[Clemix]

Hi there,

Owner of the AOC 24G2U for a year+ now (thanks to this forum & your review I must admit, really appreciate your work, the passion you’re sharing to everyone)

I’m back here once again as I’m looking for a new unit with more or less the same quality & price range (~200€ in Europe). At first, I was going for a second purchase of the AOC but found out it was out of stock (almost ?) everywhere, and my small country is no exception.

That’s why I went for some research as I did last year. I learned thanks to this video that there were 2 different panel and if I correctly understood your latest statements on the forum, the switch is being made for a other monitors as well… which is quite disturbing to make a choice. It seems that I own the first model (as the panel reference only shows “TPM238WF1”, once again based on the video linked above) and I’m happy with it overall (I might not be too demanding as it is my first 144Hz / IPS panel, but whatever it get the job done for my needs).

As I’m satisfied with it, I’m currently trying to find if this is still possible to get the AOC here in my country (180-210€ depending on the seller) but the more I’m reading the less I’m convinced it’s still the best choice… The alternatives are the Viewsonic XG2405 (200€) and the Asus VG249Q (220€), both being available in my country but both being impacted by the panel change as well (correct me if i’m wrong).

I know you already gave some information about the pros & cons of the new panel on the AOC specifically (loss of contrast ? same/slightly better responsiveness ?) but I don’t know if this applies for all monitors or if there might be other unexpected/negative/positive consequences to that change…

All three being affordable for me, putting aside the price and considering I can get my hands on the AOC, what would be the best/safest choice according to you without knowing if it will be older/newer model ? From what I understood, the new model made the AOC loses his advantage, making the VS/Asus slightly better/worth it ?

Sorry for the disruption (and possibly bad english…), I feel like I’m asking a question with no good answer but I also feel like I need an expert opinion to comfort me in my choice so as not to have regrets later…

Thanks again for all the work and be sure that I’ll be recommending your reviews to anyone I know looking for a new monitor !

[PCM2]

Hi Clemix and welcome,

I appreciate the kind words and I’m glad you find the reviews and other information on the website helpful. You’re correct about the panel swap and I give further details on that in this post. As far as I can see the old Panda-based panel has been discontinued, so all models using it have switched over (or are in the process of doing so). Whilst this certainly muddies the waters when it comes to comparing the different monitors, there are some points of comparison that still stand. For example, only the AOC 24G2(U) retains the wide colour gamut. If you went for the ViewSonic XG2405 or ASUS VG249Q, you’d lose that – and you said you enjoyed the 24G2(U). If the strong vibrancy and saturation was part of what you enjoyed, that alone would be reason enough to stick with the AOC. The other models give a ‘rich and natural’ look to things and are far from looking ‘washed out’, but there will be a bit of a difference between those and the AOC when it comes to how saturated things look.

It does seem this panel swap has equalised the contrast on these models more – the AOC had the biggest advantage here with the older Panda-based panel (~1400-1500:1) and stands to lose the most. But even the ViewSonic and ASUS were reliably recorded at ~1200:1 – 1300:1 for some original units. And now all these models, with the BOE-based panel, will be ~1000:1-1100:1. It’s tough to say how pixel response tuning compares, but I’d expect them to be quite similar in this respect. The new BOE-based panel is just natively quite fast and easier to tune than the Panda-based panel. So I’d expect all models to do well in that respect and actually edge out your old AOC. So really, I’d just say you’ll have to swallow the panel swap. But ideally you’d stick with the 24G2(U) if its wide gamut is appealing to you. Otherwise the XG2405 or VG249Q would be suitable alternatives. Tough to separate those two as I simply don’t have the data at the moment to do so.

[Clemix]

To be honest, I don’t even know if the “wide color gamut” aspect is something I trully enjoy compared to the more “realistic” one found on the Asus (and Viewsonic as well I guess) as I don’t have enough experience with monitors.

Anyway, thanks for the clear and complete answer !
I think I’ll wait for a response from the 2-3 sellers I contacted earlier. As you suggested, if it turns out the AOC is available, I’ll go for it considering it’s the cheapest & safest pick for me. Plus there are chances it’s still the older model as it’s the end of stock… who knows.

Otherwise, I’ll try the Asus as I’ve read really good user feedback here and there even thought it is not as widespread as for the AOC.

If I have to pick either the Viewsonic or Asus one, I would be glad to make some test on it if it can be useful for you in any way. I don’t know if my user experience would be relevant but I might at least point out the differences I perceive between the two units.

Have a good day/evening !

[Alberto Salvia Novella]

My old monitor was flickering, and I was investigating which one to purchase.

I tried out the Viewsonic and the image quality was extremely good. But it had a downside, 4:3 resolutions looked stretched. You have to manually change the aspect ratio between 4:3 and 16:9 resolutions, which is a big turn down for retro gaming.

Also my unit was defective, a huge flickering bar appeared on the screen just a couple hours later after purchase. So I returned it.

Before that I tried out the ASUS VG24VQ, which is the VG249Q model using a VA panel. The image was superb, but the the ghosting was horrible because of the VA. And the colors I disliked a lot.

Basically all the presets, except one, used automatic contrast and color enhancement. I don’t like those enhancements because contents no longer look as the creator intended, and ergonomics are frequently compromised. Also you cannot edit photography in a reliable way, what you see will be quite different than the receiving end.

I found the menu to be the most confusing I have ever seen, cause enabling certain presets or settings will disable plenty of others far away, and its organization won’t suggest which. At least when this happens in the Viewsonic, those presets are in the same section.

Perhaps the VG249Q, with its IPS, would be good. Although the menu will still have that same atrocious design.

That said enabling FreeSync will most likely disable aspect ratio correction for any monitor, and extreme motion blur will lock the brightness to a very low level. So likely those technologies are never a good trade off in any screen (mod edit: for the specific usage case of ‘retro gaming’ – and the AOC‘s MBR setting does not lock things off to a low brightness level).

Alienware 25 inch monitors seem to be a good alternative too, nevertheless pricey. I wonder if Samsung monitors could also be good, although they use VA panels. In my experience Samsung monitors always have good quality, but I haven’t tried them or investigated them in depth.

[PCM2]

It’s unfortunate for those who don’t like VA models that Samsung have switched to ‘VA only’ for their high refresh rate models. And they tend to chase increasingly aggressive curvature which not everybody can tolerate or wants to tolerate. I wouldn’t agree with Samsung monitors always having good quality. I mean, they’re really no better than any other manufacturer in that respect and they tend to cram in unique features and funky backlight designs which make some of their models more prone to Quality Control (QC) issues. Aggressive curvature tends to make uniformity issues more common, too. I’ve received plenty of complaints of this nature about Samsung models over the years, including their C27HG70 and Odyssey G7 models. But these ones were always a bit higher priced than competitors due to their unique feature set, so people were probably extra critical as well. Some of their stand designs also leave a lot to be desired – very inefficient use of space.

But where some of their products shine is some of their unique performance characteristics. Both models or series I just mentioned do not have an equal from other manufacturers. So if a user can live with the quirks and they’re within budget then they can certainly be attractive options. Their ‘lesser’ high refresh rate series (Odyssey G5 and Odyssey G3) are less impressive and unique. Not to say they’re bad products for those who like their feature set, but some people think the ‘magic dust’ that the Odyssey G7 achieves with pixel responsiveness filters down to all ‘Odyssey’ models – it certainly doesn’t. And Samsung are ramping down their own LCD panel production now. So some of this uniqueness will arguably fade – although they will still be able to customise the backlighting solution which is part of what makes some of their models stand out. For example, offering enhanced HDR capability compared to competitors.

[Clemix]

Couldn’t get hold of the AOC. I think I’ll purchase the Asus in a few days and see if I like it. If not, I’ll return it and hope for new units availability of the AOC.

I’ll keep you informed.

[Clemix]

Received the Asus yesterday, couldn’t try it until now but looks good so far ! At least I’m not disappointed at first after using the AOC V1 for a while.

I don’t know if there are some simple methods to test things such as backlight bleeding, dead pixels, …
I thought I could use a dark wallpaper and look at the screen with maximum brightness in a dark environment to verify both. Just to ensure there aren’t any major issues I might discover later on.

By the way, I was almost going for 27″/1440p/144hz (the M27Q which was one of your recommendation until a few days ago or the VG27AQ) but it was another budget anyway, and there are too much negative reviews, especially about the Gigabyte, which chilled me.

[PCM2]

I’m glad you’re enjoying the ASUS VG249Q. Don’t spend too long looking for problems with the screen. Use it normally as much as possible. Viewing a black screen fill in a dark room is fine, but set realistic expectations and don’t expect perfection if you do. I appreciate pixel defects are one of those things that once seen can be difficult to ‘unsee’. This site can be useful for viewing screen fills which can identify dead pixels and stuck subpixels.

But let me be completely clear. We still recommend the Gigabyte M27Q and will likely continue to do so. The recommendations section is updated to reflect price and availability, skewed towards the US where most of the users who support our work are based. I still recommend both the Gigabyte M27Q and BenQ EX2780Q regardless of which is displayed in the recommendations section at any given moment in time. It’s made clear in the section itself that only a refined selection of monitors is shown there and that you should pay attention to the ‘recommended badge’ in reviews as well. Which the M27Q was rewarded, and rightly so.

I make my thoughts quite clear with respect to Quality Control (QC) on the M27Q in this post. If it were significantly below average then I wouldn’t recommend it, but I’m privy to a great amount of unbiased user feedback on that model and the vast majority is positive. It’s unfortunate that people are more willing to post negative vs. positive things on the internet and that can skew ones perception of things. The negative adds up quickly for popular products like this. Of course I’ll continue to monitor feedback and if the data convinces me it is particularly problematic in terms of QC I’ll change the strength of the recommendation. And if you read the criteria for the ‘recommended badge’ you’ll see the following: “We reserve the right to withdraw this badge from monitors which were initially given this merit. This may happen if user feedback suggests significantly poorer than average ‘quality control’ or a high prevalence of issues which did not affect our review sample.”

For those following things here closely over the years, they’ll know I actually refrained from strongly recommending most of the models using the original high refresh rate AUO WQHD AHVA panels because QC was well below average in my view. The Gigabyte is not as problematic as those from what I’ve seen and I think it’s excellent value at its current price. You’re never guaranteed perfection or absolute satisfaction with any monitor, but I urge people to look past negative sentiment which could stop them even trying potential gems like the Gigabyte out.

[Clemix]

Thanks a lot for the reply, it couldn’t be clearer.

I didn’t develop my thoughts enough about the 1440P monitors, I’m sorry for that. I had read your opinion about the Gigabyte’s case. I’m aware that negative feedbacks are and always will be more shared than positive ones. But I was just hyped by the 1440P resolution and started looking for it, reading your review and dreaming about it but it just doesn’t fit my needs for now on.

Just tried your website with black background and lights turned off, took a picture that obviously over exaggerate it but it still seems quite a lot to be honest.

It’s slightly perceptible while browsing but I’m OK with that. Might try other scenarios, maybe it’s much more pronounced in game with dark environment and so on.

I will share my picture on the Asus vs AOC thread as I’m off-topic here.

[PCM2]

As pointed out in our update in this post, the 24G2(U) has returned to the original Panda-based panel. I have no reason to believe other models such as the ViewSonic XG2405 have switched back.

[Author]

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