AOC AGON AG271QG 27″ Monitor Review – The Best 1440p Monitor For Gaming?

Introduction

When I think of monitors and brands associated with producing and manufacturing them, a couple of names instantly spring to mind. AOC is one of the first on that list and over the years at Play3r, we have taken a look at quite a few varying from pure gaming monitors, to ones suited more for regular usage. Today however, we have probably the most spectacular gaming model from their gaming focused AGON range, namely the AGON AG271QG. With a monitor being as necessary to use a computer as a keyboard, mouse or even the system itself, it’s considered one of the more established investments when putting together a system. Myself personally, actually change systems every year whereas I only swap out monitors after 3-5 years depending on usage, but enough about my life story, let’s see what AOC have to say about their 165Hz 1440p G-SYNC monstrous 27” IPS gaming monitor…

What Is The AOC AGON AG271QG?

The 27-inch AGON AG271QG is the ultimate display for high-performance gaming. NVIDIA G-SYNC technology and exceptional 165Hz refresh rates deliver ultra-smooth, stutter-free action. The IPS panel and QHD resolution ensure sharp, detailed imagery from every angle.

Technical Specifications

AOC AGON AG271QG Closer Look

Starting with an overall front view of the AG271QG, the AGON branded gaming monitor itself features a large 27” 1440p QHD resolution IPS panel. The aspect ratio is 16:9 which is very common for a 27” screen size and this particular model relies on LED backlighting to produce the vivid images you usually find on an IPS panel. Not only this however, but the AOC AGON AG271QG features a massive 165Hz refresh rate, with an average response time of 4ms. This is relatively usual for an IPS panel with TN panels having capabilities of faster response times. On top of all this, the AG271QG is G-SYNC enabled and is similar in specifications to the popular Acer Predator XB271HU and ASUS ROG Swift PG279Q; not forgetting the AOC AGON variant is available cheaper than both.

Across the centre bezel at the bottom, AOC have embossed a striking and red AGON logo which looks good, but does stick out from an all-black bezel and silver stand…

The AG271QG features a relatively simple, but effective OSD panel with the buttons being placed on the underside of the right-hand front bezel.

One thing to note when going to achieve the 165Hz refresh rate advertised is the panel comes as standard set to 144Hz, with 165Hz needing to be set via overclocking the monitor to 165Hz. It’s not exactly a pain to do due to the easy nature, but surely it would be better to come with it already set out of the box?

One cool and useful thing aside from the monitor’s performance, specifications and even connections, is a very handily placed headset holder featured on the right-hand side. It might not be made out of robust and strong plastic, but it’s sturdy enough to hold a headset with ease.

Looking at the back of the AG271QG, we have a rather large and tall stand supporting the monitor, with a red metallic V shaped panel sticking out. This is to allow adequate room for cables to be plugged in without interfering with stand, as well as providing extra support across the monitor when mounting.

Starting off with connections available on the AG271QG 27” monitor, AOC has included 4 x USB 3.0 ports with one port being dedicated to charging devices (yellow port). This includes a 3.5mm headphone jack as well as a 3.5mm microphone input.

In terms of display cable connectivity, included is a HDMI port and a single DisplayPort. All the cables that are required are included in the box as you would expect for a monitor of this calibre and to use the 144Hz/165Hz refresh rates, you will need to use the DisplayPort cable included.

The stand itself is made from solid metal and has a large hole at the bottom for cable management. It has various abilities such as tilting, pivoting, lowering and rotation so placing the screen in whichever position you want is a relatively easy job. AOC have included a -20/+20-degree mechanism for swiveling whereas the tilt offers a variance of -3.5 to +21.5 degrees.

Now that we have seen what the AOC AGON AG271QG 27” 165Hz 1440p gaming monitor has to offer in terms of specifications, aesthetics, and features, let’s put it under our Spyder 4 Elite monitor calibration tool and see how it performs.

AOC AGON AG271QG Performance

To test the performance and the colour accuracy of the AOC AGON AG271QG monitor, we use a device called the Spyder 4 Elite, which is essentially a tool for monitor calibration. It is very accurate and can tell you things the naked eye cannot.

To get started, after the installation and calibration of the AGON AG271QG, the results were as follows:

The performance taken above was after calibration, but it shows the true and relative quality performance of the screen itself as it’s seldom often that a product out of the box, especially monitors, comes picture perfect. Certain aspects have to be taken into consideration such as settings and ambient lighting, which is where the Spyder 4 Elite calibration tool comes into its own.

Touching on the actual performance, the AG271QG showed perfect performance in sRGB with a score of 100%; this is the first monitor we have seen which has hit the magical full marks in sRGB and is a true testament to the quality of the IPS panel inside this screen. The NTSC and AdobeRGB elements are also pretty decent and for a monitor aimed purely for gaming, these kind of figures are to be expected and shouldn’t detriment your personal opinion to thinking that the performance was bad, it’s actually very, very good overall.

Above is a before and after calibration indicator which gives details on brightness out of the box vs calibrated and things such as white point etc. Out of the box, the monitor was double the brightness on the blacks and around 9% over on the whites. In terms of everything else, things do seem to look spot on and from the actual testing itself, I could see how vivid the colours were when running each individual colour test and I have to say, I was nothing short of impressed with the performance.

Conclusion

Having an IPS screen for gaming isn’t just advantageous, but its wide viewing angle can be very useful in different situations when gaming, streaming and other related tasks. The only downside to having an IPS screen is of course lower response times which in gaming terms, is very important for reducing lag in fast paced games such as FPS and sports titles. That being said, the AOC AGON 27” AG271QG combines top quality elements such as QHD 1440p resolution, 165Hz refresh rate and all the benefits of an IPS screen rolled into one top quality 27” package but is everything as good as it sounds?

Performance

The strongest aspect of the AG271QG in my opinion is the performance… and boy does this monitor perform great! From the vivid and vibrant colour reproduction of the 27” 1440p IPS panel, all the way down to the 144/165Hz refresh rate, gaming on the monitor was a fantastic experience all-around; I do have to say I couldn’t tell the difference between 144/165Hz, although the difference between 60Hz and 144Hz is absolutely mind blowing in fast paced games such as CS: GO, Battlefield 1 and even sports games such as FIFA and driving games. The sRGB colour performance is absolutely perfect, although the NTSC and AdobeRGB performance are somewhat good but relatively average… this can be forgiven as it’s a gaming focused monitor as opposed to being designed for creative elements such as Photoshop and video editing/creative work loads.

Design

This monitor has a really solid and sturdy stand, which further adds to the overall quality of the product, but I do have a little issue with the cheap plastic monitor stand. It is a fantastic idea and a nice implementation, but it’s relatively cheap looking and even feels cheap too. Another design aspect to consider is the overall colour theme of red and black which does look good from my standpoint, but obviously, looks are down to personal preference.

I am a massive fan of the included 4 x USB 3.0 ports as well as a dedicated fast charging port which is great for charging mobile phones, tablets and other USB charged devices. One thing I wasn’t impressed with was the onboard speakers which did sound a bit ‘tinny’ and lacked a lot of true bass definition; my advice, stick to speaker solutions as even a cheaper set of 2.1 speakers blow the integrated speakers out of the water.

Value

Another strong aspect is the pricing here and something AOC has been very good at doing over the years; providing high-quality monitors for relatively cheap prices. Although nothing about this monitor is cheap (aside from the headset holder), for the specifications the price is pretty damn good when you consider the competition from ASUS and ACER with their 165Hz 1440p 27” options. I found the AOC AGON AG271QG to be around 20% cheaper overall, but without sacrificing on image quality, specifications and quality overall…something a lot of brands try to do but don’t usually pull off without sacrificing on key core components. The added element of G-SYNC and NVIDIA ULMB does add £££’s to the price, but it’s well worth it and if you didn’t know, I’m a massive fan of the screen tear reducing G-SYNC technology from NVIDIA, albeit overpriced in comparison to AMD’s near identical Freesync technology.

Final Thoughts

I have to say, overall I’m highly impressed with AOC’s AGON AG271QG 27” gaming monitor. Not just because of my positive overall experience while gaming, not even for all the high-quality features and specifications this monitor is crammed with. The main reason I’m impressed with this particular 27” 1440p gaming monitor is how balanced everything is, from the price to performance in comparison to competing brands, to the actual quality given here by AOC. It’s worth mentioning this monitor is backed by a 3-year warranty from AOC and if you’re looking for a solid 165Hz 1440p G-SYNC gaming monitor, this would certainly be my choice thanks to the cheaper than ASUS/ACER price point AOC have priced the AGON at.

Huge thanks to AOC for sending a sample of the AGON AG271QG in for review.