AOC Call Its 34-Inch Agon Pro QD-OLED Gaming Monitor A Significant Leap Forward
It was really on a short time ago when OLED gaming monitors were relatively few and far between. You could still make that argument today, though the landscape is changing with a steady influx of options. One of those is AOC's new Agon Pro AG346UCD, a 34-inch monitor with a QD-OLED panel that the company is calling a "significant leap forward in immersive ultrawide displays.
That's a bold claim and part of its boils down to marketing hyperbole (like when AOC unveiled a "Fast AF!" 27-inch monitor for tournament play last month). Looking beyond the boast, however, is an interesting addition to the growing pile of OLED monitors, with this being a quantum dot OLED (QD-OLED) model. Whereas regular OLED uses a white layer to pass through filters, QD-OLED employs a blue-emitting layer and typically offers better brightness and color accuracy.
In this case, the AG346UCD's rated brightness isn't going to knock your socks off at a rated 250 nits. However, we assume that's a typical rating, as the monitor is also DisplayHDR True Black 400 certified. Part of certification requires being able to hit at least 400 nits, among other criteria, like offering at least 90% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut—the AG346UCD exceeds this, with coverage rated 99.3%.
The AG346UCD features a "gentle 1800R curvature" along with a 3440x1440 resolution and reasonably fast 175Hz refresh rate. From AOC's vantage point, this is "effectively a wider, panoramic version of a 27-inch display with the same height."
"The Agon Pro AG346UCD represents a significant leap forward in immersive ultrawide displays," says Cesar Acosta, Gaming Product Manager at Agon by AOC. "By combining a QD-OLED panel with a high refresh rate of 175Hz and our signature gaming features, we're offering simulation enthusiasts, FPS and action/adventure game lovers an unparalleled visual experience—vivid and accurate colors, super-fast response times and an exceptional contrast. It's also great for streamers with high color accuracy. Truly it's one monitor for everything."
This is also a FreeSync Premium Pro model. There's no mention of how well it does (or does not) work with NVIDIA's G-SYNC technology, so if that's important, you should wait for clarification. As for connectivity options, the AG346UCD serves up a pair of HDMI 2.0 ports, a single DisplayPort 1.4 input, and a USB hub with three USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, along with two built-in 8W speakers. Some will undoubtedly find the lack of HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 2.1 to be a buzzkill.
AOC says the Agon Pro AG346UCD will be available later this month for £669.99, though Amazon UK has it listed for £558.32. There's no mention if it plans on releasing it in the US market as well. If you're looking for something similar in the US, Samsung's 34-inch Odyssey G85SB offers many of the same specs and is on sale for $699.99 at Amazon (42% off MSRP).
