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AOC AGON Gaming AG273QCX - 27 Inch QHD Curved Monitor, 144Hz, 1 ms, VA, HDR400, FreeSync, Speakers, Height adjust (2560x1440 @ 144Hz 400 cd/m², HDMI/DP/VGA/USB 3.0)

£9.9£99Clearance
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The bottom line; a monitor with vibrant but varied colour output and strong contrast plus a half-decent HDR implementation, but some issues with pixel responsiveness and VRR that may put some users off. In the middle, there’s a spot to attach the stand, and you can also use it with a VESA mount if you want to use your stand. The stand is pretty cool, too, as you can adjust its height up to 110mm, swivel it left and right, and tilt it from -4° to 22° for a comfortable view. But it doesn’t rotate or pivot. Connectivity The monitor also includes a Dynamic Contrast setting called ‘DCR,’ but since there’s no local dimming, it’s not as effective as possible. It reacts well to changes in scene brightness but tends to be a bit too bright for mixed content. We prefer manual brightness control where local dimming is absent. Free-Sync and G-Sync Compatibility AOC has gone the extra mile by building an equalizer and DTS surround sound right into the monitor itself. The surround sound isn’t very good, unfortunately, and there’s no low end to speak of but at only 5W per speaker, it’s to be expected. Lastly, I put adaptive sync to the test with The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. As an older game, my dual RTX 2080 Tis produce enough frames to make screen tearing a real issue without some form of sync in place. Since I’m not running an AMD GPU, I couldn’t test FreeSync but G-Sync worked wonderfully, providing a smoother experience than I’ve had in ages on my non-adaptive sync monitor. Purchasing Guide

Note that when using HDR and 10-bit color depth, the refresh rate is limited to 120Hz at 1440p due to the DisplayPort 1.2 bandwidth limitation. You can also use Low Input Lag Mode and Frame Counter. It also supports AMD Free-Sync and NVIDIA G-Sync compatibility, which helps to eliminate screen tearing and stuttering during gameplay, ensuring a fluid gaming experience.Alternatively, you may want to consider the Samsung C27HG70 1440p 144Hz curved VA monitor with better DisplayHDR 600 support. For gaming, it offers various features like Game Mode presets (FPS, RTS, Racing, and three customizable profiles), Shadow Control and Game Control for adjusting color and gamma, Overdrive for reducing motion blur, and Dial Point for a custom crosshair. The images below are macro photographs taken on Notepad with ClearType disabled. The letters ‘PCM’ are typed out to help highlight any potential text rendering issues related to unusual subpixel structure, whilst the white space more clearly shows the actual subpixel layout alongside a rough indication of screen surface. This model uses a light matte anti-glare screen surface with a slightly rough surface texture. This offers good glare handling and preserves vibrancy better than some matte screen surfaces, whilst avoiding a heavy or ‘smeary’ graininess to the image or a layered effect of graininess. There is instead a light ‘misty’ graininess apparent when observing lighting content, so this doesn’t appear as smooth as on some screen surfaces (including the 31.5” variant of this panel as seen on the likes of the AOC AG322QCX). Most VA models, aside from those using this panel, are known to use smooth surface textures that are free from any readily observable graininess. So we would’ve preferred to have seen panel manufacturer Samsung employ a similar screen surface here.

HDR content gets a boost in peak luminance (up to ~450-nits), which in addition to the wide color gamut (10-bit color depth is supported for HDR) and high contrast ratio, provides a noticeable upgrade in image quality. On a more positive note, it’s one of very few gaming monitors to feature AMD FreeSync 2. Compared to normal FreeSync, FreeSync 2 monitors are validated by AMD and are guaranteed to feature High Dynamic Range, low latency, and low framerate compensation. The last is particularly important as it extends the FreeSync range throughout the monitor’s entire refresh range instead of the limited window of original FreeSync.Though isn’t on Nvidia's list of G-Sync approved FreeSync monitors, that may change in the future, and you can always force G-Sync with the latest Nvidia drivers. Our suggestions regarding use of VSync also apply, but obviously you’re using Nvidia Control Panel rather than Radeon Settings to control this. The setting is found in ‘Manage 3D settings’ under ‘Vertical sync’, where the final option (‘Fast’) is equivalent to AMD’s ‘Enhanced Sync’ setting. You’ll also notice ‘G-SYNC Compatible’ listed under ‘Monitor Technology’ in this section, as shown below. Make sure this is selected (it should be if you’ve set everything up correctly in ‘Set up G-SYNC’). Gaming features include the Game Mode picture presets (FPS, RTS, Racing, and three ‘Gamer’ customizable profiles), Shadow Control and Game Control (color saturation and gamma curvature adjustments), Overdrive (Off, Weak, Medium, Strong), Dial Point (custom crosshair), Low Input Lag Mode, and Frame Counter. As usual, if you’re running the monitor at 2560 x 1440 and viewing 1920 x 1080 content (for example a video over the internet or a Blu-ray, using movie software) then it is the GPU and software that handles the upscaling. That’s got nothing to do with the monitor itself – there is a little bit of softening to the image compared to viewing such content on a native Full HD monitor, but it’s not extreme and shouldn’t bother most users.If you’re interested in using HDR and 10-bit color depth, there’s something to keep in mind. The refresh rate will be limited to 120Hz at 1440p because of the DisplayPort 1.2’s bandwidth limitation. However, this won’t be a big issue for most games since they usually support only 8-bit color. The difference between 8-bit and 10-bit colors in games is minimal, so you won’t miss out on much. High refresh rate 2560 x 1440 monitors are highly sought-after amongst gamers who are looking for nice image quality and good responsiveness without requiring insane amounts of GPU horsepower. Many 27” options of this size and resolution use either a TN or IPS-type panel, but there are some exceptions. The AOC AG273QCX of the AGON 3 series is one such exception, featuring a curved VA panel. This is coupled with support for Adaptive-Sync (including AMD FreeSync 2) and HDR processing. We take this monitor for a spin using our usual range of tests to see whether it hits the sweet spot between image quality and performance. The monitor is bright and can be configured to be at the maximum output of 400 nits, but this isn't an impressive figure for HDR displays. It's of striking quality, but don't expect to be blown away by HDR content on this panel. It's designed more like a gaming display. The AOC AG273QCX monitor is a gaming monitor that provides an incredible gaming experience right at your fingertips! Its 27-inch curved display immerses you completely in your games. But that’s not all—this monitor offers many more exciting features! It has a super-fast refresh rate of 144 Hz. In addition, the 1440p display ensures clear and intricate visuals, so you won’t miss any detail in your games.

Before analysing the image above, it’s important to note that the ‘Overdrive’ was set to ‘Strong’ for all pursuit photographs showing the MBR setting in action. Anything lower than this made the trailing too bold and essentially caused some widespread trailing that was appeared as an extension of the object itself rather than a fainter repetition. This duplication of objects with MBR active was quite uncomfortable to look at and made the overall perceived blur reduction less impressive. This image is a pursuit photograph taken at 144Hz with ‘MBR = 15’ and ‘Overdrive = Medium’ so you can see what we’re referring to. The TN panel does mean that you’ll need to be sat head on to the display to get the right viewing angle, and the colour accuracy could sometimes be a little off. FreeSync Premium Pro is supported but there’s no Nvidia G-Sync and the Vesa Display HDR400 isn’t the best you can get either. As above, but a significantly weaker LBL setting with no noticeable green tint. The blue channel is weakened only slightly compared to factory defaults.Zombie movies are one of the most iconic staples of the horror genre, there are plenty of good ones but a whole host that should've stayed dead. Using the MBR option in the OSD (On-Screen Display) menu of the monitor, you can manually alter the strobing frequency (motion clarity vs picture brightness ratio). Features Stand base is quite deep, ‘Light FX’ lighting could do with being a bit brighter and there is no local dimming to really enhance the HDR experience The lighting brings nothing to the experience, and you'd be better off setting a specific color or just turning it off altogether. It's a shame since more manufacturers are now looking at ambient lighting, using in-game and on-screen content for showcasing color around the display. It's not a deal breaker, however.

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