[trallawan]

First of all, I’m new into the monitors world, and I have already spent weeks researching and learning about all the parameters that conform a good criteria in order to buy myself a new display. Finding this site and its comprehensive reviews makes me really grateful for the effort done here, so thank you in advance.

I come from a decent, but old 1080p 60Hz TN LG display, and I decided that I should be taking more advantage of my new GPU. To me, I’m convinced that the sweetspot given my GPU and tastes is a 1080p 144Hz around 24”.

In the first place I just rushed my decision a little and, based only in biased knowledge about specifications, purchased the AOC G2590PX. I didn’t last very long until I realized the severe interlace pattern artifacts that really annoyed me. It was one of your reviews that proved me that those vertical stripes were really a thing, and couldn’t help but refund the monitor. So here we are, this time, I know I don’t want unpleasant surprises and I’m a bit more careful with my research.

I realized that performance to me wasn’t everything, so I discarded TN panels (I like fast paced gaming but also enjoy good atmospheres in games like Red Dead Redemption 2), so I have chosen the IPS option. These are my candidates:

– AOC 24G2U: Got every information I need from your review, and made sure that interlace patterns were “extremely subtle” according to the review, so good to me. Also the relatively high contrast for the panel, plus the vivid colors and decent response time. Plus, is alredy proven an extremely popular display.

– ASUS TUF VG249Q: This is where I feel I would love to have some more information. From what I learnt from not very complete reviews, it has a decent contrast, but not as good as the AOC, colors are good but more natural and less vibrant, and I don’t really know if response time is sensitively better or worse.

So, the AOC being in stock in my country is a rare sight. It could be days or weeks until the next restocking, but I’m patient enough. But the ASUS is available, and I’m tempted to buy it without having still all the information I’d like. So I’ll sum it up:

– Can interlace pattern artifacts be notable in an IPS like this? should I worry about the chances of it having them? (I really got sick of them so it’s a main concern now)

– Somewhere is stated that the ASUS is around 1300 contrast ratio, vs the 1500 contrast ratio in the AOC. How notifiable would this be? is this subtle difference a “game changer”?

– Can a better response time or overdrive be expected, keeping in mind that the ASUS is a newer, more expensive display?

– And last… colors. I sense this is a subjective matter, but, are the vivid colors of the AOC such a great deal, or is just not worth it, or event maybe an overrated feature?

Again, thanks for doing such a good job, I honestly think other sites are no match for the quality of this site’s reviews. (and of course excuse any errors in my English, is not my mother tongue)

[PCM2]

Hi trallawan,

I’m glad you appreciate this unique resource, it’s always nice to see such positive feedback.

The same CELL is used on both products. That means the same panel is used, but the backlight is different. The AOC 24G2(U) has a significantly wider colour gamut than the ASUS VG249Q because of these backlight differences, yielding a much more vibrant look to the image. The ASUS produces shades in a way that’s truer to their original sRGB intentions – you can of course profile either monitor for the best results if doing colour-critical work. Or follow the steps mentioned in the colour reproduction section of the AOC review to curtail the gamut. Because the same CELL is used, it’s unlikely there’s an actual difference between contrast ratio on the two models. I’d put it down to different measuring equipment or simply inter-unit variation. Although the ASUS could be more tightly calibrated or setup differently such that the contrast ratio is a bit lower ‘out of the box’ or with slight adjustment. Either way, don’t sweat that difference as it’s negligible really.

The interlace patterns are not of concern on the AOC 24G2(U). Some units may suffer them more noticeably, but never to the extent observed on the G2590PX. They’re most likely to manifest as described in the review, on the 24G2(U). I did receive feedback from a user who noticed some interference patterns he thought were ‘interlace pattern artifacts’, but they were eliminated by using a different port to connect the monitor up. Either because his GPU had a dodgy port or because he decided to use the port closest to the motherboard initially. Perhaps a bit of both. My general advice, if you do notice apparent interference (can appear like ‘dynamic interlace pattern artifacts’, waves down the screen or other artifacts) on the AOC or any monitor for that matter is to use the port furthest from the motherboard. Or try a thicker, better-shielded display cable.

The ASUS doesn’t really have better pixel overdrive and it’s not really newer, either. Both models were under development and initially released (in some regions) at the same time. Not that it would make any difference if it was newer, it doesn’t really work like that. AOC really did a superb job at optimising the panel, using the ‘Strong’ setting. There’s not much they could’ve done to get more out of the panel, without introducing obvious overshoot. According to user feedback I’ve seen on the ASUS it has slightly worse, not better pixel overdrive tuning. At least for some transitions with very dark shades involved. There’s not an awful lot in it really and this is nitpicking, but this feedback seems to go against the ASUS having better pixel overdrive tuning than the AOC.

As for colour reproduction, it’s explored in detail in the review. Read through the colour reproduction section of the review and watch that section of the video review a few times as it will give you a very good idea of what to expect. It is, ultimately, very subjective. Some people prefer colours that ‘pop’ more and are more vibrant, others prefer a more muted and accurate (‘rich and natural’) appearance to the image. The ASUS would not be ‘washed out’. Although the colour gamut doesn’t extend much beyond sRGB and that’s a relatively restrictive colour space, there’s still room in there for some reasonably vivid-looking shades. It would look nicer than the G2590PX for comparison – the 24G2(U) would look much more vibrant than that.

As an aside, we’ll shortly be adding a new section to our reviews which uses something called a SpyderCHECKR 24. This is shown above with the Dell S2716DG. It uses the 24 colour patches from Datacolor (colorimeter manufacturer) to give a visual comparison of certain shades as they should appear, on a printed sheet, vs. how they’re presented on the monitor. The right side of the monitor shows the shades in the order they’re printed on the sheet, whilst the left side shows them inverted. This is to help highlight colour consistency weaknesses which TN panels like that used in the example are prone to, it’s less of an issue on the IPS-type models considered in this thread but may still apply in some cases, as pointed out in my following post. Obviously videos or a photo will never accurately convey how the actual shades appear in real life on the printed sheet or on the monitor, but they can capture relative differences. Giving a useful visual indication of how a monitor presents a certain shade vs. how the shade should look. All shades shown are within the sRGB colour space, so you’ll at least get an impression of how ‘off’ shades might be. Obviously if people don’t like it or don’t find it useful I won’t include it in the future, but I think it’s worth trying out and seeing how people find it.

[PCM2]

Another poster has just brought up another interesting angle to consider – warranties and aftersales support. They now own and are happy with the AOC 24G2U. But they covered some interesting points about their experience with ASUS when some things went wrong with some of their other monitors. I’d recommend reading their thoughts on that and my reply, but I won’t provide any more discussion on that aspect here. And bear in mind the things I said in my reply to the user and the fact that different people will have their own experiences and stories to tell on both sides.

Another thing worth mentioning is that the AOC 24G2(U) is perhaps more prone to uniformity issues than the VG249Q. The backlight arrangement is different and may make uniformity issues more likely. The panel on both models has some weaknesses related to viewing angle and perceived gamma shifts, where some shades appear duller towards the edges of the screen. This is explored in the review, where it’s pointed out it’s one of the weaker IPS-type options in this respect. This is especially noticeable if you’re sitting fairly close to the screen. Having issues with uniformity can make this sort of thing worse and having a wider gamut in the first place (i.e. with the AOC) makes these saturation shifts more noticeable in my experience. The shifts in shade representation can be is pretty abrupt where uniformity issues are involved, it isn’t like the gradual gradient or shift that you’d see on a TN model vertically or a VA model as you get closer to the sides or bottom of the screen (from a normal viewing position). Many users of the AOC find it just fine regardless of this and would actually prefer the added vibrancy from the backlight, but it’s worth being aware of.

[trallawan]

Well so it is decided, I could feel in my guts that I really should go for the AOC. And!… Today it was my lucky day and this model was restocked in my country , so I finally ordered it. This was really helpful.

About the vertical patterns, I can tell that I used the port closer to the motherboard, right next to the audio output, but still not really sure those were noise interferences, I didn’t try changing the port, but I don’t care anymore, I really think I made the correct decision changing my monitor.

Not saying that the ASUS is not worth it, but in general I feel more appealed by the AOC calibration, For me viewing angles are not a big concern, and the documented uniformity prevalence in the AOC plus the trust in its well known response time, definitely tipped the scales towards the AOC no doubt. I’m eager to test and calibrate it according to your review settings.

Finally, about your new toy, the SpyderCHECKR, well I don’t know how people wouldn’t appreciate it, since it will give even more accuracy and detailed parameters to your reviews (specially nitpicky and enthusiast people who are for sure the main audience of this site) so keep up the good job.

Thanks again, and I for sure will keep visiting this site for the sake of enjoying a neat work being done.

[PCM2]

I look forward to your thoughts when it arrives! I should’ve been clearer, but the suggestion regarding using the port furthest from the motherboard was only to try minimise possible interference on the 24G2(U), it wouldn’t have helped with the G2590PX ‘interlace pattern artifacts’. They really can’t be helped. 😉

[trallawan]

I’ve been through a busy week but finally here is the update: my 24G2U arrived some days ago. I hate having to start this by saying this but I guess I won the lottery… it came with a dead pixel. Well at least I though it was a dead pixel, near to the upper left side of the screen. Next day I inspected it very very closely, and it was really something I couldn’t explain: it actually looks like a tiny dark “stain” that covers an irregular area over one pixel and a half… yes, it sounds strange. I tested the “pixel repair” tool that flashes independent pixels at rapid pace, and could observe, upon very close inspection (using reversed binoculars, works almost as a microscope) that that tiny section was responsive, the pixel had the three color components and emitted light accordingly, but dimmed by that black shape. Only that from a farther distance, it looks plain black. So I can’t tell what is wrong but certainly is a monitor flaw.

I couldn’t believe my bad luck because also I feared I couldn’t get a replacement from my retailer because the stock was over at the moment. Patiently I decided to wait (my store has a very good warranty policy, up to a month for replacement) and I have just purchased a new one in exchange of the “black dot” one.

This said, I still think this is a lottery, and I won’t (very much) judge the AOC label just because this experience, but it is certainly a matter to keep in mind, the fact that you better buy from a trusted store with zero objections in refunding.

And now, for the mandatory personal impressions on this monitor: forgetting about the little fault, I think this monitor is great for me. That’s why I ordered it again and gave it a second chance. Definitely no strange patterns, I really like the vibrant color, more than I expected (maybe because I come from dull TN monitors). Games and look pretty and contrast is enough for a good immersive experience. Default calibration worked for me, and I only modified slightly the blue color just a bit down.

It has a small light bleed section right under the upper frame, but slightly notifiable and easy to forget of.

Response time is good in my opinion. I set overdrive at “strong” and it works for me, despite that I had read that for low fps games (around 60 fps) it could create overshooting, I just don’t appreciate it, maybe I don’t really have a trained eye for that.

Summing it all, I have been put through some disappointment and uncertainty because that dark pixel-stain, but I’m getting the new screen probably tomorrow and unless it comes with a flaw again, I can tell Im happy with the AOC 24G2U. I just have to cross my fingers.

[PCM2]

It’s a shame about the dark patch – I assume you meant you didn’t win the lottery due to that aspect rather than you did win it? These sort of defects can happen, unfortunately. And on much more expensive monitors than this. Fingers crossed for your next one, because it sounds like the monitor really hits the spot for you in terms of responsiveness and vibrant colour output with the contrast being good enough as well. Basically a lot of money for your money, which hopefully you can enjoy by getting one without an annoying defect!

[austin_0912]

Hey there, I’m in the same situation as you are!

Sadly, I received a panel defect as well from my 24G2 i bought ~1 month ago. What I thought was a dead pixel appeared to be a spec of dust (it was only viewable straight on, from an angle it disappeared). First I tried waiting for Amazon to restock it, but my return window recently ended and it still hasn’t restocked. Luckily I was able to request an RMA from AOC and I’m gonna ship out my package first thing tomorrow. Their warranty states advanced replacement, which means they would send me a replacement before I have to send out the defective model but because of this whole pandemic, they stopped doing that for now which I completely understand. Shipping costs are also covered both ways I believe which is very nice as well. I think with any manufacturer or model, you always have a chance of getting a monitor/pixel defect, and at the end of the day the differences between 1080p 144Hz monitors are not so large that we’ll notice it constantly when we’re using our monitors. And for the month I’ve had my 24G2 the experience has been awesome, colors are great, response time and input lag are minimal and it also looks awesome :). Just not looking forward to going back to my old Samsung 60Hz Syncmaster while i wait for a replacement 🙁

[PCM2]

As with trallawan, you’re right to persist if you enjoyed the experience aside from the defects. I agree that it’s worth it, because it’s difficult to find a monitor that you really like in a lot of ways and it’s an unfortunate truth that any model has faulty units. I appreciate the feedback and I hope your replacement comes sooner rather than later – I’m glad AOC were able to help with this as you were outside the retailer return window. Fingers crossed that the replacement is satisfactory so you can enjoy it and don’t have to keep putting up with that old 60Hz Samsung. 😉

[PCM2]

It’s also worth mentioning that the comparison drawn in this thread applies equally the VG249Q1R with its alternative stand design and stripped of its ergonomic flexibility. Or the VP249QGR, which is essentially the same monitor without the TUF branding.

[PCM2]

Interestingly, both the AOC 24G2(U) and VG249Q have (or had) switched from using the Panda panel discussed here to a BOE panel. Or more correctly they’ve switched the CELL (panel without backlight) from Panda to BOE. The panel using the Panda CELL (LC238LF1F) on the AOC is the TPV TPM238WF1-LF1F and using the BOE CELL (MV238FHB–NG0) is the TPV TPM238WF1-FHBNG0. I’m not sure if there were some production issues with the Panda CELL, hence the switch, or if there’s another reason for this.

I haven’t tested a model based on this particular BOE panel so I can’t give a detailed run-down of the changes. But it seems that it offers somewhat improved pixel responsiveness at the expense of contrast. Peak brightness on the newer AOC variants using this panel are more limited than the older variants based on the Panda panel, but that won’t necessarily carry over to other models as a different backlight is used there. The two products remain distinct in terms of their colour gamut as a different backlight is used, but pixel responsiveness is now similar on both models and improved compared to the older versions.

According to some user feedback I’ve received, it’s possible other models originally using the Panda panel (such as the ViewSonic XG2405) may have also switched. The VP249Q1R and VP249QGR are likely to switch over as well. I suspect all models based on the Panda panel will eventually switch to the BOE panel as it’s likely the original Panda panel has been discontinued.

Update 6th May 2021:

AOC International has issued a statement via email to say that use of the BOE-based panel will be discontinued for the 24G2(U) and related variants such as 24G2AE. The original Panda-based panel as used on the unit we reviewed is now used again, instead.

The panel was initially swapped due to production constraints. The intention was that the panel swap wouldn’t noticeably change the characteristics and therefore the experience users were getting from the 24G2 models. Now that this clearly isn’t the case and there were some fundamental changes to the experience offered, they are returning to using the original Panda-based panel. They also state: “We would like to apologise to our community and our customers due to any confusion caused by these two panel variants and for those who felt misled or even misinformed. AOC always strives to provide the best technology and quality at all times and with all decisions, we always prioritize the needs and wishes of our customers. We will continue to improve our practices and communications on necessary changes in panels whenever they go along with measurable changes in performance.”

I can’t speak for other manufacturers and it should be assumed they’ll continue to use the BOE-based panel rather than original Panda-based panel.

[ICOD]

Thank you for the update, PC Monitors. Do you have any idea if AOC 24G2U5, which is apparently a 75Hz panel instead of 144Hz is also using the new BOE panel? I am choosing between AOC 24G2U and AOC 24G2U5 and I can’t find information about the difference aside from the obvious 144Hz VS 75Hz.

[PCM2]

Hi ICOD,

Great question, but I’m not sure what panel the 24G2U5 now uses. I can confirm, though, that it doesn’t have the same wide gamut backlight as the 24G2U (it never did). So it doesn’t offer the same level of vibrancy or colour saturation is is more similar to the ASUS VG249Q in that respect.

[ICOD]

This is so weird, on sheet they literally have identical specs. Or maybe I’m looking at the wrong sources, dunno. Then I guess I should go for the 144Hz one currently retailing for €45 more.

[PCM2]

The information is actually all there on the official product pages, in the ‘Technical Specifications’ section. For the 24G2U5 it lists “sRGB Coverage (%): 102%” vs. 123% for the 24G2U (92% DCI-P3 measured in our review). But some of the specifications are indeed out of place (AOC are often a bit careless with copy and paste errors etc.) The sRGB coverage difference listed there is not an error, however.

[ICOD]

Ah, I understand now, thank you very much for the clarification. I didn’t realise the difference…

Since I don’t have a display calibration device, I can download a display calibration profile for 24G2 144Hz, which was made with the older Panda panel. Do you think such profile would also fit this new 24G2U/U5 line?

[PCM2]

I wouldn’t recommend that, since the main purpose of an ICC profile is to improve colour accuracy. It’s bad enough trying to apply somebody else’s ICC profile to the same model even if the same panel and backlight is used, due to inter-unit variation. Although the gamut mapping for colour-aware applications can be useful if it’s exactly the same model and backlight that’s used. But when you add in a completely different panel and potentially different backlight things get far too messy. If you want high levels of accuracy there is no substitute for creating your own ICC profile, most users should simply use the monitor ‘as is’ without an ICC profile.

[PCM2]

I’ve received some feedback on the VG249Q1R from a user (sRGBman) that suggests it has some real issues accurately reproducing certain shades. This refers to the original model with the Panda panel – working on the assumption here that eventually it will be switched over to the BOE panel instead. The feedback is as follows:

“Right away I’ve noticed incorrect yellows and found out that I’m not alone:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Monitors/comments/jvhhg2/asus_tuf_vg249q1r_rgb_calibration_settings/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Monitors/comments/k2l0h9/vg249q1r_yellow_looks_greenish/

Particularly, the yellow image in the second link (#F7B807), which should be orangey-yellow, was greenish-yellow on VG249Q1R.
As it’s mentioned on reddit, yellow is somewhat fixed by setting skin tone setting to ‘reddish’ (there are 3 settings: reddish, normal, yellow).

What I’ve found that it’s fixed both by reddish and yellow in the same way, but not with normal. Unfortunately, this makes skin color incorrect. This looks horrible, I don’t understand how something like that could be sold. There seemed to be something ‘off’ about some other colors too, which I can hardly describe. Like purple looked more saturated than others, but I am not sure and this is very subjective.

Another problem which I’ve noticed is that the center of the screen was brighter than the sides, this changed as I moved my head (brighter right in front of the eyes), so it depends on an angle you view it at. It is a minor problem, didn’t bother me much.”

He has also confirmed that changing the colour channels didn’t alleviate the issue, you always end up with yellows looking clearly off. Like a murky greenish yellow rather than an appropriate warm yellow tone. There haven’t been reports of this on the original VG249Q or VG249QGR, only the VG249Q1R specifically. The dimming towards the edges of the screen and with head movement sounds very similar to what I observed on the 24G2(U) due to the Panda panel being a bit weak for an IPS-type panel in terms of its gamma consistency and viewing angle performance.

[Leon1403]

Hey, thank you for all the information listed here. I found it very helpful. I am thinking about buying AOC 24G2U with newer panel (I will check serial number if I decide to buy it) but I saw one new monitor Asus TUF VG249Q1A which is very similar to VG249Q1R but with different stand. My question is does VG249Q1A uses same panel as VG249Q1R (in this case I will not consider it and I will buy AOC 24G2U) or does it perhaps uses some “better” panel than AOC 24G2U? Thanks!

[PCM2]

I’m quite sure the VG249Q1A uses the same panel (Panda, switching to BOE). In addition to the stand design being different, the VG249Q1A includes an internal factory overclock to 165Hz. I agree that you might as well go for the 24G2U, unless you dislike the more vibrant and saturated colours that it produces. That’s a key differentiator between the ASUS and AOC models regardless of the panel used.

Edit: Now confirmed.

[Author]

Posts