AOC CU34P2A
A BARGAIN34-INCH DISPLAY THAT DOESN’T SKIMP ON QUALITY
AOC is competing very aggressively on pricing with the CU34P2A, a 34-inch QHD (3,440 x 1,440) display that costs just £399. And unlike other affordable screens that opt for a low-quality stand, cheap build quality and lacking in helpful display features, AOC has retained many of the more useful extras that enhance your computing experience, in addition to excellent image quality from its VA panel.
The low, entry-level pricing means those who aren’t endowed with bottomless wallets can enjoy the same benefits of a wide display as those who can splash out on the pricier brands.
Competitive brightness levels of 340 nits, an excellent 1,000:1 contrast ratio and colour reproduction results that showed 100% SRGB coverage, 85% Adobergb and 87% DCI-P3 are excellent results that should reassure anyone that this screen will work well for any kind of graphics work.
Brightness uniformity slips slightly, we measured 11% deviation in one of the corners, slightly higher than
other panels, and some pricier IPS screens will indeed get you bleeding-edge colour reproduction, but even when working with graphics these aspects of a display aren’t absolutely critical for day-today use.
“THE OVERALL LOOK DOESN’T GIVE IT AWAY THAT THIS SCREEN COSTS SO MUCH LESS THAN COMPETITORS”
It’s also easier to forgive these (minor) setbacks when considering how AOC has squeezed in so much more on this display. For gaming, Adaptive Sync and 100Hz refresh rates are supported. There’s a USB hub and the stand helpfully lets you rotate and tilt the screen, something other manufacturers cut to save a few pennies.
The overall design is excellent too. The construction is reasonably solid and the bezels around the edges are just a few millimetres, so the overall look absolutely doesn’t give it away that this screen costs so much less than competitors.
Our main gripe is that the on-screen display (OSD) is a bit clunky and the buttons to operate it feel clicky, and it’s not as quick to adjust settings as with the Asus PA34VC or the Dell U4021QW, which both have nifty joysticks to navigate their menus, meaning you need to spend some time getting used to it.
We really have no other major complaints though. The 34-inch screen size is admittedly less ‘ultra’ wide than ‘slightly’ wide – which we consider a personal choice rather than a setback. It’s still a 21:9 aspect ratio with more desktop display pixels.
And if that’s still not enough screen, at this price point you could even consider two of these in a dual-monitor setup and still not break the bank.