4K gaming has become more popular as PC hardware gets more powerful, and the best 4K gaming monitors have kept stride to accommodate a more satisfying high-res gaming experience. Lenovo’s Legion Y32p-30 gaming monitor was announced in late 2022, with a focus on hybrid use for gamers who also work from home. Shelling out upwards of $750 just to have some fun isn’t always possible, but combining your monitor purchase into one that handles work and gaming? That’s easier to swallow.
The Legion Y32p-30 is undeniably easy to use even with multiple PCs and accessories, it has a gorgeous 4K picture with a 144Hz refresh rate, and its design will equally suit an office or gamer den. I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks to see exactly where it excels and, ultimately, whether it’s worth your money.
Lenovo Legion Y32P-30
4K gaming for enthusiasts
Big, expensive, and gorgeous
The Legion Y32p-30 is an impressive 32-inch 4K monitor that can handle high-end gaming thanks to a 144ms refresh rate and quick response time. Its USB hub and multi-PC support also make it a convenient addition to any office, especially if you’re splitting time between fun and work.
- Screen Size
- 31.5 inches, 16:9 aspect ratio
- Resolution
- 3840×2160 (UHD)
- Max. Refresh Rate
- 144Hz
- Response Time
- 2ms to 7ms, 0.2ms (MPRT)
Pros
- USB hub is very useful
- Clean design with adjustable stand
- Gorgeous 4K picture with accurate color
- Useful for gaming and for work
Cons
- Not an HDR superstar
- Can get similar core specs elsewhere for less money
- Lenovo Artery software is half-baked
Lenovo Legion Y32p-30: Price and availability
Lenovo’s Legion Y32p-30 gaming monitor was announced in late 2022 and has already launched in certain regions overseas. It’s expected to launch in North America sometime in 2023, but Lenovo hasn’t specified an exact date. The Lenovo website’s product page — as well as some third-party retailers like B&H — have a “Coming Soon” tag. When the Legion Y32p-30 does fully launch in all regions, it’s expected to cost about $750. This is a fairly competitive price. Our current top pick when it comes to the best 4K gaming monitors is the smaller 27-inch LG UltraGear with 144Hz refresh rate, 1ms response time, and G-Sync/FreeSync support, all for around $800.
Design and features: Simple design with a useful USB hub
The Legion Y32p-30 has a wide and deep base that provides ample support for the huge display. The plastic feet have an industrial look that gives the otherwise subdued design some flair, with a silver finish that offsets nicely with the display’s Raven Black casing. Cable management is easy thanks to an angled cutout in the stand, and a foldout headset hook on the left side is a welcome addition. A light bar on the underside of the display case can give your room some ambient mood, but it’s only customizable with Lenovo’s Artery software (more on that in the next section).
The monitor feels sturdy on its feet, and the base remains in place when making ergonomic adjustments. It can be tilted forward and back from about -5–22 degrees, it swivels wide left and right on the base, and there are about five inches of height adjustment to work with. At its apex, the bottom edge of the panel sits about eight inches off my desk; I’m tall, but I didn’t feel like I needed a riser. The stand is removable (it comes disassembled in shipping), and the monitor case is compatible with 100mm VESA mounts. A Kensington lock slot is included.
Moving up to the monitor case, Lenovo has centered essential hardware — including dual 5W speakers — while leaving most of the body about 19mm thick. The outcropping has a sort of waffled design, with a cutout on the bottom for the port bank. Dual HDMI 2.1 ports are ideal for console gamers looking to enjoy a 4K resolution at 120Hz, while DisplayPort 1.4 is more geared toward PC gamers. HDMI also does a great job of accommodating modern gaming laptops.
Part of the work/leisure balance Lenovo aims to hit comes in the form of an upstream USB-C port for laptops. It boasts DisplayPort 1.4 Alt Mode, it handles data, and it can send up to 75W of power back to the host laptop. It’s a useful alternative to a powerful Thunderbolt dock, as it also opens up a downstream USB-C 3.2 (Gen 1) port with 15W of charging power for accessories, dual USB-A 3.2 (Gen 1) ports, and a 3.5mm audio jack. If you’re instead connecting with a desktop PC, a USB-B port is available that unlocks the same hub functionality.
Going one step further, the built-in Keyboard-Video-Mouse (KVM) switch lets you easily swap between video inputs and USB sources. You can keep two PCs connected at all times and switch everything back and forth within seconds.
Furthermore, you can keep both inputs on the screen at once with Picture-in-Picture (PiP) and Picture-by-Picture (PbP) features. I can have my gaming PC connected and displayed on one side, while my work laptop remains open on the other. At a more basic level, Lenovo’s Artery software unlocks 10 desktop partitions for quick Window arrangement.
Interface and menu: Clean OSD, buggy software
The on-screen display (OSD) is navigated with a joystick control. It’s convenient and makes quick work of the extensive settings, and it also serves as a volume shortcut for the built-in speakers. There are the usual picture presets and Overdrive controls, as well as brightness and contrast sliders. You can toggle HDR and AMD FreeSync, and there’s some control over the USB hub, including PbP, PiP, KVM, and USB options.
Lenovo’s Artery software is required if you’d really like to drill down into the monitor’s settings, but it still feels like it’s in its early days. I came across some bugs while testing (one where I couldn’t click through any menus until I restarted the program). I also hate adding another program to my PC that’s already bogged down by launchers and managers.
Bugs aside, the Artery software has a lot of settings to work with. You’ll need it to customize the built-in light bar (aside from turning it on or off), and it can also be used to set up shortcuts for many of the monitor’s functions. Hardware status, FPS counters, and more can be enabled, but unfortunately I never actually got them to work properly with my PC. The Artery app does make it very easy to control multiple inputs, and it provides a quick partition system for your windows.
Picture: An enticing OLED alternative
The Legion Y32p-30’s display has a commanding presence, measuring 31.5 inches wide with a 16:9 aspect ratio. The 3840×2160 (UHD) resolution works out to 139 pixels per inch (ppi) for plenty of density, and the IPS panel has wide viewing angles for easy collaboration. The bezel along the top and sides is so thin that you’ll hardly notice, and the bottom bezel isn’t much thicker.
A major part of the monitor’s appeal to enthusiast gamers is the maximum 144Hz refresh rate and speedy response time. Lenovo garnered VESA Adaptive Sync certification, which means the Y32p-30 passed tests for low GtG response time and at least a 144Hz refresh rate (also able to drop to 60Hz as required) without any bad behavior like tearing and jitter.
AMD FreeSync Premium comes baked in for use with some of AMD’s best graphics cards, further lowering the chances of visual irregularities while gaming. If you have an NVIDIA graphics card, you should look for a monitor with NVIDIA’s G-Sync equivalent.
Lenovo advertises a 0.2ms response time with MPRT, and while that might be accurate, it’s not something you’re going to often see while gaming. That response time is only possible with AMD FreeSync disabled; the monitor regularly sits at 7ms with Overdrive turned off. However, it can drop as low as 2ms with Overdrive cranked up to its highest level.
VESA DisplayHDR 400 certification is included, and the monitor has 16 local dimming zones. That’s better than no zones, but it’s not going to compete with high-end OLED screens when it comes to HDR quality, and indeed there wasn’t much of a difference while using the monitor with HDR enabled. In other words, don’t buy this monitor hoping for deep HDR support.
Each Legion Y32p-30 comes with a factory calibration report, and I also measured color accuracy and brightness with my SpyderX Pro colorimeter. I got back 100% sRGB, 84% AdobeRGB, and 89% DCI-P3, all excellent results. Deep color and contrast make for a satisfying picture whether you’re working or gaming.
Brightness climbed to about 240 nits at peak without HDR enabled (getting closer to 400 nits with HDR enabled), and it dropped as low as 17 nits for working after hours. I had some issues with glare, but really only noticed it when I was seated with large windows behind me. On that note, the display also comes with Eyesafe low blue light certification to help protect your eyes. An ambient light sensor can also be used to automatically tune display brightness.
Should you buy the Lenovo Legion Y32p-30?
You should buy the Legion Y32p-30 if:
- You split time between work and gaming and want one monitor to handle both
- You prefer a high resolution and quick refresh rate over OLED color
- You’re a gaming enthusiast with a PC that can take advantage of the Y32p-30’s specs
You should not buy the Legion Y32p-30 if:
- You’re looking to maximize HDR support
- You’d like the deepest possible contrast with OLED
- You don’t have PC performance hardware that can push 144Hz at 4K
Working and gaming with this display has been nothing but enjoyable. I’m not a competitive gamer, so I don’t particularly care about a sizzling response time (even though 2ms at peak is quite good), and the 144Hz refresh rate is more than enough to accommodate my last-gen AMD GPU’s potential in demanding games. I don’t mind sacrificing HDR quality and a higher refresh rate to land a 4K resolution at this size, though I know that some will be turned off by the relatively wimpy HDR 400 support.
As someone who works from home, being able to keep two computers connected at all times — in this case, my gaming PC and work laptop — is a major convenience, and the display’s support for PiP and PbP is just icing. Since I began testing this laptop, my Thunderbolt dock has sat dormant other than for times when I need an SD card reader.
I’d still prefer a bit of a curve on a monitor this size, especially after coming from my regular curved ultrawide setup. But it only took a few days to get accustomed to the flat panel. The bezels are very thin, and the overall design is clean and unobtrusive. This monitor should be a fashionable fit for just about any desktop setup, whether in a professional or casual setting.
You can pick up similar 32-inch IPS 4K displays for a slightly cheaper price, but Lenovo’s Y32p-30 generally has them beat when it comes to the overall feature list. And as we’ve come to expect from Lenovo, frequent sales drop prices well below MSRP. On the other hand, you might also be tempted to spend a bit more to land an OLED panel with better HDR support. Our collection of the best gaming monitors covers a bunch of different screens, including budget and premium picks.
Lenovo Legion Y32P-30
4K gaming for enthusiasts
The Legion Y32p-30 is an expensive 32-inch 4K monitor, but it’s packed with features that can help even out your work/life balance. It has the right specs to handle a high-end gaming experience, but I’ve also loved using it all day while working from home.