AOC G2770PQU 27-Inch 144Hz Gaming Monitor Review
There’s no question that gaming displays are undergoing something of an evolution. Since the beginning, LCD panels have had to play catch-up to the smooth motion high-res CRTs of old. Sample-and-hold technology places limits on the quality of fast motion, and only through some fancy footwork can they be overcome.
Panels response time (the time it takes to actually draw each frame) and input lag have improved greatly over the past few years. But video cards have progressed even faster. Today’s top graphics boards can easily top 60 FPS in most games at the highest resolutions and detail levels.
The only way for a display to keep up is to increase its refresh rate. Until we all have G-Sync-enabled screens, it means buying a monitor that can run at rates above 60Hz. We’ve looked at several 120 and 144Hz products, including AOC’s G2460PQU and the Overlord Tempest X270OC.
Today we have AOC’s other 144Hz screen in our lab, the G2770PQU. It’s a TN-based panel sporting 1920 x 1080 resolution and a 27-inch diagonal screen size.
With high-speed IPS panels and G-Sync products on the horizon, the G2770PQU may seem a bit old-school by comparison. Don’t be swayed by its panel technology, however. We’ve demonstrated time and time again that the only major advantage offered by IPS is its superior off-axis image quality. In every other metric, TN is equal in performance. In the area of contrast, it still holds a slight edge, in fact.
The G2770PQU’s greatest draw, however, is its 144Hz operating mode. It also adds 100 and 120Hz options to the Windows refresh rate selections. That way, it can be tailored to your particular frame-rate requirement. There’s no sense in running at 144Hz if you can only manage a peak rate of 100 FPS. While G-Sync promises the best solution for signal-rate matching, the extra flexibility here is not without value.
AOC employs white LEDs arrayed at the panel edges and FHD resolution. Like all other fast-refresh monitors (except the Overlord IPS screen), it achieves 8-bit color depth by applying frame-rate conversion to a 6-bit native panel. This may be of concern to some, but we can assure you in all our tests of similar products, we could not see any evidence of banding or compression unless it was already present in the content.
On paper, the G2770PQU looks like a great choice for all but the most expensive systems. Let’s see how it performs in our hands-on tests.
