Connectivity

We see nothing out of the ordinary in terms of available video inputs. Much like any other G-Sync monitor, the AOC AGON AG271QG is equipped with HDMI 1.4 and DisplayPort 1.2 inputs, with only the latter being viable if you plan to fully utilize its high refresh rate, 1440p resolution, and the G-Sync feature itself. The HDMI port is mainly there so you can connect a gaming console, should you prefer this monitor over gaming on the TV in your living room. As a reminder, the HDMI interface is limited to 2560x1440 at 60 Hz. Next to the video inputs is a microphone output. The presence of this port could confuse you, but it's actually quite simple - connect it to your motherboard's microphone input (the necessary cable is provided) and you'll be able to use the monitor's microphone input on the right side with your headset.


On the other side of the monitor's rear are a USB 3.0 upstream port and a pair of USB 3.0 downstream plugs. Should you like to plug your peripherals into your monitor, these are the ports you'll most likely use as they're too hard to reach to be suitable for USB memory sticks, external hard-drives, SD card readers, or other such devices you would only use temporarily. The AOC AGON AG271QG gets its power from an external power brick, so the corresponding connector on the rear of the monitor is small.


On the right side of the monitor are two more USB 3.0 ports of which one is painted yellow. That one is powered, which means it can be used even when the PC (and the monitor) is turned off. The idea is obvious - you can use it to recharge your smartphone, wireless mouse, or anything else of that sort. Next to the USB ports are standard 3.5-millimeter audio input and output plugs.

You may want to know how long it takes the monitor to switch from an input to another, detect a signal and show the picture after it has been plugged into a running PC, or display a picture after you press the power button. You will find measurements of these three parameters below.

Power Consumption

An external power brick is used to power the monitor. I used a power meter to determine the power consumption of the monitor at various brightness levels, as well as the Sleep and Deep Sleep modes. Sleep mode activates as soon as the PC goes to sleep. After 15 minutes of being in Sleep mode, the monitor switches to Deep Sleep (unless you deactivated it in the OSD). My power consumption measurements are summed up in the chart below.



Considering that the maximum brightness of the monitor goes well above 400 nits, it comes as no surprise that its power consumption at 100% brightness is as high as it is. However, power draw at 120 nits (13% brightness in the OSD) and 250 nits (40% brightness in the OSD) is only slightly higher than that of the Acer Predator XB271HU. That still makes overall power consumption on this monitor fairly high though, so if that's something you're very careful about, well, you probably shouldn't be looking into buying a monitor of this grade.