This double-wide aspect ratio is superb for general work and entertainment, too. I routinely use two screens anyway, so I’m used to having the extra screen space to work with, but you aren’t hampered by a separating bezel in the centre, giving you far more flexibility in window sizing and placement. It’s also great if you watch a lot of movies and TV shows that are filmed in a wide aspect ratio. The most widely used panels are those with 6, 8, and 10 bits for each of the RGB components of the pixel. They provide 18-, 24-, and 30-bit color, respectively. Though many monitors have an 1800R curve radius, it looks more extreme on monitors in the 32:9 aspect ratio. There’s no mistaking the wraparound effect here. The sides come in sharply and when looking at the Windows desktop, you’ll think you’re in a fish bowl. The curve yields some distortion, but you won’t it after a time. That distortion means that horizontal lines in Word processors and spreadsheets look a little bowed unless you adjust the panel to be perfectly vertical.

As with the old model, the AG493UCX2 is excellent when used with DisplayPort, but there are too many limitations if that is not going to be your primary display connection. Coverage is how much of the gamut is covered, whilst volume includes any colour that extends beyond the defined gamut. Keep in mind that 5120×1440 is almost as demanding as 4K UHD on your CPU/GPU, so make sure you’ve got a good enough PC rig to maintain the desired frame rate in games! VA glow is minimal, and light bleed is visible but not distracting. It’s far better than most IPS displays, and about average for a VA panel. In addition to the refresh rate limitations, the bit depth is also restricted for everything but DisplayPort connections. This is a 10bit panel (8bit+FRC), but that bit depth is only available at 60Hz via HDMI, and USB-C only supports 8bit colour.Gaming on this behemoth of a display is stonkingly good fun, especially if you have a GPU capable of propelling the AG493UCX2 to its max refresh of 165Hz. The 1800R curved display completely fills your field of view, giving you a commanding view of your surroundings. It comes into its own when you’re admiring scenic landscapes, and if you’re a fan of driving games but don’t have space for a triple-screen setup, this strikes a superb middle ground that gives you the peripheral view you otherwise miss on single monitors and even 21:9 ultrawides. Moving on, the AOC AGON AG493UCX2 has five response time overdrive modes: Off, Weak, Medium, Strong and Boost. The 5120×1440 resolution provides you with 108.99 PPI (pixels per inch) on the 48.8″ viewable screen of the AOC AG493UCX2 monitor. As a result, you get plenty of screen real estate with sharp details and text. You also won’t have to use scaling to make small text readable.

By selecting ‘sRGB’ in the Color Temperature settings in the OSD (On-Screen Display) menu, you can also clamp down the gamut to ~100% sRGB to avoid over-saturation, though most users will prefer the added vibrancy of the wider color gamut since it’s not intrusive. I’m not going to spend too long on the HDR performance, as this is only an HDR400 display, so there’s no local dimming and you don’t get the full HDR experience. Peak brightness hits 650 cd/m² with good contrast, so it’s superior to any IPS panel for HDR400, and the respectable DCI-P3 coverage allows the AG493UCX2 to produce some stunning colours. AOC has reigned in its HDR modes, too – HDR game mode on the old model used to oversaturate colours to a massive degree, but here they are bright without being blown out. DisplayHDR mode is more natural, but without as much brightness overall. In my opinion, the SDR image looks better across the board, so I wouldn’t recommend this if you’re heavily invested in HDR. You’ll need to be a member of the size matters club to appreciate the AG493UCX. At a hair shy of 4 feet wide, its footprint isn’t small. Clear off the desk to set this one up. From the front, you can see a relatively thin, flush-mounted bezel with a wide strip at the bottom broken only by the red Agon logo. The anti-glare layer is the same type found on nearly all computer monitors and has excellent light control with no grain or image distortion.

A 49-inch, 32:9 curved panel is no joke when it comes to gaming.

There’s a good variety of ports on the AG493UCX2: There are 3x HDMI 2.0, 1x DisplayPort 1.4 and 1x USB-C for connecting your displays (USB-C supports the display signal and up to 65W power delivery, as well as supporting KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) if you have your peripherals connected to the display). Colour saturation and coverage aren’t quite at the heady heights of AOC’s AGON PRO range, but just a few years ago these would be premium display levels. You get full sRGB coverage and reasonable DCI-P3 coverage which gives good colour in HDR content. AdobeRGB coverage could be higher, but the AG493UCX2 is primarily a gaming monitor, so this isn’t a concern. Looking for a super-ultrawide monitor that’s great for both gaming and productivity work? You’re going to love the AOC Agon AG493UCX2! Image Quality This provides you with plenty of horizontal screen space that’s especially useful for audio/video editing and productivity work. Moreover, you get an extended field of viewing in compatible video games for a more immersive gaming experience! To learn more about monitors and ensure you’re getting the model most suited for your personal preference, visit our comprehensive and always up-to-date best gaming monitor buyer’s guide. Conclusion

In the Standard Eco mode with Game Mode turned off, we engaged the User color temp and made slight changes to the RGB sliders. Gamma was left on the first preset, which is a tad dark at an average value of 2.3. The other two options washed out the picture, so we avoided them. Information about the maximum vertical viewing angle, within which the image on the screen is of acceptable quality. The warm colour temperature preset is closest to 6500K at 7400K, but it’s a little cooler than I prefer. Colour accuracy is good, however, with an average DeltaE of 0.68 (0.44 calibrated) in sRGB mode (brightness cannot be adjusted in sRGB mode, but the default is a usable 218 cd/m²). The saturation is excellent, with no over or under-saturation of colours, giving images a very natural appearance. I’ve been using a lot of displays recently with massive gamut coverage, so it did look a little flat at first, but once I had time to adjust I came to appreciate the more natural appearance. Approximate height of the display. If the manufacturer does not provide such information, the height is calculated from the diagonal and the aspect ratio. Colours do have a tendency to become washed out when viewed at an angle, which can occur if you’re close to the screen or sitting off-centre. It’s less significant when gaming, as this is usually in your peripheral vision, but when I was editing images at the side of the screen I had to move in front of the picture to make sure it was accurate.The stand is quite substantial and made entirely of cast aluminum. It offers a 4.3-inch height adjustment with 15 degree tilt and 15 degree swivel to both sides. Movements are smooth and firm, projecting the monitor’s solid build quality. This is a premium display with ergonomics to match. Of course, you can get a much better HDR gaming monitor at this price range, but the AOC AG493UCX2 focuses on other things.