Bottom Line
The AOC AG274QG offers smooth performance thanks to its G-SYNC module and quick response time, while its IPS panel with a wide color gamut and high brightness ensures an immersive image quality. You also get plenty of interesting features, but the price is a bit too high.
The AOC AG274QG is yet another 27″ 1440p 240Hz IPS monitor option for those seeking a buttery-smooth competitive gaming experience without sacrificing image quality by going with a cheaper 1080p display.
Here’s how it compares to its alternatives.
Image Quality
Many competitive gamers will prioritize refresh rate over resolution to ensure the highest frame rate and therefore the lowest input lag.
However, depending on the game you’re playing and your PC rig, a higher resolution can have its advantages too – mainly, you get a sharper and clearer image with more defined details due to the high pixel density of 108.79 PPI (pixels per inch).
Additionally, these 1440p 240Hz models have a wider color gamut than the 1080p 360Hz alternatives, and having more saturated colors can make your enemies easier to distinguish in certain environments.
On top of that, if you plan on using your monitor for something other than competitive gaming, 1440p is the way to go.
While 360Hz is smoother and has lower input lag, the jump from 240Hz is not that noticeable, so even a lot of professional players go with 1440p 240Hz. Of course, it all comes down to personal preference.
The AOC AGON AG274QG covers 98% of the DCI-P3 color space (~135% sRGB gamut size), which results in rich and saturated colors.
It also has a dedicated ‘SDR Colors sRGB’ mode in the OSD (On-Screen Display) menu that clamps the gamut down to ~100% sRGB for more neutral colors. This mode doesn’t lock any image settings!
Keep in mind that AOC advertises relative gamut size instead of the actual coverage on their product page: 102% DCI-P3 and 110% Adobe RGB. It actually covers 98% DCI-P3 and ~83% Adobe RGB color space, which is a bit misleading.
Moving on, the IPS panel of the AOC AG274QG monitor also offers 178° wide viewing angles, ensuring that the image will remain consistent regardless of the angle you’re looking at the screen.
Next, it has a strong peak brightness of 450-nits, meaning that it can get more than bright enough even for well-lit rooms. The static contrast ratio is 1,000:1, as expected from an IPS display, so you won’t get as deep blacks as that of VA panels, which usually have a contrast ratio of ~3,000:1.
VA monitors, on the other hand, have other disadvantages, such as gamma/contrast shifts caused by narrower viewing angles, (usually) slower response time speed and imperfect VRR (variable refresh rate) performance.
Samsung’s Odyssey G7 1440p 240Hz VA models do have a rapid response time speed, but the VRR performance isn’t as good as that of the AOC AG274QG and they have an aggressive 1000R screen curvature that doesn’t appeal to some gamers.
Another weakness of IPS monitors is IPS glow. It can be described as visible glowing around the corners of the screen at certain viewing angles. However, it’s mostly noticeable when displaying dark content in a dark room with a high brightness setting, so it’s manageable.
Furthermore, the AOC AG274QG supports HDR (High Dynamic Range) and has VESA’s DisplayHDR 600 certification.
HDR content gets a boost in peak brightness up to 600-nits and there are 32 dimming zones that will dim parts of the image that are supposed to be dark. Since the backlight of the monitor is edge-lit and there are only 32 zones across the entire 27″ sized screen with almost 4 million pixels, the local dimming solution is not very effective unless bright and dark objects are far apart.
Overall, you’re not getting the true HDR viewing experience, which would require an OLED panel or a display with a lot more (full-array) local dimming zones, but at least some HDR scenes will look noticeably better than SDR. You can use local dimming for both SDR and HDR content.
Performance
The AOC AG274QG AGON Pro has a dedicated G-SYNC module, which ensures flawless VRR performance. You can also utilize VRR via Adaptive-Sync over DisplayPort if you have an AMD FreeSync GPU.
VRR prevents screen tearing by dynamically synchronizing the display’s refresh rate to your frame rate and unlike V-Sync, it doesn’t introduce any perceptible input lag. At 65FPS, for instance, the monitor changes to 65Hz in order to display 65 full frames without tearing, stuttering, or added latency.
Another advantage of the G-SYNC module is variable overdrive. The AOC AG274QG monitor has four overdrive modes: Off, Weak, Medium and Strong.
Both Medium and Strong add too much overshoot. ‘Weak’ is a bit faster than ‘Off’ but it can add a little bit of overshoot, so you can pick between these two modes according to your personal preference.
The pixel response time speed is rapid and there’s no noticeable ghosting behind fast-moving objects regardless of your refresh/frame rate. Input lag is imperceptible at just ~2ms of delay.
Now, the monitor has NVIDIA’s G-SYNC Ultimate certification. Previously, this certification required a peak brightness of 1,000-nits and full-array local dimming but has since been downgraded to ‘lifelike HDR’, which seems closer to the minimum requirements of DisplayHDR 600 paired with the G-SYNC module.
Further, the module requires a cooling fan, but it’s mostly quiet. Some users have reported audible coil whine or similar buzzing, however, so if you have a particularly quiet build and like to game/work in silence, you should consider another display.
At the rear of the display, there’s a quad-USB 3.0 hub (four downstream + 1 upstream). The yellow-colored port has fast charging support, while the green one is intended for NVIDIA Reflex Analyzer.
If you have a compatible mouse, you can connect it to this port and measure input latency, allowing you to tweak some settings to ensure you’re getting the lowest input lag possible.
Note that this is different from NVIDIA Reflex, which is an option in some games that reduces input lag – Reflex Analyzer just measures it.
Features
The OSD menu is well-organized, but the navigation through it isn’t very smooth due to the clunky directional joystick, which is placed at the rear of the display.
There’s a desktop application that allows you to make your adjustments there, but it’s also a bit buggy. On top of that, the monitor doesn’t support DDC/CI, so you cannot use third-party applications, such as ClickMonitorDDC to adjust monitor settings.
It’s not all bad news, though.
The brightness adjustment is shown in nits (from 40-nits to 450-nits) as opposed to the more common 0 to 100 settings.
You also get a Quick Switch ‘puck’ which you can connect to the monitor via the provided micro-USB cable to quickly change between different presets and remotely navigate the OSD menu.
Other useful features include Shadow Control (improves visibility in dark scenes), crosshair overlays, a refresh rate tracker, Game Color (adjusts color saturation), various picture presets, and an integrated light sensor that can change screen brightness according to ambient lighting.
Besides the standard image adjustment tools (brightness, contrast, color temperature, etc.), the AOC AG274QG also offers 6-axis hue/saturation, five gamma presets and Input Auto Switch support.
Lastly, the monitor has a flicker-free backlight and an integrated low-blue light filter.
Design & Connectivity
The stand of the monitor is fairly sturdy and offers full ergonomic support, including up to 120mm height adjustment, -5°/23° tilt, 90° clockwise pivot, +/- 20° swivel and 100x100mm VESA mount compatibility.
There are 6 LED strips at the rear of the monitor with LightFX RGB lighting as well as a logo projector and a headset hanger. You also get a shielding hood.
Connectivity options are abundant and include two HDMI 2.0 ports (limited to 144Hz), DisplayPort 1.4, a quad-USB 3.0 hub, dual 5W DTS integrated speakers with decent audio quality, a headphone jack, and both input and output microphone jacks.
It also supports the 1080p 120Hz and 1440p 120Hz console modes.
Price & Similar Monitors
The AOC AG274QG price goes for around $600, which is a bit steep.
You can get a 1440p 240Hz display for as low as $350 nowadays, such as the HP Omen 27qs.
To learn more about monitors and ensure you’re getting the model most suited for your personal preference, visit our comprehensive and always up-to-date best gaming monitor buyer’s guide.
Conclusion
All in all, the AOC AG274QG is an excellent gaming monitor with smooth performance, vibrant image quality and plenty of useful features. However, there are better alternatives in this price range.
Specifications
| Screen Size | 27-inch |
| Resolution | 2560×1440 (QHD) |
| Panel Type | IPS |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:9 (Widescreen) |
| Refresh Rate | 240Hz |
| Response Time (GtG) | 1ms (GtG) |
| Adaptive-Sync | G-SYNC Ultimate (30-240Hz) + Adaptive-Sync |
| Speakers | 2x5W |
| Ports | DisplayPort 1.4, 2x HDMI 2.0 |
| Other Ports | Headphone Jack, Microphone in/out, 4x USB 3.0 |
| Brightness | 450 cd/m² |
| Brightness (HDR) | 600 cd/m² |
| Contrast Ratio | 1000:1 (static) |
| Colors | 1.07 billion (8-bit + FRC) 98% DCI-P3 |
| HDR | DisplayHDR 600 |
| Local Dimming | 32-zone edge-lit |
| VESA | Yes (100x100mm) |
The Pros:
- G-SYNC up to 240Hz
- High pixel density, wide color gamut and wide viewing angles
- DisplayHDR 600
- Low input lag and quick response time speed
- Fully ergonomic design and rich connectivity options
The Cons:
- Expensive
- IPS glow and mediocre contrast ratio (as expected from this panel technology)
