PC & Console Peripherals

Huge 35″ gaming monitor without compromise? – AOC AGON AG353UCG

The new gaming monitor AG353UCG from the AGON series by AOC is an absolute flagship. On the one hand regarding the impressive specs, but also regarding the proud price, which is still demanded for it. In this review I will clarify if this price is reasonable and what you get for your money.

Design: A chic beast

The design of the AG353UCG has the well-known gaming style, as you know it from many products from the gaming divisions of well-known manufacturers. Nevertheless, the monitor looks very modern and minimalistic, which I like very much. On the back of the display there is an RGB ring around the suspension.

In addition, there is a small LED on the bottom of the monitor in which the joystick is inserted with which you can operate the OSD and thus the RGB settings of the device. Here, all kinds of colour gradients and patterns can be selected to bring a little more RGB on the desk.

However, I think that unfortunately you can see the colour spectacle a little too little when you sit in front of the screen. And also the reflection from the wall was, although I set the highest brightness, only little visible even in the dark. For most people, the monitor stands with its back to a wall, so the LED ring would unfortunately never be directly visible. In my opinion, an LED strip under the panel that illuminates the surface of the table would have been a much more interesting idea.

All in all, the screen is kept very “clean” and not extremely kitschy like some gaming accessories you can find in stores. The monitor offers a well-done mix of clean edges, gaming accents and a generally minimalist design, which makes for a nice look on the desk.

AOC AGON AG353UCG 89 cm (35 Zoll) Curved Monitor (
This product is currently unavailable.

Workmanship and features: Top-Notch

The AG353UCG comes well packed in a nicely organized box. The screen mount consists of two parts. One is a red metallic base with a rubber coating on the underside to ensure that the monitor is stable after installation, and the other is a height-adjustable spine in which the display is suspended.

I like the installation very much, because the suspension of the panel is very easy and yet stable and safe. With the different possibilities to adjust the screen in height and tilt, everyone can adjust it for long lasting gaming sessions. In general, the workmanship of the device appears extremely valuable and you don’t have the feeling that the quality has been compromised.

The DisplayPort and HDMI inputs, as well as USB 3.1 ports, can be found on the back of the monitor, so that you can also use the screen as a USB hub.

Under the screen there are two dts certified 8 watt speakers, which can get quite loud. Of course, they can’t compete with separate speakers in terms of sound quality, but they’re very good for monitor speakers.

Specifications

AOC AGON AG353UCG 89 cm (35 Zoll) Curved Monitor (
This product is currently unavailable.

Picture quality: Gaming has never looked so beautiful

When I first set up the screen, turned on CS:GO and watched the sunset on cs_militia I was flashed.

I have never seen CS:GO so beautiful. The orange between the clouds seems incredibly intense and the dark areas are still rich in detail. The dynamic range of HDR1000 is really breathtaking here.

G-Sync

Pretty much the biggest feature of the screen is the Nvidia G-Sync Ultimate certification. If you’ve ever heard of G-Sync, you probably know that this is Nvidia’s equivalent to FreeSync for matching the refresh rates between the graphics card and the screen.

But with G-Sync Ultimate Nvidia has now gone another way. The synchronization of the refresh rates is still a part of the whole, but the G-Sync Ultimate certification now also indicates that the monitor has certain specifications to guarantee an optimal picture.

Source Nvidia: https://www.nvidia.com/de-de/geforce/products/g-sync-monitors/

These specs necessary for a G-Sync Ultimate classification are as follows:

  • The monitor must have an LED backlight with 384 zones
  • A maximum brightness of 1000 Nits must be possible
  • At least one frame rate of 144 Hz
  • The DCI-P3 color space must be at least 95% covered
  • The response time must be 4 milliseconds or less

Frame rate

Apart from the beautiful color display, the high refresh rate of the device is also convincing. Native the monitor supports a full 200 Hz. However, only 144 Hz are easy to set. To activate the full 200 Hz, the colour depth must be reduced from 10 bit to 8 bit and overclocking must be activated in the monitor’s OSD.

Many people who have only used monitors with a refresh rate of 60 Hz so far often wonder what a higher refresh rate is supposed to achieve, as 60 Hz already feels very fluid. But once you’ve switched to a 144 Hz monitor, for example, there’s no going back. 60 Hz simply don’t feel as fluid as they once did. In addition, the advantage offered by the high repetition rate due to the extra frames in shooters cannot be neglected.

Even with a console, gaming on the AG353UCG is fun thanks to the beautiful panel. However, on my Nintendo Switch, black borders were displayed on the sides of the screen because the switch doesn’t support wider ratios than 16:9. But that’s hardly disturbing, as the edges look very black due to the full array local dimming (FALD), similar to an OLED monitor. Furthermore, consoles benefit greatly from the monitor’s low input lag.

In general, this is one of the best combinations of display specifications currently available on the market. However, there is theoretically still room for improvement in many things. For example, 2 ms response time is not much, but many gaming monitors already offer 1 ms response time or less. The same applies to the 200 Hz refresh rate. Many screens, especially those aimed at e-sports, already come with 240 Hz. I would also have been happy if the 200 Hz were also available natively without overclocking, as this is used for active advertising. Of course these points are grumbling on a high level, because there are also technical limitations depending on the used panel, but with such a price such a thing should not be disregarded.

My biggest complaint: The fan

To keep the large and bright panel cool, AOC decided to install a fan in the monitor. This fan runs continuously when the monitor is in operation. However, it is quite loud and gets louder the longer the device is in use. My PC is not particularly quiet, but it’s not very loud either. Nevertheless, you can hear the monitor’s fan louder than my PC, which is under my desk.

You can’t hear it clearly with headphones and sound, but without them it’s really annoying. What bothers me the most is that the fan continues to run for some time after the screen has stopped working. So if you want to go to bed after a late-night gaming session and brush your teeth quickly, the monitor’s fan continues to run for a few minutes even after that.

I will include the fan in the evaluation of workmanship and features.

Price/performance ratio: A lot of money for a lot of monitor

At the time of writing this review, the screen is available for the proud price of €2319.99. For this price you can already build a very good gaming PC. However, you also have to consider what is offered for this price. The curved panel is really huge with its 35 inches and the resolution of 3440×1440 pixels combined with the 200 Hz refresh rate is a clear statement.

The color reproduction is also excellent, which is unfortunately all too often given too little importance in the development of gaming monitors. In this respect, the monitor is in no way inferior to its competitors in the price range and can even keep up with even more expensive devices such as the ROG Swift PG35VQ from ASUS. However, you can also save a few hundred Euros if you are willing to do without the combination of high-end features and are satisfied with slightly slimmed down in certain aspects. Even though the AOC AGON AG353UCG is currently one of the best monitors the market has to offer, it unfortunately only receives a Silver Award due to its high price and the annoying fan.

AOC AGON AG353UCG

Design
Workmanship and features
Image quality
Value for money

85/100

Absolute gaming monitor spearhead with few compromises. But nothing for the small purse.

AOC AGON AG353UCG 89 cm (35 Zoll) Curved Monitor (
This product is currently unavailable.

Simon Lüthje

I am co-founder of this blog and am very interested in everything that has to do with technology, but I also like to play games. I was born in Hamburg, but now I live in Bad Segeberg.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button