INTRODUCTION

   Ever since i got my first "serious" computer system back in 1990 (based on the Intel 80286 CPU) and my first serious gaming only system (the Commodore Amiga 500) roughly a year earlier (which i then upgraded to the 500 Plus model) I’ve always loved playing my favorite games on the largest screen possible. Of course until the late 90's a 17 inch EIZO CRT monitor was pretty much all i could afford but all that changed with the arrival of TFT monitors since by 2005 i was enjoying games on a 21.5 inch Super-IPS model by Samsung. Well after that things progressed much faster thanks to the arrival of the Full HD resolution (1920x1080) era so by 2009 i was using a 26 inch IPS monitor by NEC for gaming and an 55 inch LCD screen by SONY for watching movies. Now 4k Ultra HD resolution (3840x2160) has arrived and with it so have several compatible monitors and TV screens but is it as tempting and impressive as Full HD was over 5 years ago? Well in an effort to find out today we're testing the first 4k Ultra HD compatible monitor by AOC the U2868PQU.

   AOC is one of the global top brands in the display market. High quality, first-rate service, an attractive design as well as environmentally friendly and innovative products at competitive prices are the reasons why more and more consumers and distribution partners trust in AOC. The exceptionally broad product range of computer displays has won numerous awards. AOC is a subsidiary of TPV Technology Limited, the world’s largest LCD manufacturer. AOC serves the Western European, Middle East and African markets from its headquarters in Amsterdam. The Eastern European and CIS markets are served by a local office in Prague. Through its network of local sales teams AOC works with all major IT distributors and resellers.

   To my knowledge there are currently three types of 4k compatible screens in the market, the somewhat new IGZO ones (Indium gallium zinc oxide) which are manufactured by Samsung and Sharp, the high-end IPS ones and the low/mid-end TN ones. We all know what IPS panels are capable off but surprisingly enough the main "fight" is currently between IGZO and TN ones. Panels featuring IGZO technology however are more expensive than the regular TN ones for three very apparent reasons, better viewing angles, reduced power consumption and improved color accuracy/reproduction. Because of that many manufacturers like AOC choose TN panels to create cost-effective 4k UHD compatible screens and as you might have guessed already the brand new U2868PQU is one such monitor. The U2868PQU uses a WLED/TN panel which features a brightness of 300cd/m2, 60Hz refresh rate, 1ms GTG response time and a 1000:1 typical contrast ratio. 60Hz refresh rate may not seem much but leaving out the fact that in order to climb to 120Hz we need to wait for the new DisplayPort 1.3 specification it's much better compared to the 30Hz limitation of the first 4k monitors released over a year ago. Now since this is our first monitor review we don't have anything special in terms of testing equipment (if we get more screens for testing in the future we will) so this review is pretty much based on our opinion after using it for roughly a month primarily for games and movies.