Introduction and Specifications & Pricing

We've gotten our grubby little hands-on the latest gaming monitor from the display company that most have had at least some experience with. That's right, we've got in a monitor from AOC, a company known for supplying monitors to the education and business markets.
However, we have a gaming-focused model from the company, so sit down, strap in, and get ready for a gaming wild ride as we put the AOC G2460PQU 144Hz monitor through its paces.
Specifications and Pricing
The G2460PQU (from here on out, G2460) is a 24-inch LED widescreen display. The panel features the standard 1920 x 1080 resolution that most have come to expect from a monitor of this size, though a bump to 1920 x 1200 or 2560 x 1440 would be appreciated. The panel itself is of the Twisted Nematic Film (TN Film) variety, which means that color reproduction will not be as strong as an IPS monitor, but the cost of the monitor should be quite a bit less than an IPS display.
Being of the TN variety, viewing angles are not as good as other monitors on the market, specifically IPS-type monitors. The more off-center you view the monitor, the darker and more off the colors will become. The G2460 is rated by AOC to have a viewing angle of 170 degrees horizontally and 160 degrees vertically. At, say, 45 degrees or so off of center horizontally, parts of the screen start to discolor and darken. Vertically, the same happens at around 30 degrees, give or take.
The stand for the monitor is incredibly versatile, offering both angle and height adjustments, in addition to being very sturdily built. The stand can also rotate the monitor to portrait mode and also features rotation upon its stand. The monitor is backlit with LED light, which makes this monitor fairly efficient and bright. The monitor also features a built-in USB 2.0 hub, with one port on the side of the monitor being able to be used as a charging port.
Regarding the technical specs, the G2460 features a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz, one of the main selling points of the monitor; a response time of 1ms; a contrast ratio of 80,000,000:1; a rated brightness of 350 cd/m2; and support of 16.7 million colors. On the connector front, it features VGA, Dual Link DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort inputs. The monitor also has built-in speakers.
PRICING: You can find the AOC G2460PQU for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.
United States: The AOC G2460PQU retails for $399.90 at Amazon.
Canada: The AOC G2460PQU retails for CDN$987.31 at Amazon Canada.
Unboxing, Assembly, and Port Layout
Unboxing and Packaging
As far as packaging goes, the G2460PQU was shipped inside of a highly decorated box that featured yellow and white racecars on the front and back. The box covered some of the more important aspects, including the refresh rate and response time.

Upon opening the box, you can see the cords are wrapped in plastic bags and are placed in various compartments inside the foam packaging.

Below, you can see everything that was included in the box and roughly how it was all packaged.


Assembly
Assembly of the monitor is incredibly simple and does not require a single tool, though a Phillips screwdriver would definitely help.

Simply place the base upon the monitor's stand and tighten the screw using the built-in metal loop or a Phillips screwdriver.
Port Layout
You can see in the picture below the layout of the ports.

From left to right (in the picture, opposite when viewed from front of monitor), we have the USB-in for the hub; two USB 2.0 ports; the physical power switch; AC power in; DisplayPort; VGA port; Dual Link DVI port; HDMI port; audio-in port; and headphone out jack.
Test Results

Power Consumption
Power consumption is measured at the wall with a blank Word document open and the monitor on as bright as it can go.

The G2460PQU used 30 watts while on full brightness with a Word document open. Compared to the Acer monitor in the charts, that is getting pretty close to double the consumption. But will it result in a brighter screen?
Brightness
We use a LX1010B light meter to measure brightness in Lux. The monitor is placed in the center of the screen on a blank Word document with the monitor at full brightness.

Simply put, yes, the higher power consumption results in a much brighter screen. The G2460 is absolutely blinding at full brightness, but the brightness would be appreciated if I were working in a brighter room. At full brightness, you can see we measured 541 Lux coming from the screen.
Lux-per-Watt
We use this as a way to measure a monitor's efficiency. It is simply the monitor's brightness divided by its power draw.

As you can see above, the G2460 produces just 18 Lux-per-Watt, showing that the additional brightness comes at the cost of efficiency.
Impressions and Final Thoughts
Now that we've covered the hard facts, let's just see how the subjective appeal of the monitor fares. I'll admit I was never sold on the idea of a 120Hz monitor by my limited use of them. Other members of the gaming clan I am apart of swear by them, but my limited use had never provided me with the chance to see their benefit.
Now that I've gotten to spend some time with a 144Hz monitor, I'll say that I am impressed. It's not so much the gaming that has me impressed, but rather the 2D scrolling of webpages and Word docs. I'm a boring person, spending most of my day in Word and on Facebook.
I have spent plenty of time in Battlefield 4 with frame rates in excess of 120, which tests out the monitor's 144Hz capability. While I'm not inclined to say I did any better as a result of the higher refresh rate, I did notice that turning my head (the camera) quickly was vastly improved.
So, let's move on to final thoughts. Judging from the price I'm seeing online (around $250, give or take), the AOC G2460PQU does carry a bit of a price premium over other 24-inch 1080p displays with similar stands. Where it excels is in its 144Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time. Other beneficial areas are the integrated USB 2.0 hub, plethora of input options, and build quality. The monitor feels solid.
When it comes down to it, the AOC G2460PQU is an excellent choice for a gaming monitor to add to your arsenal, if a high refresh rate is more important than color reproduction and resolution. Because of the multitude of features, we are awarding the AOC G2460PQU with the TweakTown Best Features award.
PRICING: You can find the AOC G2460PQU for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.
United States: The AOC G2460PQU retails for $399.90 at Amazon.
Canada: The AOC G2460PQU retails for CDN$987.31 at Amazon Canada.