How Much Does it Cost?
The AOC AGON Pro AG274QZM Gaming Monitor is available now, and while most retailers have it for just over £1050, it’s actually appeared on Amazon for the tasty price of £999.99 and while that’s still extremely expensive, there’s plenty I can do with a £50 saving. As I said though, for the average consumer, this is complete overkill. Actually, for the average enthusiast with deep pockets, it’s bloody overkill. However, for the extremely rare gamers with a fat wallet and big ambitions of winning games at or close to an eSports tournament level, then it’s actually a pretty solid investment.
Overview
I have a bit of a challenging conclusion here, as I absolutely love this monitor, and if AOC said “hey Pete, you’ve been good to us over the years, how about you keep this one” then I absolutely would. If anyone tried to take it away from me, well, they’ll have to fight me to try and get to it. It’s just an utter delight to game on and allows you to really flex what’s possible on the latest gaming hardware, such as the RTX 4090.
However, despite the fact I now claim this to be one of the greatest gaming monitors on the market today, I don’t think I would buy one. The price is incredibly high and the most I’ve ever spent on a monitor is a bit less than half that, and even then, I felt uncomfortable. But then again, I’m not an eSports pro, actually, worse than that, I’m pretty crap and mostly play casually and for fun. So for me, a lesser 120, 144, or 165Hz panel would be all I need.
To make matters more complicated though, it’s not all just about gaming, just mostly about it. The panel stands on its own thanks to the truly remarkable colour reproduction. If you do video or photo editing, it’s going to be a good monitor to use. However, just watching a movie with HDR, it’s putting out colours on par with some cinemas. Plus, the backlight means that you get really dark blacks, but still retain a lot of detail in the image even when there’s some extreme dark and light contrast on the screen.
Should I Buy One?
It’s a lovely monitor, with a great UI, and premium quality stand, a superbly fast panel, a class-leading backlight, and the whole thing even projects its name onto your desk. This is a high-end piece of technology with all the bells and whistles you could ask for, and a few more on top. While the price is high, there’s no doubt that you’re getting a lot for your money, it’s just up to you if this is really what you need for your next gaming monitor, as it’s clearly designed for a small and very dedicated part of the gaming market.
