Just over two years ago, we took at look at Acer’s X34 Predator, a 34″ G-SYNC ultrawide monitor that retailed for $1,299. That’s a bit of a big pill to swallow, but the monitor ultimately proved worth it if you could swing it. I still use the monitor for most of my gaming. The added crispness of 4K is nice, but being able to see more of a game is ultimately more important to me.
Nowadays, similar monitors aren’t exactly cheap, but their prices are still a lot more palatable than before. AOC has just released one worth checking out, retailing for $899. It even manages to beat out the X34 on a couple of things, such as by boosting the refresh rate to 120Hz (from 100Hz), and gaining an additional inch in size.
Unlike the X34, which used an IPS panel, this AOC one uses MVA. In my experience with what I believe was my only VA panel monitor, I felt that the quality was better than TN, but not quite as eye-popping as IPS. The viewing angle was a little better, as well. Other specs of the AG352UCG6 (rolls right off the tongue!) include a 4ms response time, brightness of 300cd/m2, a low blue light option, 1x HDMI 1.4, 1x DisplayPort 1.2, 2x USB 3.0, and headphone out. Also included is a pair of 2W speakers.
If you like what you see, you may be happy to know that this is one of the rare times when a product is actually available right at release. At least, that’s the case right now at Amazon’s US site and also Newegg, albeit with an $80 price premium (as of the time of writing) at the latter.
It’s great to see more and more ultrawide options. While I think the price for a monitor like this is fair, it’d still be great to see them go down just a bit further so that more people can enjoy the benefits an ultrawide resolution can offer.