Lately we have had the chance to see loads of 4K UHD QD-OLED monitors on the market from 27″ to 32″ size, but also varieties of refresh rate and other features/specifications. Today’s topic is based on a monitor that is in the lower tier when it comes to screen size for UHD resolution. We will be looking at AOC AGON PRO AG276UZD which is 27“ monitors delivering incredible pixel per inch density because of its size, some cool features that only more expensive monitors have and to quickly sum it up in the introduction, 240Hz of refresh rate. But wait… there is more to it.
This one just keeps on giving
For you NVIDIA lovers, it is G-Sync compatible. Apart from the incredible refresh rate, response time is 0.03ms GTG with 4K resolution 3840×2160. Now we mentioned that it has incredible pixel density which because of the size being 26.5″ and with the mention resolution having 166 pixels per inch. This will give you clean, crips and insane details in-game or while doing some photo or video editing. Now also, you might think because of the glossy finishing, there will be problems with viewing the picture and screen in general if there is some light directed at it. Of course, there will be some visible reflection, but because of the anti-reflective panel treatment, it is on another level.
Now let’s continue with some specifications taking 1.5M:1 static contrast ratio into consideration and viewing angle, both horizontal and vertical being 178°. This is all possible because it has QD-OLED panel.
Going forward, we have 250nits brightness in SDR, 450nits in HDR and finally, 1000nits in HDR E/P. Taking that into consideration and combining the color space, where we have sRGB at 145.9%, DCI-P3 at 99.3% and Adobe RGB at 96.5% you get quite nice color vibrance at nice brightness. But that is not all since this monitor has HDR, KVM switch, Picture-in-Picture (PiP) and Picture-by-Picture (PbP) while also having some nice physical visuals.
PiP and PbP are easily adjusted through OSD Menu (which we will get back to quite shortly) and the KVM switch consisting of one USB 3.2 Gen2 Type C and one USB Type-B. Some other video features include Anti Blue Light, VESA Certified DisplayHDR True Black 400, Flicker Free and Delta E<2 sRGB.
As for the visual aspect, we have these two segments that have asymetrical shape, which insludes the bottom stand and the back side of the monitor where you connect the stand that also lights up via LightFX. Now this RGB, static or whatever present or custom design of color lighting does not reflect to the wall with any immersion. This means that the lights don’t follow what is happening on the screen while also being not to bright while expanding the light towards the wall. Such a shame, but we understand that would increase the price with brighter LEDs quite a lot and especially if the immersion would be extended “outside” of the monitor.
More details
The screen is surrounded with 3-sided frameless design, while the bottom part has that standard thickness of plastic frame and an AGON logo in the middle. The bezel finishing is in black matt and in general the backside is also in the same design apart from the greyish part where the LightFX is. We are having a removable stand with quick release function, so the only thing that needs to be tied up with a screw (and without the screwdriver) is the bottom stand with the stand for adjust the ergonomics of the monitor.
For the ergonomics of the monitor, we have some quite nice and flexible moves with this stand:
- Tilt – 3.5° ±1.5° ~ 21.5° ±1.5°
- Height adjust (mm) – 120mm
- Swivel – 18.5° ±1.5° ~18.5° ±1.5°
- Pivot – 90° ±2° ~ 90° ±2°
If you push the monitor to the lowest point, you are higher than the table for 50mm while pushing it to the highest point, we are 170mm. This sums up to that height adjustment being 120mm.
But talking connections, this is where it gets interesting since it is quite nicely equipped.
- HDMI: HDMI 2.1 x 2
- DisplayPort: DP 2.1 x 1 (UHBR 20)
- USB-C connectivity: USB-C 3.2 x 1 (DP alt mode, upstream, power delivery up to 65 W)
- USB Hub: ✓
- USB generation: USB 3.2 (Gen 1), 5 Gbit/s
- USB type downstream: 2 x USB-A
- USB fast charge port: ✓
- Audio Output: Headphone out (3.5mm)
AOC AGON PRO AG276UZD also has two speakers with 5W power each + DTS, which sounds decent, even though would only suggest these as for any monitor, only if neccesary. By this, we mean if you can grab yourself a dedicated speakers that have higher quality output with better highs, lows and bass, that would be much more suitable for your ears. Compared to others, these are better than usual for sure.
Now if you are tired of regular stand or simply limited with space and you want to place it on a specific table stand or wall mount, you can do that easily with VESA mount 100×100 with included additional bracket and screws which can be found in the accessory box.
As for the OSD Menu, strange thing is that on a newer monitor, they use the old school design which we had the chance to see on some earlier models. Even the last one we reviewed, AOC AGON PRO AG326UD has nicer and updated version of it. Luckily, you can install their G-Menu which offers almost similar options.
Inside the OSD Menu you can choose the gaming style presets like MMORPG, Action, eSports, RTS, FPS (eSports), Beat-em Up, Racing while for the game mode you have RTS, FPS, Racing, Gamer 1, Gamer 2, Off. G-Menu is packed also with features such as Low Input Lag, Game Color, Shadow Control, Crosshair, Dial Point, Frame Counter…
Going deeper into specifications, 1.073B display colors and as for brightness:
- SDR: 250nits (APL 100%) nits
- HDR: 450 (APL 10%) nits
- HDR E/P: 1000 (APL 3%) nits
Then moving forward, we have video features:
Video Features
- Sync technology (VRR): G-SYNC Ultimate
- NVIDIA Reflex Analyzer: ✓
- Sync range: 1-240
- Digital Signal Frequency Vertical: 48-144Hz(HDMI) / 1-240Hz(DP)
- Digital Signal Frequency Horizontal: 30k-230kHz(HDMI) / 30k-360KHz(DP)
- HDR (High Dynamic Range): VESA Certified DisplayHDR™ 600
- Blue Light Technology: Low Blue Light ee
- Colour space (sRGB) CIE 1931 %: 133
- Colour space (DCI-P3) CIE 1976 %: 102
- Colour space (Adobe RGB) CIE 1976 %: 110
- Colour space (NTSC) CIE 1976 %: 112
- Flicker-Free: ✓
Design and functions
New design of the AOC AGON PRO monitors has the asymmentrical design on the bottom part of the stand which continues to the back side where it is surrounded with the LightFX LEDs that can be adjusted through OSD or G-Menu. Up to personal preference, some might like it for being completely different, yet we presume those with even slight OCD might not like that. But the stand is stable and extending with the actual stand where the monitor is hooked up is versatile. Grey stand, matt black front and back with those RGB LEDs. Also, we have a headset stand at the back and an opening at the top of the stand which can be use to carry your monitor easier than grabbing the whole monitor any other way. Considering that we encountered last time that their monitor didn’t have a headset hanger, this is a plus if we take into consideration users who are space limited and what to use maximum of the space on their gaming setup.
Three sided frameless bezels with the front one having the AGON logo written in grey color with the rest being in matt black. As mentioned earlier, the stand is removable, and we have an option for VESA mount 100×100 with added accessory inside the box.
For console compatibility, we have PS5 with resolution of 3840×2160 at 120Hz as well as XBOX X. For the XBOX S compatibility, we have 2560×1440 resolution at 120Hz.
Now we know already all the ports and connections, but what is in the box considering cables. You get quite nice amount of cabling for every type of connection:
- 1x HDMI 2.1 (length 1.8m)
- 1x DP 2.1 (length 1.8m)
- 1x USB-B to USB-A (length 1.8m)
- 1x USB-C Gen2 (length 1.5m)
And regarding power, the adapter is not integrated inside the monitor which means you are getting a power cord from your wall socket to the adapter and then the adapter from that part goes to your monitor. Shame for the adapter, since this is another thing that will be hanging somewhere, or you need to hide it to make it nice and tidy.
Work and game – monitor visual aspect
It depends on what monitor gets to your doorstep or which one you pick from the shelf. Some are almost perfectly configured, while some need to be adjusted slightly. How much can you adjust is up to your preferences, but in general this could be adjusted further if there would some firmware update. We have heard from some that this monitor needs to be calibrated, while specifically this one was solid right out of the box.
In general, this specific model we received for review was nicely calibrated. Crisp picture quality, specifically because of the pixel density, but also because of more details for nice and sharper images. Taking into consideration QD-OLED panel and UHD display, we are getting beautiful pictures and visuals for work, productivity or gaming with vivid colors. Going deeper, literally, DisplayHDR True Black 400 brings us deeper and more accurate black levels for better gaming experience in thos dungeons or simply darker places inside the games which can be also adjusted with three stages inside OSD Menu. In other terms, you won’t be getting washed out dark scenes in both movies and games. inside OSD Menu. In other terms, you won’t be getting washed out dark scenes in both, movies and games.
Going through everything and thinking what makes this monitor stand out. First thing that is impressive is the price tag, going at 550 UK pounds. This is 100 less than competitors, which makes it quite interesting.
Specifically, this model that we had for review didn’t need much adjustment. Maybe colors were a bit too warm, but that could be fixed easily. Regardless of that, everything else considering picture quality while checking out videos, gaming and productivity in general was amazing.
Then we have the old school, or so to say, OSD Menu that needs to be adjusted to something newer than other models in the same QD-OLED category which isn’t a big deal since we have the G-Menu which gives us an option to adjust the monitor settings directly from our PC. But still, some of you don’t like unnecessary software on your computer so updated version would be really appreciated. Flexibility in movements of this monitor is outstanding giving the possibility to adjust the height and rotation on both sides, but the wobbliness of the monitor on the stand if you are aggressively gaming or a heavy writer, this might be irritating. VESA mount can fix that.
So outstanding picture quality, for some right out of the box, for some with little adjustments to correct that warm-ish colors, flexibility and the pixel density, while also adding KVM, PiP/PbP and many other options makes it a cool best buy for sure. If you were looking for 26.5″ or 27″ monitor with QD-OLED panel and UHD resolution, this might be something for you.
For those of you who like to watch, instead of reading, here is my full breakdown from my YouTube channel:
