AOC AGON Porsche Design PD27 Monitor Review

How Much Does it Cost?

The AOC AGON PD27 Porsche Design Gaming Monitor is available now from most major retailers. The prices seem to fluctuate, much like all tech does right now, so expect to see something between £540 and £600 being the norm for this. It’s on Amazon right now at £589.99, but it’s out of stock, which is also not uncommon for tech these days.

Overview

If all you care about is pure panel performance, this isn’t the monitor for you. You’re paying a fairly big premium here for some additional aesthetics and build quality. Now, for many, that may seem like a sound investment. Aesthetics are a huge part of many PC builds these days. Spending a few thousand on a PC to put some trashy monitor next to it isn’t going to cut if for some.

That being said, it is possibly one of the best looking monitors I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot! The build quality on the stand along is in another league from the typical one-size-fits-all designs we often see. It’s utterly unique and really adds a lot to the monitor.

Plus, it has one of the cooler height adjustment systems I’ve ever seen. I can’t be certain how the engineering works on it, but I don’t care, it’s awesome. Plus, it offers a good range of ergonomic adjustment too, which is what really matters.

Calibration

The full calibration of this monitor was a disaster. I couldn’t get better results, but I could get worse ones. I suspect the 1000R curve or the high brightness capabilities could be throwing it. I’ll test more, but I suspect it’s time we got a more modern calibration tool for these HDR monitors.

That being said, out of the box, the monitor performed really well. The tone mapping was a bit off, but putting the monitor in movie mode and setting Gamma to 2 netted good results. It’s also a bit bright out of the box, so turning that down can help.

Performance

Colour accuracy is decent enough, and the backlight and contrast on offer from the HDR400 mode is impressive too. However, it’s the fast response times, impressive gaming modes, and 240 Hz refresh rate that steals the show. If you play competitive games or enjoy buttery smooth performance from single-player titles too, you’ll love this panel. Porsche are known for fast cars, so it makes sense to have a fast gaming monitor from their design team.

Should I Buy One?

While you can get a 2560×1440 240 Hz monitor for less, it would simply be that… less. This monitor comes at a premium for a reason. It packs RGB lighting, a logo projector, an aluminium frame stand, clean bezels, a wireless desktop control panel and a fantastic OSD. Sure, they don’t make you game better, but they’re all just lovely things to have that add up to a premium experience.

Of course, with HDR 400, powerful built-in speakers, a 1000R curved VA panel, and so much more. This is a monitor that takes its performance as seriously as its style!