Test: AOC Agon AG322FCX

When it comes to gaming, not just any old monitor will do. Not only must it meet the heavy demands that modern games require, it must also look the part. Gamers love to customize their rigs and monitors are not exempt from this customization. At least from the looks department, the Agon AG322FCX has come to play.

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Looks the part. The AG322FCX is what you’d expect a modern gamer’s monitor to be—sleek yet edgy. The curved 32-inch screen sits securely on a three-legged cast metal stand and offers a 23.5° backward- or 5.5° forward-tilt. Its matte finish promises glare-free viewing while slim bezels maximize useable screen space. The monitor is adorned with LED lighting at the back and the front chin. The lights can be adjusted for color (red, green, or blue only), intensity, or switched off completely. It accepts all standard display inputs except USB-C but doesn’t have internal speakers or a USB hub. A 3.5mm audio out jack and a headphone hook are available for headset use. A single toggle mounted at the middle of the front chin gives user access to the monitor’s functions and settings.

Ready to play. The monitor is fitted with an LED-lit TFT LCD panel maxed out at 1,920 x 1,080 Full HD resolution. While 1080p looks more natural at a sub-25-inch screen, at 32 inches, it looks abnormally blown up. This is exaggerated further if you are 50cm or an arm’s length away from the screen as most of us often are. Personally, I think 1440p (QHD) or larger would have been better. That aside, the display image delivers exceptional brightness and contrast. Colors are a little punchy for my taste, but these can easily be customized to one’s preferences. The monitor supports FreeSync and I recommend you invest in a compatible GPU card (an affordable AMD Radeon R7 260 would do quite nicely). FreeSync eliminates the tearing, jerkiness, reduced responsiveness, and low frame rates associated with monitors (even for some “gaming” ones) and offers a better gaming experience.

Okay for work. The AG322FCX will also serve well outside the gaming arena. The large screen works well for office applications as well as video editing. If you Photoshop, however, you best be aware that the monitor only supports 85 RGB gamut and has a rather low 69.85ppi count. The former might result to inaccurate colors while the latter reduces detail when images are zoomed up close. Those are my only caveats.

VERDICT

Overall, the AOC Agon AG322FCX is an impressive piece of tech. At its price point, however, I would have preferred an IPS panel, 4K resolution, and RGB lighting. After all, if I were to shell out that much on a monitor, it should at least match the color scheme on my rig.