It’s not unusual to find affordable 4K panels these days, but the AOC U2790VQ tries to go beyond the basics by offering more functionality than you’d expect from a simple, straightforward office display.
This is an above-average IPS monitor crested for office productivity and as such, it offers accurate colors with over 100% sRGB, reasonable connectivity, and crucially, native 4K resolution. It boasts a 3840 by 2160 pixels resolution, making it a great panel for work or the home-office, now that most of us are working from home.
It’s also worth noting that this monitor sports a good design and a sturdy built is priority here, and all in all, the pricing is quite low. Let’s find out how it stacks against the competition in this AOC U2790VQ review.
Specifications
| Monitor Type | Office, Productivity, Business |
| Native Resolution | 4K (3840 x 2160 at 60 Hz) |
| Contrast Ratio | 1000:1 / 100000000:1 (dynamic) |
| Horizontal Viewing Angle | 178 Degrees |
| Panel Type | IPS |
| Brightness | 350 cd/m² |
| Response Time | 5ms |
A Massive, Fully-Featured Monitor
The AOC U2790VQ’s 27-inch 4K screen stands on an elegant, circular base with a slim chin that looks like it’s made of gunmetal aluminum. Looks can be deceiving though, the entire thing is made of plastic, but that doesn’t detract from the slick design and chic appearance of the monitor. You’ll particularly like the oval hole in the column for organizing all of your attached cables.
AOC describes this design as three-sides-frameless because of its edges that measure a little more than a millimeter, meaning you can put multiple monitors together on your monitor for seamless multitasking.
There are no buttons on the AOC U2790VQ, save for a hard on/off switch placed beside the power input, since all of its functionality can be accessed via the mini-joystick and on-screen display (OSD). Connectivity comes via two HDMI (1.4 & 2.0), DisplayPort, D-Sub and a 3.5mm headphone out jack, as well a pair of 2-watt speakers.
Good Performance: Stellar sRGB Coverage
As mentioned earlier, the AOC U2790VQ is built on a premium IPS (In-Plain Switching) panel with native 4K resolution, perfect for productivity, especially when working on tasks that require fine details. That means it has a wide 178-degree off-center viewing, a crisp 163 ppi pixel density and well saturated colors. Its wide color gamut (AOC quotes it at 108% sRGB) guarantees its color accuracy. At 1,000:1, the static contrast ratio is fine, though its brightness is low at 350 cd/m2.
For productivity, a refresh rate of 60Hz is respectable, so is the 5ms response time and considering the 16:9 screen is backlit by LEDs, it’s as crisp as you would expect. So, it doesn’t have a superfast 120Hz refresh rate (or even higher), that you’d ordinarily get with gaming monitors, and it lacks HDR and local dimming that’s available on high-end monitors like the LG 34WN80C-B and the BenQ SW271.
- Read more: LG 34WN80C-B Monitor Review
Even without extras like HDR and local dimming, this AOC monitor looks crisp, clear and consistently shaded. Again, it manages to achieve the level of clarity needed for Photoshop or video editing tasks. That’s made possible by the rich 163 ppi, which lets you scrutinize on-screen images, while the flicker-free WLED backlight is easy on the eye.
As a general productivity monitor, it’s hard to fault the AOC 4K panel, but when it comes to gaming, the 60HZ refresh rate and 5ms response rate can be considered low. AOC doesn’t include G-Sync, or FreeSync either, but even without any gaming features, the monitor’s native 4K games such as Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Forza Horizon 4 on the Xbox One X play smoothly at 3840 x 2160 resolution, even without HDR.
If you’ll be suing the AOC U2790VQ for entertainment on the side, the native 4K resolution and 16:9 screen breathes live to your movies. However, the lack of HDR once again prevents the colors from reaching their full potential. There is a pair of integrated speakers, not so loud, but you have a headphone jack for connecting your own powerful audio solution.
Final Verdict – Should you buy the AOC U2790VQ monitor?
The AOC U2790VQ is an office monitor that’s well priced for the features on offer, especially that 4K resolution and borderless design. It’s certainly one you should buy, unless you’re looking for something curved. In addition to the competitive pricing, it’s well-specified for the office and it doesn’t disappoint elsewhere; with razor sharp image quality when showing UHD content, be it Photoshop, Forza Horizon 4 or just viewing 4K films.
For sure, it’s a pity that AOC didn’t include HDR for gaming or movie watching, but the supreme resolution and color quality on this monitor make up for that slight niggle. Again, the lack of USB-C ports is a painful oversight, but if you don’t need one, then this AOC U2790VQ is easily the office monitor you’re looking for.
AOC U2790VQ 27" 4K 3840x2160 UHD Frameless Monitor, IPS, 5ms, 1 Billion+ Colors, 108% sRGB, VESA
9 used from $207.89
