AOC Q27P2CA review: An impeccable, affordable office monitor

The AOC Q27P2CA feels a bit too good to be true. This nondescript office monitor has everything you could conceivably expect from a £300 product: a highly adjustable stand, an excellent selection of ports and a good-quality panel that sits comfortably in the size/resolution sweet spot.

If AOC has made sacrifices, I can’t find them. This is a superb monitor that I have no trouble recommending. If you need connectivity, versatility and plenty of screen real estate, the Q27P2CA should be top of your wishlist.

AOC Q27P2CA review: What do you get for the money?

At £300, the Q27P2CA sits in the middle of the price range between monitors such as the AOC Q27V4EA (£230) and the HP E27u G4 (£394). For your money, you’re getting a 27in IPS panel with a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440, a refresh rate of 75Hz, a quoted response time of 4ms G2G and generic adaptive sync technology (I can confirm that the monitor is G-Sync compatible, at least).

As for connectivity, you’ve got four USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports (two on the rear, two on the side), a USB-B 3.2 Gen 1 port and a USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port, the latter of which can deliver 65W of power and carry a video signal simultaneously. Two HDMI 1.4 ports, one DisplayPort 1.2 port and a 3.5mm headphone jack complete the set.

The stand, meanwhile, provides 150mm of height adjustment, 90 degrees of pivot (into portrait mode), 180 degrees of swivel left and right and 35 degrees of backwards tilt. In the box, you’ll find USB-C, DisplayPort and HDMI cables, alongside the power cable and assorted documentation.

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AOC Q27P2CA review: What do we like about it?

Straight out of the box, the Q27P2CA makes a good impression. It’s matte black and made of plastic, as most office monitors are, but it’s slim and looks very smart. The base has a pleasing brushed metal finish and rounded edges, which I rather like. At 6.3kg it’s reasonably light, too – you’ll have no trouble lifting this monitor should the need arise.

As I’ve already mentioned, the stand is also pretty appealing. That 150mm of height adjustment is great for a monitor at this price and, combined with the other adjustment options, should keep you in perfect posture at all times. The same is true of the port selection: I’ve tested a few monitors that compromise here, settling for either a USB-C port or a USB-A hub, so it’s a real joy to see both. I’m particularly fond of the two USB-A ports mounted on the side for easy access.

Speaking of easy access, I’m not a huge fan of button-based OSD controls, but AOC has made life simpler by mounting the buttons on the bottom bezel facing you, where their functions can be easily seen. The OSD itself is as straightforward as an OSD can be, which if nothing else saves a bit of pain.

The final hurdle for the AOC Q27P2CA is our in-house tests. I’m pleased to report that the panel performed well in almost every section and even managed to outperform AOC’s stated figures in a couple of key areas. Out of the box, the panel produced 134% of the sRGB colour gamut, 94.9% of DCI-P3 and 92.3% of Adobe RGB – a very wide gamut for the price. It did so without exceeding an average Delta E of 3, too, which means that although the Q27P2CA isn’t pinpoint accurate, it’s certainly no slouch. Moreover, locked to sRGB, the Q27P2CA returned an average Delta E of 1.16, which is remarkably good.

The panel’s colour temperature in Default and sRGB modes (the only presets worth using) hovered at a near-perfect 6,600K. I measured a peak luminance of 353cd/m², which is significantly better than the 300cd/m² quoted by AOC, and a contrast ratio of 1,036:1. These results indicate that the panel is bright and punchy (by the standards of office monitors).

AOC Q27P2CA review: What could be better?

There is, however, one small crack in the Q27P2CA’s armour. The backlight bleeds through the edge of the display in certain places. Although this isn’t bad enough to be noticeable during normal use, it does have a negative impact on the Q27P2CA’s panel uniformity, and if you’re looking at a dark screen in a dark room you might notice the bright patches. This will vary from panel to panel, however.

The other minor drawback is that the stand isn’t quite sturdy enough to hold the large 27in panel at the full extent of its 150mm of height adjustment without wobbling a little bit. It’s far from the worst case of stand wobble I’ve ever encountered, but if you’re a ferocious typist you might notice the panel nodding along with your keystrokes.

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AOC Q27P2CA review: Should you buy it?

On balance, the AOC Q27P2CA comes out on top. I haven’t seen any issues I wouldn’t expect from a monitor at the cheaper end of the spectrum and, more importantly, I’ve seen more positives than I was anticipating.

I’m always on the lookout for a monitor that nails ergonomics, connectivity and performance at a good price, and the AOC Q27P2CA does just that.