AOC AG275QZ

AOC's Agon series has advanced to its fifth generation. AG275QZ is a 27" gaming monitor with an IPS panel, running at 270 Hz and supporting VRR. The monitor focuses on what matters, since there are less RGB lights. It's also less red, and laden with more black coloured parts now. This is an elegant and simple monitor.

The mechanical adjustment options are plentiful. Viewing angle can be adjusted in all three axis, including being pivotable. The stand of the monitor is shaped like a letter A, and you can easily fit this monitor with a stand onto a smaller form space. Finally, as an added bonus, on the right side of the monitor there is a premium feature: an optional stand for headphones, that can be pushed inside the monitor, if you choose not to use it.

On the right side at the back there is also a control stick, which is slightly loose, and acts as a start button as well. A separate start button would have been a better choice in my opinion. The configuration menu is luckily clear and logical to use with the built-in control stick.

The ports are as expected when it comes to HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4, but there are five USB 3.2 ports: four USB-As and one USB-B for powering additional devices.

The new 270 Hz IPS panel shows off colours in a very good way. While using sRGB it's even better, but you can't adjust the brightness or the contrast of the monitor. With sRGB the brightness is 150 cd, which for many is not enough in a brightly lit room. If you choose not to use sRGB, brightness can be tripled. The colours are not as good, but with a few adjustments they can be much better.

The problem with IPS monitors is IPS glow, and it is here too. You can see it in 270 Hz mode as pixels "overshoot", or are too bright. You can't use this monitor in HDR, because the maximum brightness is too moderate (even if HDR400 is supported).

All in all, this is a good gaming monitor, even with IPS glow. For gaming this is a fantastic monitor, since at the time of writing, I have not seen a better 27" QHD system. It's not the cheapest option out there, but it's fast, and has a good picture quality.