Dough is cooking up a 32-inch 4K 240Hz OLED gaming monitor

The idea of a perfect gaming monitor is absurd. Not only are they always getting bigger and better, but you're also always contending with compromises. If anything looks like it’ll come close, though, it’s Dough’s upcoming 32-inch Spectrum Black. The company formerly known as Eve has a 4K, 240Hz screen in the works, complete with an OLED panel.

The fun doesn’t stop at high resolutions and blisteringly fast refresh rates. OLED panels make for the best gaming monitors, bringing the response time down to just 0.03ms. This means grey-to-grey colour shifts should be perceptibly instant.

Black Frame Insertion, otherwise known as backlight strobing, should clear up motion blur, making faster-paced games in the FPS and racing genres that much smoother. AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync compatibility are also along for the ride to reduce screen tearing. And Gorilla Glass with DXC returns from the 1440p OLED.

Dough will include a fantastic array of inputs, from the 100W power delivery USB-C slot for upstream to a DisplayPort 1.4, a pair of HDMI 2.1 ports, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The Spectrum also helps you manage cables with a USB hub, including Type C and Type A connectors.

As uncompromising as this all sounds, there are a couple of caveats. First of all, the HDR peaks at 1000nits but is in the same ballpark as DisplayHDR 400-certified monitors, which are usually a little underwhelming. The OLED panel will likely do much of the heavy lifting with deeper blacks on-screen, setting it apart from previous LED models, but we’ll need to get our hands on the device before we can judge.

Furthermore, Dough has a lot to prove in the customer service department. The Spectrum Black 32-inch OLED is up for pre-order, but the company doesn’t have the most punctual track record. Many customers claimed not to receive the Eve V tablet after crowdfunding in 2017, the Spectrum Black 27-inch OLED is already late for its July release date, and some say previous Spectrum monitors arrived much later than advertised.

Credit: Dough

For what it’s worth, Dough has given itself ample room to fulfil preorders this time around with an April 2024 release date. The value for money of the Spectrum line-up is well worth waiting for in our experience, but it’s a risk you may or may not want to take.

If you’re willing to take the plunge, you can subscribe to Dough’s mailing list to get an invitation to preorder. The earlier you purchase, the cheaper it’ll be, with the 32-inch Spectrum Black OLED starting at $699 USD for the matte model and $799 USD for the glossy model. These will gradually increase in price until they reach $1,099 and $1,299, respectively.

So far, Dough is the only brand to make glossy coated monitors that are much like your TV, smartphone, and even smart fridge. While seeing your clutch face in the reflection isn’t the best pitch, it does give deeper blacks and sharper text, making it well worth the switch. Dough’s even improved the formula, claiming the new displays will have 40% better contrast ratio and 70% fewer reflections.