AOC AG352UCG6 35″ Curved G-Sync Gaming Monitor Review

Performance

I’d normally have our calibration tool on this panel. However, this isn’t a professional colour display used for editing, it’s a gaming monitor. Plus, my calibration tool just doesn’t sit well (literally) on curved panels and maybe throwing off my results. AOC doesn’t even list the colour range of the panel, such as REC709, BT2020, AdobeRGB, etc. It’s a VA panel, not IPS or anything, however, the colours are still pretty fantastic right out of the box. The contrast ratio is also very impressive, which surprisingly rich black levels for a backlit panel. I didn’t have any issues with torching in the corners or lighting hot spots. So older panel tech it may be, but it’s a damn good one at least.

Colour

I had a little tinker with the calibration using basic tools and the OSD. You can trade off a little contrast for better colours, and vice-versa. However, I think most users will be happy with it out of the box. There is a blue light filter mode. Of course, I think it’s better to put it in a slightly warmer colour profile on the OSD and stick with that; tweak to suit your taste really.

The curve of the screen really helps with glare too. It’s a very bright day here while I’m taking these pictures, and I think the panel is going a great job of shining bright and clear regardless. It’ll put out up to 300cdm, but typically, it’ll be more around the 200 area with normal settings.

Angles

The colour retention off-angle is pretty impressive, as is the overall panel uniformity. I mean, it’s not as good as IPS, but it’s as good as you’ll get on this panel tech. The curve of the monitor obviously has the most impact sitting front and centre though, obviously. However, if you are sat off to the side or showing someone something on your display, it should be a pleasant experience overall.

Ultra-Wide

The 21:9 format is bloody awesome, especially if you like gaming. However, it’s easy to forget that a lot of movies use this format. Remember when you watched a movie and there were black horizontal borders despite being on a 16:9 screen?

It’s not uncommon for moviemakers to use ultra-wide shots, but that’s not an issue for ultra-wide monitors and PC users. As you can see, the recent Star-Wars trailer fits the entire screen, with zero of the image being cropped. Honestly, sitting and watching the action blast past like this is staggering.

However, keep in mind that content mastered to 16X9 will have the opposite problem; borders on the left and right. normally I don’t’ like that, but honestly, I was surprised at how quickly you get used to it. Bonus points if you can name the film though.

G-Sync

Of course, this a huge selling point for a lot of gamers. However, I think the 120Hz overclock mode of the panel is more important overall. Personally, I game at 4K60Hz, so 120Hz is pretty darn smooth to my eyes. G-Sync is nice though, especially for those who don’t want to suffer more input lag. The downside? You need an Nvidia GPU, and for 3440 x 1440 at 120Hz, you’ll want a pretty darn fast card too. At least, for the latest games, if you want pretty graphics, go big on the GPU horsepower.

The curve of the screen is pretty impactful too. You may need to tweak the games FOV to suit your taste and viewing distance too. However, get it dialled in just right, and the immersion is off the wall. I think it’s great for racing games too myself, and the extra screen is sublime for top-down games such as Civ VI. Or that time I played Stardew Valley in 21:9.

Productivity

I do game quite a lot on the PC, however, I spend more time in the day working on eTeknix content. With 16:9 you can comfortably fit two web pages side by side. However, with 21:9 and a 3440 x 1440 resolution, triple windows are easily done. This works great, as your focal page is front and centre, not off to the side as it would be on 16:9. Then you can have two more windows for media players, YouTube, reddit, or dare I say it, something actually productive.

See here I have a full 16:9 window for Photoshop while I’m working. However, I can still have two more pages on the right. I have eTeknix open in the top right, and some Devin Townsend YouTube stuff in the bottom right; perfect.

Big

Wondering how big the AOC monitor really is? That’s my 32″ monitor wall mounted behind it. The AOC’s 35″ panel was in front of this, not that you could see my monitor!