AOC Gaming C27G4ZXE review

pcgamer.com:

Remember the days when high-refresh gaming meant taking out a new mortgage? Thankfully, they're gone as the new AOC Gaming C27G4ZXE proves. This is a fully 280 Hz gaming monitor for well under $200. Hooray.

Of course, at this price point something has to give. Actually, with the AOC Gaming C27G4ZXE, plenty has to give. The most obvious casualty to cost reduction is resolution. This 27 incher is a mere 1080p panel, so that's 1,920 by 1,080 pixels.

The result is a very modest pixel density of just 82 DPI. We'll come back to the impact that has on image quality. But up front it's worth noting that while this relatively low resolution is a necessary compromise to hit the price point, it actually makes sense from a price-performance perspective.

If you're shopping monitors at this end of the market, safe to assume you're not running a $1,000 GPU. So, a lower resolution will likely be a better fit with your graphics card, especially if you want to make use of that 280 Hz refresh.

Screen size: 27-inch
Resolution: 1,920 x 1,080
Brightness: 300 nits full screen
Response time: 0.3 ms MPRT, 1 ms GTG
Refresh rate: 280 Hz
HDR: HDR10
Features: VA panel, HDMI 2.0 x2, DisplayPort 1.4
Price: $175 (estimated) | £159 (Hub model)

Anyway, the next concession is a VA rather than IPS panel. As we routinely explain, VA tends to have worse response and viewing angles compared to IPS, but better contrast. This isn't always the case, but the slower pixel response can obviously be a bit of a bummer on a gaming display.

Those limitations aside, the AOC Gaming C27G4ZXE is also a little stingy when it comes to build, ergonomics and connectivity. This monitor feels a bit cheap and the stand only offers tilt adjustment.

That said, it doesn't actually look too poverty stricken thanks to some nice geometric design for the stand base and rear of the screen enclosure. This isn't a totally anonymous black square, some effort has gone in. The 27-inch panel's gentle 1500R curve also adds perhaps the