[zatarcz]

Hello PCM.
Is there a better monitor than my current one AOC 24G2SPU, which I bought based on your recommendation? I’d like something with even better contrast. I love playing the Metro 2033 and Tomb Raider series, and because of the constant darkness, I need better shadow rendering. However, I’m worried about ghosting on VA panels, and OLED is still too expensive. Is there a universal recommendation to improve my experience? Thank you!

[PCM2]

If it’s within your budget consider the AOC Q27G3XMN. The ghosting is still a potential problem depending on sensitivity but not terrible for the panel type, as covered in the review. The contrast boost compared to your current monitor is massive, whilst you can also enjoy a tighter pixel density and larger screen.

[zatarcz]

Thank you. If I wanted to stay around $200, would the Q27G4XN be a good choice?

[PCM2]

Possibly, but I haven’t used it myself. Given it’s marketed as a ‘Fast VA’ panel it would hopefully provide at least reasonable pixel response times, though there will still be some weaknesses which you may or may not find bothersome. To put it in perspective, I’d expect it to be at least as fast as the Q27G3XMN – likely slightly faster.

[PCM2]

[Some posts with additional context can be found in this thread].

[zatarcz]

Hi. So I finally decided on a 27″ QHD QD-OLED. The AOC AG276QZD2 is on its way to me, but I also discovered the Samsung G6 (G61SD) LS27DG610SUXEN and now I’m hesitating whether I should have chosen the Samsung? According to the reviews, it won’t have problems with gamut in HDR. But it only has a 2-year warranty, AOC has 3, including burn-in. Samsung has a matte finish, which is “better”, supposedly it won’t scratch when cleaning (but I can’t judge this). The AOC price is €520, Samsung €560. Or should I pay more for the GIGABYTE MO27Q2A €640? I’ve never had an OLED, but I’m starting to get disappointed, even though I haven’t seen one yet. Could you help me with my decision? Thank you.

[PCM2]

If you went for the Samsung you might doubt whether you’d done the right thing going for matte, given the clarity and vibrancy advantages of glossy in the right lighting. Or whether you’d wasted money paying extra for the Gigabyte (it’s the 280Hz version of the MO27Q2 I’ve reviewed) instead of sticking with the broadly similar but cheaper AOC. 😉

I’m sure you’ll love the AG276QZD2 and will find it to be an excellent upgrade from your current monitor. Especially once you’ve tweaked HDR saturation as advised in the ‘Best Settings’ video. In some respects the HDR output is better (more accurate) compared to the others, particularly when you consider representation of darker shades. It doesn’t lift them up so they’re more visible than they should be and that can give a really nice atmosphere if you’re viewing in a dimmer room.

I’ve yet to scratch a glossy QD-OLED and have cleaned many. Just use a microfibre cloth that isn’t dirty and it shouldn’t be a problem – doesn’t have to be brand new, but freshly washed or one you’re confident is free from hard debris. Smearing can be more of an issue when cleaning and for this reason Samsung Display advises using a 70% IPA solution (Isopropyl Alcohol or rubbing alcohol, not India Pale Ale) to clean QD-OLEDs. Hopefully you’ll spend more time looking at the screen than cleaning it, so I feel it’s worth the occasional inconvenience and wouldn’t use that as a strong reason to go for a matte option like the Samsung G60SD over a glossy option like the AOC.

[zatarcz]

Thanks a lot! You have convinced me that I should give the AG276QZD2 a chance. There will definitely be no problem in SDR. As you write, the fact that content will look washed out in HDR is not the fault of the monitor, but that’s how the creators sometimes intend it, and seeing shadows well is the main reason for me to switch to OLED.

I’ve never had a glossy screen, but I don’t have a light source in front of the monitor, so it should be fine. You write that cleaning is also not a problem, I’m glad.

I saw the video about the recommended settings, it’s very useful. But honestly, I thought I’d just turn on HDR and not have to set anything. How wrong I was…

So the correct procedure is to set “DISPLAY HDR” on the monitor (it will be on all the time?) and turn on HDR via W+ALT+B before entering the game? And then is some calibration necessary in the game? I’ve never had an HDR monitor, so I’m probably asking a stupid question. Maybe you have a video tutorial on how to use HDR correctly?

Isn’t it possible to use the option in the nVidia APP for game optimization, where the RTX DYNAMIC VIBRANCE item is? That way it would be possible to set it for each game separately :-).

https://i.postimg.cc/0NhgQTXx/image.png

Fortunately, I usually only play one game at a time, so maybe I can set it in INGAME and I won’t have to constantly re-set nVidia vibrance (it causes a problem after switching to SDR if I understand correctly).

[PCM2]

When an HDR signal is detected, the monitor will automatically switch over into HDR (and “Display HDR” will be selected, if that’s what you were last using under HDR). So yes, you just enable HDR in Windows before entering the game. You might need to enable HDR in the game after doing that, or it may automatically run in HDR. Some games even have their own HDR toggle so you can toggle in the game itself and not need to bother with the Windows toggle. It’s a bit confusing, but it really depends on the game.

I believe RTX Dynamic Vibrance is designed to be used under SDR or if you’re using RTX HDR rather than the in-game implementation. Up to you whether you use it or not, but it isn’t the same thing as a proper HDR representation or increasing saturation alone using Windows HDR Calibration as suggested in the ‘Best Settings’ videos of AOC AGON OLEDs I’ve reviewed more recently. This is covered in the AG346UCD ‘Best Settings’ video, for example. It works better than Nvidia Digital Vibrance and only applies to HDR, I wasn’t aware it would work as it does when reviewing the AG276QZD2 which is why I didn’t cover it there.

[zatarcz]

Hi. So I had the monitor at home for about 4 hours and 8 out of 10 games I like to play suffered so much from VRR flickering that I returned it (even turning off Gsync or locking it to 160Hz didn’t help). I’m sensitive and I really couldn’t stand this and it totally ruins all the other advantages of OLED.
https://postimg.cc/w1tYBKnR

I’m very disappointed with OLED and until the VRR flickering is solved, OLED is not the way for me.

Now I have to go the route of a more quality IPS (although my AOC 24G2SPU has great contrast on IPS according to your review) or the VA route (ideally ultrawide). Unfortunately, some VAs also suffer from flickering.

Unfortunately, for example, the Q27G3XMN is still at a high 325€ in our country and its successor Q27G40XMN is not on sale in our country.

Then I also like the 34″ VA AOC CU34G4Z.

If you have a TIP for me on a good QHD IPS 27″ or VA 27 or ultwawide, I would be happy. At the same time, I don’t want anything that has worse colors than my 24G2SPU, but times have moved on and I believe that today VAs have the same gamut.

Thank you.

[PCM2]

VRR flickering only occurs with VRR enabled (hence the name), so you wouldn’t have been observing that with G-SYNC disabled. You might have been too hasty with your return as you could’ve had a configuration issue on your system or something else that could be resolved that was causing a signal issue.

The other alternative is that you’re sensitive to the slight cyclical brightness dips that occur on OLEDs. They’d be reduced (more difficult to perceive) on higher refresh rate OLEDs, but it’s possible you’d still notice them if that’s what you were sensitive to. There are some good IPS alternatives in our recommendations section. The MSI MAG 274QRF QD E2 listed there offers similar contrast to your old AOC, alongside superior colour vibrancy (if you want that) due to an even wider gamut. In the Mini LED VA space the KTC M27T6 is an interesting alternative to AOC’s offerings and I’ve received some good user feedback on it. But haven’t tested it myself. Might be worth seeing if that is available to you. The AOC CU34G4Z is likely a good choice if you prefer the ultrawide route and don’t mind forgoing Mini LED capability.

[zatarcz]

Honestly, I’m not sure now whether I really turned off G-sync or just locked the frame rate, but that’s irrelevant to me, because I won’t play without G-sync and with image tearing. Drivers, cables, monitor FW updates. Everything was set up well. I haven’t even tried HDR.
The sharpness of the image with a glossy screen is really exceptional, but it’s probably not that important to me. So far, I’ve always had matte ones and I’m fine with that, so at least I know I don’t have to deal with the screen surface. I believe that in a few years the problem with VRR flickering will be solved and then I’ll be very happy to join the OLED side.

The color quality of the monitor (MSI MAG 274QRF QD E2 costs 375€ here) is not crucial for me, but when I buy a new one, I don’t want it to be worse in color than the current one. Unfortunately, KTC cannot be bought in our region.

The whole point of buying a new monitor is to achieve better contrast in dark scenes.
The bad thing is that OLEDs have VRR flickering and VAs suffer from smearing.

So there is no way to achieve what I want yet :-(.

Thanks for the tips you sent.

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