AOC AGON AG353UCG

Pablosammy · 28 Nov 2020 at 07:28

I can't find any recent mentions of this monitor. It's currently half price on Overclockers, and looks like a hell of a spec for the money (albeit it's still very expensive). G Sync ultimate, 200hz, proper HDR. Seems to be selling at the higher price elsewhere too.

Any reasons this is discounted so heavily?

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/aoc-...rved-widescreen-gaming-monitor-mo-04z-ao.html

Pablosammy · 28 Nov 2020 at 09:41

TheReflex said:
Well I believe the model is 1 year old or so, so I'm guessing more modern panels might have been manufactured since then?

This model also has FALD. It does look like a cracking deal.

I must say I'm tempted, it ticks a lot of boxes!

Pablosammy · 28 Nov 2020 at 12:06

andrew89898 said:
I went ahead and bought one! Was considering the X35, 34GN850 and 3420dw. I’ve heard the ASUS PG35VQ fan noise is okay and the X35 was patched with an update. Nothing about the AOC so I’m hoping it’s not too bad.

Me too. I have read up about the fan, but I'll be using it for gaming with the sound on at a decent level so I'm hoping it'll be OK. If it's obnoxious, then I'll return it!

Pablosammy · 28 Nov 2020 at 13:35

JediFragger said:
It's audible apparantly and that's what put me off, wiith a silent PC it'd end up driving me a little nuts.

I'm hoping my GPU will drown it out

Pablosammy · 30 Nov 2020 at 17:23

It arrived, and I've had a bit of a play.

First off, it's huge and the picture is gorgeous - it looks every bit the £2k monitor it professes to be. I ran a quick calibration using my i1 and it turns out it was almost on the money already. The FALD can be distracting on uniformly grey or black areas, but other than that I can't fault the picture quality.

The fan. Ok, it is definitely audible - think laptop type of noise. It's a higher frequency than my PC fans so you can hear it clearly over the usual low hum when the PC is at idle, and maybe crucially for many, you can hear it over quiet music.

HOWEVER... in gaming it's an absolute non-issue. Once my GPU and AIO have spun up to gaming speeds, you can't hear the monitor. I doubt you'd hear it over the game sounds either.

Overall, I would advise against this for home office or music listening duties, but for gaming I can't imagine there are many better options out there - I love the ultrawide aspect, and the refresh rate really makes the most of a decent GPU.

Pablosammy · 30 Nov 2020 at 22:11

Hmm... I do listen to music, and not particularly loud. I was trying to talk myself into keeping this, but I think it's going to grate. Even at the price I bought it for, there shouldn't be any compromises at this price level. What a ridiculous design flaw - with all that real estate at the back surely they could have fitted a great big slow fan instead of a little whiny laptop style fan.

Oh well, the search for a perfect monitor continues.

Pablosammy · 1 Dec 2020 at 11:58

TheReflex said:
So you're sending it back?

Does overclockers sell open box items? /refreshes shop page

Presumably! I'm about 985 posts away from being able to buy and sell on here (I'm a shy long term lurker!), otherwise I'd offer it up.

Pablosammy · 1 Dec 2020 at 13:26

andrew89898 said:
I haven’t received mine yet but arriving soon,

I’m planning to use it with my work laptop for coding and meetings. I also have a list of hdr games to try. I am however concerned with the fan and the VA pixel response (coming from 144hz benq TN) as I still play relatively competitive games - not pro but higher than average.

Is the fan noticeable in day to day use? I use open back headphones while gaming and my PC is not loud but not silent either.

Hoping I will keep it.

You won't hear it when gaming, especially with headphones on. As I mentioned, it's like a laptop fan in pitch and volume - it probably won't bother most, but my rig is almost inaudible when I'm not gaming, and I can hear it over the sort of music I listen to.

I guess only you can make the judgment - unbox it carefully and try it out, I suppose! Everyone has different definitions of tolerable.

Pablosammy · 1 Dec 2020 at 13:28

JediFragger said:
Looks like someone will be switching to listening only to bangers or a bit of drum 'n' bass on 11 soon

WHAT DID YOU SAY? STOP MUMBLING

Pablosammy · 1 Dec 2020 at 16:06

Overclockers made me jump through some hoops to get it past their returns police (audio recordings, three phone calls) but it's on its way back sadly. The first guy I spoke to said he was completely unaware any monitors had cooling fans, and the guy who listened to the audio clip later on said in disbelief "And that's coming from the MONITOR?"

Pablosammy · 1 Dec 2020 at 16:43

TheReflex said:
Any chance you can share that audio clip? I'm actually curious now as to how it sounds.

I've had the same PSU for 9 years now. Back then it was brilliant (700W modular) but it's showing signs of age, namely sounding like an helicopter, despite being inside a NZXT silent case. I can't imagine a monitor being louder but I'm definitely keen to find out!

Listen to 2020_12_01_15_49_25.mp3 by PabloDiver on #SoundCloud
https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/UBEs

The mic was right next to the vent, so the volume is exaggerated, but it gives you an idea of the nature of the noise. It's not as loud as that in real life, but it's audible when doing anything other than gaming.

Pablosammy · 1 Dec 2020 at 17:26

TheReflex said:
This is possibly the answer to my question https://www.overclockers.co.uk/b-gr...0-curved-widescreen-gaming-mon-bg-047-ao.html

Oof! Cheeky buggers.

I'll do it for £1500, they haven't picked it up yet

Pablosammy · 2 Dec 2020 at 17:40

TheReflex said:
Monitor: £999
Extra fan: £799

Who's up for watercooling their monitor, then?

Pablosammy · 4 Dec 2020 at 21:53

docimodo said:
It is both funny and sad to see this thread! Partially on/off topic rant incoming!
I had selected this monitor knowing about the noise complaints as I use closed cup headphones 100% of the time on my PC, I can't even hear my door bell with these on so I was 99.9% confident that a little fan noise was something I can live with easily.

Clicked purchase on Black Friday when I saw the deal and several units left. Stopped looking for deals elsewhere as OCUK and bank card showed that the transaction had gone through and the stock indicator on the OCUK site incremented down by one surely corresponding to my order so happy days. Or so I thought! Assumed there might be a delay in delivery so didn't think much of a day or two delay.

Got a bit concerned about continued delay in delivery after wednesday came around so had a browse on forums and was surprised to see that someone on here had been able to order a day later, receive and return the same item before I had even gotten a delivery note for mine.

Contacted support and finally got a reply today (8 days later) telling me that they can no longer supply it due to a "stocking error"...

I guess I'll have to fill my christmas stocking with stock from elsewhere without any deals!

Given their error, could you persuade them to sell you the open box one they have in stock for the Black Friday price?