AOC CU34G2X Review: 3440×1440 144Hz UltraWide Curved Gaming Monitor

The AOC CU34G2X is one of the most affordable 3440×1440 144Hz ultrawide gaming monitors yet it offers a versatile design, an immersive image quality and numerous extra features.

However, its specifications are all over the place, with different specs being shown even on AOC’s official regional webpages (AOC Europe, US, China, etc).

This review will make it all clearer. Here is everything you need to know about this ultrawide curved gaming monitor.

Image Quality

The AOC CU34G2X is based on Samsung’s curved VA (Vertical Alignment) panel, which boasts a static contrast ratio of 3,000:1, a peak brightness of 300-nits, 178° viewing angles and true 8-bit color depth.

As expected from a VA panel, blacks are deep, whites are bright and the overall relationship between the darkest and the brightest tones is quite expressive, making for an immersive viewing experience, particularly in dark rooms.

Now, the monitor is factory-calibrated at Delta E < 2, so colors are accurate and powerful as well. However, they are not as consistent and vibrant as they are on IPS panel monitors, so we don’t recommend this monitor for color-critical operations. For basic content creation, gaming, and other use, though, it will do just fine.

Furthermore, the monitor boasts a color gamut volume of ~119% sRGB, which results in more saturated and lifelike colors. Some users actually don’t prefer this saturation as it can make certain colors appear ‘neon-like.’

Luckily, an emulated sRGB color mode is provided, which limits the gamut to ~100% sRGB for more accurate color representation as the sRGB color space is used for most web content and games.

Although not specified, you can also set the color depth to 10-bit (via dithering) for the AOC CU34G2X monitor in your GPU’s driver settings for smoother gradients.

Naturally, IPS ultrawides will provide you with punchier and more precise colors, but you won’t get nearly as high contrast nor deep blacks.

The UWQHD screen resolution of 3440×1440 pixels results in a high pixel density of roughly 110 pixels per inch on the 34″ viewable screen of the AOC CU34G2X monitor. This means that you get plenty of screen space as well as sharp and vivid details without any scaling necessary.

Performance

Moving on, the input lag of the AOC CU34G2X display is just below 6ms, which makes for imperceptible delay at 144Hz.

As usual, the pixel response time speed is the weakest point of most VA panels, including this one.

The specified 4ms (GtG) response time speed is notably slower when it comes to the transition of dark pixels into brighter shades, and so, you will be able to notice black smearing with fast-moving objects.

Here’s the deal:

The smearing is mainly noticeable in darker scenes and at high frame rates (assuming FreeSync is enabled), but unless you’re a hardcore FPS gamer or extremely sensitive to motion blur and ghosting, it’s tolerable.

We recommend using the ‘Medium’ overdrive mode in order to minimize ghosting without adding overshoot.

In more graphically oriented games such as RPGs, you won’t notice any issues allowing you to enjoy deep blacks, great colors fully and crisp details the AOC CU34G2X provides.

Additionally, if the smearing starts to bother you, you can lower the monitor’s refresh rate to 120Hz or use its MBR (Motion Blur Reduction) technology, which via backlight strobing decreases the perceived motion blur.

MBR cannot be used at the same time as FreeSync, and it reduces the monitor’s maximum brightness while active.

Using the MBR option in the OSD (On-Screen Display) menu, you can manually alter the frequency of backlight strobing (brightness vs. motion clarity trade-off).

Note that the monitor uses a flicker-free backlight and features a low-blue light filter, which together eliminates eye strain and headaches caused by prolonged use of the display.

The AOC CU34G2X supports AMD FreeSync with a 48-144 variable refresh rate (VRR) range. Keep in mind that the range is not 30-144Hz as shown on AOC’s EU website.

FreeSync allows the monitor to change its refresh rate dynamically, according to GPU’s frame rates, which in turn eliminates screen tearing and stuttering with minimal input lag penalty (~1ms).

It works as long as you have a compatible GPU, and your frame rate stays within 48-144Hz/FPS range. Below 48FPS, LFC kicks in and maintains a smoother performance by multiplying the frame rate (47FPS = 94Hz, etc.).

Now:

The AOC CU34G2X is not certified by NVIDIA as G-SYNC compatible, even though many non-certified monitors work flawlessly with NVIDIA cards, many units of the CU34G2X do have some issues.

Some units of the monitor have VRR brightness flickering in certain scenarios when using FreeSync, mainly when your FPS fluctuates and in in-game menus and cutscenes.

Keep in mind that this issue affects most gaming monitors based on VA panels, ultrawide or not.

Features

Besides FreeSync and MBR, you get plenty of additional useful gaming features, including Shadow Control (improves visibility in darker games) and Game Color (quick color saturation adjustments).

What’s more, you will find customizable crosshair overlays, a frame counter and pre-calibrated picture modes (FPS, RTS, Racing, and three fully customizable profiles).

The overdrive option has five modes in total (Off, Weak, Medium, Strong, and Boost). As mentioned, we recommend using the Medium option. The Boost mode is actually the Strong mode used with MBR set to 20 (max), which will make the picture too dim.

For the best MBR performance, we recommend manually setting the MBR option to ~10 and using ‘Medium’ overdrive preset with FPS capped at 100 or 120 via VSync or in-game FPS cap (in this case, set the refresh rate to 100Hz or 120Hz too — depending on your in-game FPS).

Other features include Picture in Picture, Picture by Picture and HDR (High Dynamic Range) support.

Keep this in mind:

Most HDR content will not look any better with HDR enabled because the monitor lacks local dimming and high enough brightness for a noteworthy HDR viewing experience.

This is expected from a monitor with these specs, and HDR support at this price range as implementing a good local dimming solution in this monitor would considerably increase its price.

Additionally, the OSD menu is user-friendly, but navigation through it via the four small hotkeys beneath the bottom bezel is not as pleasant; we’d prefer a joystick.

Luckily, you can download the G-Menu desktop application, which will allow you to make most of the adjustments using your mouse and keyboard.

For the best image quality out of the box, we recommend setting the color temperature preset to either ‘Normal’ or ‘sRGB’ — or ‘User’ for manual calibration. It would also help if you also headed over to this website for calibration and fiddle with different settings until you find the best one. 

Design & Connectivity

Considering the monitor’s specifications and price, its design quality and connectivity options are quite impressive. The design is stylish yet not too aggressively gamer-inspired while the stand is sturdy.

Moreover, it offers a wide range of ergonomics, including up to 130mm height adjustment, +/- 30° swivel, -5°/23° tilt and 100x100mm VESA mount compatibility.

The screen of the monitor has a steep 1500R curvature, which further improves the viewing experience by adding depth to the picture and increasing your field of view.

Connectivity options are abundant and include two HDMI 2.0 ports, two DisplayPort 1.4 inputs, a headphone jack and one upstream + four downstream USB 3.0 ports (one with quick charging).

Keep in mind that HDMI 2.0 maxes out at 100Hz at 3440×1440. For 144Hz, you will need to use DisplayPort 1.4. If your GPU has DP 1.2, you will be limited to 120Hz at 3440×1440.

FreeSync is supported over all four ports, but the VRR range over HDMI is 48-100Hz.

Price & Similar Monitors

The AOC CU34G2X used to go for ~$330 – $400, but it seems to be discontinued now – at least in the US.

As an alternative, we recommend the MSI MAG342CQR or the KTC H34S18S – both of which feature newer panels at a lower cost below $300.

You can also find similar 34″ 3440×1440 high refresh rate curved VA models without wide color gamut (99% sRGB) at a lower price ($250 – $300):

• Aopen 34HC5CURP
• LG 34GP63A
• LG 34WP60C – tilt-only version of the 34GP63A

There are a few good alternatives with a wide 90% DCI-P3 color gamut available as well:

• Gigabyte G34WQC-A
• Dell S3422DWG
• HP Omen 34c
• Sceptre C345B-QUT168 (85% DCI-P3)

All four of the above-mentioned ultrawide monitors use the same (or a very similar) panel, so the image quality and performance will be basically identical.

Therefore, you can simply choose according to your preference of the design/features or go for whichever is available/cheaper. Not sure which one to pick? Leave us a comment below!

If you don’t want to deal with slow response time and VRR brightness flickering, you should consider an IPS monitor, though you won’t have as high contrast ratio. We recommend the Acer XR343CKP with a curved panel or the Sceptre E345B-QUN168W with a flat panel.

Visit our best ultrawide monitors buyer’s guide for more information and the best deals available.

Conclusion

What are our final thoughts?

The AOC CU34G2X is a great gaming monitor for the money and it offers an immersive viewing experience. However, if you’re sensitive to smearing and screen tearing, you should get an IPS version instead.

Specifications

Screen Size	34-inch
Screen Curvature	1500R
Resolution	3440×1440 (UWQHD)
Panel Type	VA
Aspect Ratio	21:9 (UltraWide)
Refresh Rate	144Hz
Response Time (GtG)	4ms
Response Time (MPRT)	1ms
Adaptive Sync	FreeSync (48Hz-144Hz)
Ports	2x DisplayPort 1.4, 2x HDMI 2.0
Other Ports	4x USB 3.0, Headphone Jack
Brightness	300 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio	3000:1 (static)
Colors	1.07 billion (8-bit + FRC)
HDR	HDR10
VESA	Yes (100x100mm)