AOC Agon AG241QX 24" Gaming Monitor, QHD 1440P, G-Sync Compatible + Adaptive-Sync, 144Hz, 1ms, Quickswitch Keypad, Vesa

I'm loving it! Price-wise, I don't think this monitor can be beat.First of all, Yes it has FreeSync. For no apparent reason, no where does it say that Adaptive sync is FreeSync, but it is. The FreeSync range is 30-144 FPS, which is better than a lot of monitors. When looking at the OSD, it will actually show your Vertical refresh rate as "FreeSync" if you have it connected to a FreeSync compatible video card.I upgraded from a pair of 20" 4:3 monitors (1600x1200 native resolution). So, while not giving me double the pixel width with this one monitor, it comes close, and I can easily display side-by-side windows. Thus, while losing a little bit of "real estate" it's not really noticeable and actually a lot nicer to just view everything on one screen.Size-wise, I was worried about a 24" screen seeming too big, but after a few days of using it, it seems a rather ideal size. I was also worried about pixel size, which was why I really wanted a 1440p screen for regular Windows stuff (1080p would be fine for gaming). And I am really loving how small the pixels are, everything is super crisp.Picture quality-wise, it looks great to me. It is definitely bright (even after adjusting it), but in a good way. The only real "complaint" I have about the quality is that the colors start to distort very easily from off center viewing angles. But this is the norm for a TN monitor. So if you are looking to also use this monitor to watch movies on for a room full of people, this isn't a good choice, you would be better off with, a lot more expensive, IPS monitor.Gaming-wise, I am truly loving it! Wow, night and day compared to my old monitor (only used one of my two while gaming). (BTW, I have an MSI AMD RX 480.) Man, I had no clue how much my old monitor was holding me back, input lag being a huge difference. Games look so awesome at 1440p, and most run fine with the RX 480 at ultra settings, resulting in 60+ FPS. Granted GTA V and Quake Champions (beta), I do have to drop the settings to High to keep them in the 60 FPS range. But overall, I was worried that trying to run 1440p would really kill the FPS and it really doesn't. Also, the FreeSync, high 144Hz, low input lag, really really make a difference! My frag rate increased immediately.One thing that Amazon doesn't list is that it also has Shadow Control. Basically what this does is make the dark areas brighter. This is definitely a great feature in games, especially most FPSs.Also, it has a little pull our bar on the right side to hang your headphones on. I didn't think much of this until I hung my headphones there and really like how it keeps them up and out of the way when not in use.One of the biggest negatives that I have read about this monitor is that you have to screw it to the stand to assemble it. Big deal, 4 screws for the screen to the stand and one screw for the base of the stand. Granted, if you're someone that frequently carries your monitor to another place, for LAN parties or such, yes, a quick release/attach button for the screen to base is nice, but if you are like me, this monitor probably won't move until it is time to replace it. So IMO, this isn't something to worry about at all.The QuickSwitch controller is a very nice feature. It beats trying to press the buttons on the monitor... but the buttons are still there if you want to use them.Also, not listed on Amazon, this monitor comes with a DisplayPort cable, an HDMI cable, a USB cable, 2 audio cables, and also a wall mounting bracket.My only real gripe about this monitor is the lack of documentation that it came with. They give you enough to get it up and running, but when it comes to fine tuning it, even AOC's manual (which you can get online) lacks what each setting does. So it leaves you running to the Internet to search what DCB or Overdrive, etc., means and does, and what you should select. Also, while it does have 3 quick button settings for you, how to configure these 3 settings is something that they don't explain either. And if you go to their European website, you can also download the I-Menu software which allows you to configure most settings on your screen with your mouse... which is really nice... but also should be something that is included in the box. I almost took off a star for this, but I do like the monitor so much that I couldn't take off more than 1/2 a star, which isn't an option on here.Overall, this is a great monitor. Yes, there are better ones on the market. But none near this price for what you get. And I do believe that the fact that it doesn't say FreeSync in the description, while having it, also leads to price being that much cheaper. Unless you have plenty of cash to blow, I think that you would be hard pressed to not like this monitor.Fred Madden

Firstly, system specs:AMD Ryzen 7 1700X stock clocksASRock X370 Taichi16GB DDR4 3200 RAM (2X8 sticks)XFX RX 480 RS XXX 8GB @1310 Mhz core, 2100 Mhz memory. 1050 mV core and 975mV memoryRazer Deathadder 2013 WOT edition (Response times may not be as quick with cheaper mice)Corasir K70 RGBFor those wondering, the RX 480 is more than capable of 1440p gaming. You may need to turn some settings down (Like AA), but it will run fine. I run most games at high to very high or ultra with 2X MSAA without issues. I shoot for 30 FPS as a minimum with as much eye candy as possible, and don't really care if the card maintains a constant 60 FPS. With freesync, it doesn't matter nearly as much as it used to using V Sync. As long as you stay in the monitor's freesync range, there will be no stutter or screen tearing.So far so good. I did extensive research before getting a new monitor this time, something I haven't done in the past. My previous monitor was an AOC I2269vW, 22" 1080p 60Hz. I wanted 1440p 144Hz, no ultrawide, and freesync and didn't want to pay more than the whole rig cost to build. This is the only 1440p monitor below $400 with freesync and a wide refresh rate range. Yes, it has freesync, it's just called adaptive sync by AOC for some reason. Radeon settings recognized it immediately and it works perfectly well. Reported range is 30Hz to 144Hz, the widest range I could find in the $400 or less price bracket. Most 144Hz freesync monitors have a range of 40-48Hz on the low end to 144Hz. Turn off V Sync for all games and cap your refresh rate to 144Hz, the experience is amazing! I will never go back to a non-freesync monitor again! The fast response time is very noticeable over my old monitor's 5ms time. There is absolutely no input lag with this monitor. As for the size, I have no problem seeing text on this monitor. I was a little worried that 24" would be too small for 1440p, but it's just fine. It also gives you the option of down-scaling to 1080p for more FPS if need be without loading too much clarity. I have tested this, and 1080p looks pretty good.HDMI cable, Displayport cable, VGA cable, and USB 3.0 pass through cable are all included. A VESA mounting plate is also included. For some reason, it doesn't say this in the description for the monitor. I'm not using the pass through at the moment, but the Displayport cable works just fine. This monitor comes with everything needed to use it, a huge plus for it's price!The base is heavy and very stable, made of aluminum and steel and has soft rubber feet. it also easily rotates. Very high quality parts used here. Four screw attach the monitor to the base, quick and easy.Onto the display itself, the important part! I'll get my one complaint out of the way, the anti glare coating. It is a thick matte coating, which is very effective at eliminating glare, but is visible in some instances such as a pure white background or object. In games at normal viewing distance, it is not really noticeable. Factory calibration was slightly cold and the monitor was very, very bright. With a little calibration, I got it to look much better. Here are my settings, they should be a good starting point for further tweaking to preference. The monitor has a remote to access the settings, which comes in handy for initial setup and tweaking for individual games.Luminance:Contrast: 48Brightness: 42Eco mode: StandardGamma 1Color Setup:Red: 50Green: 50Blue: 47Game Setting:Game mode: offShadow control: 50Game color: 11Low blue light: mediumOverdrive: weakWith these settings, the monitor looks beautiful! It supports 8 bit color and the colors show very well with a little tweaking. I have never had a monitor that didn't need tweaking for good colors, so this is not a con at all.Overall, this thing deserves 5 stars. It's minor cons are vastly outweighed by it's strengths. I usually only buy monitors every 5 to 8 years, and with the features this one has, it should easily last 8 years before needing to upgrade. The 144Hz refresh rate was the key here, allowing me to upgrade to a faster GPU like the RX Vega 56 in the future. At the same time, the wide range of 30-144Hz allows mid range cards like my RX 480 to run 1440p and enjoy freesync. I am very happy with this combo and have no regrets about this monitor.