AOC AG271QG Agon 27-inch G-Sync Monitor Review

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Viewing Angles, Uniformity, Response & Lag

The AG271QG is an AHVA panel which gives it improved off-axis performance over typical IPS variants. AHVA stands for Advanced Hyper Viewing Angle and our photo shows a clear advantage for this technology. The side view shows only a minimal brightness reduction and a slight shift to blue while the top view retains detail but loses output and looks a little green. If you’re concerned about viewing angles, AHVA delivers the best possible performance of all LCD panel technologies.

Screen Uniformity

Hot zones in the upper-right and lower-left corners spoil the AG271QG’s uniformity results. The zones exhibit a slightly visible glow, though we could only see it in test patterns and very monochromatic content. It’s a sample specific issue so other panels may measure better than ours. It did not reduce our gaming enjoyment though. And color uniformity is essentially perfect. The .41 range of DeltaE values is one of the best we’ve ever recorded.

Pixel Response & Input Lag

Please click here to read up on our pixel response and input lag testing procedures.

For those of you who skipped right to this page, we’ll end your suspense. The AG271QG is one of the quickest gaming monitors we’ve reviewed. It and its FreeSync counterpart, the AG271QX, share the crown for fastest panel response. And the QG’s 26ms total lag score is eclipsed only by the Asus PG271Q, and only by one millisecond. For all intents and purposes, it’s a wash. If you detect latency on this monitor, you have supernatural skills. Mere humans will simply experience perfectly smooth motion with little to no perceptible blur and instant responses to keyboard and mouse inputs.

Christian Eberle
Contributing Editor

Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors. Christian began his obsession with tech when he built his first PC in 1991, a 286 running DOS 3.0 at a blazing 12MHz. In 2006, he undertook training from the Imaging Science Foundation in video calibration and testing and thus started a passion for precise imaging that persists to this day. He is also a professional musician with a degree from the New England Conservatory as a classical bassoonist which he used to good effect as a performer with the West Point Army Band from 1987 to 2013. He enjoys watching movies and listening to high-end audio in his custom-built home theater and can be seen riding trails near his home on a race-ready ICE VTX recumbent trike. Christian enjoys the endless summer in Florida where he lives with his wife and Chihuahua and plays with orchestras around the state.

  • dstarr3
    I appreciate the slightly more grown-up look to this. All the Acer and ASUS gaming monitors look dressed up for 12-year-olds and I'm not going to pay nearly $1k for the privilege of putting those horribly gaudy things on my desk. So this is an improvement. I think I'd still rather have the Dell S2716DG, though. Or at least something that looks like it.
    Reply
  • beshonk
    How come we haven't seen a review or mention of the viewsonic xg2703? I have that monitor and it is perfect. The price is right and the stand doesn't look gamey like the Acer and Asus.
    Reply
  • Bradley Coates
    I would also like to see a review of the Viewsonic XG2703. It uses the same panel as this AOC does, but has better on-screen menu.
    Reply
  • wildkitten
    I hope they do an Ultrawide curved version of this monitor.
    Reply
  • ubercake
    Just curious... Why does the PG279Q contrast ratio look so different in this review compared to its own review?:
    http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/asus-pg279q-rog-swift-27-inch-165hz-monitor,4428-4.html

    ANSI versus other method of contrast measurement?
    Reply
  • footman
    I'd like to see a review of the Viewsonic as well.
    Reply
  • WyomingKnott
    What's the thing on the back that looks like an antenna sticking out? Black, about halfway up the right side (left side in the back view)?
    Reply
  • Yobz Ainsen
    i believe that's where you hang your headphones.
    Reply