AOC G2460PQU myUltraSpeed 144Hz Gaming Monitor Review

Overview

 

New year, New gaming monitor! 🙂 For the next couple of weeks I’ll be testing the AOC G2460PQU myUltraSpeed 144Hz Gaming Monitor. Which is a little bit quicker than my current run of the mill 60Hz screen with a totally unknown response time (possibly even slower than me…), but will I really notice the difference?

The AOC G2460PQU myUltraSpeed is a 24″ WLED 1920 x 1080 TN panel with a 16:9 aspect ratio, designed with competitive gaming in mind. It’s fast, very fast in-fact with a one millisecond response time and a refresh rate of 144Hz (should be just enough for your high-end gaming rig ) or in brief by AOC themselves…

‘This display will make any gaming enthusiast´s heart beat faster: the stylish g2460Pqu will impress you with crystal-clear pictures. Enjoy fast-paced action sequences from the latest games or movies – crisp and blur-free due to an ultra-fast response time of just one millisecond and a refresh rate of 144 Hz. The strong typical contrast (1000:1) and high brightness (350 cd/m²) provide brilliant images. This gamers´ dream-come-true sports numerous connectivity options, such as D-Sub, DVI Dual Link, HDMI, DisplayPort and an integrated USB hub. These enable you to comfortably plug in several devices at the same time and display hi-res content on the large 61 cm (24″) screen. Also on board: an integrated USB hub with 4 ports, including a fast-charge USB port for mobile devices. In addition, the Full HD display is equipped with LED backlights, making it particularly economical despite its great performance.’

Erm… For a monitor aimed at gamers, the box lacks that little bit of sparkle. Being a rather dull brown cardboard box, with a blue band running around the middle. It does of course also have the AOC brand, model name, a few artistic pictures of the monitor and some other dull bits, also repeated on the opposite side of the box. So far not very awe-inspiring. Then again, who’s going to be interested in a box when it’s the contents that we’re after!?

 

 

Features

• Inputs: D-SUB, DVI-D, HDMI
• 1920 x 1080 maximum resolution
• Special Features: -5/22 Tilt,130 mm Height Adjustment,Audio out,Display Port Input,Eco Mode,e-Saver,i-Menu,Kensington Security Lock,Pivot,screen+,VESA 100 mm,USB 4x 2.0
• 350 cd/m²
• Up to 1 ms GtG

Inside the box we have the screen, base, utilities disc and an assortment of leads within protective bags and a styrofoam block. A very well packaged monitor (not once did I accidentally put this to the test by dropping it!). One oddity being the lack of a three pin power lead (Luckily I had one spare!). This will of course be in-box within the retail version, as will a cable tidy which was also absent.

 

 

The contents of the box are shown above and listed below:

• AOC G2460PQU – Panel
• AOC G2460PQU – Stand
• Power Lead
• DVI-D Cable
• VGA Cable
• Audio Cable
• USB 2.0 (type b) Cable
• Drivers and Documentation CD

At the time of writing the AOC G2460PQU myUltraSpeed 144Hz Gaming Monitor has an RRP of £249.99, but is available from Overclockers UK for £239.99 plus p & p, or if you don’t mind waiting one to three weeks for delivery on Amazon for £226.48. Either way the AOC G2460PQU comes with a 3 year warranty.

 

Specifications/Features

courtesy of AOC

* Additional details available here

 

First Impressions

 

Putting the AOC G2460PQU together was an piece of cake! You just slot the monitor arm into the base, rotate the spinny disk thing so that the screw appears, then screw. Job done! Something of note is the quality of the stand, it is rock solid and once the monitor is situated in its new home, it won’t budge and inch. The whole monitor weighs in at a paltry 6.54kg (I’d hazard a guess that the majority of this is actually the stand and arm).

 

 

The AOC G2460PQU front is a simple but stylish and rather likeable. The bezel has a black faux brushed aluminium styling with a nice shiny silver AOC emblem. It’s a rather slim 16mm thick on top and side’s, the bottom is slightly bigger at 25mm, this is because it also incorporates the five button control panel.

 

 

One thing I believe is a must for most monitors (depending on size of course), is a height adjust, it’s nice to see what’s right in front of you after all. The monitor height is approximately 393mm, extend the height adjust to it’s full height adds another 130mm (523mm), which I think is exactly the right height for a 24″ screen.

 

IO Panel (underside)

 

As you can see AOC certainly haven’t skimped on the G2460PQU inputs and outputs. On the left we have a single USB 2.0 (type b) which hooks up to your rig in order to provide both power and data), two USB 2.0 ports, a power switch and of course the main power socket. The bottom left houses a DisplayPort, VGA, DVI-D, HDMI and Audio sockets. Then on the right side of the screen there are two USB 2.0 ports, one of which is a rather handy fast charge port.

 

On the back of the AOC G2460PQU we have the same faux brushed aluminium effect as the bezel, then a plain black band across the top with the AOC emblem moulded into it. Visually it’ll not win any kind of awards, but it’s certainly the best looking monitor I’ve seen the back of. It’s nice to see AOC have put a little thought into it.

The AOC G2460PQU’s stand arm comes pre-attached to the panel VESA mount. This quality stand allows for plenty of adjustments. It has the usual swivel, tilt(-5/+22), height (+130mm), pivot and this also allows for portrait view. Essentially you could live on the side of a hill and still get the perfect viewing angle! 😉

 

 

So far I’m liking the AOC G2460PQU. It looks good, it’s very easy to assemble, has plenty of connectivity ports, a rock steady stand, and even goes on to offer a 3 year warranty!

But how does the myUltraSpeed’s ultra fast screen with it’s 144Hz panel fare in Gaming?

 

Testing Methodology/Setup

 

As always, the Test Rig received a fresh install of Windows 7 Home Premium 64Bit (Service Pack 1). No calibration software was used, instead relying on AOC factory settings and my own eyes (best give my slightly dusty goggles a good clean).

For this review the Test Rig has an MSI R9 290 Gaming 4GB installed for extra horsepower and I shall be using the following games over the two week test period.

• Battlefield 4
• Loadout (current office fav :))
• Batman Arkham Origins
• Grid 2
• Borderlands 2
• Blacklight – Retribution

 

Hardware Performance

 

Given the target audience being us Gamers, I had to obviously play one or two games. No matter what type of screen or resolution you’ll be gaming on, it is always important to take your GPU into consideration. For instance; if your GPU struggles at an average 60 FPS on your favourite game with Settings your happy with (ideally these Settings would be maxed out of course!), then you’ll ideally be looking at a 60Hz 1080p monitor, you really aren’t going to benefit from the extra Hz offered by a monitor with a higher refresh rate. For this review I’ll be using the MSI R9 290 Gaming 4GB which should be fast enough to push most games played over the 60 FPS average. So off I go, ready for action! 😉

 

 

So with the press of a button the AOC G2460PQU is on. First impressions with the power on aren’t as impressive as I’d hoped. The panel seems lacking in overall brightness, vibrancy and missing that little punch that makes you take notice. After playing around with the fiddly buttons, turning the gamma up and turning DCR (Dynamic Contrast Ratio) on via the OSD (worth noting, if your like me and have small trees for fingers, all adjustments can also be made with the click of a mouse through the i-menu software handily included), the picture suddenly becomes very clear, concise, bright and colourful, result! If anything the colour stands out more than any other TN panel based offering I’ve used to date! The AOC G2460PQU also has a fairly aggressive matt anti-glare coating which does a brilliant job in all but the harshest of direct lighting.

The first game I jumped at the chance to have a go on is Loadout! by Edge of Reality. The game is fast, frenetic and fun to play. Ideal for the test in hand. While not taking full advantage of the 144Hz at hand, the game quite happily plays at around 125FPS and is incredibly fast and smooth. Similarly, Blacklight – Retribution flies along at well over the 144Hz ceiling at 160 FPS+, for another silky smooth experience. Onto a slightly different game we have Grid 2 which motors along and breaks the uk speed limit at 99 FPS! Everything seems oddly more snappy and the pace with the faster cars is amazing.

Hiding in the shadows, whilst gliding from rooftop to rooftop in Batman Arkham Origins, throws an average 147 FPS into the mix. All seemed brilliant as I finally got hooked into Origins as I had the previous Arkham games, until I came up against Deathstroke (if anyone has kicked his ass and wants to let me in on the secret!?). Going gun totting crazy in the beautifully cell shaded world of Borderlands 2, again throws out a silky smooth and fast 100 FPS (This is the first screen I’ve used that has actually truly given the game any justice, perhaps I should have got my hands on a proper monitor sooner! 😉 )

All of the the above figures are all very well and true, but of what use are they? Essentially it shows the incredibly high 144Hz refresh rate and tiny 1Ms response time help to reduce ghosting, makes everything seem more fluid and responsive (dare I say smoother and perhaps even faster?). Both of which the AOC G2460PQU does a fantastic job of as there are none at all! Bare in mind though, you will need the extra horse power afforded by a half decent GPU in order to do this at max settings.

Like the sound of it so far? Audio on this monitor is it’s only drawback. I wasn’t expecting it to rock my world, the 2 x 2W speakers do make a sound, but nothing that’ll really make you want to really use them! The sound reproduction is very light and tinny with no gravitas, you will definitely be wanting to use some sort of external speakers or a headset.

 

Final Thoughts

 

Despite the lack of inspiration from the rather dull packaging, once removed the AOC G2460PQU myUltraSpeed 144Hz Gaming Monitor was quite a sleek little treat to behold. I really like the brushed aluminium styling, an excellent height adjustable arm and with a little tweaking the screen is bright, colourful, crisp and clear. The viewing angles aren’t the greatest, this isn’t an IPS screen after all, but for an overall package it’s one of the best TN panels I’ve used to date. The AOC G2460PQU myUltraSpeed truly is a good monitor and one that would happily live on my desk.

Is a 144Hz monitor with a 1ms Response time the way to go? That’s a very hard one. As mentioned above in Hardware Performance, you’ll first need a GPU with enough power to drive it. The AOC G2460PQU makes games running at a high FPS seem more fluid and responsive, but when the human eye is supposed to find any increase above 80 FPS difficult to perceive is it worth it? I can certainly say it’s smoother and faster because that’s how it feels, but is this reality or just in my head?

As far as comparisons go and is this the right monitor for you? Well in recent times we’ve reviewed the BenQ XL2411T gaming monitor with many similiarities, 144Mz refresh rate, 1Ms response time, but with 3D functionality (Does anyone even use this any more!?) and a higher price (currently available for £289.99 at OverclockersUK), both of these are good gaming monitors, in fact I’d even hazard saying they are great. Then we have the AOC Q2963PM 21:9 SuperWide, which whilst not as fast, does have a superior 29′ IPS screen (currently available for £299.99 on Amazon). During tests we found no ghosting or input lag of any kind with any of these screens and are all great for gaming, if I had to choose a 24′ gaming monitor I’d choose the AOC G2460PQU myUltraSpeed, but if I had to choose out of the three? I’d be putting the little extra money on the AOC Q2963PM.

 

Verdict

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Many thanks to AOC for providing this sample for review