AOC G2460PQU gaming monitor review: I only have eyes for you

I'm a peripheral guy. Mechanical keyboards, gaming mice, headsets — I've spent a pretty penny on each of them. But when it comes to gaming monitors, I've always skimped a bit. I make sure to get 1080p and LED, and I've owned monitors from brands like ViewSonic, Dell and Samsung, but I've never dropped more than $140 on a gaming monitor or had one larger than 23 inches.

Imagine how I felt after powering on the AOC G2460PQU for the first time. I can tell you how I felt: overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by the 24" behemoth in front of me that turned my little gaming area into a battlestation — a sad battlestation, but a battlestation nevertheless. With any battlestation, the first thing you notice are the aesthetics, and the AOC G2460PQU is a sight to behold. It has a sleek design that's matte black with a brushed look to it, while the very bottom of the monitor is a thin, red metallic-looking strip. The screen's surface is also matte black and help combats glare, but it does have a minor impact on the image quality.

There's buttons, inputs and USB hubs galore. There's no touch response buttons, which is perfect because I hate how finicky those get; instead, all the buttons are tactile. On the right side of the monitor there is a USB power-boosted port, which is especially handy for charging phones or tablets thanks to its fast-charging capability. There's four USB ports in total, with two more on the bottom of the monitor near the power switch, so connectivity shouldn't be a problem. For video connections, this AOC has you covered with connections for VGA, DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort 1.2. The monitor is also height adjustable, and the screen can be titled as well as positioned in portrait or landscape mode.

Something I've never had in a monitor are speakers, and the AOC G2460PQU comes with a pair of speakers built into the back of the monitor. While they can function for sound in a pinch, they should not be your primary means of audio. They're not powerful at all, and all the sound kind of mushes together without any bass or highs. Luckily, there's also a headphones jack, so I suggest using that.

Now let's get into the meat of the monitor: speed. This monitor sports a 144Hz refresh rate with a 1ms response time, which mean smoother appearance during gameplay. While there was significantly less ghosting than in the monitors I currently use, the tests I ran did have a bit more ghosting and input lag than I expected. That said, while playing games like Battlefield 4, League of Legends, Dark Souls 2 and Shootmania, the gameplay was smooth with no smearing. If 3D gaming is your thing, you're going to have to look elsewhere, as this AOC monitor has no 3D support. Note that if you want to get the 144Hz refresh rate, you need a graphics card that supports DisplayPort or DVI-Dual Link, otherwise you'll be at the standard 60Hz.

As far as color quality, color saturation seemed adequate across the games I played, as well as testing it on the holy trinity of modern Disney Animation movies — Frozen, Tangled and Wreck-it Ralph. Dark scenes in games and movies looks especially good, but sometimes colors didn't pop as much as I felt they should. Better than my current monitors? Absolutely. Better than some amazing Asus or BenQ monitors I've seen? Well, I'd have to see them side-by-side. Don't get me wrong, everything still looked gorgeous. That said, color quality does take a minor hit. For gaming purposes, it's perfect. Going into the settings and tweaking everything can help you get the colors you're looking for.

Overall, it's hard not to be impressed with the AOC G2460PQU. Depending on where you get it from, you can buy this monitor for as low as $249.99. I realize that monitors are like gaming mice and keyboards, where everyone has their personal taste, but for the price, I'd gladly pay this and take it over the $130 I usually spend on monitors. The amount of features and quality of the monitor, as well as the specs, make it great for a gaming monitor — if you're not on a tight budget.

Specs:

You can follow Senior Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ. He likes talking sports, video games, movies, and the stupidity of celebrities. Email at LLiebl@GameZone.com