According to a source close to AOC the hardware manufacturer may be releasing a pair of new 4K monitors this year, potentially bringing the curve to Ultra HD gaming.
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AOC is all set to release a whole new range of gaming monitors this year within its inaugural AGON brand – yes, we’ve moved on from Greek gods onto just about any Greek word now.
They’ve kicked things off with the angular beauty that is the AG271QG. A catchily-titled gaming screen sporting an IPS panel, a 1440p native resolution and an eye-soothing 165Hz refresh rate.
The two best gaming monitors around at the moment – the Acer Predator XB271HU and the Asus RoG Swift PG279Q – both come with identical specs, so it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if AOC had sourced the same exquisite panel those two displays are using. We’ll soon see…
But as yet AOC doesn’t have any gaming-specific 4K monitors, though if our source is to be believed that is all set to change with both a flat panel and a curvy 4K screen hitting the market this year, both sporting Nvidia’s G-Sync frame-smoothing tech.
The flat-screen version is a pretty safe bet, with a relatively straightforward 27-inch IPS panel, and a 75Hz refresh rate, but it’s the curved version that looks rather unexpected. We’ve been told today that in all likeliness AOC will be releasing a 35-inch curved 4K screen in the autumn.
If true that’s rather exciting, as we’ve also been told it will possibly come rocking a VA panel with a refresh rate of over 100Hz; though how much over they couldn’t say.
A 35-inch screen is just enough to make the curve worthwhile and big enough that the 3840 x 2160 native resolution doesn’t make everything look teeny-tiny on the desktop without the hideous spectre of Windows scaling looming over it. Which is our frustration with the 27-inch 4Ks.
And a G-Sync capable VA panel with a high refresh rate sounds awesome too.
Though it might all be too good to be true. The only curved screens we’ve seen so far have come from the 21:9 crowd – such as the brilliant Acer XR341CK with its 75Hz IPS panel – and none bar Samsung at the more standard 16:9 aspect ratio. Though Samsung will curve anything…
And there’s also the fact that 35-inch is a totally non-standard panel size outside of the ultrawide monitor gang. There aren’t even any 35-inch curved 4K TV panels we know of which AOC would be able to ‘borrow’ for such an endeavour.
So we’re taking it with a pinch of salt right now, and wouldn’t be that surprised if the touted curvy 4K monitor actually manifested itself as a 21:9, 3440 x 1440 AOC AGON display with a high refresh rate VA panel.
But a man can dream of a big-screen, curved 4K future, can’t he?