Hello everyone. Just wondering if anyone here owns this monitor (AOC U2868PQU)?
Here in Australia its a particularly good deal ATM and I just picked mine up a while back. I'm quite happy with it in general, just noticed a few quirks like a bit of backlight bleed and this weird popping noise when I turn the monitor or wake it from standby, the screen seems to flicker for a split second, almost like how old CRT Tv's used to when you turned them on. Anyone else experiencing this on this or any other monitor they have?
Also if anyone has any experience modding this monitor please do let me know. I found some information on the interwebs about getting it to 96Hz from the 60Hz and will be trying it soon, so any advice/questions/opinions are greatly appreciated.
For anyone that might want to look into getting the monitor, I put together some information and my opinions on it:
Specs: 4K 3840 x 2160 UHD Resolution, 1ms response time, 70M:1 Mega Dynamic Contrast Ratio, with over 1.073 billion colors for rich details. VGA, DVI with HDCP, HDMI(MHL), Display Port, USB 2.0 (2x), USB 3.0 (2x) connectivity. Sleek design with two 3-watt speakers and full flexibility.
Pros:
- Comes with a whole set of cables, including DP and HDMI.
- Very good stand. It's the VESA 100 standard and has height, tilt, pivot and swivel and automatically adjusts when in vertical orientation. This stand is used by some other monitors as well, such as the MonoPrice 4K display and is very solidly built. I used to have a Samsung 590D with the flimsy stand that would wobble every time I breathed on my desk, so I really appreciate that. The stand also has a cable management clip thing that attaches to it.
- It's a matte display panel and so even with a window facing the display I have not experienced any glare.
- Fast Response time (1ms stated, I'm not pro enough to verify this but I trust them) and IMO the perfect size for using on a desk, when your are sitting close to it. Im a student staying in a student house so I don't really have the space or even the extra $250 it would take for me to make the jump to the 39".
- Price, at least here in Australia, Its a remarkably good value. Coming in around 550AUD at the time of writing this, making it the cheapest 4K monitor that can be purchased locally that also has a VESA stand and is matte. Only the Samsung comes close but I seriously recommend going for the AOC over that as the stand will really limit your usability of the monitor (also, wobble wobble wobble)
- Easy controls and SRB support. This is half a point though as my expertise with this sort of thing is limited. I personally found it easy to set it to SRB mode and adjusted a few other things to make it look perfect to me but I don't know if that means it's really color accurate, but my personal thought is most people getting this sort of monitor will be like me, where they are able to tell the difference between an over exposed or over saturated image but not necessarily between a 8bit and 10bit panel. And to that end it looks as good as my previous Samsung PLS panels and the Qnix 27" VA panels.
- Hackable. Once again, have to say this with a pinch of salt as I know that it can be hacked to increase the refresh rate but I have not done this as of writing this. I will update this post if there are issues with it.
- USB 3 hub with fast charging port. Works as advertised. I have no intention of using the built in speakers so couldnt tell you anything about those
Cons
- The viewing angles could be better. As with any TN panels you'll find that when viewing from too far to any side horizontally or vertically the colors shift noticeably. I have not measured this, but I personally do not face any problems when playing a multiplayer game like FIFA with a friend or from any angle i might find myself looking at it in my day to day use. But if you will be using it like a tv or in like a sit stand desk or for some other reason at an angle then this monitor wouldn't be my first choice.
- The quirks I mentioned, that popping noise hasn't caused any issues but I still do not understand why the panel would make such a noise and I do not know if this is an isolated incident so I have to mention it. Also there is a bit of backlight bleed around the bottom bezel, not a terribly big deal to me but if you are very discerning you will notice and it will drive you crazy. Probably better to just chill on that though, as all sub $500 monitors seem to have that a bit.
- Size and Weight, although I like it as I personally feel that it gives it a solid base and just prefer the weighty feel. If you are after a sleek, super-slim monitor this isn't it, the bezels are also not the narrowest I have ever seen. My whole setup with a webcam and everything on weighs around 13KG including the stand.
- The USB in cable is in the wrong place IMO, it should be at the bottom base like with similar ASUS monitors but instead it's on the side panel making a clean cable managed look hard to do if you plan on using the hub.
Tl Dr: If you want 4k don't have much cash and plan on using it at your desk, up close and personal, then the AOC U2868PQU is highly worth considering in my opinion.
Thanks guys
