Gaming Monitor Final Thoughts

Ultra-wide curved gaming monitors are all the rage, with plenty of offerings available with the 21:9 aspect ratio. While most share the same 3440 x 1440 resolution and ghastly 4 ms response time, they differ in other ways that matter, such as color gamut and contrast. High Dynamic Range is a feature that sets 4K televisions apart from their newer and more technically astute 4K HDR counterparts, and this is no different for these WQHD monitors. On their heels are true 4K variant with 16:9 aspect ratio and 3840 x 2160 resolution, but typically ghosting remains an issue.

Panel technology plays an important role in response time, refresh rate, contrast and color gamut. That being said, the traditional characteristics found on certain panel types is quickly evolving, so it’s more meaningful to chase the panel’s specifications rather than a particular panel type. TN panels once known for their fast refresh speeds are slowly creeping into the realm of vibrant IPS panels, and vice versa.

Ideally, your graphics card will synchronize a games frame rate to the display’s refresh rate, producing, for example, 120 FPS for a 120 Hz monitor. But pixels require processing power, and modern GPUs are still trying to keep up with the 144 Hz refresh rate for 2.1-million pixels found on many 1920 x 1080 gaming monitors that also feature 1 ms ghost-busting response times. Doing the math, your video card would need to compute nearly 5-million pixels on a 21:9 WQHD monitor such as the AG352UCG6, or 8.3-million pixels on a 3840 x 2160 UHD 4K gaming monitor.

Going beyond basic vertical scan synchronization (v-sync), proprietary solutions exist such as AMD’s Active Sync or NVIDIA’s G-Sync. If you want to enjoy v-sync (or G-Sync) with a 3840 x 2160 WQHD monitor such as the AOC AG352UCG6, you should plan to use a GeForce GTX 1070 or better. If that desire stretches to a 3840 x 2160 UHD gaming monitor, then a GeForce GTX 1080 Ti should be considered required equipment.

AOC AGON AG352UCG6 Conclusion

The first area we rate is performance. While testing the AOC AGON AG352UCG6 gaming monitor, I was surprised to find that the refresh rate was set to 100 Hz by default. After enabling 120 Hz using this display’s ‘OverClock’ function, the refresh rate tested accurate. Ghosting is a problem for VA panels, and AG352UCG6 was no exception. Using the Medium setting on ‘Overdrive’ was artificially brighter, but with less ghosting.

AOC’s AGON AG352UCG6 comes in two styles: standard with silver stand, or Black Edition with all-black appearance. Both varieties offer user-selected red, green, or blue lighting accents at the back and bottom of bezel, which can be matched to the color scheme of your gaming PC. The glossy black bezel on this panel measured 15 mm around the top and sides, which is average.

Construction was solid, overall, save for one pixel in the lower left that was stuck red. AOC offers an industry leading 3-year warranty paired with 90-days of Ease Replacement program, so if that stuck pixel was a real problem I could contact AOC at (510)-770-9988 and they would ship out an advance replacement, allowing me to use this display while I await delivery of the new unit.

In terms of functionality, the AOC AGON AG352UCG6 received top marks. The ultra-wide 3440 x 1440 UWQHD resolution is the primary reason for owning this monitor, paired with a 120 Hz refresh rate. Proprietary features such as AOC’s FlickerFree feature and LowBlue mode further enhance (and improve) the user experience. While USB 3.0 passthrough seems commonplace these days, the articulating stand was a noteworthy standout from others.

As of June 2018, the AOC AGON AG352UCG6 curved 35” G-SYNC gaming monitor was in-stock and available online for $849 (Amazon | Newegg). This is an expensive enthusiast product, but in relation to other displays the price is fair and affordable. Matched against other curved 35″ displays, AG352UCG6 is quite competitive.

In summary, I can recommend the AOC AGON AG352UCG6 to gamers wanting to expand their field of view without breaking their budget. For hardcore gamers, ghosting will remain and issue with ultra-wide monitors utilizing VA panel technology with 4 ms response time, so look for panels that offer 1 ms response with 120 Hz or better refresh.

Pros:

+ 3440 x 1440 UWQHD Resolution (Ultrawide 2K)
+ Extended widescreen peripheral field of view
+ Gamer-friendly 120 Hz refresh rate
+ 3-Year warranty / 90-day Ease Replacement program
+ Smooth swivel, tilt and height adjustments
+ Includes HDMI, DP, and USB cables

Cons:

– Ghosting evident (4 ms response time)
– Lacks High Dynamic Range color output
– Lacks DVI input (HDMI & DP only)
– 1 stuck pixel (red)

Ratings:

• Performance: 8.50
• Appearance: 9.25
• Construction: 8.75
• Functionality: 9.25
• Value: 8.00

Final Score: 8.75 out of 10.