AOC Agon's First Pro Gaming Monitor Rocks A 360Hz Refresh And NVIDIA Reflex
AOC has created a new Agon Pro gaming monitor tier among its growing display lineup and its first model, the Agon Pro AG254FG, comes flying out of the gate with a breakneck 360Hz refresh rate for fast-action gameplay. In doing so, the AG254FG earns the distinction of the fastest gaming monitor AOC has released to date.
Incidentally, it looks like AOC is promoting some of its previously released Agon models to Pro status, including the AG275QXL (IPS, 1440p, 170Hz, FreeSync) and PD27 (VA, 1440p, 240Hz, FreeSync). Those are both 27-inch display and now carry the Agon Pro designation on AOC's website.
The AG254FG is a smaller 24.5-inch display built for nimble gamers who put raw speed above all else. It's built around an IPS panel with a 1920x1080 resolution and 1ms response time, and claims to offer 110% coverage of the sRGB color space. It's also DisplayHDR 400 certified, though with a peak brightness of 400 nits, HDR is not really the selling point here.
It's the combination of a fast refresh rate and key NVIDIA technologies that AOC is banking on, including G-Sync and Reflex. NVIDIA's G-Sync technology keeps the action smooth and tear free by matching the display's refresh rate to the GPU, while Reflex is a latency-busting technology to more quickly register mouse and keyboard input.
"By integrating the NVIDIA Reflex technology, game
developers can eliminate the GPU render queue and reduce CPU backpressure in GPU intensive scenes.
Additionally, the built-in NVIDIA Reflex Latency Analyzer can measure the exact time between a click from
the mouse and changing pixels on the screen, which was previously only possible with high-speed cameras and
special equipment," AOC explains.
We tested NVIDIA's Reflex technology and found it works as advertised. Whether it will help you win your ay to esports fame and fortune, well, that's going to depend on your overall skill set.
G-Sync and Reflex aside, other features include a built-in USB 3.2 hub (four downstream ports), 3.5mm headphone and microphone jack, a pair of built-in 5W speakers with DTS, and ergonomic controls (tilt, swivel, pivot, and height). Display connectivity options consist of two HDMI 2.0 inputs and a DisplayPort 1.4 input.
The older HDMI spec is a bummer (why not HDMI 2.1?), though it's the pricing on the Agon Pro AG254FG that will make this a tough sell—it's available now on Amazon for $749.99 (MSRP).
Pricing will need to come down to make this a competitive solution. For example, the ASUS ROG Swift PG259QNR offers similar specifications across the board, including Reflex support, and sells for $549.99 on Amazon. There's also the Acer Predator X25, also with Reflex, that sells for $579.99. And if you can do without Reflex, there's the Alienware AW2521H (360Hz, G-Sync) that currently sells for $374.99 on Amazon. All three feature a 360Hz refresh rate.
