AGON AGP257FT pushes esports monitors to an overclocked 1050Hz

AGON, the gaming brand of AOC, has announced the AGP257FT, a 24.5-inch Full HD esports monitor whose panel can be overclocked to 1050Hz. The company made the announcement in Los Angeles on 6 October. It is one of the first monitors officially announced with a refresh rate above 1000Hz, although the press release did not include a price or a shipping date.

The specifications below come from AOC’s own published spec sheet. EsportsSignal has not tested the monitor, and the figures should be read as manufacturer claims until independent reviews appear.

Key specifications (manufacturer data)

How AOC reaches 1050Hz

AOC says the panel uses an Oxide thin-film transistor backplane combined with fast-response liquid crystal materials and what it calls an integrated GIA circuit design. In plain terms, Oxide backplanes can drive pixels faster than conventional amorphous-silicon designs, which is why they are increasingly used in very high refresh rate panels.

The spec sheet also shows an important detail: both DisplayPort 2.1 and HDMI 2.1 are listed as reaching 1000Hz at 1920 x 1080 with 10-bit 4:4:4 colour, with the 1050Hz figure listed as an overclock. HDMI 2.1 needs Display Stream Compression (DSC) for this, according to the sheet.

What 1050Hz means in practice

The arithmetic is simple. At 1050Hz, a new frame can be displayed every 0.95 milliseconds. At 540Hz, the frame interval is about 1.85ms, and at 360Hz it is about 2.78ms. Going from 540Hz to 1050Hz therefore roughly halves the time between frames.

There is a catch. A monitor can only show new frames if the PC produces them. To benefit fully, a Counter-Strike 2 player would need to sustain frame rates around 1000 frames per second, which in practice means a top-end CPU, low graphics settings and a well-optimised system. Most players will see the panel’s speed in motion clarity long before they reach its full frame-rate ceiling.

The 0.1ms MPRT figure is also worth reading carefully. MPRT measures perceived motion blur and is usually quoted with a backlight strobing mode active, here Motion Blur Reduction Plus (MBR+). The GtG figures of 1ms average and 0.3ms minimum describe the actual pixel transition times and are a better guide to the panel’s raw speed.

Why it matters for esports

Most Counter-Strike 2 tournament setups still use 360Hz to 540Hz panels at 1920 x 1080. Professional players have been early adopters of every step up in refresh rate, from 144Hz to 240Hz and then 360Hz, because smoother motion helps with tracking targets and reading fast peeks. A 1000Hz class panel is the next step in that progression.

AOC also highlights eye-comfort features aimed at long practice sessions: a hardware low-blue-light solution, flicker-free operation and TÜV Rheinland-certified circular polarisation, which the company says reaches more than 50% circularity.

Other specifications

Beyond the headline numbers, the spec sheet lists a 1000:1 typical contrast ratio, an anti-glare surface with 25% haze, 8-bit colour (16.7 million colours) and a W-LED backlight. Connectivity includes a USB 3.2 Gen 1 hub with three Type-A downstream ports and a 3.5mm audio output. The stand offers 150mm of height adjustment, 90 degrees of pivot in both directions and 28 degrees of swivel, which matters for players who rotate or tilt their screens at LAN events.

About AGON and AOC

AOC was founded in 1967 and is a subsidiary of TPV Technology, one of the world’s largest display manufacturers. AGON is AOC’s gaming sub-brand, which the company describes, citing 2025 IDC reports, as the world’s number one gaming monitor brand for seven consecutive years.

What we still do not know

• Price and regional availability have not been announced.
• G-SYNC Compatible certification is listed as under testing.
• Independent measurements of overdrive behaviour at 1050Hz are not yet available.
• It is not yet clear whether tournament organisers will adopt 1000Hz-class monitors for LAN events.

Until reviews are published, the AGP257FT is best seen as a statement of where esports displays are heading. EsportsSignal will update this article when pricing and independent test data become available.

Sources: AGON by AOC press release (PR Newswire)