AOC C3583FQ: a 35-inch monitor limited to video games

Presentation

The AOC C3583FQ has a curved 35 inch VA panel (radius of curvature of 2 m) with a relatively limited definition of 2,560 x 1080 px. It stands out from the competition thanks to FreeSync / AdaptiveSync compatibility which ensures a smooth image between 48 and 146 Hz and an overclocking of the refresh rate up to 160 Hz. The AOC C3583FQ is sold for around 800 €, or 100 € less than its direct competitor, the BenQ XR3501.

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Ergonomics

Even if it mainly targets players, this monitor sports a rather sober design which contrasts with competing products stamped "gamer". The screen is mostly black, with edges and back entirely made of shiny black plastic, a very sensitive coating with fingerprints.

On the side, AOC opted for a brushed imitation aluminum plastic. As you can see in this photo, the foot adjustments are extremely limited (tilt between -3 ° and + 15 °). There is no pivot, the stand does not allow rotation or height adjustment.

The quality of the two 5 W speakers leaves, as often, to be desired. They allow you to watch a video, but not to enjoy a movie or listen to music; for that, you will have to turn to a speaker kit.

The connectors are grouped together at the back of the foot, which allows better cable management. AOC offers very complete connectivity (two DisplayPort inputs, two HDMI inputs, one DVI input, one VGA input, one audio input and one headphone output). It only needs a USB hub to complete the picture.

Four tactile buttons located on the foot allow access to the different settings and to the source change. Nothing new on this side, the navigation is still laborious and the menus are not always clear. The OSD allows you to adjust the brightness, contrast, gamma, color temperature and overdrive.

By lowering the brightness to 33 to obtain a white at 150 cd / m², the AOC C3583FQ monitor consumes 27 watts, ie a relative consumption of only 61 W / m², much lower than the average of monitors (100 W / m²) and which makes it, to date, the least greedy monitor in our comparison. Consumption drops to 18 W with minimum brightness (47 cd / m²) and increases to 55 W with maximum brightness (353 cd / m²).

With the non-height adjustable stand, the other big drawback of this monitor is its definition limited to 2560 x 1080 px. This definition clearly handicaps use in office automation and even on the Internet. This gives the impression of not really exploiting the size of the screen. However, this low definition is an asset in games: the graphics card is less stressed and it is therefore possible to display more images per second.

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Colors and contrast

Default: average gray temperature: 6,450 K

Default: gamma curve at 2.5

Default: Average Delta E at 4.6

Out of the box, the AOC C3583FQ displays honorable results. The temperature is perfect (average at 5460 K), the gamma curve is relatively stable, but - probably targeting a value of 2.4 - the average is measured at 2.5. Finally, the color fidelity is quite relative with an average Delta E at 4.6 - the eye no longer makes the difference below 3.

Manual adjustment: average gray temperature: 6 510 K

Manual adjustment: gamma curve at 2.1

Manual setting: Delta E medium at 3.1

A quick tour in the OSD settings improves the rendering. We set the brightness to 33 to get a white at 150 cd / m² and then set the gamma to the "gamma 2" setting. With an average of 6510 K, the temperature is still perfect while the gamma curve stabilizes on an average of 2.1, closer to the expected 2.2. Color fidelity is greatly improved since the Delta E approaches the fateful value of 3 with its average measured at 3.1.

Calibrated: average gray temperature: 6,650 K

Calibrated: gamma curve at 2.2

Calibrated: Delta E medium at 1.8

Calibrating the monitor to the probe with a color profile makes it possible to perfectly smooth the gamma curve (average at 2.2) and further improve the color fidelity (delta E average at 1.8). The temperature increases slightly, but the curve remains linear and close to the 6,500 K reference. The color profile is available on Focus Numérique.

VA technology achieves an interesting contrast ratio of 1980: 1, far ahead of what monitors with TN or IPS panels offer (around 1000: 1). However, this value remains very far from the contrast measured on the best VA panels (the Eizo Fortis FG2421 and BenQ BL2410PT exceed 3000: 1).

The average difference in homogeneity is measured at only 10% over the entire 35-inch panel, a correct value, the eye not seeing any variation below 20%. We observed slight light leaks in the corners, but the screen was not affected by a clouding phenomenon. The curved shape also avoids the problems of viewing angles due to VA technology. Placed 70/80 cm from the monitor, we notice very little loss of brightness at the edges of the image.

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Reactivity

The AOC C3583FQ monitor does not use Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) to adjust the power of the backlight, and therefore the brightness. This modulation usually varies the intensity of the LEDs cyclically, a phenomenon which is perceived as flickering by certain sensitive people. In some rare cases, this modulation can induce eyestrain and headaches. So there is no such problem with this monitor.

With the overdrive set to medium, we measured an average remanence time of 9 ms, with no ghosting effect. This is a very good value for a VA * panel. * Switching to the High setting causes - as often - the appearance of a phenomenon of reverse ghosting (a negative trail appears behind a moving object) quite annoying. We therefore prefer the Medium setting, which already offers satisfactory performance. With a remanence time of 9 ms and a refresh of 144 Hz and even 160 Hz via Windows settings, this monitor can actually display 110 frames per second. Unfortunately, the delay in the display (input lag) measured at 28.5 ms comes to hold the table. There is therefore 1.5 images of delay compared to the source, which can be notable for competitive players, especially on FPS type games.

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Conclusion

With its diagonal of 35 inches, the AOC C3583FQ monitor is very comfortable for the player, especially since the limited definition allows games to run smoothly. However, it remains handicapped by its low definition in height in other tasks, by the lack of height adjustment and especially by a delay in the display which prohibits de facto the most relentless players.

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