OLED Gaming Monitor Prices are DROPPING
Chapters7
Introduces the Q27 G4 ZD, highlighting its affordable price for a QD-OLED gaming monitor and its standout features like deep blacks, smooth motion, and strong viewing angles, while teasing potential downsides and a sponsor mention.
QD OLED gaming monitors are finally affordable, with the AOC Q27 G4 ZD at $420 delivering stunning motion and contrast for mainstream gamers.
Summary
Linus Tech Tips’s latest review puts the spotlight on the AOC Q27 G4 ZD, a 27-inch QD OLED gaming monitor that hits a compelling $420 price. Linus breaks down how this model brings true OLED contrast, superb motion clarity, and wide viewing angles at a price that would have seemed impossible only a few years ago. He notes that it uses older Samsung QD OLED panels, which means some trade-offs like magenta tint in bright rooms and non-RGB subpixel layout, but the overall gaming experience is dramatically improved over traditional IPS displays. The monitor’s build is accessories-light and a bit flimsy in the stand, but the IO includes USB-A, HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort, and even side USBs for convenience. HDR performance looks great but isn’t perfect—BT.2020 coverage is behind SDR in some tests, and peak brightness sits around 1000 nits in HDR Peak mode only at the cost of color accuracy. On the upside, motion is exceptionally fast thanks to OLED pixel response, and G-Sync Pulsar support on this panel delivers near-zero latency with 280 Hz in the HDMI setup. Linus also points out practical caveats: the older panel tech, fragility, potential image retention, and some text fringing due to non-RGB subpixel arrangement. All told, the Q27 G4 ZD is a strong value for gamers who want cutting-edge motion and OLED contrast without breaking the bank, assuming you’re OK with some brightness and color nuances. If you’re weighing upgrades, you’ll likely save more by sticking with this tier than chasing higher-end 500+ Hz IPS/VA options. He also teases future models like LG’s Tandem OLEDs as benchmarks to watch. Finally, Linus reminds viewers to consider a wall mount or a sturdier arm and notes the optional 3-year dead-pixel warranty with extra coverage for accidental damage.
Key Takeaways
- The AOC Q27 G4 ZD is 27 inches, 1440p, and 240 Hz, priced at $420, a historic drop for QD OLED gaming panels.
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Who Is This For?
Notable Quotes
"Beast of a gaming monitor that delivers all of the goodness of QD OLED like perfect blacks, incredible motion clarity, and great viewing angles for just $420 bucks."
—Opening assessment of the price-performance value of the Q27 G4 ZD.
"The motion pixel response times are kind of unmatched on OLED displays."
—Praise for OLED motion performance and Pulsar integration.
"If you use Display Port, you’re only going to get 240 Hz. And you got to update your HDMI to hit the full advertised 280 Hz."
—Important configuration detail for users chasing maximum refresh rate.
"Text fringing… the sub pixel layout is not the traditional RGB stripe."
—Noting a common OLED/text repro issue with older panels.
"Image retention… is still very possible if you run at high brightness and constantly no life the same games."
—Cautionary note on long-term OLED risks.
Questions This Video Answers
- How does G-Sync Pulsar compare to traditional variable refresh rate on OLED monitors?
- Is the AOC Q27 G4 ZD a good value compared to LG Tandem OLEDs at similar specs?
- What are the main trade-offs of using older Samsung QD OLED panels in 2024?
- How to optimize HDR performance on QD OLED monitors without sacrificing color accuracy?
- Can you mitigate image retention on QD OLED gaming monitors effectively?
AOC Q27 G4 ZDQD OLEDOLED gaming monitorG-Sync PulsarHDMI 2.1 280 HzDisplayPort 240 HzHDR BT.2020monitor warranty
Full Transcript
It's happening. Cutie OLED monitors have finally reached a price that's attainable for gaming enthusiasts. 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. But here it is. The Q27 G4 ZD from AOC. A 27 in 1440p 240 Hz. More on that later. Beast of a gaming monitor that delivers all of the goodness of QD OLED like perfect blacks, incredible motion clarity, and great viewing angles for just $420 bucks. To put this in perspective, just 4 years ago, this would have been $1,000 easily.
And if we go back further, an IPS with these specs would have been priced similarly just 10 years ago. And this is QD freaking OLED. There's got to be a downside, right? Left side, right side, front side, and back side. And now it's time for Segway side to our sponsor, T, a wireless service that doesn't drive you crazy. Tell me about it. T Mobile offers flexible and affordable phone plans with prices up to $25 a month. Check them out using our link down below. Just what do you get for a little over $400? Do they cheap out somehow?
Handy dandy power cable. USB B to A display port. HDMI 2.1. Got the base of our stand here. A little light and flimsy, but you know, it's not expensive. Manuals. Manuals. Don't need those. The rest of our stand. The whole thing feels a little flimsy. I won't lie. But, you know, it's got the standard column design. And it's got this nice easy to set up screw on the bottom system that a lot of them use. My only real complaint is that these legs are definitely going to jut out pretty far into your desk space. So wall mounting could be a good idea.
Yeah. Nice. Got a little three-year warranty sticker. Huh. Threeear zero dead pixel advanced replacement. One time accidental damage on the one year. That accidental damage is a big deal actually. Um, and we'll be talking about it later cuz these guys are they're a little fragile. Uh, I don't know if that 3year dead pixel warranty means also image retention issues or burn-in. A lot of the other guys do that. That might be the one thing you're missing out on. You know, it's really not bad. I mean, it's relatively bezelless. 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. Okay. Good amount of swivel, decent amount of tilt, and height adjustment. A little stiff, but that's okay. And last, but not least, can it pivot? It can one way pivot. It can two-way pivot. It might not seem like a big deal, but because you've got this giant bezel here, it's actually great that you can go left or right when you're pivoting. So that when this does become a secondary display, no matter which side you put it on of your new primary, you know, there's no bezel on that side.
It's great. Love to see it. I'll be frank, it definitely feels like one of the most rickety kind of cheap stands I've ever used, but like you're never going to really notice that while you're gaming, unless you're slamming around on the desk getting really angry and frustrated. um should be totally fine if you're concerned. I'm going to break monitor. I swear put it on an arm. Let's take a look at the IO. We've got a couple of USBA ports, USBB up, HDMI, HDMI, display port, headphone jack, and our power connector. Oh, and check this out.
I actually didn't notice these at first. We've got a couple of more uh USBA ports on the side here. One thing I didn't even think about until we started plugging everything in, it's got a little bit of cable management on the stand as well. Look at that. Beautiful. Really easy to use. What a beauty. I still can't get over just how incredible QD OLED looks from any angle. It just pops in a way that traditional back lit displays cannot. And this is good old-fashioned SDR or standard dynamic range content. And it's no one-trick pony. Featuring both strong color gamut performance and SDR for rich, vibrant colors and decent accuracy as long as you're in the right mode.
Though we would recommend calibrating it for color sensitive work. They had to save a few bucks somewhere, I guess. And besides, this is a gaming display, you guys. It's for gaming. One area where older generation QD OLEDs fall a bit short of the newer ones is peak brightness. In SDR, though, we measured about 265 nits. Not bad for OLED. Let's fire up some HDR or high dynamic range content to really see it shine. If you've ever seen a QD OLED before, none of this is going to surprise you much. But thanks to the individual pixel level control of both color and brightness, this thing looks great.
And the ability to turn pixels completely off for infinite contrast massively helps the image come to life and feel more immersive. Darkness looks well dark. And specular highlights from something like a light glinting off a piece of metal looks bright rather than white. compared to the world around it. You know what else might brighten your day? We've got new colors for our legendary super soft hoodie. Blue and chocolate. Shipping now at ltstore.com. I'd be wearing a blue one, but everyone keeps stealing them off the racks. Back to our monitor, though. With all of that said, it's not perfect.
We actually encountered some weird behavior in our testing where in HDR, we're only getting 69% of the BT2020 color space when we get 80% when we test it in SDR. It's not so nice. However, look at this thing. It's the kind of thing that our test equipment picks up, but your eyes are unlikely to catch unless you're comparing it side by side with a more expensive OLED. And if you're coming from a traditional IPS or VA monitor, you're still going to be blown away. And at least the colors you are seeing are pretty accurate. We measured about an average delta EITP of 12 in HDR movie mode and just 11.2 in HDR game, which is about on par with the Tandem OLED LG GX7 we looked at earlier this year.
It's not on par with a tandem OLED in every way, though. For instance, we hit their claim of 1,000 nits in HDR peak, but we sacrificed color accuracy in that mode to get there. And our full field brightness is still capping out under 300 nits. And we're not getting as much BT2020 coverage as we expected. But guys, come on. The price though, let's game on it. One minor issue that you might have to fix before you can game on this thing. It's set to DVD mode out of the box. So, you have to go into your OSD settings, go into game settings, HDMI, and then change it from console DVD to PC.
And now 280 Hz. Remember how I said we'd talk about that later? Well, yeah. Uh, if you use Display Port, you're only going to get 240. And you got to update your HDMI to hit the full advertised 280 Hz. But now, let's game on this thing. Oh, what the [ __ ] There's a little connector here. When did they do this? Because this is a gaming monitor for gamers. I'm happy to report that at least right now, motion pixel response times are kind of unmatched on OLED displays. G-Sync Pulsar is here, but we'll talk more about it later.
Oh, what the [ __ ] This little connector, too. Sorry, I just haven't played Counter-Strike in a long time and I love Italy 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 about Qie OLED on this AOC model or you go over to LG with their Tandem W OLEDs, your display is going to look extremely clear in motion. It's using sample and hold. So, due to the way your eye functions, there will always be a bit of blur compared to Nvidia's new G-Sync pulsar displays.
But OLED pixels are changing so fast, you can measure them in micros secondsonds instead of milliseconds. So for anyone in this price bracket, this is going to be a huge upgrade. Of course, fast pixel response times are worthless if overall input lag sucks. Fortunately, it doesn't. We measured.3 milliseconds over theoretical perfect at 280 Hz with the low input lag setting enabled. And at 120 Hz, if you're a console gamer, just 1.4 4 milliseconds over perfect. Love to see it. Okay, but I said earlier there's got to be a downside, right? And jokes aside, there is.
Aside from our weird BT2020 coverage. Yeah, I've got to say like we're in a bright room right now, so HDR looks good, but it could look a little nicer. You know what? I'm going to check if it's in peak 1000 mode. Let's do that. Now that we're in HDR Peak, definitely looks a little nicer, a little brighter. Leon is looking sexy as ever. Just wait for RE9 Reququum. 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. Oh man. Yeah, I've looked at Doom Eternal gameplay quite a bit without having the monitors side by side to tell that this is losing a bit of BT2020 coverage.
Like, I wouldn't know. I I genuinely probably wouldn't be able to tell you. Side by side, yeah, I could probably see a difference, but like just like this, no idea. I would just be like, "Yeah, it looks like a QD OLED to me from any angle." Oh, man. And the motion clarity, 280 Hz with a QD OLED, God, it's fantastic. I haven't seen G-Sync Pulsar in person. 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, it's just it's night and day.
Even like a 500 Hz IPS, I'd probably take the 280 Hz OLED to be perfectly honest. just so snappy and responsive and there really is like zero latency and the HDR just looks incredible. Even if Pulsar is going to be a little bit clearer, you just can't beat it when it comes to watching content. Because the Q27 G4 ZD uses an older generation of Samsung QD OLED panels, it's missing three key improvements. First, if you're in a brightly lit room, kind of like our studio right now, 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, it won't matter. And honestly, even in a lit room, it's not too noticeable as long as there's content playing on it, but it is a complaint about these older panels that you often see on subreddits and the internet and wherever else you're looking for reviews for these things. Next, the sub pixel layout is not the traditional RGB stripe that the new hotness is getting. If you're sensitive to text fringing, which if you are, you probably already know, this monitor might not be the one for you.
Finally, there's the scariest issue, the fragility. anything before the newest fifth gen panels are super easy to scratch. Like, I'm talking you accidentally put your fingernail on it while you're wiping down your screen with a microfiber. Not good. It's one of those things where with content on screen again, you probably won't even be able to see the damage, but you'll know it's there and it just kind of sucks. Trust me, my cat has scratched both of mine. It's painful even if I can't see it most of the time. And on the subject of fragility, image retention with QD OLED has been heavily mitigated, but it is still very possible if you run at high brightness and constantly no life the same games, but there are ways to mitigate that.
The bright side of these issues is that at least some of them are solvable. Text fringing, try Mac Type or better clear type. Image retention, hide that taskbar, hide those desktop icons, hide your kids, hide your wife, set your wallpaper to black, and keep all of the mitigation features turned on. Okay? You don't need to set it to black. just use something like Wallpaper Engine to change it once in a while or to use a moving wallpaper just so that things don't get too static. Realistically, as long as you're not using this thing strictly as a news monitor, you should be fine.
But the real question is, should you buy it? Like most things in life, I think it depends. If your budget was already a little higher, this isn't quite the same thing but cheaper. However, if you were looking at spending closer to $350, I think saving up another, you know, 15-ish% is going to get you way more than a 15% improvement to your enjoyment compared to an IPS, especially if you're doing more than just multiplayer games. I mean, it's really hard to explain just how good proper HDR on an OLED display looks when it comes to, you know, single player campaigns.
G-Sync Pulsar is an exception to that if you're a pure gamer who are only focused on motion clarity for the most intense esports, but those are starting at $600 anyway, which is a very different price point. We'll have the Q27 G4 ZD linked down below, and we'll also have our sponsor, T. Are you tired of watching a sizable chunk of your paycheck disappear to pay your phone bill? T offers a variety of customizable phone plans so you can build something that fits your needs. Their unlimited plan is only $25 and it comes with 10 gigs of hotspotting.
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As amazing as this guy is, the bottom of the barrel is looking mighty impressive these days. Oh, how far we've
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