AOC C24G1: A Budget Monitor for Every Type of User
Purchase Price: $144.99
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Back when I built my PC about two years ago, I specifically bought a monitor that had speakers because I didn’t want to have to purchase them separately (or rely on headphones). Furthermore, speakers would take up more space on my rather conservatively-sized desk. When I got that monitor — a Sceptre, if you were wondering — I was quite pleased with the overall experience; it was full 1080 HD, 75Hz, and had my precious speakers. It was only when I received the AOC C24G1 monitor for review that I truly realized what I have been missing. The picture on this baby alone is worth giving up the built-in speakers. Actually, this monitor has several features I think you would enjoy whether you use your computer for gaming, work, or streaming.
Product Specs +
- Model number: C24G1
- 24” curved screen
- 144 Hz refresh rate
- 1 ms response
- AMD Freesync technology
- Full HD
- Height adjustable
Quality of Life Features
The overall design of this monitor was well thought out. There are many small details that I appreciate and find useful in my day to day life.
I’ll start with assembly. It was so easy! I feel like most monitors probably aren’t all that difficult to assemble, but this one only required one screw. The base screws into the arm, but you do not screw the screen into the arm. Instead, it has a mechanism that allows it to snap into place. There is a button you can push to release it. This would make it easier to switch between wall mounting and using the original base.
All monitors can be tilted up and down, but this monitor can also be swiveled up to 34 degrees to each side. Not only that, but its height is adjustable and it can easily be moved up and down on the stand just by pushing it. One thing I hated about my previous monitor was that it was a bit too low for my seating arrangement. With the AOC monitor, I’m able to look straight ahead instead of having to crane my neck up or down. As someone who spends a lot of time using my PC, this is so important. The mobility features are also perfect for watching movies in bed. All I’ve got to do is tilt the monitor to the side a bit and lower the height. Even though this is marketed as a gaming monitor, these quality of life features would make it a fantastic monitor regardless of your intended use.
Rich Colors and Full HD Make a Beautiful Display
This monitor is 1080 Full HD. While it cannot display anything higher than that (RIP 4k), the picture does look fantastic. Games and videos are crisp, and the curvature of the monitor keeps every detail in your field of vision. While some users dislike curved monitors due to issues like screen distortions, I didn’t experience any such problems. In fact, I hardly notice this monitor is curved at all while sitting in front of it. Aside from a strip on the bottom that contains the monitor’s controls, the borders are quite slim which I really appreciate. The lack of thick bezels improves the viewing experience and almost gives the illusion of a larger screen.
But what really impresses me about the AOC’s display are the colors. They are just so rich and vivid, and they truly bring all of my media to life. Compared to the AOC monitor, my old Sceptre looks like it has a film or a fog over it. I find that these rich colors are most impressive when I’m gaming. While graphics will largely depend on your system and graphics card, having a monitor with vibrant colors like this allows you to truly appreciate the beautiful graphics in many modern PC games. I would even go so far as to say that it makes in-game worlds feel more immersive. While I absolutely love the mobility of this display, my favorite thing about it is, hands down, the color quality.
Gaming Experience
Gamers out there will see the 144 Hz refresh rate and the 1 ms response time and go “ooooh.” Unfortunately, the games I play (Tera, FFXIV, Genshin Impact) never reach 144 FPS, nor are they games that truly require high FPS. Therefore, I don’t have much to say about whether or not this monitor is able to deliver on its 144 Hz promise. It’s also difficult to comment on response time, as I’m not sure the games I play require something as low as 1 ms to look good. Regardless, the monitor certainly delivers a smooth picture while gaming, and I have not noticed any blurriness when turning the camera. I haven’t used these features, but the monitor does offer motion blur reduction and response time overdrive settings for those who find them useful.
This monitor also has a number of preset display settings for gaming. Most of them alter the colors or turn the screen a bit more yellow to help battle eye strain. I personally don’t prefer to use any of these, but some people may enjoy them. One feature that did intrigue me was the FPS counter that you can choose to have displayed in any corner of the screen. However, it doesn’t seem to work. When I open any game, it stays at 144. There’s also an FPS mode in the monitor’s presets, but it doesn’t seem to have any effect on the FPS readouts of the games I’m playing. I’m not sure if I’m doing something wrong here or if it’s a problem with the monitor, especially because there is no instruction manual in the box. I had this same issue of a lack of instructions with the Razer Huntsman Mini I reviewed, so I’m beginning to wonder if this is going to be a recurring theme.
One final note related to gaming: when you set this monitor up, you will need to go into the settings of your graphics card and manually change the FPS limit to 144 Hz. Otherwise, your monitor may be set at a lower limit like 60 and never reach its full potential.
A Defect Out of the Box
Though I’ve enjoyed this monitor for the most part, I did notice a small defect immediately after unboxing it. The bottom of the monitor has a decorative red plastic stripe running along it. Mine was loose at one corner. It’s an easy fix with a bit of superglue, but that does make me worry a bit about quality control. It makes me feel like the monitor is probably cheaply made (especially when you consider that it’s ~$150), and wonder how long it’s going to last. Still, it’s a rather irrelevant issue, so hopefully, it was just a small slip-up on the manufacturer’s end and nothing more.
A Great Value For the Price
The price of this product fluctuates, but we got it for $144.99. In my opinion, that’s a very fair price for this monitor. When you’re looking for budget monitors, you may find some in the same price range (or even cheaper) that have the same quality of life features that this one does. However, most of them top out at about 60 or 75 Hz and response time is never lower than 3 ms. And who knows if those monitors have as nice of a picture as this one does? Regardless of whether you’re an avid gamer or just an average PC user, I honestly don’t think you can go wrong with this AOC monitor. You’re getting a quality product at a budget price.
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Seri
A writer by day and gamer by night, Seri’s most prized possession is her computer. In fact, she built her desktop PC herself and repaired her college laptop with nothing but Google, Reddit, and determination to guide her. This do-it-yourself attitude was born from frugalness, so if you see Seri raving about something, it’s probably worth the price.