AOC C32G2ZE 31.5in 240Hz Curved Gaming Monitor Review

Rating: 8.5.

A curved screen and 240Hz refresh used to be premium features in a monitor. But what if you could get both of them for less than £350 – and in a screen with a 31.5 diagonal? That's what the AOC C32G2ZE has to offer. In fact, there's more with FreeSync Premium adaptive sync as well. It all sounds too good to be true. Big screen, high refresh, curved panel gaming for a reasonable price. Surely there must be at least some downsides?

The first downside is obvious from the specs – the resolution is just 1,920 x 1,080, which is rather low for a monitor this big. But for some FPS gamers, the high refresh and adaptive sync could be more important, because it's all about responsiveness. Where the latter is concerned, the pixel response is 0.5ms, but this is MPRT not grey-to-grey. As with most curved monitors, a VA panel is used. This provides a fairly low 300cd/m2 brightness rating but high static contrast of 4,000:1.

The FreeSync Premium badge means that the C32G2ZE supports at least 120Hz refresh at Full HD resolution (of course it supports twice that) and low framerate compensation (LFC), over and above the basic needs of FreeSync. LFC is a technology that stops stuttering if the frame rate drops below the monitor's minimum refresh, which is 48Hz. This screen is not currently on NVIDIA's G-Sync compatibility list, so you would have to take your chances if you own an NVIDIA GeForce graphics card.

The C32G2ZE has a decent set of video connections, including two HDMI 2.0 and a single DisplayPort 1.2, plus minijack output for headphones. However, there's no USB hub, which is clearly an area where AOC has made economies with this monitor. Another is in the lack of built-in speakers, although these are usually so weedy on most monitors you'd only use them in an emergency. There's no funky joystick or external control puck, like the AOC AGON AG273QZ, either, and ergonomic adjustment is limited to tilting forward and backward. However, with the core 240Hz refresh and curved 31.5in panel, you're getting a lot of monitor for just over £300. Let's find out just how much.

Specification:

• Screen size: 31.5-inch, 21:9 aspect
• Native resolution: 1,920 x 1,080
• Curvature: 1500R
• Refresh rate: 240Hz, AMD FreeSync Premium
• Panel type: VA
• Contrast ratio: 4,000:1 (typical)
• Brightness: 300cd/m2
• Response time: 0.5ms MPRT
• Display inputs: 2 x HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2
• USB hub: No
• Tilt: 5 degrees forward, 23 degrees backward
• Raise: No
• Swivel: No
• Portrait: No
• Other: Audio output minijack

Retail Price: £319.99 (inc. VAT)

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