/advice/oled-vs-qled-which-best-tv-technology).

It's important to note that one can probably see and tell the difference but one might not care about it. I've listened to €100k audio setups and sure it's nice but I enjoy a €100 JBL bluetooth speaker as well. I can watch OLED TVs and think "yeah that looks good" but I will enjoy the movies just as much as on a 20 year old HD Ready! Sony or something. I have my 4K VA monitor next to the 1080p TN panel at home and I can tell the difference but I genuinely don't care about it, to the point I'm not even aware there is a difference At work I have a decent 24" IPS monitor next to an ancient 27" TN budget monitor and it's the same there.