AOC Q3279VWF review: A big-screened bargain of a monitor

Everyone loves a big, high resolution monitor but they tend to be either pretty poor or pretty expensive. The AOC Q3279VWF turns that trend on its head: it's a huge monitor that costs a mere 200 and it doesn't come with too many compromises.

You're certainly getting a lot of screen for your money. The Q3279VWF has a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 and it stretches that across a huge 31.5in MVA panel. If that wasn't enough, the panel runs natively at 75Hz and comes with AMD FreeSync, which provides tear-free gaming for those with compatible AMD graphics cards. It's got everything you need, in other words.

AOC Q3279VWF review: Design, features and build quality

First, you'll want to make sure the 31.5in (which measures: 729.59 x 425.09 x 153.2mm) monitor fits on your desk, because this monitor is big. Really big. AOC has made some compromises to get it down to this price, though.

The stand is only capable of tilting by -2 degrees or +21.5 degrees with no height adjustment and there are no VESA mounts at the back of the monitor, so you're stuck with the restrictive stand. Still, it doesn't feel too wobbly, and the AOC's glossy low-profile bezels and brushed silver aluminium stand look pretty slick, so at least there's that.

Elsewhere, it's pretty standard stuff. For connectivity, you get DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 1.4, DVI and VGA inputs, plus a 3.5mm headphone jack output, but there's no USB hub or headphone stand.

The on-screen display (OSD), which is accessed through the buttons found on the bottom right-hand corner, gives you access to a host of different options. You can adjust the Overdrive level, colour settings, and brightness levels, among others.

AOC Q3279VWF review: Image quality and performance

The Q3279VWF has a 31.5in MVA panel with matte coating. It runs natively at 2,560 x 1,440 with a 75Hz refresh rate and, thankfully, doesn't suffer from any frame-skipping.

When we first switched the monitor on, the whole screen had a blue tint. Set the monitor to sRGB mode and things improve. In this mode, the blue colour adjustment drops to 43, while the red and green stay at 50, an odd occurrence for a PC monitor as it's usually the other way around. Nevertheless, this does have the effect of subduing the blue tint, which makes for a more colour accurate display.

Tested with our i1 DisplayPro calibrator, the AOC covers 90.2% of the sRGB colour space. In sRGB mode you're also limited to a 202cd/m max brightness, although in user mode this increases to 232cd/m. This is going to be a real issue for most office environments, and you could find yourself squinting to make out details. If you can keep your workspace dimly-lit though, you should be alright.

Colour accuracy isn't amazing but it is perfectly respectable for such a low-cost screen. Its average Delta E of 1.93 means you can use it for photo editing, comfortable in the knowledge that the edits you make should look okay to everyone else.

MVA panels are renowned for their high contrast ratio, but we've yet to come across one as good as the Q3279VWF. We measured its contrast ratio at an astonishing 4,276:1, and this leads to incredibly vibrant onscreen images, although we suspect AOC dynamically adjusts the contrast.

At 90% brightness (the max brightness achievable in sRGB mode), the panel also achieves the lowest black luminance we've seen in a monitor of this bracket. At a measured 0.047cd/m there's barely a hint of grey, which is exactly what you want when watching movies with dark scenes.

AOC Q3279VWF review: Verdict

At 200, the AOC Q3279VWF is simply spectacular value for money, and it's excellent for office and creative work alike. If you're looking for a competent all-purpose monitor and you're on a budget, the Q3279VWF is a fantastic choice.

The AOC Q3279VWF costs around 200 and this makes it the best MVA 1440p monitor of any size we've come across, let alone one this big. Its closest competitor is the Acer EB321HQUA, which is 290 and has the same core specs. If you want a smaller, 27in display instead, there's the BenQ GW2765HT at 285 and the ViewSonic VX2778-SMHD at 347.

If we switch the MVA panel for a less colour accurate TN panel, the prices come down a little but still not as low as the Q3279VWF. Here, you have the AOC Q2778VQE at 209 and the Asus PB277Q at 280.

With a 1440p 75Hz display on a huge 31.5in panel, the AOC monitor ticks all the right boxes and it rightfully wins an IT Pro Value Award.

Verdict

The AOC Q3279VWF is simply spectacular value for money, and it’s excellent for office and creative work alike. With a 1440p 75Hz display on a huge 31.5in panel, the AOC monitor ticks all the right boxes and it rightfully wins an IT Pro Value Award.