AOC AG273QXP 27″ 170Hz Gaming Monitor Review

How Much Does it Cost?

Amazingly, AOC has the MSRP for the AG273QXP 27″ 170 Hz Gaming Monitor set at just £298.99. Sure, that’s not exactly pocket money, but this is a pretty serious piece of hardware, and while not “cheap” it’s certainly an attainable price. To think this level of features and hardware were locked behind a significantly higher price bracket just a few years ago. There are higher resolution and even higher refresh rate models out there, however, at 2560 x 1440, with a great panel and colours, and 170 Hz, it’s fair to say this monitor is likely more than enough for most enthusiastic gamers and spending more for an even more extreme model may be overkill.

Overview

It’s yet another victory for AOC today, and frankly, I’m starting to sound sycophantic, but that’s no bad thing if they want to keep letting me test really awesome gaming monitors. This new one of theirs is certainly one of my favourites for AOC, and while they do have better monitors in terms of features and performance, at this price range, this one really is exceptional value for money.

Great for Gaming

I’m not an eSports champion, and actually, I wouldn’t even call myself a particularly competitive gamer either. I casually play GTA Online, I trade and do daily dungeons in ESO, but otherwise, I play a lot of retro stuff these days. That being said, gaming on this monitor is still a treat. Both the online games that I play support a higher refresh rate, and at 2560 x 1440, you don’t need the latest flagship GPUs to hit respectable frame rates. Even when it does dip, FreeSync Premium Pro is there to smooth things out and help keep screen tearing to a minimum.

Media

I watch a lot of movies, or at least, my average is about 8 per week, and I actually watch a fair few of them at my desk, as I have a pretty sweet setup here and it’s comfortable. So, having a monitor with a wide colour gamut and HDR support is certainly welcome. Chucking on Leon the Professional was a blast, not only because it’s a great film, but it has some really nice colourful and gritty scenes and this monitor really brought them to life. Sure, I’d like all this on a 4K panel too, but that’s going to cost more. However, that’s not enough to detract from the stellar performance.

Should I Buy One?

Getting the most technology within this price range is a challenge, but it’s one that AOC has achieved without any single thing feeling like a compromise. Superb colour reproduction right out of the box, albeit the backlight is a little high, but that’s easily turned down. The hood is a nice added value, and the OSD, input options, and underlying technologies of the panel are all excellent too. You don’t have to be a competitive gamer or a professional video editor to enjoy the benefits of this monitor either, it’s just a great monitor with a rich feature set and a surprisingly reasonable price, making it a great entry point for those wanting a more enthusiast-focused display.