AOC's chonky new budget gaming headsets aren't what we were expecting from the display maker

AOC GH300 Gaming Headset
(Image credit: AOC)

The crowded gaming headset market just got a little more populous with two new models from AOC, a newcomer to the category and a company best known for its gaming monitors. AOC's first headsets, the GH200 and GH300, stand out as two of the more affordable options on the market.

As such, both models fall squarely into the budget category. The higher end GH300 costs £49 and is pitched as the 'deluxe' option among the two. It features 7.1 virtual surround sound on PC, a USB connector, and RGB lighting.

The GH200, meanwhile, costs £39 and delivers stereo sound by way of a 3.5mm connector, giving it a wider range of devices it can work with, such as certain smartphones and tablets. It also comes with a Y-splitter so users can split the microphone and headphone outputs, if desired. There's no RGB lighting (or any lighting) on this model.

(Image credit: AOC)

We have not donned either headset yet, but from the press images provided, they certainly look comfortable enough, especially for their respective price points. Each model sports an adjustable steel slider headband (padded), with AOC saying they are "guaranteed to fit" regardless of the size of your head, or whether you wear a cap or eyeglasses. Weight checks in at 326.5 grams (~0.7 pounds) for the GH200 and 363.5 grams (~0.8 pounds) for the GH300.

Being a couple of budget headphones, it's not surprising AOC opted for faux leather on the earcups. Memory foam padding sits underneath, along with metal mesh covers on the sides.

Though the capabilities are different between the two models, the GH200 and GH300 each pump out audio through large 50mm Neodymium magnet drivers. These have a sensitivity rating of 100 ± 3dB (at 1KH 1mW), a frequency range of 20Hz to 20KHz, and a max power rating of 50mW (rated power is 15mW).

Each headset has an in-line remote and a detachable boom microphone as well.

Cut the cord...

(Image credit: Steelseries)

Best wireless gaming mouse: ideal cable-free rodents
Best wireless gaming keyboard: no wires, no worries
Best wireless gaming headset: top untethered audio

"The omnidirectional boom microphone can be optimally adjusted for comfort and audio levels. With the 100Hz – 10kHz frequency range, which corresponds to that of human speech, it filters out noise at both very low and very high frequencies to deliver clear audio and speech quality," AOC says.

In general, we have not been super impressed with the quality of microphones on headsets—the best microphones for streaming and gaming generally tend to be standalone models, like the Shure MV7 and Blue Yeti X. For that reason, we're tempering our expectations here. Given the budget pricing, however, AOC could be forgiven if the mics on these headsets don't live up to the hype (we'd be happy with serviceable). We'll see, though.

The GH200 and GH300 will be available in the UK starting in May. We have reached out to AOC to inquire about availability and pricing in the US (they're only listed on the company's UK website for the time being) and will update this article when we hear back.

Paul Lilly

Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).

Read more
Sennheiser HD 550 on a white box.
Sennheiser says it 'will not become a gaming brand' but its new HD 550 are a good excuse to use audiophile headphones for gaming
The OXS Storm G2 gaming headset on a black table
OXS Storm G2 review
The Alienware Pro Wireless Gaming Headset on a table, showing the Alienware logo on the side of the left earcup.
Alienware Pro Wireless gaming headset review
The XPG Precog wired gaming headset on a neutral carpeted background.
XPG Precog Studio gaming headset review
The Corsair HS65, a wired gaming headset in white and grey, floats in a teal void.
Corsair's HS65 gaming headset is the successor to my fav budget set of cans, and for just $50 it may well convince me to upgrade
Acezone Aspire headset on a blue background
The best noise cancelling gaming headset we've tried is now over $100 off at Amazon and I'm tempted
Latest in Gaming Monitors
Samsung 3D monitor
Samsung has a crack at ye olde glasses-free 3D monitor thing but its new cheaper 49-inch ultrawide OLED is far more interesting
Acer Predator Z57 dual-4K monitor
Acer Predator Z57 gaming monitor review
Sony RGB LED panel tech
Sony's fixing the wrong panel problems while showing off its new 'RGB LED' backlight tech with outrageous colours and brightness
Alienware 27 AW2725Q QD-OLED
Alienware 27 AW2725Q QD-OLED review
Asus's new ultrawide sucks as hard as it blows
Asus' new monitors purify 90% of airborne dust from your desktop and I've definitely seen some gnarly gaming setups that would benefit
Asus ROG Swift PG27UCDM gaming monitor
Asus ROG Swift PG27UCDM review
Latest in News
A mech awakens.
Mecha Break developer is considering unlocking all mechs following open beta feedback
Lara Croft Unified Art
Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics lays off 17 employees 'to better align our current business needs and the studio's future success'
A long bendy arm stealing money from people in a subway car
'You're a very long arm. You steal things. It's a comedy game,' explains developer of comedy game where you steal things with a very long arm
The heroes are attacked by monsters
Pillars of Eternity is getting turn-based combat to mark its 10th anniversary, and that means PC Gamer editors will soon be arguing about combat mechanics again
Image of Ronaldo from Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves trailer
It doesn't really make sense that soccer star Ronaldo is now a Fatal Fury character, but if you follow the money you can see how it happened
Junah beginning a battle in Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Today's RPG fans are 'very sensitive to feeling like they wasted time' when they die, says Metaphor: ReFantazio battle planner—but Atlus still made combat hard anyway