Custom PC - UK (2020-06)

A

OC’s27G2Umightnothavethe
2,560x 1,440resolutionofthe
otherdisplaysontest,butit offers
amazinglygoodvalueformoney.Yougeta
27inIPSpanel,144Hz+refreshrate,fully
adjustablestand,and evenFreeSyncand
G-Syncsupport,allforunder£200.
Ofcourse,thereareotherareaswhere
costshavebeencut,suchasbuildquality.
Whilethestandoffersheight,tilt,rotationand
pivotadjustment,it feelsnoticeablylesssturdy
thantheotherdisplaysontest,althoughallthe
adjustmentsareeasytoperform.Thebackof
thedisplayis alsoa bitthinnerandlessrobust
thantheothers,andyoumissoutonsome
extrafeatures,withnoflip-downheadphone
standsorRGBlights(ohthe humanity!)
However,youmissoutonlittleelse.You
evengeta fancy‘frameless’design,where
thebezelsmergewiththepanel,makingfor
a slimandsleekappearance.Youalsogeta
USBhubwithfourUSB3 ports,alongwith
oneDisplayPort,twoHDMIportsandeven
a VGAinput.

AOC27G2U/£199incVAT

SUPPLIER cclonline.com

One disappointment,

though, is the menu system.

The buttons for navigating it

are tiny, and their labelling is

all but invisible in poor lighting.

The menu layout isn’t the worst,

but the overall navigation experie

is bad – you’ll want to set up thisd

once and forget it.

As for image quality, having a 1,920 x 1,080

resolution on a 27in display makes for a fairly

chunky-looking image and a slightly cramped-

feeling desktop. However, it’s a boon for

gaming, where the lower pixel count reduces

the load on your GPU. The image also looks

fantastic right out of the box, with a decent

maximum brightness of 335 nits, a Labs test-

topping contrast of 1,447:1 and excellent colour

balance and gamma. There’s also no egregious

backlight bleed or IPS glow. Uniformity is okay

too, with an average variance in brightness of

3.5 per cent and a peak drop of 13.6 per cent in

the bottom left corner.

This display does have a slightly extended

colour range, though, hitting 123.4 per cent

sRGB colour space coverage, so it won’t

be ideal for colour-critical work. There’s a

dedicated sRGB mode that corrects this, and

also makes for even better overall image

quality, but it’s fixed at 250 nits brightness,

which is too bright. Thankfully, the gamut isn’t

extended too far to be unusable for desktop

work, and the sRGB mode may also be usable

in some bright environments.

The AOC held up well in gaming too.

G-Sync compatibility is a huge boon at this

price, meaning you can get tear- and stutter-

free gaming on Nvidia GPUs without the

extra cost of a true G-Sync display. However,

the other monitors on test felt snappier in

terms of response. The AOC is still decent

for competitive gaming, but a little way back

from the rest – and further back still from TN

displays, which still feel snappier, despite

matching the 1ms response time on paper.

Conclusion

The AOC 27G2U is the single finest budget

gaming display we’ve seen. Getting a 144Hz

IPS panel with G-Sync support and full stand

adjustability for under £200 is astonishing,

and the drop to 1080p is a small price to pay.

The low resolution and lack of a usable strict

sRGB mode means it’s not quite an ideal work

and play all-rounder, but otherwise, we can’t

praise this monitor enough.

SPEC

Screen size 27in

Resolution 1,920 x 1,080

Panel technology IPS

Maximum refresh rate 144Hz

Response time 1ms

Contrast 1,000:1

Adaptive sync FreeSync and G-Sync compatible

Display inputs 1 x DisplayPort

1.2, 2 x HDMI 1.4, 1 x VGA

Audio 2 x 2W speakers, line in, headphone out

Stand adjustment Height, rotation, pivot, tilt

Extras 100 x 100mm VESA

mount, 4-port USB 3 hub

VERDICT

A 1080p resolution is all that holds back this

otherwise fantastic budget gaming display.

HD MONITOR

+ Astonishingly good

value for money

+ Great gaming

performance

+ Ideal resolution for

slower GPUs

HD FLOPPY DISK

• Resolution limits
  sharpness


• Stand feels cheap


• Terrible OSD buttons


• sRGB mode too bright

IMAGE QUALITY

22 / 30

FEATURES

18 / 20

GAMING

24 / 30

VALUE

20 / 20

OVERALLSCORE

84 %

ence

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