AOC 24-inch 1080p 100Hz Monitor Review UK (2026). Tested & Calibrated

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen someone buy a monitor based purely on the refresh rate, only to be disappointed when motion clarity turns out to be rubbish. The spec sheet says 100Hz, but what’s actually happening to those pixels when you’re tracking an enemy across the screen in Valorant? That’s where real testing comes in. I’ve spent about a month with this AOC 24-inch display, and I’m genuinely surprised by what it delivers at this price point. Not perfect, mind you – but there’s more to discuss here than I initially expected.

The 100Hz refresh rate is interesting. It’s not the 144Hz you’ll find on dedicated gaming monitors, but it’s a massive step up from the 60Hz panels that still dominate this price bracket. You’re getting 67% more frames per second, which translates to noticeably smoother panning in games and even just moving windows around in Windows 11.

I’ve tested dozens of budget IPS panels over the years, and honestly? This one punches above its weight. The colour consistency across the screen is better than I expected – there’s a bit of brightness variation in the corners (totally normal for IPS), but it’s not the lottery you sometimes get with cheaper panels.

The IPS glow is present, as it always is with this panel technology. If you’re sat dead centre, it’s barely noticeable. Move 30 degrees off-axis and you’ll see that characteristic grey wash in the corners during dark scenes. It’s physics, not a defect. VA panels have better contrast, but they come with their own issues (slower response times, colour shift). At this price, IPS makes sense.

One thing that genuinely impressed me: the colour temperature out of the box was remarkably close to 6500K. Most budget monitors ship with a bluish tint that makes everything look cold and clinical. This one measured 6600K – close enough that most people won’t need to calibrate it. For a budget panel, that’s proper attention to detail from AOC.

Now here’s where things get interesting. AOC doesn’t officially advertise G-Sync compatibility, but I enabled it in the Nvidia control panel anyway. Guess what? It works. Perfectly. I spent hours in Apex Legends and Fortnite with frame rates bouncing between 60-100fps, and I didn’t see a single tear or stutter.

Right, let’s be honest: this isn’t a competitive gaming monitor. The real-world response time of 8-11ms means you’ll see some ghosting in fast-paced shooters, especially with dark objects moving across bright backgrounds. But for casual gaming and the price bracket we’re in? It’s absolutely fine. I played through Hades and Hollow Knight without any motion blur bothering me.

The overdrive implementation is where AOC has done a proper job. There are three settings: Off, Medium, and Strong. Off is too slow – you get visible trailing. Strong introduces overshoot (inverse ghosting) where you see halos behind moving objects. Medium is the Goldilocks zone. Transitions are fast enough for 100Hz without introducing artifacts.

Input lag measured at around 10ms, which is excellent for a budget monitor. Combined with the 10ms frame time at 100Hz, you’re looking at total system latency that’s competitive with much pricier displays. Competitive FPS players will still want 240Hz+ monitors, but for everyone else? This is responsive enough.

I calibrated this panel with my X-Rite i1Display Pro, and honestly? It barely needed it. The gamma curve tracked 2.2 almost perfectly, and the colour temperature was already at 6600K. After calibration, I got Delta E down to 1.4, but the difference was marginal. Most people won’t need to calibrate this at all.

The 72% DCI-P3 coverage tells you this isn’t a wide gamut monitor. That’s fine. sRGB is still the standard for web content, Windows, and most games. Wide gamut matters for professional video work and HDR content, which brings us to…

There’s no HDR here, and I’m genuinely glad AOC didn’t slap a meaningless “HDR” badge on this. Budget monitors that claim HDR support with 250 nits brightness and no local dimming? They’re lying. The “HDR” mode just crushes blacks and blows out highlights. AOC has done the right thing by focusing on good SDR performance instead.

Black uniformity is where IPS panels always struggle, and this one’s no exception. In a completely dark room, you’ll see backlight bleed in the corners. It’s not terrible – I’ve seen much worse on monitors costing three times as much – but it’s there. If you watch a lot of dark content (horror games, dark films), this will bother you more than someone who mainly plays bright, colourful games.

The 100Hz refresh rate hits a sweet spot for budget gaming. Modern GPUs can push 1080p at 100fps without breaking a sweat. My RTX 3060 was averaging 95-110fps in most games at high settings, which meant I was actually using that full refresh rate. With a 144Hz monitor, I’d be sat at 100fps anyway, so why pay extra for headroom I’m not using?

Dark scene performance is where the IPS panel shows its limitations. Playing through the Tomb of the Giants in Dark Souls, the low contrast meant I was squinting to see details in shadows. The IPS glow also became more noticeable. If you play a lot of horror games or dark atmospheric titles, you’ll notice this. Bright, colourful games like Fortnite or Rocket League? No issues whatsoever.

Console compatibility is solid. I tested it with a PS5, and it happily accepted a 1080p 100Hz signal over HDMI. Most PS5 games are targeting 60fps anyway, but the handful that offer 120fps modes (like Call of Duty) will run at 100Hz on this display. Not quite the full 120, but close enough that you won’t notice.

The stand itself is stable enough once assembled, but it’s clearly made from cheap plastic. There’s a bit of wobble if you bump the desk, though it’s not bad enough to be distracting during normal use. The base is small, which is nice for saving desk space.

Build quality is… fine. It’s plastic throughout, with thin bezels on three sides and a slightly thicker bottom bezel with the AOC logo. The panel doesn’t feel premium, but it doesn’t feel like it’s going to fall apart either. It’s a budget monitor that looks and feels like a budget monitor. No surprises there.

The HDMI 1.4 port has enough bandwidth for 1080p at 100Hz, which is perfect for console gaming. DisplayPort is your better option for PC use since it supports adaptive sync more reliably, but both work fine. The lack of a second HDMI port might be annoying if you want to connect multiple devices, but realistically, most people will use one input and maybe switch occasionally.

The AOC 24G4ZR is what you should buy if gaming is your primary use case. It’s got a 180Hz Fast IPS panel with much better response times. But it costs roughly double this monitor. If you’re a competitive FPS player, spend the extra money. If you’re a casual gamer who also needs a decent office monitor, this 100Hz model is the smarter choice.

There’s also the 27-inch version of this exact monitor from AOC. Same panel technology, same refresh rate, just bigger. At 27 inches, 1080p gives you 81 PPI instead of 92 PPI – text will look slightly less sharp. If you sit close to your monitor (typical desk setup), stick with 24 inches. If you sit further back or want a bigger screen for couch gaming, the 27-inch makes sense.

Let’s talk about what you’re actually getting for the money. In the budget tier, most 100Hz+ monitors either use cheap TN panels (terrible viewing angles) or VA panels with slow response times. IPS panels with 100Hz refresh rates usually sit in the mid-range bracket. This AOC somehow delivers IPS quality at a budget price.

The panel itself is legitimately good. The colour accuracy, sRGB coverage, and out-of-box calibration are better than monitors costing twice as much. Where AOC has saved money is in the stand (basic plastic, minimal adjustment), the build materials (all plastic), and the feature set (no USB hub, no speakers, basic connectivity). Those are smart compromises because they don’t affect the actual viewing experience.

If you spend another £50-70 to get into the mid-range bracket, what do you get? Usually a better stand with height adjustment, maybe USB-C connectivity, possibly a USB hub. The panel quality often isn’t significantly better. For pure image quality and gaming performance, this budget AOC punches well above its price point.

If you’re upgrading from a 60Hz monitor and don’t want to spend mid-range money, this is it. You’re getting 67% more frames per second, better colour accuracy than most budget displays, and adaptive sync that actually works. The motion clarity isn’t competitive-gaming-level, but it’s absolutely fine for casual play and massively better than 60Hz.