AOC Gaming Q27G4X 27 Inch QHD Monitor
design
The AOC Gaming monitor lineup is a busy one with a product list that seems to go on and on forever. The Q27G4X is one of the most traditional looking in the range though with an all-black frame and simple angular stand. I’d hesitate to call it boring, after all I’d rather what’s on the screen be what draws attention, but there’s certainly more exciting looking monitors out there.
The Q27G4X’s hexagonal base is perhaps a tad larger than I’d like it to be and does need a decent amount of desktop real estate, but it’s completely flat and so still offers usable space for things like an Elgato Stream Deck or microphone. A cut-out through the pillar offers plenty of room for running cables and there’s a good amount of adjustment across all planes including a full 90 degree rotation to run the monitor as a portrait display. As far as monitor stands go, I’ve no major complaints. Of course there’s VESA 100×100 mount support on the AOC Q27G4X so you can do away with the stand completely which is how I had it set up for testing.
Marketed as a ‘3-sided frameless’ monitor, the AOC Q27G4X lands with a pretty chunky bottom bezel but a respectably small amount of dead space to the sides and top. You’ll find around 8mm of blank screen and frame to each side which is slim enough to not cause major issue when running two monitors side by side. The bottom lip is larger than you’ll find on other models and a tad larger than I’d want to see ideally, but it’s not really impactful in the grand scheme of things. It’s a relatively trim monitor too, the AOC Q27G4X was slimmer overall than my existing Dell S2721DS so I had no clearance issues when using a rigid monitor arm.
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Around the back you’ll find downward facing inputs along with a 3.5mm headphone jack. A pleasant surprise is the inclusion of dual HDMI inputs alongside the single DisplayPort input, something I wasn’t expecting to see on a monitor at this price point. It makes the AOC Q27G4X an attractive option for gamers looking to run both a PC and console setup without messing around with cable swapping and the HDMI 2.0 specification means you’ll be able to game up to 120fps at 1440p.
performance
I’ve been testing the AOC Q27G4X for a couple of weeks and across every task I’ve thrown at it it’s been a joy to use. At times it’s hard to believe its £229.99 price point as it’s hardly put a foot wrong and at times has genuinely impressed at a level far beyond that RRP.
For day to day productivity the AOC Q27G4X’s 2560x1440px QHD resolution is wonderfully sharp. Even small text remains particularly clear and the difference it makes is really highlighted by the step back down to a 1080p monitor where things suddenly feel out of focus and soft. If you’re guilty of remaining tied to your screen there’s even a break reminder option hidden in the OSD which is both completely unnecessary and also quite cool to see included.
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Where the AOC Q27G4X really begins to show its value however is when you start gaming. The 1ms response time is snappy and the 180Hz is silky smooth across a range of different titles. I was impressed at the detail the Q27G4X retained in high speed scenes in Forza Horizon 5 and even while driving around at night there was little noticeable trailing behind bright light sources. AOC includes Overdrive settings in the OSD and I found a noticeable improvement in high motion clarity with this set on medium. It’s worth testing and cycling through each option as how far you can push the limit will be subjective but it’s definitely worth enabling in some form.
While HDR is technically present here, its impact is negligible as the low HDR400 rating fails to deliver particularly punchy differences. At this price it’s better than nothing and there is a small improvement in the impact of colours with it turned on rather than off, but don’t come into this expecting breathtaking HDR performance like you’d find on a top end screen. I also find Windows’ handling of moving between HDR and non-HDR content a little ropey at times so you may be better off properly dialling in your SDR colours rather than blindly flicking on one of the HDR options.
On the topic of colour, the AOC Q27G4X is again impressive with saturated, rich colours in bright scenes. Watching 4K HDR nature videos highlighted just how good this mid-range monitor is with superb detail and strong contrast between colours. Performance in darker scenes is less impressive but that’s to be expected with an IPS panel. It’s fine and it’s the compromise you have to make for the price as you’ll never see the same deep true blacks as you would with a far pricier OLED option. There’s also a reasonably noticeable amount of backlight bleed in all four corners of my panel which will make itself known in completely black scenes, but this is to be expected with a backlit monitor and it’s a bit of a lottery from panel to panel your mileage may vary.
summed up
Across gaming, video and day to day productive the AOC Q27G4X is an excellent monitor; particularly for the price. At £229.99 it delivers loads of value for gamers looking to make the step up from 1080p but without wanting to break the bank.
Resolution is sharp, colours are rich and the impressively high 180Hz refresh rate will satisfy even the most serious of gamers. There are compromises of course, HDR performance is weak and the IPS panel concessions of backlight bleed were a factor on my panel. But these did little to detract from just how good this gaming monitor is for the price point.
