Porsche Design AOC Agon PD27 240 Hz Curved Monitor Review: High Performance, High Style

Pretty as can be

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Porsche Design AOC Agon PD27 240 Hz
Editor's Choice
(Image: © AOC)

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Given the number of gaming monitors with distinct style elements and lighting effects included, it’s apparent that a display’s physical appearance is important to more than a few buyers. In fact, the only gaming screens that make no effort in the style department are the very least expensive models.

The Porsche Design AOC Agon PD27 is at the opposite extreme. It maximizes both its aesthetic and its performance. It sports one of the nicest and most substantial stands we’ve ever seen and incorporates a two-tiered lighting effect with more options than any other display. A solid metal remote is just icing on the cake. The PD27 is one gorgeous monitor.

Porsche Design AOC Agon PD27

(Image credit: AOC)

But without an equal level of performance, the PD27 would be subject to the dreaded “style over substance” comment so often heard on a certain UK baking show. Luckily, this comment does not apply here in any way, shape or form.

The PD27 delivers an honest 240 Hz without overclock into 1440p resolution with one of the best VA panels available. Not many monitors can deliver over 3,000:1 contrast natively. Adaptive-Sync is supported in both flavors, along with HDR that clearly enhances the gaming experience. And not only is the color gamut nice and wide, it’s supremely accurate with no need for calibration. The PD27 presents a stunning image worthy of its high price.

At around $750-$800 as of writing, the PD27 is expensive. For the same money, it’s possible to score a Samsung Odyssey G7 32-inch, which has similar specs and performance in a 32-inch screen. But the AOC Porsche Design monitor has a beautiful look. Its styling is like nothing else available, and for some, paying an extra $100 for a unique product is worth it.

Our only complaint is extremely minor. The blur-reducing backlight strobe could use some tweaking. It works OK but produces a slight smearing that ultimately had us going back to Adaptive-Sync. That is nearly always the best choice anyway, but we’ve seen screens of late that can accomplish uncanny smoothness with just blur reduction and without the help of FreeSync or G-Sync.

In every other way, the Porsche Design AOC Agon PD27 is a premium gaming monitor that has almost no downside. It’s expensive, but if ultimate style and high performance are at the top of your priority list, it has no real equal.

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.

4 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Dantte
    So the very end of the read the author compares the Argon to the Samsung G7 32" "with similar specs".... Why not compare it to the G7 27" with all the same specs except 1; the G7 27" is rated at HDR600, not HDR400? So for the same price and maybe cheaper, you can get the EXACT SAME panel from Samsung with BETTER backlighting!

    Which brings me to; why havent any of the Samsung Odyssey panels been tested by Toms; they been available since early Fall and only now is the competition finally coming out with their own products?
    Reply
  • Sleepy_Hollowed
    Dantte said:
    So the very end of the read the author compares the Argon to the Samsung G7 32" "with similar specs".... Why not compare it to the G7 27" with all the same specs except 1; the G7 27" is rated at HDR600, not HDR400? So for the same price and maybe cheaper, you can get the EXACT SAME panel from Samsung with BETTER backlighting!

    Which brings me to; why havent any of the Samsung Odyssey panels been tested by Toms; they been available since early Fall and only now is the competition finally coming out with their own products?

    The extra brightness is not necessarily a good thing for some people (like me), and though I’m a niche, the panel you refer to has a nasty blue light on the back.
    Reply
  • emgarf
    Some may call that stand "stylish", but on my desk it would just be in the way. The pedestal stand on my Dell U3818DW is rock-solid and takes up much less space.
    Reply
  • Dantte
    Sleepy_Hollowed said:
    The extra brightness is not necessarily a good thing for some people (like me), and though I’m a niche, the panel you refer to has a nasty blue light on the back.
    You can lower the brightness to your liking, and the "nasty blue light" on the back you can turn off. So you dont prefer the G7 over this because you'll have to make an adjustment that takes 10secs? You would rather spend $100 more for an inferior display because 10secs to adjust it to your needs is too much?
    Reply