AOC has launched two of its fastest gaming monitors yet, boasting up to 540Hz and 390Hz refresh rates. This duo should offer ample speed for professional players to push their skills to the limit.
Dubbed Agon AG246FK and AG256FS, these gaming displays are marketed towards professional esports players who need to see each enemy movement ASAP to claim victory. To do so, the AG246FK offers up to 540Hz refresh rate using a 24.5in TN panel, whereas the AG256FS stays slightly behind at 390Hz – using a 24.5in IPS panel. We first saw the 540Hz model at an exclusive event, which is hyped to become one of the best gaming monitors if AOC’s claims hold up.
Due to the former’s use of a TN panel, the viewing angles are limited to 178°. While looking at off-angles may cause the image to wash out, it’s not about other people but offering ultra-fast speeds to the gamer sitting right in front of it. On the other hand, AG256FS’ IPS panel should deliver enough speed for most gamers while maintaining colourful image quality. So, if you don’t need that much speed, you better go with the 390Hz model, as its IPS panel can provide a better viewing experience while costing less.
However, note that the latter runs at 360Hz by default, meaning that you will need to enable its overclocking mode to reach 390Hz. Moreover, both monitors feature an MBR (Motion Blur Reduction) mode, which uses strobing backlight to reduce motion blur in fast-paced games.
Both monitors operate at 1920×1080 resolutions, which isn’t particularly surprising since 240Hz has only just landed on 4K in other models. It’ll be a while before we see these speeds hit a higher pixel count, but that’s perhaps a blessing. You’ll need a whole lot of luck finding a PC capable of rendering 540fps at anything more than HD. And I’m not even talking about the interface bandwidth and scaler requirements.
Regarding the remaining specs, we find a typical 400nits of brightness and 1,000:1 contrast ratio, alongside Adaptive Sync support. On the ergonomics side, we get -5° to +23° tilt, 28° of swivel, 90° of pivot, and 130mm of height adjustment, in addition to a 100mm VESA mount. Lastly, I/O is covered by two HDMI 2.0, one DisplayPort 1.4, a 3.5 audio jack, plus a four-port USB hub. Oh, how AOC knows a good KVM switch.
Agon Pro AG246FK and AG256FS will be available from mid-August 2024 at £599 and £379.99 MSRP, respectively, backed by a three-year warranty. This puts the AG246FK on par with the cheapest 540Hz monitor we found from Acer, leaving a good £229 margin between it and the next in line.