Acer Predator X38 impressions (broken IPS)

Also fans on the gsync module are different. And allegedly the cherry picked panels are used. On both units I tried there were no vignetiing nor backlight bleed. Both are present on the casual LG models, especially the vignetting. In another words you don't play the panel lottery with monitors like Acer X38.
 
Given that there's really no PC software using HDR on the map for probably another 2 years

And yet as of the last few months I have played alone with HDR:

Saints Row the Third Remastered
Red Dead Redemption 2
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Death Stranding
Divinity 2
Doom Eternal
Far Cry 5
Final Fantasy 15

And these are just the ones "I" have played, not to mention those that I have not and those yet to come out. Also the image quality benefits brought to SDR by a "real" HDR display are a nice added bonus. I will continue to laugh at people saying "really no PC software using HDR" as it seems to have become the catch phrase of the ignorant.
 
Lol HDR content has been on PC for years!

I got my LG E6 back in 2016 and started playing HDR games with Mass Effect Andromeda in 2017 and thought it looked really good until the Windows Creators update came out that year and fucked up the HDR implmentation for that game for me.
 
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In another words you don't play the panel lottery with monitors like Acer X38.

That's excellent news! A rarity indeed.

The dark clouding is visible in games as well. I loaded Far Cry 5 and it's all over the sky. It now looks like another gaming flawed POS display, unfortunately.
Returned the display, back to the oled wall again. Dayum these gaming monitors...
lel. Buut, they will have more of these probably next week. It still got a chance.
The monitor I bought was the last available, probably it was the last for a reason, and someone had returned it before me because of the same issue. You really can only notice the dark clouding in motion and not in every game. In Far Cry 5 it is extremely visible and with such flaw, the monitor shouldn't have left the factory. Thus my hope for just one bad apple
the lack of vignetting and back light bleed is enough reason for me to keep trying the X38
lel. Buut, they will have more of these probably next week. It still got a chance.
On both units I tried

Whoops, guess not.
 
Whoops, guess not.
Yes... In theory that is. I think that Acer got cherry picked panels and broke them by bad casing design. The dark spots is not a lottery - 2 units had exactly the same issues. It didn't look like some panel variance issue, but rather like some bad design of the casing or assembly of the unit.
 
I think that Acer got cherry picked panels and broke them by bad casing design.

It didn't look like some panel variance issue, but rather like some bad design of the casing or assembly of the unit.

The mental gymnastics taking place in an attemp to defend a monitor that turned out to be just as subpar, low quality and high priced as its LG brother is is quite funny.

Mods can we get the thread title updated?

"X38, literally as bad as the LG 38" dont bother."
 
People are krazi saying the LG panel is bad!

It's actually a really beautiful display, it's picture quality is just as vibrant if not better than my LG Oled TVs. Sure its not perfect, but the beauty of the picture quality and speed of the monitor really outweighs any of the negatives, for me atleast.
 
The dark spot issue seems way worse than the vignetting on the LG to me. And this X38 costs nearly double the price of the LG, at least in the US.

edit: well not quite double, but $900 more than what I paid for the LG ($1500).
 
The 37,5" LG IPS is the best gaming panel ever made. Just find one that suits you best. In the following months there will be good choice from different manufacturers including Dell and even MSI. It has the same image quality as OLED except blacks, like I had already mentioned. Actually, it has better image quality than OLED due to better calibration and higher PPI. Just don't compare blacks and HDR. The rest is the same or better.
 
The 37,5" LG IPS is the best gaming panel ever made.

It's not even close to being the best. Unless of course you meant in setting new benchmarks for contrast levels that barely manage to match 10 year old TN panels
with vingetting that makes the LG32GK850-G look like a professional grade display.

It has the same image quality as OLED except blacks, like I had already mentioned.

Yes, you did mention. And literally every source available refutes your claim. In addition to blacks it offers a contrast level that IPS panels could only dream of, especially
this subpar 700:1 bargain bin panel. Made even more laughable by a premium price attached to what is at best, a mid range display.

Actually, it has better image quality than OLED due to better calibration and higher PPI.

It factually and objectively does not have image quality better, or even matching OLED. PPI only matters dependent upon distance. Both displays will be fair enough away the small difference
between the two, especially for multimedia usage, becomes irrelevant. Calibration is irrelevant, any user who knows what they are doing will calibrate their own display.

Just don't compare blacks and HDR. The rest is the same or better.

Sure. Just ignore the clouding, dark spots, TN level contrast, vingetting and pixel response times that WISH they could touch OLED.

But hey if telling yourself the above helps you sleep at night, all the more power to you. Not sure why you feel the need to mislead others but there you go.

The dark spot issue seems way worse than the vignetting on the LG to me. And this X38 costs nearly double the price of the LG, at least in the US.

Stop with your lies! This monitor is the best on the whole market, even better than OLED! It is the NUMBER one display unmatched in quality or price.

*cough* bullshit *cough*
 
Sure. Just ignore the clouding, dark spots, TN level contrast, vingetting and pixel response times that WISH they could touch OLED.
Of course, I say best IPS panel if one can get the monitor without the manufacturing flaws like dark clouding that I mentioned. I believe Acer will correct that, or it was simply a bad batch.

I don't see the point in responding to the rest of the illiterate dumpster fire bs flow of yours. I have had the OLED next to the X38 for several weeks and my opinion is as valid as it gets. gtfo
 
Calibration is irrelevant, any user who knows what they are doing will calibrate their own display.
This not so much. I've had no trouble calibrating IPS displays, from processional to bargain-bin to gaming models, but VA has given me hell. If I needed accurate color for a particular project, it'd be on IPS, no question, until color calibration on OLED TVs for color critical work becomes more well understood.
 
Of course, I say best IPS panel if one can get the monitor without the manufacturing flaws like dark clouding that I mentioned. I believe Acer will correct that, or it was simply a bad batch.

Wow. So first it was not a lottery, but here we are, right back to it being a lottery. Which is it? Make up your mind. PS. It wont be fixed because as far as they are concerned, working as
intended.

I don't see the point in responding to the rest of the illiterate dumpster fire bs flow of yours. I have had the OLED next to the X38 for several weeks and my opinion is as valid as it gets. gtfo

Good for you. But unlike you, I live in the reality of fact. Not opinion and make believe. You can have whatever "opinion" you like or you need to justify your bad purchases. You're still wrong,
you are still spreading misinformation and you are still making it up as you go along. If you want to live in a fantasy world go ahead, but dont mislead others. You wont respond because every
last thing I said is correct and verifiable from reviews, technical data and straight up eye-to-eye comparison.

The fact that you are going to try and argue that a TN level contrast IPS pannel is "as good as OLED if not better" could not anymore clearly demonstrate that you that you are living in a fantasy
world. The only dumster fire I see is any post of yours I find in a thread sprouting the usual nonsense.

This not so much. I've had no trouble calibrating IPS displays, from processional to bargain-bin to gaming models, but VA has given me hell. If I needed accurate color for a particular project, it'd be on IPS, no question, until color calibration on OLED TVs for color critical work becomes more well understood.

Ah fair enough. I've never tried VA for color critical work, just seems like a bad idea heh.
 
Ah fair enough. I've never tried VA for color critical work, just seems like a bad idea heh.
Monitor makers like to advertise color gamut coverage for VA like everything else; but getting those colors to be true is an exercise in frustration in my experience, at least if you're not using a VA monitor actually engineered for color work. The gaming monitor and cheap (US$300) 4k 32" VA I have both look nothing alike and cannot pass a calibration check regardless of the number of passes run.

All of my IPS panels, including the US$100 Acer special, calibrate in one pass, check out afterward, and look good to the eye.
 
Monitor makers like to advertise color gamut coverage for VA like everything else; but getting those colors to be true is an exercise in frustration in my experience, at least if you're not using a VA monitor actually engineered for color work. The gaming monitor and cheap (US$300) 4k 32" VA I have both look nothing alike and cannot pass a calibration check regardless of the number of passes run.

All of my IPS panels, including the US$100 Acer special, calibrate in one pass, check out afterward, and look good to the eye.

Ah yeah, I gave VA one final shot with my X35 and my continued attempts to live with such issues, much the same as I have struggled to ignore the sub par quality of IPS and yet it now sits on my dining room table awaiting return because as per usual once you have gone OLED, its just not even comparable.

I've only ever bothered to calibrate my IPS displays (I consider them fine for work) and I had a professional calibrate my C8 mostly because I spent so much money was like "might as well."

"This monitor is the best gaming monitor there is!"

Yeah, nah. Ill take my X27 with FALD that is actually capable of providing depth to an image because it has a workable contrast ratio. Then, the second I can dump it for the X48 other than a singular PG348Q ill keep for work, ill be vanishing this bargain basement technology from my house forever.
 
I get it; OLED is almost perfect as a technology overall and pretty much unbeatable for gaming and video. The biggest issue is that LG simply isn't targeting OLED toward desktop use from a development perspective. I wish they were, and perhaps Alienware (Dell) will do just that with LG's current panel, but even beyond the technology I still mostly just want a 38" ultrawide. And that's with an OLED in the living room and a pair of VAs on my desk right now. Wife has the IPS displays to my left and uses them for photography.

I'll say that given the limitation that VA panels have with dark smearing, I don't find the 'extra' contrast that usable over IPS for my purposes. And barring that advantage, I don't find it a useful technology period. I'd rather just have IPS, supposing that someone hasn't pulled a stupid like LG appears to have done with this panel.

And if I could have a 38" OLED with the same dimensions, well, that'd be a pretty hard choice... between one or two!
 
Wow. So first it was not a lottery, but here we are, right back to it being a lottery. Which is it? Make up your mind. PS. It wont be fixed because as far as they are concerned, working as
intended.
Well, in that case it is broken as I stated in the title.
Good for you. But unlike you, I live in the reality of fact. Not opinion and make believe. You can have whatever "opinion" you like or you need to justify your bad purchases. You're still wrong,
you are still spreading misinformation and you are still making it up as you go along. If you want to live in a fantasy world go ahead, but dont mislead others. You wont respond because every
last thing I said is correct and verifiable from reviews, technical data and straight up eye-to-eye comparison.

The fact that you are going to try and argue that a TN level contrast IPS pannel is "as good as OLED if not better" could not anymore clearly demonstrate that you that you are living in a fantasy
world. The only dumster fire I see is any post of yours I find in a thread sprouting the usual nonsense.
The TN level contrast has little to no impact on the SDR image quality. All colors get calibrated to the same sRGB standard and thus look the same which is verified by my eye as well as the i1 calibrator I have. Thus images and games in SDR all look the same on properly calibrated OLED and on the 37,5" LG IPS panel. The distraction can only be IPS glow. (and black color)

When you talk about low contrast, btw, you talk about the difference between white and black colors only. The black color on the OLED is infinite, thus, the contrast is infinite too. The black point on IPS panels is high, thus TN like contrast numbers. It says nothing about the ability or inability of the panel to display correctly the rest of the colors. This LG IPS panel does that perfectly, as good, as the LG OLED or any other properly calibrated high quality display. There are panels that you can calibrate all you want but never get to the point of good looking. Just need a manufacturer that is capable of assembling a flawless unit, talking about the LG 37,5" IPS. Yeah, so you really have no idea what you are arguing about. I had both displays side by side and was actually shocked by the absence of difference in SDR image quality. To put it bluntly - the X38 actually looked better. It had noticeably lower gamma level, though, and some may take that for "washed out" colors, but it is very close to how actual sRGB gamma look like. Which is much lower than the flat 2,3 that OLEDs normally have. Higher gamma helps with color popping, driving people into thinking that that's the contrast in play...

And by the way, I think I still have the screenshot of the measurements of the Predator X38 colors on this PC... yup I do. Enjoy the greatness of color:
 

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The TN level contrast has little to no impact on the SDR image quality.

False.

Contrast also affects our ability to see details in an image; we can see much finer detail if the difference between the light and dark areas is more pronounced.

Thus images and games in SDR all look the same on properly calibrated OLED and on the 37,5" LG IPS panel.

False.

Yeah, so you really have no idea what you are arguing about.

Says the guy who thinks contrast has no affect upon image quality when it is one of the CORNERSTONES of image quality and the largest
failing of display technology over the last decade or more since the loss of CRT and Plasma that has led to the sea of washed out IPS displays
with the all of the depth of a puddle of water we have to tolerate to this day. A technology so poor my near 20 year old CRT still spanks every
display released today in contrast, black depth and image depth. IPS contrast ratio is so bad that I can play 20 year old games on my CRT that
have more depth to the image than anything released and played on any display today other than OLED.

You are entitled to an opinion. But that's all it is, opinion and it has no basis in reality. I have lots of opinions, doesnt make any of them true. I work
with facts, not feelings. You might want to give it a shot.

lolips.PNG


Better than OLED guys!
 
Monitor makers like to advertise color gamut coverage for VA like everything else; but getting those colors to be true is an exercise in frustration in my experience, at least if you're not using a VA monitor actually engineered for color work. The gaming monitor and cheap (US$300) 4k 32" VA I have both look nothing alike and cannot pass a calibration check regardless of the number of passes run.

All of my IPS panels, including the US$100 Acer special, calibrate in one pass, check out afterward, and look good to the eye.

"VA cannot be calibrated" only applies to VA monitors. VA TV's on the other hand don't seem to suffer from this problem. Take this Samsung for example:

1597346921939.png



Obviously not many people are going to be using a bigass TV for some color work. But the point is to illustrate that just because it's a VA panel does not mean it's doomed to be not calibration friendly. VA monitors may suck, but are not representative of the tech as a whole. And yeah I don't see many VA monitors being geared for color work at all. All the 4k VA monitors I see are nothing more than cheap bargain bin alternatives to IPS panels for regular office work ($300 for a VA, $500 for an IPS). Shame.
 
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But the point is to illustrate that just because it's a VA panel does not mean it's doomed to be not calibration friendly. VA monitors may suck, but are not representative of the tech as a whole. And yeah I don't see many VA monitors being geared for color work at all.
TFTCentral claims that the monitor on my desk can be calibrated quite well; using their settings and process, about all I've been able to do is confuse the hell out of my Spyder 4. That's a gaming monitor. Switch to the 4k VA, and well, it gets worse.

Granted neither of these are really 'higher-end' monitors. I'm just aghast that they're so much worse; I burned a few days worth of evenings on them and decided to just set them to something I don't hate and leave them. I'm thankful that I have both an eye for color and the ability to make do.

All the 4k VA monitors I see are nothing more than cheap bargain bin alternatives to IPS panels for regular office work ($300 for a VA, $500 for an IPS). Shame.
Yeah, I'd like to see 4k in something larger than 32"; that's just too damn small for 1:1 presentation. I've taken to running mine at 1440p, which doesn't look great, but it's the secondary monitor and I sit far enough back that it works well enough.
 
For SDR (except blacks and IPS glow) image quality, for the aspect ratio (size, actual usability), for hardware VRR starting with 1 fps, it is!

Honestly if you said "Better than other IPS monitors" it would at least make sense. I had the previous Acer 38" (the 75hz one) for work and it was
a solid display for that purpose.

You also keep leaving out literally one of the MOST important picture quality elements which is the contrast. Contrast and black depth are linked, they are not the same.

Having owned both the 34" and 38" ultrawides, they are no longer an aspect ratio that interest me. Not nearly enough vertical height. There is zero usability issues because
like every larger monitor, you sit it at an appropriate viewing distance. Not everyone is backed up against a wall in a room that is 1.8 x 1.8 meters maximum.

I will give you one thing. If they made this or another with an appropriate amount of FALD zones, I would take it instead of the 48CX. But as they wont, I wont. Because I will
not pay more for an inferior display.
 
You also keep leaving out literally one of the MOST important picture quality elements which is the contrast. Contrast and black depth are linked, they are not the same.
There is not such thing as black depth... There is black point and there is white point, there is black color, as well. But there is no "black depth". Or Megadeath in terns of color science... Contrast defines how far black point and white point are positioned from each other. It doesn't influence the red green or blue color. I think you mistake the contrast for saturation.
Anyway, if two panels can display colors accurately, they will look the same, bar the panel specifics. The LG 37,5" IPS and LG OLED can, so they look the same in SDR, bar IPS glow and bad black color.
I will give you one thing. If they made this or another with an appropriate amount of FALD zones, I would take it instead of the 48CX. But as they wont, I wont. Because I will
not pay more for an inferior display.
I never told anyone to get the LG 37,5" IPS instead of the 48CX.

Personally, I would, and this is new. Like, 2 months ago that would sound like complete and utter nonsense to me. But since I tried the X38, I live in another world. I was sure that IPS could not rival the OLED. I was wrong. Todays gaming panels are really, really good. Unless you absolutely need the CRT level blacks.
I'm looking forward to the X32, which will come out in the beginning of the 2021. I don't think I will buy another 38" before I try the X32. Or maybe I will.... not sure yet. The 37,5" panel has the best aspect ratio and size for gaming ever made. Gaming on this ultrawide is so on another level. And the 32" is still 16:9. Also the price. Decisions...
 
Anyway, if two panels can display colors accurately, they will look the same

But they literally wont. If I put an OLED with infinite contrast next to an IPS with a 700:1 contrast ratio the OLED display will provide a far deeper depth to the 3D image whilst revealing far more detal in both light and dark areas that IPSis simply incapable of displaying. You can "believe" they look the same but factually, it is not the case. You could A/B test me with as many displays as you like and I guarantee you every time I could pick the panel with the superior contrast because without a respectable contrast level, you are viewing yet another washed out, depth lacking image.

"What it is: Brightness difference between white and black. This is the main component of picture quality.
When it matters: Always, but especially when watching dark scenes."

It is literally NOT possible for a panel with a sub <1000 contrast ratio to have "the same picture quality" as a panel with an infinite contrast ratio such as the current generation of OLED displays. The only panels that might come close are the FALD panels which have their own issues. At least in my experience with the X27 and X35.

As we seem to be going in circles, I present this.

thisishowcontrastworks.jpeg


You are trying to argue that the quality of the image presented on the right is as good as the quality on the left. If you are happy viewing a washed out image lacking in any kind of depth, than all the power to you. However trying to tell people there is no difference is disingenious at best.

Ill present another image that I took myself in attempting to explain to a friend why I have always hated IPS/TN. One of the images was taken on an Acer X34 that came in calibrated at just over 1000:1, the other is my X35 ultrawide with FALD. Both set to around 120nits give or take. Ill let others decide for themselves the difference contrast makes to the final image quality. Perhaps I am just pickier than most or extremely autitstic when it comes to display quality. Ignore the IPS glow, im going to give it a pass on that because...well what IPS display without fald made in the last five years DOESNT glow.

Image from iOS (1).jpg

Image from iOS.jpg



Todays gaming panels are really, really good.

I'm sorry. I understand that you are happy with your display, and that it meets your needs and I am glad to hear you are happy with what is being put out on the market. However there is no way that I can accept that current gaming panels are "really really good" when we still have contrast ratiosthat are beaten by decade old TN panels. I can live with my X27 for now despite its tiny size because at the very least, its capable of actually displaying an image that has depth to it owing to its capabilities to support significantly higher contrast ratios with the FALD backlighting. Having already used the LG, I dont need to spend another 3000+ plus dollars to buy a panel that is literally identical to one that from my own viewing I already KNOW has abysmal image quality due to a sub par contrast ratio.

As we can not agree, ill end with that as long as we have both found a display that we like, what more could we ask for? We all have our preferences and if you have found a panel that works for you, im happy to hear it. I myself will continue to chase I guess depending on how long it takes the 48CX to hit Australia.

Unrelated, but I hope things are doing well in your home country at the moment. I am not Russian, but my partner is (thats why my russian is so bad, im still learning). I visit every year and spend time in Krasnogorsk and Kostroma. I am very sad not to be able to visit this year, winter in Moscow is amazing. I want hot spiced Cider damn it! Hard place to buy good monitors (and many other things) from my understanding though. Every time we visit my girlfriend packs an entirely seperate suitcase full of Cheddar for her mom due to the restrictions on stuff in Russia. Didnt know russians loved Cheddar so much honestly.
 
Okay... But we have no restrictions. Maybe you date a mouse?
As to the X38 it doesn't look like you imply in the images above. You can look at exactly how it looks like on the first page of this thread. That image is identical to how it looks like on the C7 OLED that I have and that sits behind it on the photo. The image quality is actually better on the IPS. How many times should I repeat this? If you don't believe it, it is your problem. It doesn't look washed out even remotely as you posted above.
 
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Okay... But we have no restrictions

Yes you do. They are called sanctions. I thought you would be used to them by now.

The image quality is actually better on the IPS. How many times should I repeat this?

You are wrong. How many times should I repeat this?

TV sets with Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) displays are better than traditional LCD TVs that are backlit by CCFLs or LEDs. This is because OLED TVs do not need any backlighting.
Therefore, these panels produce very deep blacks and this gives very good contrast. This, in turn, means better picture quality.

You can repeat your lies as often as you like. If that's what helps you sleep at night. And I will just keep providing source after source that shows your ignorance. It has now become clear that you
lack the base knowledge to even participate in such a discussion, or your ego is simply so fragile that you can not accept being incorrect. You can't even keep your own stories straight.

You went from it not being a lotto, to being a lotto. You say contrast doesnt matter, I show you factually how it does matter based on the reality of display technology and you literally try respond by
claiming that your opinion is somehow more relevant than hard facts. It must be nice to live in such ignorance, maybe one day I can be as lucky as you and can learn to tolerate bargain basement
IPS ~glowsticks~ panels.

On the plus side, thank you for the entertainment. I have been laughing almost non stop since you started this thread. Always good to have some entertainment during these times of isolation.
 
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Yes you do. They are called sanctions. I thought you would be used to them by now.
Sanctions yes, but not restrictions from the inside. I can buy any monitor I want that is available to the market in general including the LG CX48, unlike you, leg. Buy it from the local store, not from another country. Here is the list of currently available monitors on the Russian market that are just based on the new 37,5" LG IPS:

LG 38GN950-B
LG 38WN95C-W
LG 38GL950G-B
ACER PREDATOR X38P

And probably more that I didn't find. Any of these monitor I am able to buy right now and it will be delivered tomorrow. Like I said, the CX48 is also available for the price of $1900 right now. The price is probably high but the supply is extremely scarce as far as I can tell. So, it will go down with volume.

You can repeat your lies as often as you like. If that's what helps you sleep at night.
I will do whatever I want, without your shit consent.
 
Sanctions yes, but not restrictions from the inside. I can buy any monitor I want that is available to the market in general including the LG CX48, unlike you, leg. Buy it from the local store, not from another country. Here is the list of currently available monitors on the Russian market that are just based on the new 37,5" LG IPS:

LG 38GN950-B
LG 38WN95C-W
LG 38GL950G-B
ACER PREDATOR X38P

And probably more that I didn't find.

So you can buy a bunch of low quality high priced monitors all using the same subpar panel that are not worth half of what they are asking let alone full price? Congratulations. I'd make you a medal but im fresh out.

I will do whatever I want, without your shit consent.

Please do. I always enjoy a good laugh and I don't think I have laughed this hard in a long time. The "perfect" IPS unaffected by panel lottery, but is, that is as good as an OLED, but isnt. The last time I heard jokes this good
I had to pay to get in the front door.
 
And another one, the 3rd Acer predator X38 has the dark spot right in the middle of the screen and at the top. Visible in motion...
 
Picked up an X38 yesterday and LOVE IT!

Sold my 48cx last week and returned the Aorus FI32U

175hz is buttery smooth, motion clarity is TN level and UW is super addictive with fps like Halo MCC, BF1,4 & 5, counter strike, etc, etc.

The colors are excellent, lots of fullness & depth. On par with PG32uqx colors....and blow the FI32U colors away.

HDR400 is a joke, but HDR is what the FALD PG32UQX / PG27UQ are for.

This is the #1 competitive FPS gaming display IMHO.


1626718747992.png
 
Ye. Hopefully by the end of 2022 I will get the 38S along with a 4090 or 4080, and get back to my precious PC gaming hobby. :) This monitor is the definition of smooth gameplay performance. Very fast and very responsive. For me - maximum responsive and motion smoothness (clarity).
 
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