AOC U2868 Monitor

I had connection problems with this. I do not recommend this monitor at all because I had a lot of issues with it.

Have owned this monitor for approx 1 year now and can honestly say am disappointed with this product. I purchased this monitor as part of my new gaming setup which in total cost over £1,200. This monitor has been nothing but trouble.

It seems that his monitor refuses to 'wake up' and often does not switch to the correct input when the pc is started. The DVI, HDMI and VGA connections work sometimes but the DisplayPort connection is a real pain. It often give the 'no signal' message when using the DisplayPort and even refuses to show the EUFI/Bios screen on startup. Infact, access to the EUFI is not possible through the DP and I have to attach a VGA cable.

A previous reviewer mentioned something about a 19 pin DP cable but I am using the cable supplied with the monitor, which I assume is a 20 pin.

I have managed to find a work around for the DisplayPort issue and now the monitor always successfully detects the input type and works every time I turn on the PC.

It took a lot of trial and error but this is what I have done;

1. Attach both DVI and DisplayPort cables to the monitor and connect both to the PC (assumming you graphics card has both these connections - mine does)

2. Set the input on the monitor as DisplayPort - Make sure it is set to 1.2 in the OSD setup.

Always leave the monitor and do not turn it off.

When you start the pc it will auto switch to DisplayPort and will go to sleep when the pc is shutdown. Since the monitor remains in standby (orange/yellow light) it successfully wakes up when you power on your PC.

This solution has worked for me and have not needed to mess about for a few months now.

AOC really need pull their finger out and sort this problem.

Good quality monitor but let down by serious connection problems. I have been suffering from no signal problems since the start and eventually learnt that you have to turn the monitor on first for a few seconds and then your PC. If the monitor ever goes to sleep though you are screwed and have to turn the monitor off for a minute and then restart your computer. Same if you just do a simply restart with the computer.

I recently contacted AOC support about it and whilst they are quick to respond their solution was a waste of time because they wouldn't explain how you actually solve it and said you have to contact your computer manufacturer to enable it to display DP. This is nonsense because it's either the motherboard manufacturer (and there's no such setting) or it's an OS issue - which would be generic and therefore they would be able to tell you how to do it.

Basically, they either don't really know or they are not being truthful about what's really wrong.

I have eventually found out what the problem is and it's the DP cable. Apparently pin 20 sends a voltage back to the graphics card and causes a handshake issue between this and the monitor. There are very few genuine DP approved cables (many have the symbol but are not genuine). You either have to tape off the pin 20 (very difficult and can risk damaging the port on your graphics card - fortunately I have another two) or you have to buy a specific 19 pin DP cable. I can't do this because my GTX970 uses mini ports.

The supplied AOC monitor cable has the pin 20 enabled.

So, it looks like it's HDMI and a lesser resolution. Not very happy and I won't be buying AOC ever again.

UPDATE:

I thought I would update on my previous comments. I bought a dedicated 19-pin Display Port cable and it actually solved the problem! For a few days. Then it all returned. Now I'm even getting the same problems with the HDMI cable and to increase the chances of the monitor actually working you have switch the monitor on first and wait about 30 seconds before turning your computer on.

I've also read online that it could be a capacitor issue where there may be one which isn't discharging properly or something, but I'm not sure.

AOC are hopeless and basically washing their hands of it all. It's a real shame because the monitor itself is very good for the price but this problem makes it incredibly frustrating. It's like having a great car but never knowing if it will start properly in the morning - takes all the enjoyment out of it.

I'm going to stick with the major brands in future, I guess you do get what you pay for after all.