MSI MPG Artymis 323CQR curved gaming monitor review

Featuring a bright, vivid 2560 x 1400-pixel WQHD resolution panel, 165Hz refresh rate, and a speedy 1-millisecond response time, it’s appropriate that the $359 MSI MPG Artymis 323CQR is named after the goddess of the hunt. Pair that with AMD’s FreeSync Premium technology and you’ve got buttery smooth image rendering which makes for a pretty picture and better accuracy depending on the genre of game you’re playing.  

And if you’re looking for immersion, the 1000R curvature has you covered, ensuring you’re surrounded by the action. And if video editing is your thing, or you’re just very exacting about color accuracy, the monitor provides the ability to tweak the color. However, the lack of Nvidia G-Sync support might turn some gamers off. But the Artymis has earned its place on our best gaming monitors page. Those speedy rates means The Artymis is a wonderful excuse to ignore family and friends and game all day – I mean, get my work done. 

As I went to town in Call of Duty Modern Warfare II tracking down enemy targets, the curved monitor allowed me to enjoy a more immersive experience thanks to its 1000R curvature. With the ability to calibrate the color, I also found it to be very color accurate during video editing. This gave it well-rounded abilities when I wasn’t working my tail off gaming. Let’s dig deeper and see if the MSI MPG Artymis 323CQR is right for you, but, I bet it is.

MSI MPG Artymis 323CQR pricing and configuration

The MSI MPG Artymis 323CQR costs $359. For that price, you get a VESA-certified, 32-inch, 2560 x 1440-pixel panel with a 165Hz refresh rate with native FreeSync Premium support and HDR 400 support.

MSI MPG Artymis 323CQR design

This MSI MPG Artymis 323CQR is 32 inches of curved black beauty. It features some tasteful customizable Mystic Light RGB lighting elements on the back and an easy-to-use joystick that gets you into the straightforward MSI On-Screen Display gaming app (more on that later) to choose the settings that suit your tastes. There’s also a built-in KVM switch that allows users to control multiple devices via one keyboard and mouse. The power button sits along the bottom of the screen.

The black plastic has a brushed metal aesthetic that gives the Artymis an eye-catching appearance from all angles. It only took a few minutes to get the frameless panel attached to its trapezoid metal stand. The stand features a very sturdy cable management port to thread all your cables through. With a tilt range of 5 to 20 degrees,  three inches of height adjustments, and 30 degrees of rotation, the monitor gives users some nice movement options.  

MSI refers to the MPG Artymis as frameless, but there is a one-inch bezel at the bottom where you will find the MSI logo along the left. It will be quickly forgotten as you begin gaming or working thanks to how immersive the viewing experience is on the Artymis 323CQR. The anti-glare display’s curvature is rated at 1000R, meaning a radius of 1 meter or about 3.2 feet. The curve of the monitor presents a wider field of view as it physically matches the curvature of the human eye, which can help reduce eye fatigue. That said, the curve on this monitor is ridiculous, and I love it.

The MSI MPG Artymis 323CQR measures 27.6 x 18.6 x 12.5 inches and weighs 19.8 pounds. In comparison, the Acer Predator X34 measures 32.1 x 4.9 x 14.5 inches and weighs in at 14 pounds, and the Alienware AW3420DW measures 22 x 32 x 10.8-inches and weighs 23.6 pounds.

MSI MPG Artymis 323CQR ports

 The MSI MPG Artymis 323CQR’s ports are located on the left side of the back of the display. There, you can locate the display port input, two 2.0 HDMI inputs, a USB Type-C port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a USB Type-B port, and two USB Type-A ports. Across the bottom on the right, you will find the AC power port. 

MSI MPG Artymis 323CQR display

MSI’s MPG Artymis 323CQR is a 32-inch, 2560 x 1440-pixel rapid IPS flat panel with a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio and a 165Hz refresh rate for velvety, tear-free gaming. With FreeSync Premium support, you shouldn’t experience any artifacts, screen tearing, or stuttering while watching videos or gaming. The FreeSync technology synchronizes the panel’s refresh rate with your system’s graphics card to improve your monitor performance, enabling your display and GPU to play nice so users enjoy the best experience possible. 

Although it would have been nice to get Nvidia’s G-Sync technology in the mix, the Artymis plays nice with its rival’s tech. Essentially, you can get the best of both worlds in one monitor. 

I left the settings as they were right out of the box as my desire for saturated, yet accurate colors was met and the brightness was adequate. The VESA-certified HDR 400 display is vivid, providing more details, a wider range of colors, and it even comes with eye care technology to lower the amount of blue light reaching your eyes, lessening fatigue and letting you play for longer.

The eye-care tech and display curvature came in handy when I spent five straight hours playing Call Of Duty Modern Warfare II.  The panel crafted an immersive tapestry of colorful explosions and detailed rubble as I fought my way through a campaign in COD. The curved VA panel delivered flawless smooth motion as I ran around using my character’s best gun-fu and sniper skills. When I had to hop on a snowmobile and fly down the mountain avoiding bullets, RPGs, and stunningly detailed trees, there was no ghosting regardless of how much was going on thanks to the speedy refresh rate.

While playing Borderlands 2, the Artymis handled the animation-styled graphics with aplomb, with lusciously colored, detailed imagery throughout the experience. When in Lynchwood, I reached the top of a building and used my sniper rifle to pick off enemy berserkers with the MSI MPG Artymis 323 CQR immaculately rendering the blood splattering of each explosive headshot in deep sultry reds.

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After attending to a few parental duties, I watched Gladiator on the MSI MPG Artymis 323CQR and enjoyed the opening battle scene where the Roman army uses catapults to launch vats of scorching fiery pitch and oil at the Germanic tribes.  I enjoyed every explosion as the vats hit the ground, spewing fiery reddish-orange hatred upon Rome’s enemies. 

The Artymis is great for sitting back and watching a movie when you’re not gaming, and all its speed and pixels produce smooth, detailed action scenes. The MSI MPG Artymis 323CQR scored an average brightness of 341 nits after we tested it in eight different modes (Movie, FPS, Racing, RTS, RPG, Office, sRGB, Eco) which put our unit above the Acer Predator X34 (261 nits) and Alienware AW3420DW (247 nits). 

During our color reproduction test, the MSI scored a vivacious 90% of the DCI-P3 color gamut just behind Alienware’s 93.2%, with Acer’s 98% being the top result. 

MSI MPG Artymis 323CQR software

Once it was set up, I never felt the need to adjust the default settings on the MSI MPG Artymis 323CQR. However, some may wish to experiment and tweak things, and that’s where the MSI Gaming OSD software comes in handy. It offers eight picture modes –– four dedicated to different game modes. Although I was happy with the default user mode, there are a lot of other adjustments you can make within the Gaming OSD.

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Within the app, you can control and manipulate the monitor configuration, set up gaming profiles, change system settings, create hotkeys, adjust your joystick configuration, and even use in-game assistance to create larger crosshairs for when you’re aiming at targets. 

You also have the option to use the frame rate tracking mode to track your fps (frames per second) rate. Another cool option lets you monitor the refresh rate of the monitor, which comes in handy when using FreeSync.

Bottom line

The MSI MPG Artymis 323CQR 32-inch monitor is a great selection for all your gaming needs. It comes with a beautiful crisp and colorful HDR 400 certified, 2560 x 1440-pixel panel. In addition, the display also serves up a 165Hz refresh rate, native AMD FreeSync Premium support, plenty of ports, and a 1-ms response time that results in smooth, tear-free, low input lag viewing experience. It is perfect for blasting through your favorite first-person shoot ‘em up. Plus, you can get all these features for a seriously affordable $359. 

If you want a wider color gamut, you’ll want to check out either the Acer Predator X34 or Alienware AW3420DW, both of which are pricey options at $566.99 and $917.99, respectively. But gamers looking for a fast, high-res gaming monitor that would bend their budget too much, the MSI MPG Artymis 323CQR curved monitor is the way to go.