Since when could you get a 27-inch, QHD, miniLED, 180Hz gaming monitor for under $250? Now, that’s when. Thanks to a 17% discount, this amazing AOC gaming monitor offers all of the above for a new low price that has genuinely astonished me.
The AOC Q27G3XMN is the model in question, and its combination of a 27-inch screen size, 2,560 x 1,440 resolution, and 180Hz refresh rate makes it a great all-rounder. Meanwhile, its 336-zone miniLED backlight elevates it from having the normally humdrum black levels and contrast of an LCD to meeting the demanding HDR requirements of the DisplayHDR 1000 standard. The very best gaming monitor for competitive esports players will remain an even faster OLED, but if you’re just looking for an affordable mid-range monitor to make the most of HDR in triple-A games, this is a bargain you won’t want to miss.
The AOC Q27G3XMN has always been an impressively affordable gaming monitor. MiniLED backlights used to be the reserve of much more expensive displays, but even when it launched a couple of years ago, this model was already priced at under $300 ($299.99 to be exact). However, prices haven’t dropped much since then, and you’re still hard pushed to get a miniLED gaming monitor for much under $300. That means the 17% saving on this display right now makes it one of the cheapest miniLEDs gaming monitors around.
What is so special about miniLED? It’s the fact that LCD monitors require a backlight, which normally is a single uniform light, and the LCD panel blocks that backlight to make its pixels. The more the screen blocks, the darker the pixel. However, these displays can never truly block all the light coming through, so you don’t get very dark black levels. With a miniLED backlight, though, the display can control the brightness of the backlight in many different zones, to better match the image it’s trying to show. This means they can deliver true black and create a much greater contrast between dark and light parts of the image.
That DisplayHDR 1000 rating sums up just how impactful this technology can be. A normal LCD has a maximum brightness of around 400cd/m2 and a contrast rating of typically between 1,000:1 and 4,000:1. Thanks to its miniLED, though, this display can claim a maximum brightness of 1000cd/m2 and a contrast that can exceed 100,000:1.
As well as its impressive brightness and contrast, this display includes an extended colour gamut that can deliver the extra vivid colours of HDR as well. It’s rated to cover 134% of the sRGB colour space and 96% of the DCI-P3 color space, compared to the 100% sRGB coverage and ~70% DCI-P3 coverage of a non-HDR monitor.
With adaptive sync support, this display should also work with AMD Freesync and Nvidia G-Sync to offer image tearing and stutter removal for a smoother gaming experience. Plus, the included stand offers height, rotation, and tilt adjustment, and you get three video inputs.
You can grab the AOC Q27G3XMN at its discounted price of $249.99 over on Amazon, via this link, if you’re in the USA. Or, if you’re in the UK, you can find it here, with an even larger 23% discount, down to just £228.95.
