WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.200 It's happening! QD OLED monitors have finally reached a price that's attainable for gaming enthusiasts. 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:14.800 I expected that. What I didn't expect was that the first one to reach such a nice price would be from a real brand. 00:00:14.800 --> 00:00:24.100 But here it is! The Q27G4ZD from AOC, a 27 inch, 1440p, 280 Hertz, more on that later, 00:00:24.100 --> 00:00:29.600 BEAST of a gaming monitor that delivers all of the goodness of QD OLED, 00:00:29.700 --> 00:00:36.600 like perfect blacks, incredible motion clarity, and great viewing angles for just 420 bucks. 00:00:36.600 --> 00:00:41.600 To put this in perspective just four years ago, this would have been $1,000 easily. 00:00:41.600 --> 00:00:48.000 And if we go back further, an IPS with these specs would have been priced similarly just 10 years ago. 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:52.200 And this is QD freaking OLED. 00:00:52.200 --> 00:00:58.600 There's got to be a downside, right? Left side, right side, front side, and back side. 00:00:58.600 --> 00:01:03.700 And now it's time for segue side to our sponsor. 00:01:03.700 --> 00:01:07.300 Just what do you get for a little over $400? Do they cheap out somehow? 00:01:07.300 --> 00:01:13.900 Handy dandy power cable, USB B to A, DisplayPort, HDMI 2.1. 00:01:13.900 --> 00:01:19.700 Got the base of our stand here, a little light and flimsy, but you know, it's not expensive. 00:01:19.700 --> 00:01:24.100 Manuals, manuals, don't need those. 00:01:24.200 --> 00:01:28.500 The rest of our stand, the whole thing feels a little flimsy. 00:01:28.500 --> 00:01:37.300 I won't lie, but you know, it's got the standard column design. It's got this nice, easy to set up screw on the bottom system that a lot of them use. 00:01:37.300 --> 00:01:41.700 My only real complaint is that these legs are definitely going to jut out pretty far into your desk space. 00:01:41.700 --> 00:01:58.300 So while mounting could be a good idea. Nice, got a little three year warranty sticker, three year zero dead pixel, advanced replacement, 00:01:58.300 --> 00:02:02.900 one time accidental damage on the one year. That accidental damage is a big deal actually. 00:02:02.900 --> 00:02:07.200 And we'll be talking about it later because these guys are, they're a little fragile. 00:02:07.200 --> 00:02:13.400 I don't know if that three year dead pixel warranty means also image retention issues are burning. 00:02:13.400 --> 00:02:16.200 A lot of the other guys do that. That might be the one thing you're missing out on. 00:02:18.400 --> 00:02:21.500 You know, it's really not bad. I mean, it's relatively bezel-less. 00:02:21.500 --> 00:02:29.100 They've only got the AOC logo right there. And other than that, I don't see a ton of like awkward branding anywhere on the back AOC gaming. 00:02:29.100 --> 00:02:37.900 Okay, good amount of swivel, decent amount of tilt and height adjustment, little stiff, but that's okay. 00:02:37.900 --> 00:02:41.800 And last but not least, can it pivot? It can one way pivot. 00:02:43.700 --> 00:02:48.800 It can two way pivot. It might not seem like a big deal, but because you've got this giant bezel here, 00:02:48.800 --> 00:02:51.900 it's actually great that you can go left or right when you're pivoting. 00:02:51.900 --> 00:02:57.400 So that when this does become a secondary display, no matter which side you put it on of your new primary, 00:02:57.400 --> 00:03:00.700 you know, there's no bezel on that side. It's great. Love to see it. 00:03:00.700 --> 00:03:07.100 I'll be frank. It definitely feels like one of the most rickety kind of cheap stands I've ever used. 00:03:07.100 --> 00:03:12.900 But like, you're never going to really notice that while you're gaming unless you're slamming around on the desk, 00:03:12.900 --> 00:03:16.700 getting really angry and frustrated. Should be totally fine if you're concerned. 00:03:16.700 --> 00:03:20.100 I'm gonna break my monitor. I swear. Put it on an ARM. 00:03:20.100 --> 00:03:31.700 Let's take a look at the IO. We've got a couple of USB-A ports, USB-B up, HDMI, HDMI, DisplayPort, headphone jack, and our power connector. 00:03:31.700 --> 00:03:36.700 Oh, check this out. I actually didn't notice these at first. We've got a couple of more USB-A ports on the side here. 00:03:36.700 --> 00:03:39.800 One thing I didn't even think about until we started plugging everything in, 00:03:39.800 --> 00:03:43.000 it's got a little bit of cable management on the stand as well. 00:03:43.000 --> 00:03:46.300 Look at that. Beautiful. Really easy to use. 00:03:54.100 --> 00:03:59.800 What a beauty. I still can't get over just how incredible QD OLED looks from any angle. 00:03:59.800 --> 00:04:03.400 It just pops in a way that traditional backlit displays cannot. 00:04:03.400 --> 00:04:07.500 And this is good old-fashioned SDR or standard dynamic range content. 00:04:07.500 --> 00:04:13.500 And it's no one-trick pony featuring both strong color gamut performance in SDR for rich, vibrant colors, 00:04:13.500 --> 00:04:19.900 and decent accuracy as long as you're in the right mode. Though we would recommend calibrating it for color-sensitive work. 00:04:19.900 --> 00:04:24.300 They had to save a few bucks somewhere, I guess. And besides, this is a gaming display, you guys. 00:04:24.300 --> 00:04:30.800 It's for gaming. One area where older generation QD OLEDs fall a bit short of the newer ones is peak brightness. 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:33.900 In SDR though, we measured about 265 nits. 00:04:33.900 --> 00:04:39.600 Not bad for OLED. Let's fire up some HDR or high dynamic range content to really see it shine. 00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:43.300 If you've ever seen a QD OLED before, none of this is going to surprise you much. 00:04:43.300 --> 00:04:48.200 But thanks to the individual pixel level control of both color and brightness, 00:04:48.200 --> 00:04:53.500 this thing looks great. And the ability to turn pixels completely off for infinite contrast 00:04:53.500 --> 00:04:56.600 massively helps the image come to life and feel more immersive. 00:04:56.600 --> 00:05:02.500 Darkness looks, well, dark. And specular highlights from something like a light glinting off a piece of metal 00:05:02.500 --> 00:05:05.800 looks bright rather than white compared to the world around it. 00:05:05.800 --> 00:05:09.700 You know what else might brighten your day? We've got new colors for our legendary super soft hoodie. 00:05:09.700 --> 00:05:12.900 Blue and chocolate. Shipping now at LTTstore.com. 00:05:12.900 --> 00:05:17.100 I'd be wearing a blue one, but everyone keeps stealing them off the racks. Back to our monitor though. 00:05:17.100 --> 00:05:23.400 With all of that said, it's not perfect. We actually encountered some weird behavior in our testing wear in HDR. 00:05:23.400 --> 00:05:29.400 We're only getting 69% of the BT 2020 color space when we get 80% when we test it in SDR. 00:05:29.400 --> 00:05:34.300 It's not so nice. However, look at this thing. It's the kind of thing that our test equipment picks up, 00:05:34.300 --> 00:05:38.700 but your eyes are unlikely to catch unless you're comparing it side by side 00:05:38.700 --> 00:05:43.900 with a more expensive OLED. And if you're coming from a traditional IPS or VA monitor, 00:05:43.900 --> 00:05:48.000 you're still going to be blown away. And at least the colors you are seeing are pretty accurate. 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:52.300 We measured about an average Delta EITP of 12 in HDR movie mode 00:05:52.300 --> 00:05:59.000 and just 11.2 in HDR game, which is about on par with the tandem OLED LG GX7 we looked at earlier this year. 00:05:59.000 --> 00:06:02.400 It's not on par with the tandem OLED in every way though. 00:06:02.400 --> 00:06:05.700 For instance, we hit their claim of 1000 nits in HDR peak, 00:06:05.700 --> 00:06:12.000 but we sacrifice color accuracy in that mode to get there. And our full field brightness is still capping out under 300 nits. 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:17.500 And we're not getting as much BT 2020 coverage as we expected, but guys, come on. 00:06:17.500 --> 00:06:25.100 The price though. Let's game on it. One minor issue that you might have to fix before you can game on this thing. 00:06:25.100 --> 00:06:28.400 It's set to DVD mode out of the box. 00:06:28.400 --> 00:06:39.100 So you have to go into your OSD settings, going to game settings, HDMI, and then change it from console DVD to PC. 00:06:39.100 --> 00:06:42.600 And now to 80 Hertz. Remember how I said we talked about that later? 00:06:42.600 --> 00:06:46.200 Well, yeah, if you use DisplayPort, you're only going to get 240 00:06:46.200 --> 00:06:51.800 and you got to update your HDMI to hit the full advertised 280 Hertz. 00:06:51.800 --> 00:06:56.000 But now let's game on this thing. Oh, what the f***, there's a little connector here. 00:06:56.000 --> 00:07:00.000 How did they do this? 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:04.600 Because this is a gaming monitor for gamers, I'm happy to report that at least right now, 00:07:04.600 --> 00:07:08.100 motion pixel response times are kind of unmatched on OLED displays. 00:07:08.100 --> 00:07:13.200 G-Sync Pulsar is here, but we'll talk more about it later. Oh, what the f***, there's a little connector too? 00:07:13.200 --> 00:07:16.400 Sorry, I just haven't played Counter-Strike in a long time. Can I love Italy? 00:07:16.400 --> 00:07:21.400 And it's just crazy how much they've changed it. One of the best things about OLEDs for gamers is whether you're talking 00:07:21.400 --> 00:07:26.600 about QD OLED on this AOC model, or you go over to LG with their tandem W OLEDs, 00:07:26.600 --> 00:07:29.700 your display is going to look extremely clear in motion. 00:07:29.700 --> 00:07:32.900 It's using sample and hold. So due to the way your eye functions, 00:07:32.900 --> 00:07:37.300 there will always be a bit of blur compared to NVIDIA's new G-Sync Pulsar displays. 00:07:37.300 --> 00:07:42.900 But OLED pixels are changing so fast, you can measure them in microseconds instead of milliseconds. 00:07:42.900 --> 00:07:46.700 So for anyone in this price bracket, this is going to be a huge upgrade. 00:07:46.700 --> 00:07:50.200 Of course, fast pixel response times are worthless 00:07:50.200 --> 00:07:54.200 if overall input lag sucks. Fortunately, it doesn't. 00:07:54.200 --> 00:07:58.400 We measured 0.3 milliseconds over theoretical perfect at 280 Hz 00:07:58.400 --> 00:08:03.900 with the low input lag setting enabled. And at 120 Hz, if you're a console gamer, 00:08:03.900 --> 00:08:07.800 just 1.4 milliseconds over perfect. Love to see it. 00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:18.700 Okay, but I said earlier. There's got to be a downside, right? 00:08:18.700 --> 00:08:22.400 And jokes aside, there is. 00:08:22.400 --> 00:08:27.800 Aside from our weird BT 2020 coverage. Yeah, I've got to say like we're in a bright room right now. 00:08:27.800 --> 00:08:31.000 So HDR looks good, but it could look a little nicer. 00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:34.400 You know, I'm going to check if it's in peak 1000 mode. Let's do that. 00:08:34.400 --> 00:08:38.300 Now that we're in HDR peak, definitely looks a little nicer, a little brighter. 00:08:38.300 --> 00:08:41.800 Leon is looking sexy as ever. Just wait for RE9 Requiem. 00:08:41.800 --> 00:08:46.800 It's going to be great. Oh, I don't have. I forgot what to do here. You're supposed to run away from these guys. 00:08:46.800 --> 00:08:50.800 Oh man, yeah. I've looked at Doom internal gameplay quite a bit 00:08:50.800 --> 00:08:55.000 without having the monitors side by side to tell that this is losing a bit of BT 2020 coverage. 00:08:55.000 --> 00:08:58.600 Like I wouldn't know. I genuinely probably wouldn't be able to tell you side by side. 00:08:58.600 --> 00:09:06.500 Yeah, I could probably see a difference, but like just like this. No idea. I would just be like, yeah, it looks like a QT OLED to me from any angle. 00:09:06.500 --> 00:09:12.100 Oh man. And the motion clarity 280 Hz with a QT OLED. 00:09:12.100 --> 00:09:16.200 God, it's fantastic. I haven't seen G-Sync Pulsar in person. 00:09:16.200 --> 00:09:23.200 I didn't go to CES this year and I didn't see it a couple years ago when it was first unveiled, but over a traditional IPS or VA display, 00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:27.600 it's just, it's night and day. Even like a 500 Hz IPS. 00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:30.800 I'd probably take the 280 Hz OLED to be perfectly honest. 00:09:30.800 --> 00:09:34.500 It's just so snappy and responsive and there really is like zero latency 00:09:34.500 --> 00:09:39.600 and the HDR just looks incredible. Even if Pulsar is going to be a little bit clearer, 00:09:39.600 --> 00:09:47.800 you just can't beat it when it comes to watching content. Because the Q27 G4ZD uses an older generation of Samsung QT OLED panels, 00:09:47.800 --> 00:09:53.500 it's missing three key improvements. First, if you're in a brightly lit room, kind of like our studio right now, 00:09:53.500 --> 00:09:58.300 it's going to have a bit of a magenta hue to it. If you're a goblin who games in a windowless cave like me, 00:09:58.300 --> 00:10:02.500 it won't matter. And honestly, even in a lit room, it's not too noticeable 00:10:02.500 --> 00:10:07.000 as long as there's content playing on it. But it is a complaint about these older panels 00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:11.700 that you often see on subreddits and the internet and wherever else you're looking for reviews for these things. 00:10:11.700 --> 00:10:16.300 Next, the sub pixel layout is not the traditional RGB stripe 00:10:16.300 --> 00:10:20.000 that the new hotness is getting. If you're sensitive to text fringing, which if you are, 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:23.100 you probably already know this monitor might not be the one for you. 00:10:23.100 --> 00:10:26.400 Finally, there's the scariest issue, the fragility. 00:10:26.400 --> 00:10:30.900 Anything before the newest fifth gen panels are super easy to scratch. 00:10:30.900 --> 00:10:36.400 Like I'm talking you accidentally put your fingernail on it while you're wiping down your screen with a microfiber, not good. 00:10:36.400 --> 00:10:41.600 It's one of those things where with content on screen again, you probably won't even be able to see the damage, 00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:47.600 but you'll know it's there and it just kind of sucks. Trust me, my cat has scratched both of mine. 00:10:47.600 --> 00:10:53.300 It's painful, even if I can't see it most of the time. And on the subject of fragility, image retention with cutiolid 00:10:53.300 --> 00:10:56.700 has been heavily mitigated, but it is still very possible 00:10:56.700 --> 00:10:59.800 if you run at high brightness and constantly know life the same games. 00:10:59.800 --> 00:11:04.800 But there are ways to mitigate that. The bright side of these issues is that at least some of them are solvable. 00:11:04.800 --> 00:11:07.700 Text fringing, try Mac type or better clear type. 00:11:07.800 --> 00:11:12.000 Image retention, hide that taskbar, hide those desktop icons, 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:15.000 hide your kids, hide your wife, set your wallpaper to black 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:19.600 and keep all of the mitigation features turned on. Okay, you don't need to set it to black. 00:11:19.600 --> 00:11:23.200 Just use something like wallpaper engine to change it once in a while 00:11:23.200 --> 00:11:27.700 or to use a moving wallpaper just so that things don't get too static. 00:11:27.700 --> 00:11:31.900 Realistically, as long as you're not using this thing strictly as a news monitor, 00:11:31.900 --> 00:11:36.200 you should be fine. But the real question is, should you buy it? 00:11:36.200 --> 00:11:41.500 Like most things in life, I think it depends. If your budget was already a little higher, 00:11:41.500 --> 00:11:48.000 this isn't quite the same thing but cheaper. However, if you were looking at spending closer to $350, 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:52.100 I think saving up another 15-ish percent is going to get you way more 00:11:52.100 --> 00:11:55.700 than a 15% improvement to your enjoyment compared to an IPS. 00:11:55.700 --> 00:11:59.600 Especially if you're doing more than just multiplayer games. 00:11:59.600 --> 00:12:04.500 I mean, it's really hard to explain just how good proper HDR 00:12:04.500 --> 00:12:09.100 on an OLED display looks when it comes to single-player campaigns. 00:12:09.100 --> 00:12:12.800 G-Sync Pulsar is an exception to that if you're a pure gamer 00:12:12.800 --> 00:12:17.400 who are only focused on motion clarity for the most intense esports. 00:12:17.400 --> 00:12:22.100 But those are starting at $600 anyway, which is a very different price point. 00:12:22.100 --> 00:12:27.600 We'll have the Q27 G4ZD linked down below and we'll also have our sponsor. 00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:32.900 Thanks for watching. If you like this video, maybe check out the one where I showed off my $670 gaming monitor. 00:12:32.900 --> 00:12:38.000 As amazing as this guy is, the bottom of the barrel is looking mighty impressive these days. 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:39.200 Oh, how far we've come.