AOC 24G2

AOC 24G2 Review

Kyle Bank

Are you looking for a gaming monitor under $300 to dedicate to your dream battle station?  

The AOC 24G2 is the perfect beast for you.

Clocking in at 144Hz with its glossy 24” 1080p flat IPS display, it is a great monitor to get your hands on if you are on a budget. 

Image Quality 

Screenshots From the AOC 24G2

AOC 24G2 Screenshot showing several games being played

The AOC 24G2 has an IPS panel by panda that runs at 144 Hz with a 1080p resolution that is light on processing units.  Thus even medium builds get the high-speed performance that gamers crave.

Pixel Density: The AOC 24G2 has a 24-inch screen with a 1080p resolution that accounts for a mediocre pixel density of 92 pixels per inch. Ideally any pixel density of over 100 ppi is recommended for sharp images and text clarity.

  • Not much pixilation is observed. There is an occasional grainy feel to gaming in fast action games where background changes are rapid.
  • Pixel density is good for gaming purposes as images have sufficient detail.
  • Text clarity is good for routine tasks such as email, net surfing etc. For office use requiring a lot of text work it is best to look for monitors with a pixel density above of 100 ppi.

Color: The AOC 24G2 has an excellent coverage of the sRGB color space at 99.5 %. It comes with an sRGB emulation mode to combat neon yellows and reds that are pinkish. The monitor is capable of producing 16.7 million colors with an 8-bit color depth.

  • Colors have a nice punch to them that can be fully enjoyed when playing games like Valorant.
  • Color accuracy out of the box is outstanding especially for gaming and multi-media consumption.
  • For professional color accurate work , calibration is recommended. Although it is best to use a 1440p monitor or higher for such work.
  • The monitor lacks somewhat in producing dark colors accurately, but then that’s a given with a majority of budget IPS panels.
  • Mild color banding is observed only in some shades.

Contrast: The AOC 24G2 has a very average contrast. Although if you compare it with other IPS panels in this price range the AOC 24G2 fares much better in displaying dark colors.

  • The monitor is not able to produce deep blacks. These look like dark gray at best.
  • Details are lost in the background when playing games like Witcher 3 or Call of Duty with its night invasions.

Brightness: The monitors’ brightness is very noticeable the moment you power it on. The maximum peak brightness rating is 250 nits

  • AOC 24G2 has enough brightness to be used in moderately lit rooms.
  • Visibility is great in brightly lit rooms thanks to the anti-glare coating and good brightness of the screen
  • Brightness needs to be adjusted for use in dark rooms as monitor may appear too bright for comfortable viewing.

Viewing Angles: The monitor has issues with viewing angles, which seem to be less than 178°/178°.

  • Color shades take a different tone towards the edges of the monitor screen if you are seated in the center and viewing the monitor front on.
  • Similarly there is variation when viewing images from the side of the screen which is quite unlike IPS panels.

Uniformity Issues: 

The AOC 24G2 suffers from some noticeable white uniformity issues. The white color appears to take on different shades at the edge of the display as compared to the center of the screen.

While displaying blacks the monitor seems to do better than other monitors in this price bracket. However, the screen does have clouding in some patches that is particularly distracting during dark scenes.

Performance

The AOC 24G2 is tailor-made for the competitive gamer, a perfect companion for fast-paced games. On paper, the AOC 24G2 gaming monitor offers excellent specifications that include an IPS panel with a 144Hz refresh rate, a 1ms GtG response time, a low input lag of 4ms approx., and a free sync premium window of 48-144 Hz.  The specifications ensure ultra-fluid gameplay at a highly affordable price.

The best pairing of specifications for this monitor is its 144Hz IPS panel and low response time. The monitor delivers its best motion performance with the response time mode set to “strong”. In this mode, the average response time is a healthy 6.7ms (pixel transitions between light colors are much faster than transitions between dark colors). Furthermore, in the strong overdrive mode, no ghosting or overshoot is observed, which puts this monitor in the top tier amongst budget rivals for motion handling.

The AOC 24G2’s freesync performance is another plus as games run smoothly without screen tearing or stuttering, and thankfully no backlight flickering regardless of the game being played on the monitor. The experience is equally suitable for console gamers that want to enjoy 120Hz freesync gaming on their Xbox. Additionally, AOC 24G2 has gone the extra mile to include Freesync Premium adaptive sync technology that uses LFC (low frame rate compensation) to cater to frame rates that fall below the VRR window (48-144Hz) of this monitor.

AOC 24G2’s compatibility with Nvidia’s G-Sync has not been certified. Nvidia users can turn on Gsync through the Nvidia control panel using Displayport connection. Gsync runs pretty smoothly; however it lacks the premium features found on a native G-Sync monitor.

The monitor’s superior responsiveness and motion handling make it a great companion for fast-paced gaming. Gunning down baddies in Call of Duty or speeding past racers in Forza Horizon 4 feels like a breeze.

The AOC 24G2’s motion blur reduction technology uses backlight strobing to reduce motion blur. Unfortunately, MBR dims the max brightness of the screen and induces flickering to the otherwise flicker-free monitor. Not a good experience overall, and we do not recommend using this feature.

It also sports a crosshair option which is a total lifesaver in shooting games.

At its incredibly pocket-friendly cost, the AOC 24G2 is a genuinely fast monitor that compromises a few features. Thankfully, they don’t have a drastic effect on gameplay with all-time favorites like Battlefield, Witcher 3, and Valiant, all of which need speed more than anything else. As a result, it is a top pick for serious gamers who can not compromise on performance and a treat for casual gamers who want to boost their gaming experience.

Design

Made of gorgeous black plastics with a matte finish, the AOC 24G2 boasts dark metallic chevrons and stripes in red that blend seamlessly with the rest of its build.

The monitor has a three-sided frameless design. Like its colors, the borders blend in very well with the screen. The bezels are slender, with the top and side ones measuring 0.18 inches approximately. The one on the bottom is thicker, measuring 0.71 inches. The screen is also quite thin from the sides (~0.39 inches at its most svelte). The minimal distraction allows gamers to smoothly use multiple monitors, giving them the ideal battle station at an affordable price.

The stand has multidimensional accessibility. It can tilt 3.5° towards the front and 21°5° in the backward direction. It can swivel 30° in the right and left direction. You can turn it on its head 90°C in a clockwise rotation to fit the vertical position. The monitor’s total depth and the stand are 9.06 inches, and the screen is positioned almost 1.77 inches back from the stand’s front. This gives the AOC 24G2 a compact design, ideal for gamers who have less desk space but want to maintain an ergonomic distance between their eyes and the monitor screen.
All in all, the AOC 24G2 has a beautiful ergonomic design with minimal bezel distraction for its price. As a result, it’s ideal for gamers looking for battle stations with less desk space.		AOC 24G2

To access the OSD, you will have to press buttons underneath the bottom bezel. The LED lights which accompany the ports glow depending on the PC’s power state.

The AOC 24G2 has several presets :(i) FPS (ii) RTS (iii) Racing (iv) Gamer (v) Gamer 2 (vi) Gamer 3, which can alter the OSD settings. They can change the image quality (brightness etc.)  but won’t immensely affect performance. Specific presets (FPS, RTS, Racing) lock Luminance and Color Setup. They also disable most of the “Gamer” specs. The “Gamer” preset is much more customizable. It also comes with a low blue light mode to decrease blue light output.

Using HDMI, bear in mind that you will probably change the image display quality when you change the refresh rate.

Connectivity

The AOC 24G2 comes with four USB ports (3.0).,  two HDMI 1.4 ports, DisplayPort 1.2a, VGA, 3.5mm audio input, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. It also has an AC power converter. Next to the ports is an anti-theft K-Slot. Its “U” variant also has 2W x 2 W speakers, which provide a basic quality sound. Depending on your country of residence, you will find cables for power, HDMI, and DP alongside.

Summary

The AOC 24G2 is straight out of a gamer’s dream at its highly affordable price. Its strength lies in its seamless performance, which matches the demands of fast-paced gaming to the T. Though its image quality isn’t perfect for professional artists and designers, it doesn’t hamper the gaming experience and is better than other monitors at this price. The monitor comes with plenty of ports, and the design is excellent despite the use being a bit inaccessible. With great specs like a 144 refresh rate, HD resolution, and Adaptive-Sync in a compact, almost modernly gothic design, the AOC 24G24 is a jackpot that you should add to your gaming setup.

UPDATE: We needed a quick update to the image quality section in our review after it got published only a few days ago when we realized that the uploaded section on image quality belonged to a different monitor. We appologize to our readership for any inconvenience it may have caused.