Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
Brightness & Contrast
To read about our monitor tests in-depth, check out Display Testing Explained: How We Test Monitors and TVs. Brightness and Contrast testing information is on page two.
Uncalibrated – Maximum Backlight Level
For comparison, we’ve tagged five monitoring gaming monitors: four ultra-wides - Asus’ XG35V, BenQ’s EX3501R, AOC’s AG352UCG and Acer’s X34P - and another 32” curved 16:9 screen, Asus’ XG32V. All panels are curved, but the X34P is VA-based. The Acer monitor uses an in-plane switching (IPS) screen. The BenQ supports HDR, but we’re not including those specs in our tests.
AOC claims 300 nits for the AG322QCX, but our sample tops out at 266.3806 candela per square meter (cd/m2 ). That’s enough output for any indoor environment short of one with window facing east or west.There is no blur-reduction or HDR in play here, so this level is appropriate if a little lower than the rest.
What’s more important here are black levels and they are VA-strong and less than .1 nit. That takes the default contrast ratio to just under 3000:1, excellent for any SDR video or games. As you might expect, image depth is superb.
Uncalibrated – Minimum Backlight Level
The backlight throttles down to a near-perfect 55 nits, ideal for dark-room gameplay or movies. Thanks to a relatively narrow output range, the brightness slider is very precise. Each click is just about 2 cd/m2, which makes it easy to get the exact level you want. Contrast remains consistent regardless of the chosen setting.
After Calibration to 200 nits
After lowering the contrast slider five clicks, contrast is a class-leading 2784.8:1 with a super-low black level of just .0724 cd/m2. It doesn’t get much better than that. Remember that you need to leave the Shadow Control slider alone for best results.
ANSI Contrast Ratio
The Asus XG32V just manages to pip the AG322QCX in our intra-image contrast test. With an ANSI number so close to the Asus monitor, AOC'S AG322QCX shows great quality control and a well-engineered panel.
This result also suggests good screen uniformity, which is confirmed by our tests on page five. Contrast and overall quality are exemplary. This is impressive in a value-priced display. AOC cut no corners here.
MORE: Best Gaming Monitors
MORE: How We Test Monitors
MORE: All Monitor Content
