A byword for style, the Porsche brand is a genuine icon of its time. When AOC dropped the Porsche Design PD27 on our doorstep, Gamespace couldn’t wait to find out if this unexpected crossover packs performance fitting of the name.
Gaming crossovers are a precarious thing, especially when lifestyle brands get involved. For every high fashion League of Legends crossover there’s a $10,000 Xbox that seems perplexingly out of place. With the launch of the Porsche Design AOC AGON PD27, AOC seems to be aiming for a fusion of sublime design and pristine performance to fill a special place on your desktop. Available now at a price of just under £600 or local equivalent, this 27 inch curved display might very well be the monitor to let your top tier GPU off the chain.
Specifications
Screen
- Screen size: 27 inch
- Resolution: 2560×1440
- Refresh rate: 240Hz
- Response Time (MPRT): 0.5 ms
- HDR Vesa Certified DisplayHDR™ 400
- Panel Type VA
- Sync Range 48 – 240
- Sync Technology AdaptiveSync
- Backlight WLED
- Brightness (typical) 550
- sRGB Coverage (%) (CIE 1931) 119
- Adobe RGB Coverage (%) (CIE 1931) 89
- Contrast (dynamic) 80M:1
- Contrast (static) 2500:1
- Viewing angle (CR10) 178/178 º
- Display Colours 16.7 Million
- Scanning Frequency HDMI2.0: 30k-230kHz (H) DP1.4: 30k-360kHz (H) // HDMI2.0:48-144Hz (V) DP1.4:48-240HZ(V)
Connections
- Signal Input HDMI 2.0 x 2, DisplayPort 1.4 x 2
- USB Hub
- USB input USB 3.2(Gen1) x2
- Audio Input Microphone in
- Audio output Headphone out (3,5mm)
- Built-in Speakers 5 W x 2
Unboxing
Even the dark packaging that insulates the PD27 from peering eyes seems to set it apart from other devices. While other options might come in more form fitting boxes, the PD27 is packed into in a hefty package that demands a bit more attention than the average delivery. First out the box, and sitting atop the PD27’s major components, is a stylish presentation box. This luxurious looking container is branded with the AGON and Porsche Design labels, seemingly set to impress upon new owners that the PD27 is a step above the norm. It’s the kind of extra attention to detail we might expect from a luxury brand. While it only serves as a container for the manuals, power supply, DP cable, HDMI cable, audio cables, and wireless keypad, it still manages to set an expectation that something special awaits.
Slide it out the rest of the PD27, and the reason for its unusually cardboard box becomes apparent. The sweeping curve of the panel is significantly more prominent than many on the market and comes in at 1000R. Not only does that mean this will take up plenty of volume back to front, but it will require a decent desk depth. Just over 10 cm for the display alone. Combined with a single piece stand that isn’t about to sacrifice on style, the components that make up the PD27 are cloistered up in two substantial pieces of foam that come apart easily enough. While that doesn’t make this particularly easy to recycle, there’s little likelihood of anything falling apart during shipping.
First Impressions
Piecing the PD27 together is both incredibly quick and a lot more difficult than we suspected it would be. As a single piece, the PD27 is as cinch to understand. Simply pull out the pre-assembled parts and slot them onto a desk. The awkwardness comes due to the unwieldy nature of the design. Both the sporty stand and the display are weighty objects, neither of which give much compromise to the buyer, so just be aware that both are heavy. We’d recommend finding plenty of room before moving the PD27 and securing a desk space of around 40cm x 57cm to make sure it has ample space to park.
The PD27 is definitely a unique take in marketplace that is all too often filled with predictable RGB and aggressively angled options. Instead of the classic gamer construct, a boxy amalgamation of angular backplates and flashing LED accompaniments, the PD27 leans into a deep well of motorsport heritage. The prominent curvature of this display might already conjure images of the 911’s convex rear end, but the PD27 is out to make a much bolder statement than this. The chrome plated metal stand is possibly the centrepiece of this design. Taking inspiration from motorsport roll cages, the contiguous element makes a stark impression and is a visual counterpoint to the plainly colored plastic housing of the main panel. The PD27 ties this contrast of metal stand and plastic display housing together with a bottom bezel and some silver lettering that reads ‘Porsche Design’. If this branding accelerated past unnoticed, then the back of the PD27 is appropriately covered in AOC and Porsche branding and comes fitted with radiator fins that are very evocative of the Cayman 718.
This marriage of motorsport and desktop tech isn’t entirely bereft of any gaming glamour, however. While the materials and design choices all scream performance, there’s still some room for a bit of bling. Set into the centre of the main stand is Logo projector. Like the AOC AG324UX it adds a little extra to anybody looking to show off some brand loyalty, although I’m not entirely convinced that this fits with the sort of understated style that a Porsche aficionado is going to be aiming for. A line of RGB LEDs slots in along the bottom of the screen and comes twinned with a more substantial RGB element between the stand and the back of the display housing. Fully programmable via the AOC G-Menu software, this adds a total of 14 different lighting scenarios and bathes the surrounding desktop in the reflected glory of a rather unique setup. All things considered, The PD27 is far from average, and while it might be suited to a very particular palette, it demands attention.
Under the Hood
Whether it’s a top-of-the-line sportscar or an expensive gaming monitor, there’s only so far fashion can fuel you. It’s what’s under the hood that really counts. The PD27 might make a statement from the outset but it isn’t left standing once powered on. Backed by a VA panel it can output up to 2560×1440, so is perfect for 1440p gaming. While that might not be close enough to 4K for some, speed is the real goal. The PD27 comes in at a blisteringly fast 240Hz and advertises some impressive response times of 0.5 ms. Combined with AdaptiveSync support, this panel shouldn’t show miss a turn in even the most demanding of simulations.
Color Performance
To the naked eye, the PD27 is a formidable device. When powered on and plugged into any modern device, the display can keep up with almost anything thrown at it. Whether it comes down to pacey side scrollers that don’t allow for a single misstep or a glorious next-generation RPG, there’s a clarity and reproduction that just seems effortless, but that’s all when you find the right gear.
The prestige that surrounds this AOC design comes with a premium price tag, but thankfully the PD27 equips itself admirably during more definitive color calibration. Consumers can expect excellent all-round coverage, especially with advertised specification of 119% of sRGB coverage. After initial calibration, the PD27 manages 100% of sRGB and 90% of P3 in our test. That’s on the higher end of what we might expect during from any panel and easily comes in around the advertised specifications. While the AdobeRGB and NTSC numbers don’t look as outstanding, this will not falter during creative moments by any means. It’s as good as can reasonably be expected before pushing the boundaries of what can even be labelled a gaming monitor in the first place.
The lighting and contrast are also similarly impressive, bringing up to 500 nits of brightness to bear when tested out of the box. The PD27 ends up being more than capable of brightening up a room with solid and consistent WLED backlight that manages an imperceptible level of variation and no obvious flicker or leakage. While the peak brightness is impressive, the PD27 is also able to shift gears easily, managing a contrast of around 2240:1 when initially measured out of the box, although HDR 400 support manages to top this out past 3000:1.
In Game
In game this means that, wandering the Forbidden West or delving down into Shadow of the Tomb Raider displays deep blacks and bright lances of sunlight all interspersed between impressive and detailed backdrops. Whether it’s scrambling through the dark of an abandoned temple, just to see a glint of treasure creep beyond the murk or watching a furious machine thrash through the open plains of the wilderness, there’s no denying the PD27’s calibre.
More Speed
Looks aren’t everything, however. When the PD27 starts to stretch its legs, things can move at a breakneck speed. RPGs like Tomb Raider might amp up the action and have glorious looking set pieces, but the PD27 can keep up with the best that esports has to offer. Pushing up to 240hz, this model should manage some crisp edges and impressive clarity even in the most panicked of scenarios. So, we started with something a little more mundane. Running through UFO testing, we were not entirely surprised to find some obvious blurring and a loss of detail down at 60HZ. In fact, anything below 120Hz managed a trailing edge discernible to the naked eye. Even with the PD27’s impressively low 0.5ms MPRT time we would recommend pushing things up to 120Hz or more to start clearing up details and eliminating any ghosting. The three overdrive options do help to varying degrees, but my personal preference would be to use the array of other options that this monitor brings to bear first, like AMD’s FreeSync Premium Pro.
When the PD27 does accelerate paste 120Hz, the combination of eye-popping colors and nippy pixel response mean playing through games like OlliOlli World feels sublime. Roll7’s high speed skateboarding sim opens with a warning that you will need a high refresh rate and FreeSync Premium Pro, which is fully supported, adds enhanced stability and HDR support to make the wild ride through Radlandia just gnarly. Although not supported, we even managed to get G-Synch to play nice, so NVIDIA card owners should benefit from the same tight corners and incredible air that we experienced.
Viewing Angles & OSD
Historically, VA panels like the PD27 have come with narrow viewing angles. It’s the nature of the technology and comes as one of the compromises to picking up great contrast and excellent color coverage. The PD27 is likely to be the centre of most desktops. As such, any extreme side eyeing will give good enough clarity but nothing more. Even rotating the PD27 around its own axis manages a mild shift in picture quality. The 100R curvature doesn’t help this either but the PD27 isn’t exactly a run of the mill monitor either. Owners of the PD27 are expected to race straight on into battle, rather than sit in the slow lane and rubber neck this display on the side of your desk.
Final Thoughts
If it wasn’t already obvious that the PD27 isn’t like other monitors, the OSD menu simply drives this home. The unique cubist arrangement of these controls is just one more piece of the Porsche Design that sets this device apart. It doesn’t change the fact the reassuringly extensive configuration options come almost directly ported from the Agon Pro line-up, but breaks with tradition in such a way that it makes everything a little hard to manage. While the pre-set options like FPS, RTS, Racing, and three present gamer modes provide plenty of different quick options, shifting between any of the other menus feels like an example of form over function. While it might even lack some of the features that the AG324UX has, like PiP, this is not a Volvo. While some odd decisions might roll off the factory line, there is no denying that the PD27 performs fantastically while looking and sounding incredible. Beyond the mix of black and chrome, RGB lighting adds a touch of flare without descending into racer boy territory, and DTS sound support manages to hold up surprisingly well, the PD27 is impressive before it even really gets going. Floor it, and the speedy response times, ridiculous refresh rate and fantastic contrast mean the Porsche Design AGON PD27 one of the best. YOu can check out more over on the official PD27 product page now.
