AOC Gaming C32G3AE - 32 inch FHD Curved Monitor, 165Hz, 1ms MPRT, VA, Gsync, Freesync, Speakers, Low Input lag, (1920x1080 @ 165Hz, 300 cd/m², DP 1.2 x 1 / HDMI 1.4 x 2)

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Call of Duty: WWII was much the same with a good sense of realism. Characters' faces were clear and naturally hued. Outdoor scenes were rendered with excellent contrast. Highlights like metallic reflections and beads of sweat stood out strongly. Color was also quite vivid in this game. With lots of earth tones and subtle shades of green making up the image, we felt a good suspension of disbelief.

Curved Monitors Worth It? - How-To Geek Are Curved Monitors Worth It? - How-To Geek

The front bezel on the AOC C32G2ZE is very thin, just 7mm, and flush mounted. It disappears when there is no image present. The bottom strip is 23mm wide with a small AOC logo and a bit of red trim. A closer look reveals a subtle facet effect along the bottom edge, something we haven't seen before. The red accent is repeated where the base attaches to the upright. That part has a handy cable hole to keep your wiring tidy. The upside is, of course, gaming performance. The C32G2ZE runs at 240 Hz and can hit its maximum speed without requiring an expensive video card. It supports AMD FreeSync Premium down to 48 Hz with low framerate compensation (LFC), so you’ll never see a frame tear. We were also able to run Nvidia G-Sync on it without certification (see How to Run G-Sync on a FreeSync Monitor). The monitors adds a decent overdrive too, which keeps motion blur to a minimum. Assembly and Accessories of AOC C32G2ZE The AOC C32G2ZE comes out of the box in its Standard mode. It has a few minor flaws and should be calibrated for the best possible picture. This is one of the highest contrast monitors we’ve tested, and our tweaks made the picture very rich and textural with no need for the dynamic contrast feature.

32-inch QHD VA Curved panel with 165 Hz, Adaptive Sync, and wide gamut color

The stand is a solid affair with 5/23 degrees tilt, 30 degrees swivel and a four-inch (100mm) height adjustment. There is no portrait mode. Movements have a firm and premium feel that makes you forget how inexpensive the CQ32G2S is. AOC doesn’t cut corners in its build quality here. In Color Setup, there are three color temp presets plus an accurate sRGB mode and a User memory with RGB sliders. The CQ32G2S can be calibrated to a high standard, and I’ll show you how to do that below. You also get AOC’s unique Picture Boost feature which highlights a sizable and moveable portion of the image with its own set of brightness and contrast controls. Grayscale is a tad too red, and the gamma is too light. A few changes to the RGB sliders and a switch from Gamma 1 to Gamma 3 resolves those issues. Another potential (though small) downside is that it might take some time to get used to the curve. The curve at first might seem a little strange but that's mainly because you're not used to it. After a few days, you'll start to appreciate it and find it as natural as using a flat monitor.

C32G2 | AOC Monitors

Video processing was average for the category. I’ve already noted the overdrive’s undershoot issue. In practice, it isn’t a huge problem but there is room for improvement. Adaptive-Sync worked without issue on both AMD and Nvidia platforms (see FreeSync vs G-Sync to decide which is better). My GeForce RTX 4090-based PC had no problem keeping the frame rate maxed at 165. I have reviewed a lot of AOC monitors and have learned that they don’t all react the same way to image adjustments. The default Standard mode is reasonably accurate but minor green errors are visible in grayscale test patterns. Gamma runs a bit light out of the box and my initial attempts to adjust grayscale resulted in no improvement. Curved monitors benefit gamers in particular or those who need to see with their peripherals often. The curve essentially acts as a "zoom" function, which gives you a better view of the sides of the screen. This can be extremely helpful in fast-paced games where you need to be aware of your surroundings. In productivity, the AOC CQ32G2S excels. Its curve is a non-factor for word processing or spreadsheets and there is no visible image distortion. The stand and screen height allow one to set the panel vertically so the eyepoint is centered. This ensures that the entire image is in focus from edge to edge. With my calibration in place, color accuracy was well suited for photo editing and graphics work. The high contrast made Word documents easy to read at the smallest text sizes.

A quality, 1080p, 32-inch gaming monitor with a flaw

Corsair Dominator Titanium First Edition DDR5-6600 C32 2x32GB Review: Abundant Capacity And Performance I’ve been spoiled by many VA panels in the past but the AOC CQ32G2S’s 4,000:1 contrast puts it ahead of most of them. The difference between it and any IPS panel not running a zone dimming feature is significant. Though I have been impressed by Mini LED monitors, a good VA screen with high native contrast like this is just as good or better for image depth and dimension. I had no issues with the CQ32G2S’s relatively low brightness. It is capable of 200 nits which is where I set all the monitors I review. The AOC C32G2ZE does not have built-in speakers, but sound is carried over the HDMI and DisplayPort connections to a 3.5mm audio port into which you can plug your best gaming headset or powered speakers. The two HDMI ports are version 2.0, while the single DisplayPort is 1.2. All support Adaptive-Sync, but you’ll need DisplayPort for the full 240 Hz. OSD Features of AOC C32G2ZE When gaming, the AOC C32G2ZE wasn't as sharp during action games as a higher-res screen but delivered great contrast and color in all situations, and that made details stand out. In Doom Eternal the game's hellish scenery was fiery and red with good texturing. Mowing down enemies was satisfying too as their bits flew all over the screen. The only indicator of the monitor’s low pixel density was a slight softness during fast moving action. This wasn't due to LCD motion blur or any problem with the monitor’s overdrive. Rather, it was the effect of the visible pixel structure. This is something of a subjective observation. It will be perceived differently by different players depending on how close they sit to the screen and how sharp their vision is. It was never a distraction for us though.