Acer Predator XB271HU - 27" 1440p 144Hz G-Sync IPS ULMB 144hz

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Blade-Runner

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http://www.pcper.com/news/Displays/IFA-2015-Acer-Predator-Z35-and-XB1-G-SYNC-Gaming-Monitors

http://www.windowscentral.com/acers-new-predator-series-monitors-pack-g-sync-4k-and-curves

Acer Unveils Two New Cutting-Edge Predator Gaming Monitor Series
Featuring NVIDIA G-SYNC

BERLIN, GERMANY (September 2, 2015) Today Acer announced the expansion of its Predator gaming monitor lineup with two new series featuring NVIDIA® G-SYNC™, namely the curved Predator Z and the flat-panel Predator XB1. Providing a best-in-class gaming experience insideand-out, both series build on Acer's industry-leading display technology, which has been widely praised by gamers worldwide, combined with bold and angular Acer Predator design language and bright red accents.

Curved Gaming at Full Throttle: Predator Z35

The Predator Z35 is the first product of Acer's Predator Z Series curved gaming monitors with NVIDIA® G-SYNC™. Its 35-inch 21:9 UltraWide Full HD (2560x1080) panel features a curvature of 2000R for immersive, wraparound gaming. The Predator Z35 incorporates NVIDIA® ULMB™ (Ultra Low Motion Blur) technology , reducing motion blur by delivering sharp edges in fastpaced gaming environments. It also supports overclocking to a lightning-fast 200Hz refresh rate, so gamers can find their enemies before they spot them and enjoy crystal clear turns on the racetrack, and features powerful audio with DTS® Sound, 9Wx2 speakers and Acer TrueHarmony technology.

Pixel-Perfect for a Competitive Edge: Predator XB1

The Predator XB1 Series features the latest NVIDIA® G-SYNC™ technology, giving gamers an advantage with incredibly detailed images and smooth visuals. The 27-inch models (XB271HK / XB271HU) feature a ZeroFrame edge-to-edge design with 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) or WQHD (2560 x 1440) IPS panels that support 100% of the sRGB color gamut, while the XB271HU supports NVIDIA® ULMB™ and refresh rates of up to 144Hz. The 28-inch model (XB281HK) features a 4K UHD panel that has a fast GTG (gray to gray) response time of 1ms, rendering fast-moving actions or dramatic transitions smoothly without smearing or ghosting.

In-Game Advantage with GameView

The new Predator gaming monitors feature GameView technology, which allows gamers to swiftly toggle between three customizable display profiles, tweaking settings such as Dark Boost, Overclock, and aim-point assistance to suit a wide gamut of games. It allows quick display adjustment while in-game without the need to navigate through layers of OSD menus, a significant advantage when every split second counts.

Pricing and Availability

The Predator Z35 will be available in North America in December with prices starting at US$1199.99, in EMEA in December with prices starting at €1,099. The Predator XB1 Series will be available in North America in November with prices starting at US$799.99, in EMEA in October with prices starting at €699.
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Yay, more irrationally designed 27" 1440p IPS (AHVA) panels panels with perceived black depth ruining, cost cutting and material saving frame-less casings which will vastly exacerbate glow visibility and bleed issues when viewing dark content. It's both hilarious and sad that the VA and TN panels have higher quality, dark matte grey bezels which vastly increase the perceived black depth.
 
TroyX said:
its $799, what you're complaining about? $1199 is for the 34 inch version.
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$800 wasted if it's anything like the last attempt. And why shouldn't it be? But don't mind me, I've just read enough to put me off that embarrassment of a brand.
 
Well at least we know why Acer hasn't done anything to improve the QC on the XB270HU.
 
Just my opinion but I think this new one looks mad ugly compared to the original XB270HU. I would just get the Asus PG279Q over this any day.
 
Firepc said:
Shame about the price and the brand.
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Acer is the only manufacturer that is pushing the envelope with hi resolution/hi refresh rate monitors. Its not going to get any cheaper until the likes of Asus, Benq and Samsung pull their thumbs out of their collective asses and start delivering comparable monitors to market.

NCX said:
Yay, more irrationally designed 27" 1440p IPS (AHVA) panels panels with perceived black depth ruining, cost cutting and material saving frame-less casings which will vastly exacerbate glow visibility and bleed issues when viewing dark content. It's both hilarious and sad that the VA and TN panels have higher quality, dark matte grey bezels which vastly increase the perceived black depth.
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Interesting, I thought bezelless monitors was a feature a lot of users lusted for. Do you have any testing demonstrating that a frameless case accentuates glow and bleed?

MistaSparkul said:
Just my opinion but I think this new one looks mad ugly compared to the original XB270HU. I would just get the Asus PG279Q over this any day.
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I personally think it looks better than the original XB270HU, but I am not a fan of the orange feet. Aesthetics wise I would also pick the PG279Q over this, but in its usual fashion Asus is taking fucking forever to get it to retail.
 
I'd rather have the original XB270HU with matte plastic, and a way to disable the blue power led. I prefer the original round base.
 
NCX said:
Yay, more irrationally designed 27" 1440p IPS (AHVA) panels panels with perceived black depth ruining, cost cutting and material saving frame-less casings which will vastly exacerbate glow visibility and bleed issues when viewing dark content. It's both hilarious and sad that the VA and TN panels have higher quality, dark matte grey bezels which vastly increase the perceived black depth.
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Do you think that black bezels are worse than grey then? I have never noticed you mention about perceived black depth ruining black bezels before :D
 
Black is the worst kind of bezel, pretty much all other colours are better for perceived black depth.

The only type of panel that I know of which is largely unaffected by bezel colour is OLED. OLED's black ruins the percevied black depth of the inner black bezel that surrounds it.
 
chenw said:
Black is the worst kind of bezel, pretty much all other colours are better for perceived black depth.

The only type of panel that I know of which is largely unaffected by bezel colour is OLED. OLED's black ruins the percevied black depth of the inner black bezel that surrounds it.
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Yeh I agree, but I have seen him say that at least 100x lol, I agree that grey is better but I do not find black to be THAT bad, backlight bleed, IPS glow, IPS black levels in general are more of a problem than a grey or black bezel.
 
I've been using mine for a couple days and it's honestly the best of the G-Sync 1440P monitors I've used.

Zero dead/stuck pixels, no dust, perfect uniformity, solid build quality, only a couple very small, very faint bleed spots, and only one spot (bottom right) with noticeable glow.

Also, you can turn off the bright blue power LED. :cool:
 
along the way said:
I've been using mine for a couple days and it's honestly the best of the G-Sync 1440P monitors I've used.

Zero dead/stuck pixels, no dust, perfect uniformity, solid build quality, only a couple very small, very faint bleed spots, and only one spot (bottom right) with noticeable glow.

Also, you can turn off the bright blue power LED. :cool:
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Nice, one of the first guys to get one on the overclock forum also received a pretty good unit. Maybe, just maybe, Acer has FINALLY gotten their shit together in terms of QC so everyone can now start enjoying 1440p 144Hz IPS Gsync because it is damn amazing. Still enjoying my 270HU since April.
 
MistaSparkul said:
Nice, one of the first guys to get one on the overclock forum also received a pretty good unit. Maybe, just maybe, Acer has FINALLY gotten their shit together in terms of QC so everyone can now start enjoying 1440p 144Hz IPS Gsync because it is damn amazing. Still enjoying my 270HU since April.
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Yeah, that's my account on OC.net.

The overall quality is substantially better than the XB270HU's I tried before giving up.

That said, it's one sample, so who knows.
 
Indeed. If it's the same panel used in the PG279Q, the chance of poor units is actually relatively high.

The issue of QC lies with AUO more so than the vendors selling the monitors.
 
Yeah as a fellow Acer XB270hu owner alls I can tell anyone thinking of buying these or the asus 279 is to expect to have to return it. Currently I'm waiting for my replacement as I had a dust particle and bad backlight bleed.
 
I got mine today, and it's very nice. No bleeding, no stuck pixels, perfect. They also improved the OSD a little bit. My question to you is: what exactly does "Game mode" do? I've noticed that it turns on the framerate counter, and sets OD to "Extreme" - any other benefits to turning it on? TIA.
 
I went to a ITmonth show, and I had the opportunity to look at both XB271HU and PG279Q.

I had the Acer guy to show me a black image to see what the IPS bleed is like on the 271. The Asus guy won't let me, but it was showing a webpage that has a small black area surrounded by white area.

Here is what I concluded.

At least for the unit they were showing, XB271HU's IPS glow is much less noticeable than PG279Q, by miles. 271's IPS glow is roughly as visible as my Swift's BLB.

PG279Q is a completely different story, the IPS glow was more visible when surrounded by white areas than 271HU was when showing only dark image (AFAIK, the white image should make the IPS glow a bit less visible due to perceived contrast), so my opinion on PG279Q was dramatically lessened because of it, I can only imagine what the glow is like when showing fully dark images.

But for bright images, the motion is quite clear. I didn't see any noticeable blur when another company was show casing a driving game DIY setup, and the colour and viewing angle is pretty good on the PG279Q.

The main deal breaker for me, however, was the IPS glow, and the 271HU was priced far too closely to BL3201PT ($50 or so difference at the expose), so I bought the BL3201PT instead, figured that I have fewer actual use for XB271HU, and neither could beat BL3201PT for IPS glow.

The coating for both panels are certainly nowhere near Swift level, but I didn't feel as light as BL3201PT either.

This is however my personal observation, so take it with a grain of salt, but after looking at both XB7271HU and PG279Q, I would almost certainly have picked XB271HU.
 
The XB271HU uses a new panel to back light retention bracket design that could very well lessen IPS defects. The PG279Q uses a traditional metal clamp/snap type panel to back light retention bracket that put's downward pressure on the surface edges of the panel.
 
I may have incredibly low standards -- but I just bought a XB270hu while waiting for the PG348Q and have had 0 problems so far.
 
Vega said:
The XB271HU uses a new panel to back light retention bracket design that could very well lessen IPS defects. The PG279Q uses a traditional metal clamp/snap type panel to back light retention bracket that put's downward pressure on the surface edges of the panel.
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That's what I am thinking, the difference between XB271HU and PG279Q is quite evident, so either the panel on that XB271HU is top of its class (which I doubted) or there was something else behind the scenes.

Either way, the copy of XB271HU I saw on display (no pun intended) was within tolerable IPS glow level (it's comparable to PG278Q), PG279Q was horrid in comparison, even under more favourable conditions.
 
In essence, Acer has knocked out two birds with one stone (which very well could have been their plan after their experiences with designing the XB270HU). They've lessened the propensity (speculative until more samples are shown) for back light bleed while simultaneously decreasing bezel width which is always a good thing.
 
And do to this, when the XB271HU becomes available again, I'll probably order a couple to see if I can get a good one. I have the ASUS coming in this week, but the odds they'll be tolerable are incredibly low.
 
Picked one up earlier today (Canada Computers, I'm in Canada).

Upon my initial quick viewing, I'm not seeing any dead pixels. No dust trapped. There might be a slight yellow tint in the top left of the screen, but it's very minimal and covers a small portion if so.

Only did a quick scan for lightbleed and glow, but both seem fairly decent. I'll have to check again when it's a bit darker.

So far I'm quite pleased.

Edit - Also, the accents on the monitor are a dark red, not orange as I previously thought from the promotion pictures.
 
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Vittra said:
Picked one up earlier today (Canada Computers, I'm in Canada).

Upon my initial quick viewing, I'm not seeing any dead pixels. No dust trapped. There might be a slight yellow tint in the top left of the screen, but it's very minimal and covers a small portion if so.

Only did a quick scan for lightbleed and glow, but both seem fairly decent. I'll have to check again when it's a bit darker.

So far I'm quite pleased.

Edit - Also, the accents on the monitor are a dark red, not orange as I previously thought from the promotion pictures.
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Awesome! Can I convince you to post a few pics? TIA :)
 
Is there a good write up on this g-sync + 144Hz? Will it benefit me if I still aim for just 60fps minimum?

Try to play games at a constant 60fps currently with my 60Hz monitor. Cannot stand screen tear, and can easily notice fps drops. Was not planning to get a new monitor until OLED was available in a ~30" 1440p+ for under $1200. But then my ZR30w did this Friday :mad:.

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Vega said:
I've ordered five XB271HU's for 5x1 Surround from ShopBLT so I should be able to gauge a pretty good representation of the panel's quality when they come in.

http://www.shopblt.com/item/acer-um.hx1aa.001-27in-widescreen-lcd-2560x1440/acer_umhx1aa001.html
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Nice. Would love to know your thoughts. Think you use to have 3x ZR30w if I remember correctly. And coincidentally that's where I bought mine years ago, good place to avoid CA sales tax and still get it next day :D. Were they in stock or you're just waiting?
 
akg102 said:
I may have incredibly low standards -- but I just bought a XB270hu while waiting for the PG348Q and have had 0 problems so far.
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I've had my 270 for a couple of months now and it's absolutely perfect. No issues whatsoever.
 
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