Curvaceous and colourful – just how we like our monitors
We’ve had a number of great examples of curved monitors through our door in recent months. Both BenQ and Samsung have produced some excellent displays with curved panels, including an array of screen enhancing technologies.
Now it’s AOC’s turn with the C3583FQ. This is a 35" VA panel with a 160Hz refresh rate, contrast ratio of 2000:1, dynamic contrast ratio of 50,000,000:1, a response time of 4ms and, of course, the icing on the cake, a large screen curve of 2000R.
Connectivity is generous and consists of VGA, DVI, dual HDMI and dual DisplayPorts. Even the 5W speakers are surprisingly good and put the usual 1W or 2W examples to shame. As for ergonomics, the only thing you get is a tilt of -3º to 15º; it’s not a huge amount, but it’s sufficient for a seated position.
Obviously, the most striking thing is the large curved screen; it will dominate your desk once you’ve put the monitor in place, and when sitting a couple of feet away, the screen takes up your entire field of vision.
As well as the screen, there are pretty good design decisions. For one, the large flat base, with its curved inward front, features touch-sensitive controls, subtly labelled along one end and above a polished aluminium strip. The base is plastic and quite heavy – more than enough to keep the monitor stable and reduce shaking when typing. It also has a brushed metal look to it, which fits in well with the glossy bezel and the overall design of the monitor.
The inputs are lined up at the back of the base, as opposed to them being mounted to the back of the screen. This, we think, is a good design choice on the part of AOC, as it makes everything seem a little neater. Protruding from the base is a thick, polished metal looking plastic arm that connects to the back of the screen – with the inputs, power and audio ports either side of the join to the arm and the base.
Looks aside, the C3583FQ performs well. The flicker-free, anti-glare screen is crystal clear, and with support for AMD FreeSync (with a compatible graphics card), there is no tearing, stutter or lag when gaming of viewing rapidly changing scenes. The colours are bright, and there’s a high degree of sharpness to the image that’s quite pleasing to the eye.
Naturally, this monitor isn’t going to be able to compete with any of the Quantum Dot displays that are currently available, but for a VA panel, it’s remarkably good.
The current price of the AOC C3583FQ averages around £500, but we have seen one or two examples that have dropped the price down to a more manageable £420. It’s still a lot of money to fork out for a single monitor, admittedly, but considering you’re getting an exceptional curved screen, it’s not too bad. David Hayward
An excellent curved screen, with a crystal clear display.