AOC’s new 28-inch monitor is a relatively affordable 4K HDR display at $299

Display maker AOC is coming out with an aggressive price point for its newest gaming monitor, a 28-inch model with a 4K resolution, HDR visuals, and FreeSync support. At $299, it looks like a compelling buy, but is it really?

That's a question we can only answer if and when we get a chance to spend some hands on time with AOC's new G2868PQU. In the absence of that, we can get an idea of what to expect based on the specs, and there are clearly some compromises that come with checking all those boxes on a 28-inch panel.

For one, this monitor is using a TN panel. For the most part, overall image quality and viewing angles are not as good on TN panels as they are with IPS and VA displays, though you do get an ultra-fast response rate on this one—AOC rates it at 1ms.

It's also only a 60Hz panel. In fairness, it would take some meaty hardware to push anything higher at 4K anyway.

The other compromise is the brightness rating. Despite being "HDR-ready," it only hits 300 nits. AOC optimistically pitches that as a "high brightness" level, but it's really just average. To put that into perspective, VESA won't even consider anything lower than 400 nits for its DisplayHDR certification program. It's also well below the eye-searing 1,000 nits level where HDR really shines.

That said, AOC claims this monitor offers 102 percent coverage of the sRGB color space, for "vivid colors and popping visuals." And it's tough to scoff at the price, so long as you know what you're getting—a relatively big and fast 4K display.

The G2868PQU will be available sometime this month.

Thanks, TechPowerUp

Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).