AOC Unveils Cheap G1-Series Curved Displays with 144 Hz & FreeSync: Starting at $280
by Anton Shilov on September 13, 2018 6:00 PM EST
AOC this month formally introduced its G1-series of curved gaming displays, which offer premium features like 144 Hz FreeSync support at affordable prices. The new monitors start at $230 for a 24-inch model and top out at $400 for a 31.5-inch version, making these among the cheapest high refresh rate FreeSync monitors on the market.
AOC’s G1 family will initially consist of four models: a 24-inch display, a 27-inch display, and two 32-inch displays. All four are based on 16:9 aspect ratio curved VA-type panels, and all of which similar specifications such as 250-nits peak brightness, a 3000:1 contrast ratio, 1 ms MPRT response times, and a 144 Hz refresh rate. The C24G1, C27G1, and C32G1 all run at a Full-HD (1920x1080) resolution, while the CQ32G1 goes one step further with WQHD (2560x1440).
The key selling points for all of AOC’s G1 monitors are their ultra-low motion picture response time (keep in mind that MPRT response time is a different thing than GtG response time usually mentioned by display makers though), AMD’s FreeSync dynamic refresh rate technology, as well as a 144 Hz maximum refresh rate. AOC has yet to disclose the FreeSync ranges of the displays and whether they're wide enough to support AMD’s Low Frame Rate (LFC) capability; however it would be rather odd to see a 144Hz display that couldn't meet the relaively modest 2x range requirement. Meanwhile, the company’s previous-gen entry-level gaming monitors, which launched last year, supported LFC and had a very decent FreeSync range from 30 to 144 Hz.
Meanwhile in order to bring in these gaming features to entry-level monitors, AOC did have to make some tradeoffs. In particular, they're using panels with relatively modest brightness ranges and pixel densities. For hardcore gamers after a fast monitor this isn't likely to be an issue, however someone with a more mixed gaming/productivity workload may find it's balanced towards the former and not the latter.
When it comes to connectivity, all of AOC's G1 displays have three display inputs – a DisplayPort and two HDMI headers (to connect a PC and two game consoles) – as well as a 3.5-mm headphone jack, essentially keeping the number of connectors at a minimum. The manufacturer decided not to equip its G1 monitors with speakers or a USB hub since neither will be truly appreciated by the target audience.
| Specifications of AOC's G1 Series Gaming Displays | |||||
| C24G1 | C27G1 | C32G1 | CQ32G1 | ||
| Panel | 24" VA | 27" VA | 31.5" VA | 31.5" VA | |
| Native Resolution | 1920 × 1080 | 2560 × 1440 | |||
| Maximum Refresh Rate | 144 Hz | ||||
| Dynamic Refresh | Tech | AMD FreeSync (LFC is not confirmed) | |||
| Range | 30 - 144 Hz (?) | ||||
| Brightness | 250 cd/m² | ? | |||
| Contrast | 3000:1 | ? | |||
| Viewing Angles | 178°/178° horizontal/vertical | ||||
| Response Time | 1 ms MPRT | ||||
| Pixel Pitch | 0.27156 mm² | 0.3114 mm² | 0.3637 mm² | 0.2724 mm² | |
| Pixel Density | 90 PPI | 81 PPI | 70 PPI | 93 PPI | |
| Curvature | 1500R | 1800R | |||
| Color Gamut Support | sRGB | ||||
| Inputs | 1 × DisplayPort 1.2 2 × HDMI 1.4 1 × D-Sub |
? | |||
| USB Hub | - | - | - | - | |
| Audio | 3.5 mm Headphone Output | ? | |||
| Proprietary Enhancements | AOC Flicker Free | ||||
| Power Consumption | Idle | 0.5 W | ? | ||
| Operating | 20 W | 23 W | 50 W | ? | |
| Stand Adjustments | Tilt | -4 ~ +21.5° | -5 ~ +21.5° | ? | |
| Swivel | -34 ~ +34° | - | ? | ||
| Height | 130 mm | - | - | ? | |
| Pivot | - | - | ? | ||
| VESA Mounts | 100 × 100 mm | ||||
| Launch Timeframe | Q4 2018 | September 2018 | Q4 2018 | Q4 2018 | |
| Additional Information | Link | Link | Link | - | |
| MSRP | $230 | $280 | $300 | $400 | |
AOC’s 27-inch C27G1 is available now for $280 from Amazon and Newegg. The other monitors are expected to hit the market in the fourth quarter, presumably in time for holiday season. The C24G1 will carry an MSRP of $230, whereas the larger C32G1 and CQ32G1 will be priced at $300 and $400, respectively.
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freeskier93 - Thursday, September 13, 2018 - link
If the Freesync range is 30-144Hz then I'm sold.eek2121 - Thursday, September 13, 2018 - link
Wish we could get some ultrawide IPS monitors with a resolution of 5120x1440.HotBBQ - Thursday, September 13, 2018 - link
Wish I could get a $350 GPU that could play games at 144Hz @ 2560x1440.Dragonstongue - Thursday, September 13, 2018 - link
I wish I could get any gpu that is SEP/MSRP amount in the past 2+ years ^.^barebone card, they get at a discount, slap on a cooler (cost them maybe $20 tops) add the box and manuals etc (maybe another $30 to plop on shelf) they seem to average somewhere in the range of 40-60% markup (profit) and the sellers themselves are in the range of some 20-40% on top of that (especially when they throw excuse out of "miners" buy them as fast as we bring them in so no choice we have to slap extra cost on them)
144Hz at 1440p is not "that hard" but I suppose if you mean every game out there jacked up the best possible settings you can throw at it, that is pushing it because not even the "mighty" 1080Ti can accomplish this 100% of the time, forget the 4k at 60+ FPS that so many review sites state is "no problem" BS on that ^.^
xTRICKYxx - Friday, September 14, 2018 - link
I often get above 60fps at 2160p on a measly 1070. All about lowering settings that are very hard to see. I actually find 1440p144hz to be much harder to run than 4k60. 4k144hz is gonna be rough, but even a 1080 ti can already do that in many titles.Dragonstongue - Thursday, September 13, 2018 - link
I almost do not understand the point at all of curved monitors, all the ones I have seen are really no better then "flat" ones if anything you pretty much have to sit dead center of them for it to really have much "impact" (if you want to use that word)I personally do not find them able to draw you in or anything along those lines, I do however find that when you say lean a touch to left or right it totally disrupts the "smoothness" of whatever is on the screen..they seem to be more difficult to make and therefore at least a chunk more pricey..even more so when you get Ngrredy sink...err..G-Sync instead of Freesync added to it.
not too shabby a price (seems to me) and nice low enough running watts (I wish makers would test worst case scenario for every product so that one knows it they "reduce" in this case brightness or whatever consumption is that much lower)
$300 CAD (basically) is a td much for a 1080p 24" monitor IMO, but I suppose if the picture quality is "there" then it is quite reasonable,
imaheadcase - Friday, September 14, 2018 - link
I don't get the point of flat monitors anymore, why bother with them when curved ones offer better viewing. I would never go back to flat panels.jimbo2779 - Friday, September 14, 2018 - link
How are curved screens better? I haven't spent much time with them but the premise of them just seems like a gimmick to me.DanNeely - Friday, September 14, 2018 - link
The notional advantage is that with your head properly centered all parts of the screen are an equal distance from your eyes, making the angular size of stuff seen on the edges the same size as that in the center vs smaller because it's farther away on a flat screen.I don't have a curved monitor, but do angle the side panels of my multi-screen setup to achieve similar results.
HollyDOL - Friday, September 14, 2018 - link
And notional disadvantage is that the picture rendered is computed for flat projection and not a curved one... so with curved screen the image is in fact not representing what it should have.