AOC pushes IPS refresh rates to new heights with 520Hz monitor

The gap between LCD technologies is narrowing with AOC’s Agon Pro AG276FK, the first IPS monitor with a 520Hz refresh rate. While it’s not the fastest on the market, it’s not It’s only 20Hz away from its TN siblings and offers significantly better display quality. Suffice it to say, this bad boy has both speed and splendor to make competitive play that much more enjoyable to watch.

The Agon Pro AG276FK measures 27 inches and has a native resolution of 1080p. This gives it a softer finish than the 24-inch alternatives, with a PPI of 82, but some will no doubt prefer the larger panel regardless. Aside from its 520Hz refresh rate, AOC claims the monitor offers a GtG response time of 0.3ms.

Speed ​​aside, the remaining specs are what you’d expect from modern IPS-style panels, namely a 1000:1 contrast ratio, 400 nits brightness, and 178/178° viewing angles. It even comes with DisplayHDR 400 certification, but the lack of local dimming makes its support for HDR content rather lacking. Finally, its Adaptive Sync range covers 48-520 Hz.

Its closest relative is the Agon Pro AG246FK, but there are many differences between the two displays. The AG276FK is larger, sports an IPS panel rather than TN, and actually has a faster response time (0.3ms vs. 0.5ms) despite its small refresh rate deficit (520Hz vs. 540Hz) . What’s most visible to the naked eye, however, is how each monitor handles color reproduction, with the AG276FK significantly outperforming its sRGB counterpart (119.8% versus 99.6%), according to AOC.

Naturally, you’ll need sturdy hardware to get the most out of the AG276FK. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 and recently launched AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D models seem to be perfect partners for this monitor. That said, you’ll only be able to enjoy a 520Hz experience through its DisplayPort 1.4 port, as its two HDMI 2.0 ports only have enough bandwidth to run the display at 240Hz.

To complement its I/O, AOC includes two downstream USB Type-A ports and a single upstream USB Type-B connector. There’s no KVM switch here, but that’s comparable to what’s happening with gaming monitors at this price point.

Speaking of which, the Agon Pro AG276FK will be available for £499.99 from November 2024. This makes it a much better deal than the £600 Agon Pro AG246FK on paper, and puts it in the same range as its biggest competitor, the Alienware AW2524HF 500 Hz.