Aorus FO48U 4K OLED Gaming Monitor Review: Contrast Beyond Comprehension

Phenomenal contrast and color accuracy

Reviews
By Christian Eberle
published
Aorus FO48U 4K OLED
Editor's Choice
(Image: © Aorus)

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To compare the Aorus FO48U’s performance, we’ve extracted some jumbo screens from the review database. The only other OLED we’ve tested is the Alienware AW5520QF 55-Inch OLED. Also at 55 inches is Philips’ Momentum 558M1RY. In the 43-inch VA category we have Asus’ ROG Swift PG43UQ, Acer’s Predator CG437K and the Aorus FV43U. All are 4K panels running at either 120 or 144 Hz.

Pixel Response and Input Lag

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

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Gigabyte Aorus FO48U
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The Aorus FO48U acquits itself well when compared to other jumbo screens. Its response time of 8ms is on par with other 120 Hz monitors, including the Alienware AW5520QF. The Philips is an outlier at 11ms. In the input lag test, the 43-inch screens are on top but not by a lot. 144 Hz is an advantage for the most competitive players, but for mainstream gamers, the FO48U is plenty quick. The smoothest play comes when Aim Stabilizer is on, but that cuts brightness by half and eliminates Adaptive-Sync.

Viewing Angles

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

These photos highlight two things. Though OLED panels have better off-axis image quality than LCDs, they’re not perfect. You can see a slight green shift at 45 degrees to the sides and from above. Light output is unchanged, however, and detail stays solid. In actual content, we barely noticed anything when moving off center.

The other thing in evidence here is the reflection of our window. The FO48U’s (and all OLEDs) anti-glare layer is not the equal of an LCD. Placement should be carefully considered for an optimal image. Any bright light sources, like the sun or a lamp, will be picked up. The light doesn’t wash out the image, but the reflections are a distraction.

Screen Uniformity

To learn how we measure screen uniformity, click here.

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

As expected, we were unable to measure a full black field in this OLED because it was too dark for our meter to register. By using a 10% field pattern, we determined that the FO48U has no visible uniformity issues. Brightness was perfectly even from edge to edge. There was no bleed, glow or vignetting, an artifact that shows up as darker corners.

Christian Eberle
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.

23 Comments Comment from the forums
  • mihen
    Already able to see some very minor burn in after playing a game for 10 hours that has a fixed UI. Only visible on dark gray screens. I was at 100% brightness =/, went down to 30% as suggested by others.
    Reply
  • saunupe1911
    Why would I even consider this over a 48 inch LG C1 at $1299....$1596 with 2 year burn protection?
    Reply
  • deesider
    For people who use this size of monitor (or TV), how far away do you sit from it?

    I just can't imagine sitting at a desk with a 48" screen. I use a 27" as my main and prefer to sit at least 1 metre away.
    Reply
  • Bryman
    deesider said:
    For people who use this size of monitor (or TV), how far away do you sit from it?

    I just can't imagine sitting at a desk with a 48" screen. I use a 27" as my main and prefer to sit at least 1 metre away.
    I sit about 38 to 44" away on my LG c1 when using for gaming/pc and 48" when watching TV
    Desk is 33" deep
    Reply
  • larsv8
    deesider said:
    For people who use this size of monitor (or TV), how far away do you sit from it?

    I just can't imagine sitting at a desk with a 48" screen. I use a 27" as my main and prefer to sit at least 1 metre away.

    If you check my sig to the pcpartpicker build I had a custom desk built to place my 48 incher further away.

    It sits about 42 inches away, but its wall mounted so a little bit closer.
    Reply
  • Spike_xps720
    deesider said:
    For people who use this size of monitor (or TV), how far away do you sit from it?

    I just can't imagine sitting at a desk with a 48" screen. I use a 27" as my main and prefer to sit at least 1 metre away.
    I have Acer Predator CG437K 43" monitor and I am sitting 33" from it. I love this monitor. All 4K details are bigger and gaming experience is great.
    Reply
  • rdmetz
    mihen said:
    Already able to see some very minor burn in after playing a game for 10 hours that has a fixed UI. Only visible on dark gray screens. I was at 100% brightness =/, went down to 30% as suggested by others.
    That's just image retention no oled is going to burn in after 10 hours. It will go away with varied content.

    I've gamed for 1000's of hours (some at 100% for hdr the rest at 80%) on my 2019 lg c9 and have zero signs of permanent burn in.

    Almost all panels that exist today are just LG display panels and for the most part should have similar burn in protections.

    If you're talking about a panel pre 2018 then yes burn in was a bit more likely and even I, with the same game I've put thousands of hours in on my 2019 c9, saw permanent burn in on my 2016 after just 3 months and maybe 300 hours of said game.

    Today its very very difficult to burn in your screen unless your absolutely careless or are purposefully disabling protections built in and enabled by default.
    Reply
  • rdmetz
    deesider said:
    For people who use this size of monitor (or TV), how far away do you sit from it?

    I just can't imagine sitting at a desk with a 48" screen. I use a 27" as my main and prefer to sit at least 1 metre away.

    I game on a 65" C9 OLED and while I have a desk and keyboard mouse setup about 24" in front of it (it's wall mounted) but I do most of my gaming about 4 feet from it using a controller.

    My vision isn't great and honestly only with a large screen and pretty much "immersed" can I actually stay competitive in the fps type games I like to play. Seeing "deep" into the picture is hard for me unless my vision is pretty much dominated by screen. I've grown quite accustomed to it and just make sure any hud elements are pulled in as close to center as possible so I don't have to move my eyes too much.
    Reply
  • Friesiansam
    [URL='https://www.tomshardware.com/uk/author/christian-eberle']Christian Eberle[/URL] said:


    This is thanks to its ability to shut off individual pixels on the fly to create an infinitely low black level. The word infinitely is not an exaggeration.
    It is an exaggeration. To be infinitely black it would have to be invisible, emitting or reflecting absolutely no light whatsoever. Even Vanta Black still reflects a very tiny amount of light.
    Reply
  • mihen
    rdmetz said:
    That's just image retention no oled is going to burn in after 10 hours. It will go away with varied content.

    I've gamed for 1000's of hours (some at 100% for hdr the rest at 80%) on my 2019 lg c9 and have zero signs of permanent burn in.

    Almost all panels that exist today are just LG display panels and for the most part should have similar burn in protections.

    If you're talking about a panel pre 2018 then yes burn in was a bit more likely and even I, with the same game I've put thousands of hours in on my 2019 c9, saw permanent burn in on my 2016 after just 3 months and maybe 300 hours of said game.

    Today its very very difficult to burn in your screen unless your absolutely careless or are purposefully disabling protections built in and enabled by default.

    Thanks, I was worried when I noticed it.
    Reply