Menu
2018 is turning out to be a great year to be a gamer on a budget, or just a bargain-hunter who can’t pass up a good deal on a snazzy new Freesync display.
AOC’s new curved G1 series offers AMD Freesync variable refresh rates in the 30-144 Hz range via three 1080p models: C24G1, C27G1, C32G1, at 24 – 31.5 inches and costing a meager $230, $280, and $300 USD, respectively. Another higher priced model is also 31.5 inches, the CQ32G1, but increases the resolution to 2560×1440 with a still-affordable $400 price tag.
All offer a snappy 1ms of response time, sRGB gamut, and employ VA panels which delivers a punchy 3000:1 contrast ratio, quite an improvement over typical IPS panels at 1000:1 while avoiding IPS glow. The curved displays also offset the off-angle limitations of VA nicely. Historically, that said, latency of VA panels have been a common question by Blur Busters readers — and we are monitoring for improvements in that department.
Presumably the 1440p CQ32G1 will be the only one requiring HDMI 2.0 inputs and/or DisplayPort 1.3 / 1.4 in order to handle the higher pixel count.
Also note that Freesync can function over DisplayPort or HDMI at this point, including quite possibly 120 Hz modes at 1080p or 1440p from an Xbox One X. Console support is to yet be confirmed.
AOC also includes Flicker-Free technology and Low Frame Rate Compensation (LFC), while skipping on speakers in favour of a 3.5mm headphone jack. The 27-inch model is available online now, with the rest out by the end of 2018.