INTRODUCTION

   Arguably the hardest part when building a new PC is finding the right monitor for your needs. I mean think about it, you can decide on pretty much every hardware component (like the graphics card, CPU, mainboard, memory modules and storage) on benchmark results alone (whether by the manufacturers themselves or people like us) but when it comes to peripherals and specifically the most expensive one of them all (i think it's safe to say that's the monitor) there are many things one can take into account. So leaving out the obvious first step which is size (inches) you also need to take into account aspect ratio (16:9/16:10/21:9/32:9), panel type (VA/TN/IPS/PLS/AHVA), refresh rate (60/75/100/120/240Hz), response times (measured in milliseconds) and extra technologies used (like NVIDIA's G-SYNC and AMD's FreeSync which promise reduced screen tearing and input lag). The AGON line of gaming monitors by AOC is extremely popular among gamers all around the world and today with us we have the AG352UCG model.

   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.

   The AGON AG352UCG is a 35 inch Ultra Wide WQHD (Wide Quad HD) Curved Gaming Monitor (21:9 ratio) which uses an AMVA WLED backlit panel (178 degrees viewing angle on both axis - matt finish) that features a maximum resolution of 3440x1440p, 100Hz refresh rate, 4ms GTG response time, 300cd/m2 brightness and 2000:1 contrast ratio. The AGON AG352UCG also features NVIDIA's G-SYNC technology for smooth gaming (by eliminating screen tearing and minimizing display stutter and input lag), two LED strips (red/green/blue with 3 brightness levels), low blue light mode (reduces strain on the eyes), stereo speakers (2W each) and a height/swivel/tilt adjustable stand/base. In terms of available connections the AG352UCG has a single v1.2 DisplayPort input, single v1.4 HDMI input, two USB 3.0 ports and a single 3.5mm headphone audio output. Finally the AGON AG352UCG is covered by a 3 year limited warranty and has an MTBF (meantime between failures) of up to 50.000 hours.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

A large product picture is placed both at the front and rear of the box right next to the AGON logo (the curved and G-SYNC features are also listed here).

The main product features are listed on the left side of the box right over a sticker with its serial and part numbers.

AOC has placed the screen between two thick foam spacers and inside a protective cover (the rest of the bundle is placed inside plastic bags).

The bundle includes the two pieces of the aluminum stand/base (screws are placed in a small plastic bag attached to the stand), power adapter with a power cord, DisplayPort cable, HDMI cable, USB 3.0 host cable, 3.5mm cable, software CD, user manual and a sticker with the energy consumption of the screen.

THE AGON AG352UCG

The curved screen of the AGON AG352UCG measures 84.8cm in length, 39.4cm in height and 5.5cm in thickness and has a diagonal screen size of 88.9cm (the bezel is 15mm thick - all these numbers are according to our measurements).

The aluminum base/stand is made out of two pieces which you need to put together as seen above.

Once you are done with that you will need to mount the stand/base onto the screen by using the 4 bundled screws.

With the stand/base attached the screen is ready to go (there are also two stickers on the left side showcasing the main features and energy consumption of the screen - yes there were two energy consumption stickers in the bundle).

The power on/off button is placed underneath the AGON logo and also doubles up as the OSD menu navigation joystick.

There are two long LED strips underneath each side of the monitor as seen above.

AOC has designed the rear of the AG352UCG after angel wings (which would explain the angel of death displayed in the screen at the front and rear of the box).

A small antenna like piece is placed on the rear upper left corner of the screen (design only).

The serial and part numbers along with several certification logos, factory rollout date (March 2018 for our sample), country of origin, power requirements and contact information for AOC Europe are all placed at a sticker located at the rear of the screen.

Here we also see the screen connectors which include a DisplayPort v1.2 input, HDMI v1.4 input, two microphone inputs, power port, 3.5mm headphone out, two USB 3.0 ports (one can also be used to charge your devices) and a USB 3.0 host port.

USING THE AGON AG352UCG

By default the stand/base of the AG352UCG raises the screen 22.2cm from the desktop (59.6cm highest point) but it can go as low as 11.2cm from the desktop (48.8cm highest point).

The stand/base also has a tilt function of -5.5 degrees and up to 29 degrees (as seen above) and a swivel function of up to 30 degrees on both sides (unfortunately due to its size it lacks an Pivot function).

The color of the base LEDs can be switched from within the OSD and to three different colors red, green and blue (although it does look like purple on the lens).

You can also adjust the brightness level of the LEDs via three available increments again in the OSD (weak/medium/strong) or you can turn them off completely.

The OSD may not be the richest we've seen to date (in terms of available settings) but it still offers quite a bit as you can all see from the above pictures.

VIEWING ANGLES / PICTURE QUALITY

AMVA panels may be improved compared to regular panels but they still can't compete when it comes to viewing angles with IPS models (still the AG352UCG does quite well as you can see from the 4k Blu-Ray of Transformers: The Last Knight).

Unfortunately since the AG352UCG is not an HDR compatible monitor it needs some tweaking for proper playback of 4k HDR movies (and you will also need to enable 2:35:1 playback in your media player) but once that’s done the results are very rewarding (as you can see from the above pictures).

Where the AGON AG352UCG excels however is games (even more so if you own an NVIDIA graphics card so G-SYNC can be enabled) and so after using it for roughly a month with several titles (including as you can all see from the above pictures Far Cry 5, Project Cars 2 and Star Citizen) we really have no complaints from it.

TEST RESULTS

DATACOLOR SPYDER5 ELITE+ MEASUREMENTS

By using the Spyder5 Elite+ Colorimeter by Datacolor we can measure both the color gamut (SRGB and Adobe) and the brightness levels of the monitor at hand.

COLOR AND LUMINANCE UNIFORMITY

Here you can see our results for Color and Luminance Screen Uniformity (instead of just listing results at 100% brightness we are listing all of them - 50/67/83/100%).

POWER CONSUMPTION

Power consumption may not be what we look for when out to get a brand new monitor but at the end of the day it's an important factor so we hope this is interesting to some of you.

CONCLUSION

   Testing monitors is a 2 part process for us so after using Datacolor’s Spyder5 ELITE+ Colorimeter we also use each monitor to reach our lab for at least 1 full month and we do so not only while playing games and watching Blu-Ray movies but also while performing daily tasks like typing reviews and surfing the web. Using a colorimeter is certainly a great help and gives us results we couldn’t possibly get without one but at the end of the day both parts are just as important. Now I have to admit that after spending roughly 15 years working and playing in front of screens with 16:9/16:10 aspect ratios 21:9 does feel a bit weird but it’s something that you get used to real fast and although I do miss the extra width/height of other screens its length makes up for that. The AMVA panel also offers a very good balance between black and colors and again although the AG352UCG is not HDR compatible (this applies to the vast majority of models in the market - hopefully we will start seeing more HDR compatible models soon) a bit of tweaking (both in the screen OSD and your media player software) goes a long way in solving that issue. G-SYNC also works wonders and so pairing our GTX 1070 with the AG352UCG proved quite invaluable during our game tests since we encountered no issues whatsoever with screen tearing, screen stutter and input lag in general (early models of the AG352UCG were reported to have some slight issues but we couldn’t detect any in our sample – could be because it was made just 4 months ago). Unfortunately the AGON AG352UCG falls behind the likes of the Philips BDM4037UB when it comes to available connectors but for a “purely” gaming monitor we see no reason for it to have more.

   So just how much are you required to spend in order to get your hands on the AGON AG352UCG Curved G-SYNC Gaming Monitor by AOC? Well it currently retails for USD799 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 850.29Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) a price tag which puts it slightly lower compared to some of his immediate competition (models with similar if not identical specifications). That being said it’s still not what many people will call affordable and although we tend to agree we also believe that some products will always be aimed towards people with high budgets. Overall the AGON AG352UCG is the best gaming oriented monitor to reach our lab to date and although it's not perfect it does come close and thus deserves our Platinum Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Design (Curved / LED Strips)
- 1440p WQHD Resolution
- LED Backlit AMVA Panel (21:9 / 100Hz / 4ms GTG Responce Time)
- Very Good Image Quality
- NVIDIA G-SYNC
- Stand (Height / Swivel / Tilt Adjustable)
- 2 USB 3.0 Ports
- Stereo Speakers (2W Each)
- 3 Year Limited Collect Warranty

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Power Consumption (Class C)