AOC Gaming CQ27G2S/BK: Two-minute review It’s gotten to the point where you don’t need to spend a fortune to get a generally solid gaming experience. That’s certainly where AOC is positioning their latest panel, the catchily named AOC Gaming CQ27G2S/BK, which brings with it the ideal combo of panel size and resolution – 2560 x 1440 strewn over a 27-inch screen – alongside purposeful looks and a generally great image for reasonable money in today’s economy. There’s quite a sea

Inputs:  2x HDMI 2.0, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 3.5mm headphone jack In enabling HDR though, it’s where AOC’s more affordable mid-ranger falls over. It becomes a much more washed-out and overall less enticing picture. Its 80% sRGB and 59% DCI-P3 color space coverage mean that the CQ27G2S/BK isn’t at all suitable for HDR workloads, and you should stick to working in SDR.However, it’s important to note that this isn’t necessarily a panel designed for color-sensitive workloads, and for gaming in SDR, it was excellent. The combination of a 27-inch screen and 1440p panel offered solid detail over a great size for my desk, while the 165Hz refresh rate ensured output was smooth. Playing CS:GO at a high frame rate felt especially responsive while using it for day-to-day work and running my Football Manager 2023 save felt sharper. The moderate 1500R curve helped to provide a tad more immersion in FPS titles, and allowed me to focus more on firing at bots in CS:GO (I refuse to play online, I don’t want to get smoked!). That curvature was also welcome for filling my eyesight for day-to-day working, and while it may seem like an odd thing to say, the CQ27G2S/BK helped to immerse me in what I needed to get done. When rewatching the last series of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel on Prime Video, the curvature helped there, and viewing YouTube videos was solid too.(Image credit: Future)AOC Gaming CQ27G2S/BK: Price & availabilityHow much does it cost? £220 (US model $290, about AU$425)When is it available? Available nowWhere can you get it? Currently available in the UKThe AOC Gaming CQ27G2S/BK appears to be a UK-exclusive panel, being priced at £220 – at least, this exact model. A virtually identical monitor – the AOC Agon Q27G2S – is available in the US for $290 (around AU$425). It sits well amongst some of the best high refresh rate monitors we’ve looked at in the past, such as our top choice, the Gigabyte Aorus CV27Q, and other similar specced options.The CV27Q, despite now being a slightly older panel, matches well against AOC’s latest option with the same screen size, resolution, and refresh rate, although offers a quicker response time of 1ms, but a worse contrast ratio at 3000:1 compared to AOC’s 4000:1. Perhaps the next nearest competitor to the CQ27G2S/BK is an option from the brand ‘X=’, a spin-off from UK retailer AWD-IT. Their X=XRGB27WQ offers a virtually identical spec sheet to AOC’s choice with the same resolution, screen size, and resolution. It gets a little brighter than the CQ27G2S/BK with 350 quoted nits and offers an IPS panel as opposed to VA. That’ll run you £230, although you are banking on trusting a lesser-known brand.Other options from the likes of Dell are going to cost at least £100 or so more than the CQ27G2S/BK, making it a rather great value-for-money choice in its category.Today’s best Lenovo Legion R45w-30 deals$788.49View$799.99View$999.99$807.49ViewWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices(Image credit: Future)Should you buy the AOC Gaming CQ27G2S/BK?Buy it if…You want an affordable 1440p display Compared to the sea of 27-inch, 1440p choices out there, AOC’s option makes for remarkably good value with a spec sheet and overall performance that rivals options that cost a fair bit more.You want a more immersive gaming
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