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Review: AOC Agon AG353UCG

by Parm Mann on 25 March 2020, 14:01

Tags: AOC

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qaejrf

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Conclusion

...though the gaming experience can be hair-raising, AOC hasn't been able to ameliorate our existing concerns.

The official arrival of AOC's Agon AG353UCG does little to change what we already know about these ultra-high-end 35in G-Sync Ultimate panels.

In keeping with prior implementations from Acer and Asus, the Agon has the ability to impress with an ultrawide 3,440x1,440 resolution, refresh rates of up to 200Hz, and 512 local dimming zones that contribute to one of the better PC HDR experiences.

Such attributes make the AG353UCG an intriguing proposition for enthusiasts who choose to experience the very best that PC gaming has to offer, and the Agon solution is crucially a tad cheaper than its immediate rivals. That said, a £2,000 price tag remains a significant chunk of change, and though the gaming experience can be hair-raising, AOC hasn't been able to ameliorate our existing concerns.

Fan noise remains a genuine bugbear, getting rid of the undesirable FALD halo effect requires switching to a reduced-contrast SDR mode, and the DisplayPort 1.4 interface doesn't have the bandwidth to enable refresh rates in excess of 144Hz when operating in 10-bit HDR.

Bottom line: enthusiasts willing to accept such trade-offs may be willing to bite, but £2,000 is a lot to ask for a VA panel that continues to feel experimental.

The Good
  
The Bad
3,440x1,440 at up to 200Hz
Nvidia G-Sync Ultimate certification
Impressive HDR performance
Makes games look and feel amazing
Intuitive controls
  
Annoying fan noise
Undesirable FALD halo effect
DP 1.4 prevents 10-bit HDR at 200Hz



AOC Agon AG353UCG

HEXUS.where2buy

The AOC Agon AG353UCG gaming monitor is available to purchase from Amazon.

HEXUS.right2reply

At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.


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HEXUS Forums :: 6 Comments

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Posted by Bagpuss - Wed 25 Mar 2020 17:40
I wouldn't give £200 for a VA panel, nevermind £2000.
Posted by Tunnah - Thu 26 Mar 2020 00:30
You can get the BFG screens for that much. That spec is a joke.
Posted by Spud1 - Thu 26 Mar 2020 09:16
Bagpuss
I wouldn't give £200 for a VA panel, nevermind £2000.

Then you have clearly never tried one of these panels ;)

This monitor is essentially the same as the Acer & Asus models - its the same panel, same g-sync module and mostly the same inputs - they differ in stand, RGB placement and accessories. The Asus for example includes a high end DAC, and this AOC has headphone holders. Of course there is always a panel lottery so you see some slight variations in the Hexus testing here - if you look at other reviews some have Acer panels with slightly better performance, some the asus, some this one..depends which one you get sent :)

They are all stunning monitors and are truly the best you can buy at the moment for PC gaming. The combination of high refresh rates, very good contrast levels, colour reproduction, viewing angles & “real” HDR is awesome. There are not other panelsl available today that can do this - all of the IPS panels (which are about 1/2 the price) make a big compromise somewhere - usually missing HDR/local dimming (most are only HDR400, which isnt HDR) and G-sync ultimate. BFG screens are a different market and style - you have compromises there too and ofc most people cant (and dont want to!) fit a 50"+ screen on their desk :)

You really would not believe that these are VA panels. I am yet to see any ghosting, blurring etc on my PG35VQ, and I've no regrets in buying it. However if buying again, I would get the AOC just to save the £500.
Posted by gagaga - Fri 03 Apr 2020 13:15
Elephant in the room is the 48inch LG OLED TV. On sale in a bit over a month, £1500 at launch (this will be under £1000 very quickly). Limited to 120HZ@4K, but it's going to clean up an awful lot of the market for these types of screens. There can't be that many people wanting to spend over £1000 on a screen and I suspect OLED will tip the balance.
Posted by Tunnah - Fri 03 Apr 2020 13:24
gagaga
Elephant in the room is the 48inch LG OLED TV. On sale in a bit over a month, £1500 at launch (this will be under £1000 very quickly). Limited to 120HZ@4K, but it's going to clean up an awful lot of the market for these types of screens. There can't be that many people wanting to spend over £1000 on a screen and I suspect OLED will tip the balance.

OLED is no good for desktop use though :/ I was really tempted to get 1 at one point.

I reckon my next screen will be a Samsung QLED. Currently using a 43" Sony HDR TV as my monitor, won't ever go back to a normal screen now

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