You just gotta love a bright, contrasty, juicy OLED gaming monitor, right? Affirmative, but then there's the sordid matter of money. The new LG UltraGear 32GS95UE is amazing. But it costs $1,400. Ouch. Which is why a pair of new OLED panels just announced by AOC are particularly good news.
AOC has form when it comes to offering conspicuous value. Enter, therefore, new 27-inch 1440p and 32-inch 4K OLED gaming monitors from the brand. As far as we can see, they don't break any new ground, technologically. What they do achieve is the lowest price points we've ever seen, at least in terms of MSRP or recommend pricing, for such displays.
The 27-inch comes in at £650 in the UK, while the 32 incher is £740. The latter looks like conspicuously good value when you compare it to the LG mentioned above. While we have occasionally seen 27-inch OLEDs lower than those prices, those are sale prices rather than MSRP.
For now, we don't have US pricing, though we have put the question to AOC. As things stand we'd expect similar figures in dollars. Right now, the cheapest 32-inch 4K OLED is the MSI MAG 321UPX, which typically goes for about $900 and is identical to the MSI MPG 321URX we reviewed earlier in the year, save for lower power output over its USB-C interface.
So, how has AOC pulled this off? Part of the explanation is no doubt maturity in terms of the 4K Samsung QD-OLED panel AOC is using. It's bound to have come down in price a little.
However, the AOC Agon Pro AG326UD, as the 32-inch 4K model is known, also only runs at 165 Hz compared to the 240 Hz that's the norm for other 4K 32 inchers running the QD-OLED panel, including the MSI and LG models mentioned above.
Yes, that's a downgrade. But then how often are you achieving 240 fps in the latest games at 4K? 165 Hz is a decently high frame rate in most contexts. For 4K, we'd argue it's plenty.
Elsewhere, you're also missing out on USB-C connectivity, which is arguably more of a loss. However, if you know you're not bothered by that, then the proposition of a 4K OLED for less money remains strong.
As for the AOC Agon ProAG276QZD2, that's also a Samsung QD-OLED based model, but this time at 27 inches and 1440p. The refresh rate comes in at 240 Hz. That's half the refresh of the very latest 480 Hz 27-inch OLEDs, such as the Asus ROG Swift PG27AQDP.
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But, again, how much do you care? For sure, really serious esports types will appreciate the 480 Hz refresh. For most of us, having the OLED experience at 240 Hz but for less cash will be very appealing.
Of course, neither of these panels are actually cheap. You can get a 32-inch 4K 144 Hz LCD monitor for under $400 on occasion. A 27-inch 1440p 240 Hz LCD panel is likewise now not much more than a $200 affair, typically.
So, you're still paying handsomely for the OLED experience. But just a bit less handsomely than before, which is welcome. Hopefully, we'll get our hands on both of these new panels soon and can report back on just how much of a bargain they truly are.
