CONCLUSION

    Having seen everything I have since the late 80's in the electronics industry I'm not easily impressed and well, the AGON PRO PD49 Porsche Design did just that. Yes, I may not be a huge fan of the 32:9 super ultra-wide screen format (always found it to be way too "thin") and the PD49 is not among the latest models to get released (was announced in December 2023) but it’s clearly the best gaming model to arrive in the lab, at least to date. Colors are vibrant and accurate, image is crisp and its 240Hz refresh rate ensures you won’t encounter ghosting while playing (as long as your card can support it). This is also why I was surprised to see that the 49M2C8900L produced slightly better results with the Datacolor Spyder Pro device (it’s a bit newer however, announced in May 2024). Numbers aside however the AOC AGON PRO PD49 is the clear winner when it comes to build quality and features and well, that would be my number 1 choice if I was out looking purely for a gaming monitor. As I mentioned earlier it’s a shame that the original 5MP web camera never made it to the final product, it would have been very useful for games that support face tracking and well, it looked a lot nicer than having an 3^rd party web camera mounted. Finally, I feel I need to point out that the 16W stereo speakers (2x8W) did better than expected and I honestly didn’t feel the need to change to larger speakers (although they would sound better).

    The sole issue with the AGON PRO PD49 Porsche Design QD-OLED Gaming Monitor by AOC is availability and after almost 18 months in the Global market it’s far from great. You can still find it for around USD1400 inside the USA and for around 1600Euros inside the EU but availability as of now is limited. Still, if you can actually come across one, price is of no concern and you’re looking for one of the best 49” 32:9 super ultra-wide gaming monitors currently the AGON PRO PD49 Porsche Design is it and that’s why it gets the Platinum Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- 5120x1440p Dual QHD Resolution
- 240Hz Refresh Rate
- QD OLED (Samsung)
- Impressive Image Quality
- Features (Adaptive Sync / PIP / PBP / HDR10 / HDR10+ / HDR400 True Black)
- Design (iF Design & Red Dot Awards)
- LightFX RGB Lights
- 0.03ms GTG Response Time
- Stereo Audio Speakers (16W / DTS)
- Stand Features (Tilt / Swivel / Height Adjustment)
- Built In KVM / USB Hub
- Available Connectors (2xHDMI v2.1 / DisplayPort v1.4 / USBC PD 90W / 2.5G LAN / 3.5mm Mini Jack)
- 3 Year Limited Warranty (Burn In Included)

CONS

- Power Consumption
- Overall Availability
- Price (For Some)