AOC AGON 3 AG273QCX Curved Gaming Monitor Review: A Sweet Spot for Gamers

With many excellent choices for players, the 1440p gaming monitor industry has become a competitive arena. Entering this battlefield with its AGON 3 AG273QCX, a 27-inch curved display with many features meant to appeal to the aspirant gamer, AOC Priced at $499, it has DisplayHDR 400 certification, AMD FreeSync 2 and customisable RGB lighting and perfectly fits the 1440p, 144Hz market.

This review investigates if the AOC AGON 3 AG273QX lives up to its reputation as a premium gaming monitor.

27″ aoc agon ag273qcx Features

Features and Design

The 27″ aoc agon ag273qcx strikes first as an excellent impression. Its 27-inch display is improved by an 1800R curve, which pulls you further into the graphics and enhances the immersive gaming experience. For those not experienced with curved displays, especially at this scale, the 1800R curvature is subdued but significant. From what I know, 27 inches is the perfect point when the advantages of the curvature become clear and offer a more interesting gaming session without overloading the user.

Comprising a VA (Vertical Alignment) type, the panel has a native resolution of 2560×1440 and a refresh rate of 144Hz. This mix is often regarded as the sweet spot for contemporary gaming. While the 144Hz refresh rate enables seamless gameplay for fast-paced genres like first-person shooters, the 1440p resolution is sharp enough to produce detailed visuals without requiring top-notch graphics technology.

Although the monitor boldly shows its DisplayHDR 400 certification, it has certain restrictions. Technically, the AG273QCX can satisfy the 400 nits of peak brightness and 10-bit colour depth requirements for VESA’s HDR certification. This only holds, though, when the monitor is set to 60 Hz. At higher refresh rates, say 120Hz or 144Hz, the display can only generate 8-bit colour unless you cut the chroma subsampling to 4-4-4, compromising image quality. Given that two of the prominent selling features of the display are HDR and high refresh rates, this restriction seems rather annoying.

Using HDR on this panel also turns off several of AOC’s built-in gaming capabilities. When HDR is turned on, necessary settings, including Shadow Boost and Game Colour Boost—which let you improve dark regions and adjust colour settings for a competitive edge—are no longer available. This presents a problem for players since HDR is sometimes considered a premium ability, but allowing it locks down other features that can increase your in-game performance.

AMD FreeSync 2 with RGB Customizing

The 27″ aoc agon ag273qcx stands out partly for supporting AMD FreeSync 2. Unlike standard FreeSync, FreeSync 2 is approved by AMD to assure low latency, HDR support, and low framerate compensation (LFC), therefore enabling the monitor to keep smooth graphics over its whole refresh range. This guarantees a constant experience even when the framerate exceeds the monitor’s maximum refresh rate.

You can manually enable G-Sync using Nvidia’s drivers even though the 27″ aoc agon ag273qcx isn’t on their list of G-Sync-certified monitors. This is excellent news for those who own Nvidia graphics cards since they can still use adaptive sync features to lower screen tearing.

Designwise, AOC has done a fantastic job with the monitor’s look. The thin bezels help to minimize distractions and improve the general look. Little, considerate elements like foldable headphone hangers on both sides of the display simplify handling your gaming accessories.

AOC has included an RGB light ring on the rear that you may adjust to fit your gaming configuration. Though the lights are bright, they are not strong enough to produce the ambient lighting effects that stand-alone LED strips may generate. The light is hardly perceptible when positioned against a wall, lessening this feature’s effect.

Extra Connectivity

The AG273QCX guarantees fit with a broad spectrum of devices by including a big choice of ports. It features audio inputs, two HDMI 2.0 connections, two DisplayPort 1.4 inputs, and a VGA connector limited to 1080p at 60Hz. These comprise separate headphone and microphone connectors and a pass-through for tying outside audio equipment to your PC. The monitor is a handy choice for charging gadgets since it has four USB 3.0 connections, one of which stays charged even in standby mode.

Regarding sound, the AG273QCX features two built-in DTS surround sound speakers. Although the audio quality is better than that usually found in most monitors, it is insufficient to substitute gaming headsets or specialised speakers. Given their 5W power output, the speakers provide low bass—expectedly.

The QuickSwitch Controller for AOC

The QuickSwitch controller on this monitor is among its most distinguishing elements. Without negotiating the on-screen display (OSD), this small external control pad lets you quickly transition between several picture profiles. The ability of competitive players to rapidly change settings without stopping games can be a significant benefit. The QuickSwitch controller also lets you fully employ AOC’s Shadow Control capability, which allows you to dynamically change the brightness to increase visibility in darker locations.

The QuickSwitch controller has certain oddities, even if they bring ease. Still, navigating the menu calls for a mix of clicking and tapping right, which first can be perplexing. Once you get used to it, the QuickSwitch becomes a handy tool, improving the whole experience.

An additional highlight is the monitor’s posture. Along with 30 degrees of swivel, it is robust and has a 110mm height-adjusting range. Furthermore, the stand includes a handle that facilitates monitor movement despite eight. For consumers who might have to change the angle often, the monitor feels steady and safe once the stand is set up.

Gaming Test and Performance

VA panels are a favourite among players prioritising image quality because of their rich colours and deep blacks. The 27″ aoc agon ag273qcx delivers brilliant colours and excellent contrast, upholding its reputation. VA panels are well-known, however, for slower response times than TN panels, which can cause motion blur in fast-paced action.

Though this assertion should be seen with a grain of salt, AOC says the AG273QCX boasts a 1 ms “smart response” time. The best response time we found in our tests was 1.6 ms, which is still remarkable but not precisely what the 1 ms AOC promotes. In real-world gaming environments, the monitor did well; nevertheless, there was no noticeable ghosting or input lag.

The few titles we tried the 27″ aoc agon ag273qcx on were Skyrim, Battlefield V, Kingdom Come: Deliverance and Apex Legends. The high refresh rate significantly impacted fast-paced games like Battlefield V and Apex Legends, where the smoothness of 144Hz gaming seemed like a substantial improvement over the regular 60Hz experience. Aiming and camera motions became more exact thanks to the fluidity, greatly benefiting competitive play.

Extra frames per second in Kingdom Come: Deliverance improved the immersion, particularly in combat when fast camera movements are crucial. The vivid colour rendition of the VA panel helped to make the game’s mediaeval settings breathtaking.

Using Skyrim, which benefitted from G-Sync’s smoothness despite being an older game, we also tested the monitor’s adaptive sync features. Virtual elimination of screen tearing was achieved, and the whole experience felt far more responsive.

Conclusion

Particularly at its price range, the feature-packed AOC AGON 3 AGON 3 performs effectively for gaming. Its 1440p resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, and FreeSync 2 support make it a strong rival in the mid-range gaming monitor market. Its restricted HDR capabilities, however, mean that several of the display’s main gaming features are disabled, negating some of the deal-breaking potential of the monitor.

Notwithstanding these flaws, the 27″ aoc agon ag273qcx shines in the areas that affect gamers. The VA panel guarantees seamless gameplay in fast-paced games using excellent colour reproduction and a high refresh rate. One very remarkable ability of the QuickSwitch controller is fast changes throughout gaming. Although it might not be flawless, players looking for a well-rounded, high-performance monitor will find the AOC AGON 3 AG273QCX to present a convincing package.