Let’s start with the two flat models in AOC’s new 240Hz gaming monitor line-up, as these are probably the ones of greatest interest. Both have 24in, 1920x1080 TN panels as well as AMD’s FreeSync Premium support, too, which you may remember is AMD’s new FreeSync tier that guarantees a monitor has their Low Framerate Compensation (or LFC) tech, which improves how a monitor performs outside of its usual FreeSync frame rate threshold - effectively 1fps to around 48fps. It does this by essentially duplicating the number of frames being shown onscreen when the frame rate drops too low, bringing 30fps up to 60fps, for example, giving it that extra leg-up over regular FreeSync screens. The key difference is that the £289 24G2ZU comes with a height-adjustable stand, a pair of built-in 2W speakers and a four-port USB 3.2 hub. The £269 242GZE, on the other hand, only has a simple stand that can tilt back and forth, and doesn’t come with speakers or the USB hub. That’s what you get by swapping the U for an E (which stands for ’essential’, according to AOC, but they didn’t elaborate on what the U meant. Ultra? Ultimate? Uber? Who knows). You’ll also have be careful not to confuse them with AOC’s other excellent gaming monitor, the 24G2U, which is my current recommendation in both my best gaming monitor rankings and our RPS Rig build. That screen has a 144Hz IPS display and a height-adjustable stand. So remember, you need a Z for it to be a 240Hz display, and a U for all the extra stand, speaker and USB gubbins. Simple, right? The curved screens should be a bit easier to untangle, but you’ll still need to pay careful attention to those Zs and Us. Two of them, you see, are 27in VA panels - the £299 C27G2ZU and the £279 C27G2ZE - while the last one is a 32in VA job - the £329 C32G2ZE. All three will have 1920x1080 resolutions and FreeSync Premium support like their flat 24in siblings, and they should also have a high contrast ratio of 3000:1 and a wide colour gamut of a whopping 120% sRGB, according to AOC, so picture quality should be excellent across the board. However, as you may have already surmised, only the C27G2ZU will come with a fancy stand and all the other bells and whistles. This will be out later this month, with the C27G2ZE following it in June, and the C32G2ZE in July along with the two 24in screens. Still, it’s good to see some cheaper 240Hz options starting to appear at long last, as up until now my top recommendations have been Alienware’s AW2518H and its Freesync sibling, the AW2518HF, the latter of which currently costs £350 / $347. That’s quite a bit more than AOC’s 24in offerings, so provided AOC’s image quality is up to snuff (which I’m almost certain it will be given their excellent 24G2U), then these could be just the trick for anyone after a more affordable high refresh rate gaming monitor. I’ll be testing the C27G2ZU myself in the coming weeks, so watch this space to see if it’s another Bestest Best.
