Overall, we feel this monitor provides quite a pleasant all-round gaming performance. If you’re primarily interested in vibrant colour output and strong contrast, with decent responsiveness on the side, then this model is worth considering. If you’re more interested in strong responsiveness and a competitive edge then the Dell S2719DGF is a more suitable solution. Users will no doubt be considering both of these models and cross-comparing, so one important factor will also be price. At time of review the AOC is by far the more expensive option, and many users will consider it a bit overpriced. Whether that premium is worth paying will largely come down to where your own individual preferences lie. For gaming the curve provided just a subtle feeling of extra depth, drawing you in just a bit without feeling uncomfortable or unnatural. As we observed on the desktop, the effect was subtle. Steeper curves and wider screens can enhance this effect, but in this case it’s certainly a minor addition to the experience. The images below show a variety of games running on the monitor. Again, they exaggerate the curve and do not accurately reflect how the monitor appears in person (in terms of image quality or the curve). They are purely for illustrative purposes. The monitor offers excellent contrast and brightness levels, making it easy to differentiate between light and dark areas in games. This enhances the overall visual experience, making scenes more captivating and realistic. The brightness levels are adjustable, so you can optimize them according to your preferences and the ambient lighting conditions in your gaming space. 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.

The gamma tests were a bit off, falling in the 2.3 range. Standard gamma calibration is 2.2, to these results are close but still slightly off. The gradient test was pristine, however, showing no banding whatsoever. The ghosting test also came out exceptionally well, which was borne out in my game tests where we observed no ghosting whatsoever. A moderately effective ‘Low Blue Light’ (LBL) setting. This provides a fairly significant reduction in the strength of the blue channel and lowers blue light output from the monitor. The image appears warmer than the factory defaults and a green tint is introduced. This green tint isn’t extreme - your eyes adjust to it fairly readily given some time. 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 experienceAs factory defaults with significantly higher gamma. Things now appear deeper and fuller with a vibrant and saturated look. The overall colour balance is good, with the white point just slightly higher than the target and no green tint. In case your FPS drops below 48FPS, LFC (Low Framerate Compensation) takes over and forces the monitor’s refresh rate to run at double or triple the frame rate for less tearing/stuttering. As above, but a significantly weaker LBL setting with no noticeable green tint. The blue channel is weakened only slightly compared to factory defaults. 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 This AOC monitor boasts a 27-inch display with a 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution. This means it can produce sharp and detailed images, and you can see every in-game detail clearly. The monitor also supports a wide range of colors, which makes the visuals vibrant and lifelike. Additionally, the monitor has wide viewing angles, allowing for consistent colors and contrast even when viewing the screen from different angles.

title=More%20Expert%20Tech%20Roundups&type=articles%2Cvideos&tags=tech-roundup&count=6&columnCount=6&theme=article VA panels have become my personal favorite for gaming, delivering rich colors and excellent contrast compared to the twisted nematic (TN) panels so common to gaming displays. The trade-off is usually response time. AOC’s own AGON AG322QCX from mid-2018 is quoted at 4ms gray-to-gray, whereas a TN panel like the ASUS ROG Swift PG278QR can deliver 1ms. I say “usually” because AOC actually quotes the AG273QCX as featuring a 1ms “smart response,” which, by wording alone, made me raise an eyebrow. 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’). 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. Results here were good, with no significant deviations recorded. There were some patches of relative weakness (warmer colour temperature), particularly centrally, but the deviation recorded was not significant. Note again that individual units vary when it comes this and other aspects of uniformity and that you can expect deviation beyond the measured points. The VA panel also brings with it perceived deviations in colour temperature which aren’t accounted for by these measurements. Indeed, we did observe a noticeably cooler look to white and light greys towards the flanks of the screen which was most intense when viewing from a relatively close viewing position (<60cm).

Additionally, the monitor lets you adjust the Motion Blur Reduction settings through its On-Screen Display menu. This way, you can find the right balance between clear motion and picture brightness according to your preferences. Features Since most games support only 8-bit color and the difference between 8-bit and 10-bit color in games is negligible, this is not a significant downside. The floor of operation for VRR was 60Hz (60fps) rather than 48Hz (48fps). Or 55Hz (55fps) if you’ve set the monitor to 120Hz. As above, an LFC-like technology was available.

If you are more of a casual gamer and plan to switch between using the monitor for work, gaming and TV streaming, there are more affordable options out there that may be better suited. But the AOC AGON AG273QZ offers a lot to serious gamers who want to enjoy super-smooth gaming at 1440p. Some users may wish to use the monitor at a lower resolution than the native 2560 x 1440 (WQHD). Either for performance reasons or because they’re using a device (such as a games console) that doesn’t support the full native resolution. The monitor provides scaling functionality via both DP and HDMI. It can be run at resolutions such as 1920 x 1080 (Full HD) at up to 120Hz and use an interpolation (scaling) process to fill the pixels of the screen up. If you’re connected via HDMI 2.0, the monitor also supports an upscaled 3840 x 2160 (‘4K’ UHD) signal at up to 60Hz. This will be useful if you’re using a games console which supports that resolution but not the native 2560 x 1440. To ensure the monitor rather than GPU is handling the scaling process, as a PC user, you need to ensure the GPU driver is correctly configured so that the GPU doesn’t take over the scaling process. For AMD users that are using this monitor, the driver is set up correctly by default to allow the monitor to interpolate where possible. Nvidia users should open Nvidia Control Panel and navigate to ‘Display – Adjust desktop size and position’. Ensure that ‘No Scaling’ is selected and ‘Perform scaling on:’ is set to ‘Display’ as shown in the following image. Setting the overdrive option to ‘Boost’ enables the Motion Blur Reduction technology. You cannot use MBR and VRR at the same time.

The ‘Overdrive’ setting did not function with Adaptive-Sync enabled on our Nvidia GPU. All settings behaved as ‘Off’. We used a small tool called SMTT 2.0 and a sensitive camera to compare the AG273QCX’s latency with a screen of known latency. To help maximise accuracy, over 30 repeat readings were taken. Using this method, we measured 6.15ms (a little under 1 frame @144Hz) of input lag. There was no measurable difference with ‘Low Input Lag’ enabled in the OSD vs. ‘FreeSync’ set to ‘On’ in the OSD. This value is influenced both by the element of input lag you ‘feel’ (signal delay) and the element you ‘see’ (pixel responsiveness). It indicates a fairly low signal delay which shouldn’t bother most users. Unfortunately, we don’t have the means to accurately measure input lag with FreeSync active in a variable refresh rate environment or with HDR active in an HDR environment. 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. The greyscale gradient appeared smooth without obvious banding or dithering. The upper end (brighter shades) had a misty appearance due to the screen surface.

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. 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. If you're still using a 1080p display, own an AMD GPU and are looking for an upgrade to 1440p, you should consider the AGON AG273QCX. It has all the features you'll need for butter-smooth gaming, it isn't too badly calibrated out-the-box, and it comes with FreeSync 2 and HDR support, though the latter isn't particularly noteworthy.It’s also worth noting that the AG237QCX features one of the heaviest, most rugged stands I’ve ever encountered. Once it’s in place, it’s downright hard to move unless you use the handle built into the top behind the monitor. It’s height adjustable with a 110mm of range and features a +/- 30-degrees of swivel for sharing your screen with a neighbor. AOC AGON 3 AG273QCX Gaming Monitor – Testing and Gaming 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.