AOC Q2781PQ Review – Chris Finnamore enjoys the aesthetically impressive design
The width of a screen’s bezels may seem like an insignificant detail, but the 27in AOC Q2781PQ’s slim borders make the screen feel much larger than its actual size. They’re also flush against the panel, which creates the pleasing sensation that your Desktop is floating in the air.
This mid-priced monitor feels like something special. It’s only 15mm thick, and the compact metal stand adds an extra touch of class.
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What’s more, it’s practical; the stand’s U-shaped foot leaves space for a phone or notepad, and you can slide your keyboard over the top of it to create some extra room on your desk, which is a boon if you are working in cramped conditions.
The monitor has an adequate number of connections: two HDMI inputs plus DisplayPort and VGA. and a headphone output. There’s no USB hub or speakers, but these are reasonable omissions considering the price. What’s more disappointing is the lack of adjust ability; you can only tilt the Q2781PQ, not rotate it or adjust the height.
Setup and image quality
The monitor’s interface pops up from the bottom of the screen and is organised into clear categories such as Color Setup and Luminance. The button icons on the front aren’t backlit, which makes them hard to see, but this was our only gripe and in any case, you’re best off leaving the settings alone. The monitor’s solid colors are saturated and vibrant, and there was no trace of the grainy texture you so often see on monitors of all prices. This means large blocks of white, such as the background to a Word document, are particularly pleasing to behold.
The screen’s 2,560 x 1,440 resolution leaves plenty of room for multitasking, and although text isn’t quite as sharp as on a 4K screen, it’s still perfectly easy to read.
The monitor is capable of displaying 97% of the colours from the sRGB color standard at default settings, which means photos and video look great on it. There was. however, some backlight leakage at the top-left of the panel. When we filled the screen with a black test image, this manifested itself as a semicircle of whitish-grey. The Q2781PQ isn’t ideal for games, either, because it doesn’t have a particularly fast pixel-response time.
We experienced noticeable blurring during fast panning motions, both in the Ghosting test at testufo.com and in the game Dirt Rally. You can reduce this a little by using the monitor’s ‘pixel overdrive’ setting, but if gaming is your thing, you’re better off buying a monitor that’s designed for that purpose and has a faster response time.
OUR VERDICT
The AOC Q2781PQ is a great value monitor with impressive image quality and a lovely design, and it doesn’t cost the earth, either. You may find the backlight bleed and relatively slow pixel-response time distracting when playing games, but if you’re after a 2,560 x 1,440 monitor for work more than play, this is the screen to buy.
SPECIFICATIONS
■ 27in AH-IPS panel
■ 2,560×1,440 resolution
■ 60Hz refresh rate
■ 1,000:1 claimed contrast
■ 350cd/m2 claimed brightness
■ 2xHDMI, DisplayPort VGA video inputs
■ 3.5mm headphone output
■ 4ms grey-to-grey response time
■ 15mm screen depth
■ 642 x 449 x 180mm overall dimensions
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