AOC Agon Unveils A 32-Inch 165Hz QD-OLED Gaming Monitor, Should You Buy It?
AOC (the display maker, not the politician) is out with yet another gaming display, the Agon Pro AG326UD, which it claims "sets a new standard" in the realm of monitors. That amounts to some heavy marketing hyperbole, though we'll give the company a pass since it's fleshing out a suddenly expanding market of OLED options.
It was just a short time ago when OLED gaming monitors were few and far between. Premium pricing combined with fears over burn-in prevented OLED from making a bigger splash, with companies like LG and Samsung focusing more on the TV segment. However, falling prices, improvements to OLED technology, and friendlier warranties that specifically cover burn-in have helped immensely with consumer demand and adoption.
Now we're at the point where an OLED monitor announcement is, by itself, not super interesting. Where the Agon Pro AG326UD attempts to stand out, however, is with a sub-$1,000 asking price -- AOC has set the MSRP at $799.99.
Is it worth? Let's look at the specs. The AG326UD features a 32-inch quantum dot OLED (QD-OLED) panel with a 4K resolution (3840x2160) and 165Hz refresh rate.
In a press release, AOC also touts NVIDIA G-SYNC support, though the monitor's product page leaves out any specific reference to G-SYNC, and instead leans into adaptive sync (48-165Hz range), leading to some confusion. It took some digging, but one of the press images at PRWeb reveals that this is a 'G-SYNC Compatible' monitor, meaning it doesn't have an actual G-SYNC hardware module but is certified to play nice all the same.
Other features include 99% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space, a 3-sided "frameless" design, a pair of built-in 8W speakers, and DisplayHDR True Black 400 certification. And as for connectivity options, the AG326UD serves up two HDMI 2.1 inputs, a DisplayPort 1.4 input, three downstream USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A ports, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Finally, AOC backs the Agon Pro AG326UD with its Re-Spawned warranty, which offers an advance replacement if/when necessary.
"Agon by AOC sets the bar for gaming monitor coverage with its Re-Spawned Warranty. Agon and Agon Pro models are covered by an industry-leading 4-year advance replacement warranty that includes a 4-year zero dead pixel guarantee, and 1 year of accidental damage coverage (1 incident per monitor)," AOC explains. "AOC Gaming (G Series) models are covered by a 3-year advance replacement warranty that includes a 3-year zero dead pixel guarantee, and 1 year of accidental damage coverage (1 incident per monitor)."
Here again, there is some confusion. While this is a Pro monitor, the product page shows an image indicating it's a 3-year warranty instead of 4 years.
At least for now, the monitor is available exclusively at Micro Center, where it's listed at the full MSRP. Is it a good buy? The specs are decent for the money, though not unfamiliar. It looks to be essentially the same display as MSI' MAG 321UP, which is on sale for $779.99 at Amazon.
