Stunningly accurate colour, with specs perfect for competitive gaming, all at a pocket-friendly price.
- Developer: AOC
- Reviewed on: Xbox One X, Windows PC
- Supplied by: AOC
I have spent just over 2 weeks using the AOC 27G2U as my daily driver.
All of my gaming, design and script work has been done on this monitor, and I have enjoyed nearly every single moment of it.
Off the back of using both AOC and Philips high-end monitors, in all honesty, I was not expecting the AOC 27G2U to blow me away. On paper the 27G2U is a high-performance monitor, running at 144HZ and 1080p, although it has no fancy RGB, crazy features or curved screen to boast of. Despite that, the 27G2U has won me over in every way.
First and foremost, without all the fancy additions that you find in the flagship models, the 27G2U has a significantly cheaper price point. Running in at around £200 it will not break the bank, and will likely represent the best money in realising your desired setup.
From there on it only gets better. The image on the monitor is absolutely flawless; buttery smooth at 144HZ with a 4ms response time, and what I can only describe as a perfect anti-glare layer, that is just enough to defuse any direct light on the screen, yet not so much that it causes that grainy look some layers create.
The colour representation is spot on: rarely have I ever created images and designs for streamers that I don’t need to revisit later due to them looking different on phones and other screens. On the 27G2U the image and colours I see on screen are virtually exactly the same on my phone and in print.
Gaming on the 27G2U is a pleasure. Though it has many game modes I did not feel the need to use them. Paring the colour grading and the 144hz refresh rate it was buttery smooth and looked great, especially with games like Forza Horizon 4 that can take good advantage of the refresh rate.
Design-wise the 27G2U is quite modest, with a slight gamer vibe. Its frameless design means that you only have a slim bottom border emblazoned with AOC and red detailing either side, giving it a slight design edge, hinting reservedly that it’s not just a standard generic monitor.
The stand has a very nice clean design with a gap for cable management: it’s a fairly simple design, with full tilt and rotation control so that you can completely adjust the viewing angle and orientation.
Menu controls are the only area in which the 27G2U encounters issues. With 5 small buttons under the screen along the left side, one would think that life would be quite simple, however, I must admit they are not the easiest buttons to find by touch alone.
Compared to the joystick seen on other AOC monitors this is just not as easy to use, and the menu itself is has a slow response, so mid-game changes will be a pain.
To adjust the volume you have to open the menu, navigate to OSD settings then scroll to volume select and then adjust. I feel like that is a long process to adjust volume and could have replaced the quick command button for the on-screen crosshair.
The built-in speakers are pretty small but they fulfil their purpose well. For the most part, people using a gaming monitor will be using a headset, or otherwise will opt for an external audio solution anyway.
Summary
The 27G2U has surpassed every expectation I had for it. It feels like it is the absolute best at its competitive price point, and everything about this monitor screams high performance. At its price, it has to be one of the best monitors you can get, despite the volume control being annoying to adjust.
