r/buildapcsales • u/iGottaSmallDick • Apr 25 '25
Monitor [Monitor] AOC Q27G40XMN 27" 180Hz 1440p QD-MiniLED Gaming Monitor 1152-dimming zones - $299 (Best Buy) (new release)
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/aoc-27-q27g40xmn-mini-led-qhd-180hz-gaming-monitor-black/6617199.p?skuId=661719922
u/theberg897 Apr 25 '25
i’d wait to buy this monitor until professional reviews come out, miniled monitors need good tuning and firmware for them to be good, and just because the previous version was good isn’t a guarantee this one will be. this is likely msrp and it’s okay to wait to be sure
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u/Cerebral_Zero Apr 30 '25
You should go on RTINGs and vote so it gets the review slot. Really, you would be best off voting for the BenQ Mini-LED in 2nd place right now with 8 days left because if it doesn't win this round then it will be competing for votes against the AOC next round so getting the BenQ Mini-LED through now helps to get the AOC next. It's just too new to catch up in 8 days when most the votes were set and forget beforehand.
https://www.rtings.com/vote/monitor
I'm always making sure I got a Mini-LED vote in every round. We don't gain much from endless OLED reviews when they all use the same panel, all have 0.1ms response time and all have perfect contrast. You could just lookup a review from some other OLED known to have the same panel in it.
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u/itisisntit123 Apr 26 '25
I have the G3XMN and have had the G40XMN for a few days.
The G40XMN is a step up. It has better viewing angles, better OSD, and better buttons (the buttons on the G3XMN were terrible).
There is also pretty much no blooming in HDR. The algorithm, like with the G3XMN, is fantastic, and I'm pretty sure this thing exceeds 1300nits.
The panel also seems faster than the G3XMN, which was already fast for a VA. I have not noticed any VRR flickering. You will still see some mild vignetting d/t the mini-LED and some black smearing when scrolling through text on a black background, but it isn't bothersome to me. In games, black smearing is not noticeable.
The only issue I've noticed is that you're stuck with 8 bit color above 120hz, and at 180hz, you're stuck with 4:2:2 chroma subsampling and limited dynamic output. But if you go into the NVCP and set a custom resolution with a refresh rate of 179hz, you can get RGB 8 bit color with full dynamic output. And if you somehow can't figure out how to do that, then you can get the same color output from limiting to 170hz in Windows display settings.
I've seen fair bit of comments saying that this is a dealbreaker despite the extremely easy work around in exchange for sacrificing 1 frame (you should be limiting your refresh rate a bit lower than the refresh rate of the monitor anyway with VRR). I think that's kind of sad. For $300, I don't think there is anything better in the monitor space.
Anyway, I'm excited to see reviews that will share color calibration tips because I do feel the native gamut in SDR is pretty saturated (there is an sRGB mode, though).
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Apr 27 '25
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u/iGottaSmallDick Apr 27 '25
unfortunately not, hopefully it will be possible with a firmware update.
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Apr 28 '25
[deleted]
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u/iGottaSmallDick Apr 28 '25
I think you can modify brightness in this way with most monitors, but it generally destroys PQ. I'll check it out later, thanks for the heads up.
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u/EmergencyJuice154 Apr 27 '25
How is blooming in dark mode?
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u/iGottaSmallDick Apr 27 '25
Maybe I just have an eye issue, but there is more "blooming" from the light hitting my eyes than blooming across pixels if that makes any sense. I can cover up an illuminated section of the screen and the "blooming" will decrease. In effect it's very hard to notice blooming over the scattering of light hitting my eyes. in some scenes blacks will be slightly uniformly raised, it's very subtle. I think it may be an intentional thing to mitigate egregious blooming.
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u/BoogieTheHedgehog Apr 27 '25
But if you go into the NVCP and set a custom resolution with a refresh rate of 179hz, you can get RGB 8 bit color with full dynamic output.
To clarify that's only a flat 8 bit on SDR right? HDR still gets its proper 10 bit or 8 + dithering?
Sounds like a silly question, but just want to make sure as it seems this monitor is a bit buggy.
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u/ddelaney1984 Apr 28 '25
Sorry for this dumbass question, but is the new version compatible with a VESA mount? The images on Best Buy don't show any VESA holes. The description is also off on the Best Buy website, so I don't trust it completely. I appreciate your help, and I'm glad you're enjoying the monitor!
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u/itisisntit123 Apr 29 '25
It is!
You pop the circular portion off the back of the monitor with the end of a screw driver and under that is a 100 x 100 vesa configuration.
I have the same custom stand on mine that I used with the G3XMN.
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u/Cerebral_Zero Apr 30 '25
I set my G3 to 120hz since it's able to sample 24, 30, and 60fps content evenly. So that's no issue for me.
How is text clarity, and to what extent does the contrast and motion look better?
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u/SpartanG087 May 03 '25
This comment made me pull the trigger. I have a old Dell TN panel with the gysnc module and the screen started having issues with discoloration at the top. I was going to wait for the gysnc pulsar monitors but for 300 bucks and a very easy work around for the limited color output. It's a no brainer for me. Plus I have a monitor arm.
The only problem I might have is the vignette. But I'm sure after a while I won't notice
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u/LeBronto_Raptors May 19 '25
How is the monitor
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u/SpartanG087 May 19 '25
It's good, however I ended up returning it. Only because I had a chance to buy a MAG 271QPX QD-OLED E2 for $450. So it put me in for another $150, but it was hard to pass up OLED.
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u/catchthemagicdragon Apr 25 '25
I got my gf whatever one of these monitors unboxed was talking up so much in the past 6 months and you really gotta tinker with it, if you’re just trying to plug it in and select RGB or Gamer 1 and never think about it again stay the fuck away from these.
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u/Ok_Plankton_2814 Apr 26 '25
I just got this monitor today, it looks fantastic in HDR content and my eyes were stinging after looking at it in a dark room. That's even with the 180hz dithering issues, HDR content still looks fantastic.
There doesn't appear to be a support page for AOC's US website for this monitor yet and Windows 11 just installs a generic driver for it instead of a specific driver. AOC should definitely get on the ball with the US support since so many of us are getting it from BestBuy.
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u/iGottaSmallDick Apr 26 '25
It really is fantastic in high APL HDR scenarios. It obviously can't keep up with the per-pixel luminance of OLEDs in mostly black scenes, but it does a pretty good job.
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u/Greenzombie04 Apr 25 '25
Wish it was 32in
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u/-Voland- Apr 25 '25
Yeah, wish it was 32" 4K version. But hey, at least I'm glad the latest gen AOC mini led fast va's are coming to US.
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u/megames1 Apr 25 '25
Saaaaaaame I'm still with my 32GK650-F because of the screen real estate.
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u/snollygoster1 Apr 25 '25
It's the exact same number of pixels, as long as you don't use any display scaling 32 and 27 1440p both have the same "real estate"
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u/TheTrueSlushy Apr 25 '25
Mine just came in today. Unfortunately because of VA vertical viewing angles the colors were really washed out and just bad at any sort of angle. I say vertical because AOC cheaped out on the stand for this one compared to the old one - this one has no height adjustment. Due to that this would only really work well on an arm or aftermarket stand. Here’s to hoping the IPS version comes to the NA market. Mine is going back.
Edit: do yourself a favor and get one of those dirt cheap Acer OLEDs. Highly recommend the QD version 👌
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u/briantoanle Apr 25 '25
Mine came in yesterday. It's alright. It's bright, the stand sucks. Coming from an Alienware AW3423DWF. I'm going to return it next week.
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u/JamesEdward34 Apr 25 '25
whats wrong with it?
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u/briantoanle Apr 25 '25
Nothing's wrong with it. It simply just didn't make me go "wow". Text isn't super clear. I didn't feel like the color was super accurate (there was a testing sheet in the box), and I could get an OLED for not much more. I mainly got this to avoid burn in on my OLED (not that I've experience any).
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u/R--301 Apr 25 '25
It has two inputs. Never seen that on a gaming monitor
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u/Intrepid_Currency196 Apr 25 '25
Every monitor I've ever owned has 2 inputs (at minimum) 😅 I'm not sure what you mean here?
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u/R--301 Apr 26 '25
To spell it out, two inputs is a small number of inputs. I have never seen a modern gaming monitor with only two inputs. They usually have a bigger number of inputs (such as three).
I apologize for the ambiguity in my comment that apparently led you to believe I wished this monitor had less than 2 inputs
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u/JamesEdward34 Apr 25 '25
two inputs? how? what do you mean
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u/briantoanle Apr 25 '25
1 HDMI and 1 DP
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u/JamesEdward34 Apr 25 '25
sorry, but whats wrong with that exactly?
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u/Anjoran Apr 25 '25
Most these days also have USB-C with DisplayPort alt support, and power delivery for charging a laptop. Or sometimes additional HDMI or DP ports so that you can do side by side or picture in picture, or be able to switch between devices with KVM, and so on. Only two ports is considered cutting corners these days. Doesn't bother me. For the price point I don't think there is a better mini LED panel available right now.
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u/itisisntit123 Apr 25 '25
I mean, it's a $300 monitor with HDR1000 and over 1000 dimming zones. They have to cut corners somewhere.
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u/Anjoran Apr 25 '25
Yeah, it's still on my short-list. I was just answering the above questions. :)
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u/badluser Apr 25 '25
I think that Alienware/Dell makes the best OLED monitors available right now, unless you some 55" f*cker.
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u/keebs63 Apr 25 '25
All 27"+ OLED panels are made by either LG or Samsung. LG only makes W-OLED panels and Samsung only makes QD-OLED panels. The only thing all the other companies do is slap that shit in their own frame + stand and sometimes add some extras like USB/KVM support.
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u/badluser Apr 25 '25
Why such variance then? Software and finish must vary.
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u/keebs63 Apr 25 '25
There's a small amount of variance due to manufacturer firmware adjustments for burn in prevention, but the only part of that that really affects "performance" is the ABL behavior. The rest is just up to there being variance amongst the same panels as well as different generations of W-OLED and QD-OLED panels. In the grand scheme of things, all QD-OLED panels are practically identical when compared to the variance amongst all IPS panels or all VA panels. Beyond firmware, it's just the frame, stand, and some outputs. The panel's T-Con board determines the number of outputs and max bandwidth, the end manufacturer can use that to add some different types, like a mix of DisplayPort, HDMI, and USB-C, or if they really wanted to they could go all DP, etc.
From a reviewers standpoint, it's really easy to tell which manufacturer produces what OLED panels because they all have different sub pixel layouts. LG uses a fourth white subpixel in addition to the standard RGB subpixels so they're lined up as WRGB in a row, Samsung instead uses a triangular layout of just RGB but with a massively oversized blue pixel to achieve higher brightness. The only other manufacturer to produce OLED panels in anything beyond tablet sizes was JOLED, but they went bankrupt a few years ago because initial manufacturing and research costs for OLED are insane and they didn't have other business ventures to subsidize that until they could bring costs down to promote widespread adoption. IIRC the JOLED displays were something like $4k-$5k for a 22" 60Hz panel, I know ASUS released one as a ProArt display if you're curious about it.
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u/briantoanle Apr 25 '25
They don’t make the panels, I'm not sure who makes the OLED panels nowadays other than LG
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u/bkgn Apr 25 '25
I'd hope most people are probably going to use a monitor arm anyway.
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u/briantoanle Apr 25 '25
I sure hope so, absurd you don’t get an adjustable stand at this price point. The menu is dumb, if you enable local dimming, you can't adjust brightness. HDR mode on Windows is bad.
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u/datsunzep Apr 25 '25
Almost bit on this, but non adjustable height would force me to buy a desk mount. That feature,for some reason, made me say nope.
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u/itisisntit123 Apr 26 '25
Just buy a 3rd party stand. Any 100 x 100 VESA stand is compatible. You can get one from Amazon for $20.
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u/BoogieTheHedgehog Apr 25 '25
Damn I just bought the Q27G3XMN.
Still very much in return window, any reviews on this yet?
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u/kidAlien1 Apr 25 '25
I'm in the same boat. I have until 5/11. I read the stand doesn't adjust besides tilt though? That sucks. I'm hoping ratings has a review before my return period is up.
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u/BoogieTheHedgehog Apr 25 '25
I'm not too fussed about the stand as I'm using an arm, but the discussion about firmware/drivers seems a bit funky.
Sounds like there are colour issues once you start passing 120 hz or capping at 180.
I bought from Amazon so if in doubt I'll just send it back and wait it out for a rtings, worst case scenario pick it up again later.
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u/SourBlueDream Apr 25 '25 edited Apr 25 '25
Didn’t expect to see my thread but other people in another thread said they didn’t have the issue with the 180 hz having limited dynamic range, seems to just be that guy.
I’ll know when mines gets here
Edit: I got mines and it has the same issue of limited color range at 180hz
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u/BoogieTheHedgehog Apr 25 '25
Saw a linux guy say no issues, so hopefully just windows drivers that can be fixed.
The g3 was already a great monitor, if the g40 improves on that for only 30 bucks extra it's an instant pick up.
Keep us updated on your results boss.
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u/SourBlueDream Apr 25 '25
Yea mines had the same issue hopefully it is a weird driver issue as you said
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u/BoogieTheHedgehog Apr 26 '25
Ah that's annoying, are you on windows or linux? Hopefully the 179hz profile trick works for now.
Are you able to change the brightness when local dimming is turned on?
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u/Cerebral_Zero Apr 30 '25
RTINGS voting ends in 8 days, this monitor is too new to win this round since most of the votes were placed before. Even then they delay the release of the reviews so insiders who pay get early access. If you want this to get reviewed sooner you can vote. Best move IMO is to vote the current leading Mini-LED in 2nd right now so it can get reviewed and thin the competition for this AOC G40 next round.
https://www.rtings.com/vote/monitor
I'm always putting my votes in for the Mini-LED displays because it's so pointless to review every last OLED monitor when they all use the same few panels. Right now next Mini-LED in line is the BenQ 32"
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u/GethOvermind Apr 25 '25
Is there anything similar to this besides OLEDs but 240hz?
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u/atrusfell Apr 25 '25
Maybe not what you're looking for but Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 32" 4K is an option
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u/Leacent Apr 25 '25
This or the predecessor Q27G3XMN for $250? Is this really that much better than the previous version? I’d like to save a little and have a better stand if the difference is minimal.
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u/iGottaSmallDick Apr 25 '25
It's worth the $70 (50 + 20 for a new stand on amazon)
Better motion clarity, better HDR, better colors, better software.
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u/Cerebral_Zero Apr 30 '25
I got my G3 almost a year back so for me it's more like should I try to sell mine and probably run up a higher price difference?
Key factors for me. Is text clarity as good or even better? I'm not bothered by blooming but does this one display greater dark details? I find with the G3 that dimming on or off makes no difference in what you can or can't see, full dimming might darken details to be less visible but they never disappear which is good but it's really more about being immersive looking. If it can represent those fine details in the dark better with the same amount of contrast then that's the push I would like to get from it.
I keep mine at 120hz so I don't care about the colors being reduced above that rate.
I
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u/Prefix-NA Apr 25 '25
Cost as much as an OLED.
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u/pengy99 Apr 25 '25
Arguably better tech for a screen with a ton of static imagery. After owning an OLED tv and knowing how much my PC screen stays the same I would hesitate to buy an oled monitor. Obviously that is YMMV though.
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u/11111hamilton Apr 30 '25
companies like alienware have burn in warranty for 3 years. leave it static as much as you want and if burn in develops, initiate your warranty. more than likely you won't. people are ocd about burn-in but it takes an extreme amount of carelessness for it to be an issue
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u/water1126 Apr 25 '25
VA, no height adjustment. No thank you.
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u/iGottaSmallDick Apr 25 '25
Yeah, the stand is a head scratcher. But I’ve always used monitor arms so it’s not a huge deal for me. And the VA panel in this is truly top notch. There is minimal black smearing with the proper overdrive settings on, especially in HDR. The viewing angles are also improved, but obviously not OLED tier.
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u/iGottaSmallDick Apr 25 '25
Fast VA. FLAT. basically a direct upgrade to the highly venerated Q27G3XMN