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Predator X34 Owner's Club & Discussion.
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striker444
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About 3 Nvidia drivers ago that was the case. They have since worked out the bugs. You just have to make sure to enable that option now.
I have mine set to the Fullscreen only option.
This was a few driver versions ago, but a few of us (myself included) were getting better frame rates in games with the g-sync set to Fullscreen only vs Fullscreen/Windowed. None of us really understood why because obviously we were gaming in full screen anyway, so not sure why that setting made a frame rate difference, but it did.
So Ive just left that option to Fullscreen mode since then and to be honest, when would you ever game in windowed mode anyway?
Yes
RJ1892
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It should be safe to. Though I have mine 75hz on desktop and in nvidia Inspector I change the option for "Prefered Refreshrate" to "Maximum Available" which brings it to whatever maximum you have it overclocked to. I did this because my GPUs would ramp up to 3D clocks randomly if I was doing too much on my desktop, this solved the issue.
Bladestorm
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Is it a fact that all X34's suffer from the scanline issue or not?
Kind of a loaded question bro.
A more accurate one would be "Do all X34 gamers suffer from the scalene issue or not?"
Answer: NO
Ive never noticed a scan line while gaming on the X34 backed by 2 x Titan Xs in SLI in Far Cry 4, Star Citizen, War Thunder, Ark, Fallout 4, Fallout New Vegas, Star Wars Battlefront, Simcity, Titanfall, The Witcher 3, World of Warships, ARMA 3, Rainbow 6 Siege...
Do I need to go on?
The reason your question is kind of the wrong way to ask it is because I bet nearly any X34 can be "forced" into showing some visual defects if you force it into a situation it would never encounter while gaming normally. Example, many of the users complaining about "scanlines" are people who run the G-sync pendulum demo then lock in an abnormally low frame rate (like 30 fps). Then they see problems.
I refuse to run an artificial demo set at an unrealistic FPS setting just to see if my monitor displays something strange. Instead, I turn it on at 100hz backed by 2 x high end video cards (lets face it, the X34 was never meant to be paired with a single GTX 960....) and then game away on a variety of titles.
Never had an issue (except for the WFS bug which I have disabled anyway)
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striker444
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Below is what most people with the scanline issue will see. For me, on my 2nd time buying this monitor, I agree with this graph. This is during gaming, not just the pendulum demo, however these tests are best done using the demo since it's in a controlled environment. There were some games where there are cutscenes locked in at 30FPS, really pissed me off seeing all the scanlines on the monitor. My first monitor however, I saw scanlines at every framerate. Anywho, see the graph below, it's not just a simple 30 FPS is only when you see scanlines, there are different severities at different FPS.
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Got mine from Amazon last week (sold by Amazon, not a third party). Have not checked the build date.
Either I won the panel lottery or they are making improvements, because I have not noticed anything as severe as people have been showing or saying. No noticeable backlight bleed, no noticeable glow when viewed directly (can see some in the corners when viewed at unreasonable angles), and I've seen no scanlines so far, but I have not run Pendulum demo (I've only been running desktop applications, Fallout 4, and League of Legends). Holds 100hz overclock on G1 980 Ti. Picture looks amazing after some non-pro calibration (downloading profiles, using TFT settings, etc.).
The only real problems I have had are Fallout 4 related and trying to get Gsync to work. The monitor itself has been great for me so far.
Either I won the panel lottery or they are making improvements, because I have not noticed anything as severe as people have been showing or saying. No noticeable backlight bleed, no noticeable glow when viewed directly (can see some in the corners when viewed at unreasonable angles), and I've seen no scanlines so far, but I have not run Pendulum demo (I've only been running desktop applications, Fallout 4, and League of Legends). Holds 100hz overclock on G1 980 Ti. Picture looks amazing after some non-pro calibration (downloading profiles, using TFT settings, etc.).
The only real problems I have had are Fallout 4 related and trying to get Gsync to work. The monitor itself has been great for me so far.
I just tried to replicate the results in your Chart and I still see nothing, no scanlines. I do see BLB in 2 of my corners but that's only when my room is dark and before windows even loads up. I waited until the Refresh on this moniter and im glad I did.
No problems on mine either other then some very minor BLB which no way in hell am I returning the moniter over.
Mine can do 95Hz with no flicker, but has the dim backlight after waking issue. I might be returning to Acer after the holidays. I am with the guys that demand quality for a 1300$ monitor. The overclocking isn't the issue for me, but the backlight is frustrating.
Drawmonster
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This post and my return to Predator X34 Owner's Club is solely due to the amazing people Microcenter. As most may know, I was a very early adopter of the X34. I bought the first one available at Microcenter in the state of Missouri. Sadly, it had every issue known to man. Flicker at anything over 90hz, WFS problems, random rebooting, high pitched whine, and just generally a bad monitor. Since they got "recalled" shortly afterward, I was stuck with no recourse but to return it and find a different monitor for my new gaming rig, listed in my sig. To say I was pissed would be an understatement. Adding to my disappoinment in the horrible QC on the monitor was that fact that I live 2 hours from the closest Microcenter. So I returned it and ended up getting a Dell U3415W. The Dell was a great monitor in every regard. But the lack of Gsync and the possibility of 100hz always nagged at me.
Fast forward to Monday. I get an email from Microcenter customer service. In it, they want to inform me that the Predator monitor I bought had been recalled and that if I contacted the store, they would setup an exchange or refund if I wanted. Since I'd already returned the monitor 45 days prior, I responded with that fact. I also mentioned in the email that I'd love to have one that worked perfectly, but it'd been well over the 30 day return/exchange window. I didn't expect to hear anything back.
I get a call Tuesday from the manager of the Microcenter in St. Louis. He says they'll gladly swap the Dell for one of the "fixed" Predators if I want. I say yes and drive up to get one. The exchange goes great, and I head home. Hook up the new Predator, go to overclock to 100hz, and get nothing but black. Try 95hz. Horrible flicker. Try 90hz, still flicker. 85hz ends up being the max the monitor will overclock to. Even worse than the first one, lol. Plus, it has bad coil whine on white backgrounds.
So I call Microcenter and talk to the manager. I ask if I can swap this one out, as it also has issues. He says sure. I ask if we can test the next Predator in store before I leave, something I should have done before, and he says that's fine. Then he says he can go ahead and test the one remaining Predator they have right now if I want. Wow. Didn't expect them to step up, and really didn't expect him to even know much about refresh rates. But turns out he's one of us. Not Hardforum, but an enthusiast. So he says he'll call me back. 30 minutes later he calls back and says the monitor is perfect. 100hz overclock with no problem. No whine. No dead pixels. Minimal back light bleed.
So I head up this morning to pick it up. They cart the new Predator up front, and there is a Celeron processor sitting on top. Guy tells me there is a 20% off promotion on Acer monitors if you buy an Intel processor. The processor is $35, but the promo ends up taking like $276 off the price of the Predator. So I got a perfect Predator for nearly $300 of MSRP.
I mainly wanted to post this to praise Microcenter. I REALLY wish I had one closer to my house. Those guys have been amazing to work with, and there's no way I'd have a Predator if it wasn't for them. It's the Brentwood Microcenter if anyone is curious.
I'm still now happy with Acer at all. There are still very bad QC issues. But Microcenter is great. And if you don't have a Predator, that 20% off promo is going on right now. Get the $35 Celeron they stock. Also, they will hookup and test the monitor in store for you to save you trips. So ask them to do it.
tldr:
- Got a very bad Predator at release
- Returned and got a Dell
- Microcenter let me swap the Dell back to a Predator outside the return window
- 2nd Predator was bad. Microcenter tested another one in store for me and let me swap to that one.
- Let me use a new promo to get 20% off.
- Now I have a perfect Predator and got 20% off
Fast forward to Monday. I get an email from Microcenter customer service. In it, they want to inform me that the Predator monitor I bought had been recalled and that if I contacted the store, they would setup an exchange or refund if I wanted. Since I'd already returned the monitor 45 days prior, I responded with that fact. I also mentioned in the email that I'd love to have one that worked perfectly, but it'd been well over the 30 day return/exchange window. I didn't expect to hear anything back.
I get a call Tuesday from the manager of the Microcenter in St. Louis. He says they'll gladly swap the Dell for one of the "fixed" Predators if I want. I say yes and drive up to get one. The exchange goes great, and I head home. Hook up the new Predator, go to overclock to 100hz, and get nothing but black. Try 95hz. Horrible flicker. Try 90hz, still flicker. 85hz ends up being the max the monitor will overclock to. Even worse than the first one, lol. Plus, it has bad coil whine on white backgrounds.
So I call Microcenter and talk to the manager. I ask if I can swap this one out, as it also has issues. He says sure. I ask if we can test the next Predator in store before I leave, something I should have done before, and he says that's fine. Then he says he can go ahead and test the one remaining Predator they have right now if I want. Wow. Didn't expect them to step up, and really didn't expect him to even know much about refresh rates. But turns out he's one of us. Not Hardforum, but an enthusiast. So he says he'll call me back. 30 minutes later he calls back and says the monitor is perfect. 100hz overclock with no problem. No whine. No dead pixels. Minimal back light bleed.
So I head up this morning to pick it up. They cart the new Predator up front, and there is a Celeron processor sitting on top. Guy tells me there is a 20% off promotion on Acer monitors if you buy an Intel processor. The processor is $35, but the promo ends up taking like $276 off the price of the Predator. So I got a perfect Predator for nearly $300 of MSRP.
I mainly wanted to post this to praise Microcenter. I REALLY wish I had one closer to my house. Those guys have been amazing to work with, and there's no way I'd have a Predator if it wasn't for them. It's the Brentwood Microcenter if anyone is curious.
I'm still now happy with Acer at all. There are still very bad QC issues. But Microcenter is great. And if you don't have a Predator, that 20% off promo is going on right now. Get the $35 Celeron they stock. Also, they will hookup and test the monitor in store for you to save you trips. So ask them to do it.
tldr:
- Got a very bad Predator at release
- Returned and got a Dell
- Microcenter let me swap the Dell back to a Predator outside the return window
- 2nd Predator was bad. Microcenter tested another one in store for me and let me swap to that one.
- Let me use a new promo to get 20% off.
- Now I have a perfect Predator and got 20% off
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Has anyone ever had this happen before?
A thick vertical blue line suddenly developed close to the middle of the screen. Everything looked like it had a 3D effect also, you can see it near the edges of text and UI elements. Ironically I was reading a read about QC issues right when it happened...
I rebooted back into BIOS, this was still visible there, so it was 100% on the monitor's side. Performed a reset through the OSD and that fixed it
Bizarre. I haven't had any major issues with my unit but I will probably be doing an exchange through Amazon if this happens again.
A thick vertical blue line suddenly developed close to the middle of the screen. Everything looked like it had a 3D effect also, you can see it near the edges of text and UI elements. Ironically I was reading a read about QC issues right when it happened...
I rebooted back into BIOS, this was still visible there, so it was 100% on the monitor's side. Performed a reset through the OSD and that fixed it
Bizarre. I haven't had any major issues with my unit but I will probably be doing an exchange through Amazon if this happens again.
Drawmonster
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Google "line of stuck pixels".
I've never had stuck pixels before, but the images I found when I googled that looks similar to what yours looked like. From quick skimming it looks like it's something that happens, and that there are steps to fix it. So maybe it was a one time thing.
Similar but this doesn't look like it was stuck pixels, as if you look closely, the line is not fully solid but semi transparent, you can see the text through it for example.
Pretty strange. Here's hoping it doesn't happen again, haven't had any issues with mine apart from this.
KickAssCop
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Looks like your monitor needs a good slap lol.
So far, so (really) good. Unit arrived a day early (which was a bit startling because we arrived back from a trip to find it on my doorstep where it had been most of the day. Thankfully we have honest neighbors).
I have some backlight bleed in the upper-left corner which alarmed me at first. But looking at the TFT-Central review, it's essentially exactly like their review sample.
Panel seems to reach 100Hz fine and g-sync is working as advertised. It's an October panel. Purchased from Amazon.
I had tried the Dell 3440x1440 curved, and the new Asus Swift IPS. I came very close to keeping both. But the lack of higher refresh rates on the Dell troubled me. . . and the Asus size of only 27" didn't feel enough like an "upgrade" for the money.
Though way too expensive (my wife is grumbling a bit), this is "just right". . . plenty large, v-sync, and 100Hz (when my Titan can push out the frames!).
This will be my last computer-related upgrade for a long while. But so far I'm loving it.
Now, I must abandon this thread lest I find issues that I'd otherwise never see. Ignorance is bliss.
I have some backlight bleed in the upper-left corner which alarmed me at first. But looking at the TFT-Central review, it's essentially exactly like their review sample.
Panel seems to reach 100Hz fine and g-sync is working as advertised. It's an October panel. Purchased from Amazon.
I had tried the Dell 3440x1440 curved, and the new Asus Swift IPS. I came very close to keeping both. But the lack of higher refresh rates on the Dell troubled me. . . and the Asus size of only 27" didn't feel enough like an "upgrade" for the money.
Though way too expensive (my wife is grumbling a bit), this is "just right". . . plenty large, v-sync, and 100Hz (when my Titan can push out the frames!).
This will be my last computer-related upgrade for a long while. But so far I'm loving it.
Now, I must abandon this thread lest I find issues that I'd otherwise never see. Ignorance is bliss.
Drawmonster
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So far, so (really) good. Unit arrived a day early (which was a bit startling because we arrived back from a trip to find it on my doorstep where it had been most of the day. Thankfully we have honest neighbors).
I have some backlight bleed in the upper-left corner which alarmed me at first. But looking at the TFT-Central review, it's essentially exactly like their review sample.
Panel seems to reach 100Hz fine and g-sync is working as advertised. It's an October panel. Purchased from Amazon.
I had tried the Dell 3440x1440 curved, and the new Asus Swift IPS. I came very close to keeping both. But the lack of higher refresh rates on the Dell troubled me. . . and the Asus size of only 27" didn't feel enough like an "upgrade" for the money.
Though way too expensive (my wife is grumbling a bit), this is "just right". . . plenty large, v-sync, and 100Hz (when my Titan can push out the frames!).
This will be my last computer-related upgrade for a long while. But so far I'm loving it.
Now, I must abandon this thread lest I find issues that I'd otherwise never see. Ignorance is bliss.
It's either love or hate with this monitor. The first 2 I got, I hated. Their flaws paired with the high price tag made very angry. Then I go the 3rd one, which is perfect. And I got it for like $1050 with a promo. Now I couldn't be happier. Best monitor I've ever owned by far.
It just sucks that the quality control is low enough that people have to experience the bad panels like I did. Everyone should get a perfect one that they can completely love. It's a horrible feeling to buy this beautiful piece of hardware, get it home, and it's flawed.
striker444
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Acer sent Legit Reviews a monitor they pre-tested, must be nice to get that kind of service. I wish us peasants paying $1300 could get that and not have to keep returning the screen.
http://www.legitreviews.com/acer-predator-x34-3440x1440-curved-g-sync-gaming-display-review_176405
http://www.legitreviews.com/acer-predator-x34-3440x1440-curved-g-sync-gaming-display-review_176405
Drawmonster
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As I posted earlier, if you have a Microcenter within reasonable distance, they will test the monitor before you drive to get it. That's what they did for me. I also got 20% off.
The only thing I'm seeing on mine that I'm a bit concerned about is that with g-sync enabled, my mouse cursor is disappearing and/or momentarily freezing while levels load in games and the refresh rate/framerate changes (etc.). I don't recall this happening on my Asus Swift IPS with v-sync enabled.
So far I've seen this on Lord of the Rings Online, Star Wars Battlefront, and in 3DMark the top portion of the screen flickers while moving the menus (etc.).
So far I've seen this on Lord of the Rings Online, Star Wars Battlefront, and in 3DMark the top portion of the screen flickers while moving the menus (etc.).
Haven't noticed that but I've not played those games.
Does it also happen at a lower refresh rate?
striker444
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Closest Microcenter is 5 hours from me. Not sure why they ignore upstate NY but its very frustrating seeing all the awesome deals they have and like you said, the service.
Saw it, must be nice to have an "occasional" scanline. I wouldn't be complaining about this monitor if that were the case for the ones I have received.
striker444
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Acer has now posted their comments on some issues here:
http://community.acer.com/t5/Predator-Discussions/MULTIPLE-Problems-with-New-X34/m-p/406530#M2863
Basically here is what they say:
Wake from Sleep (Backlight) - Send it in for the fix
Color Banding - Send it in for the fix
Problems with Overclocking at 100hz - They say up to 100hz, so even if your monitor only does 65hz, its considered normal
Coil Whine - This is normal and not a defect according to them:
"This is caused by the strain and release of a capacitor that is designed to absorb electical charges from the powering of the device. That release from the capacitor can cause vibrations which can be audible in certain environments. This activity is considered normal and does not require any action from the user or Acer."
Scanlines - Currently being evaluated
In conclusion:
Returning this monitor next week and not looking back. Was going to keep playing the lottery but since Acer is justifying their terrible QA as business as usual, it's going back. At least Asus is marketing theirs as 100hz, I will have to just hope I never need to RMA it with them, because it will probably either be be rejected, be sent back in the exact condition or take months to complete. Sad that these are the only options so far.
http://community.acer.com/t5/Predator-Discussions/MULTIPLE-Problems-with-New-X34/m-p/406530#M2863
Basically here is what they say:
Wake from Sleep (Backlight) - Send it in for the fix
Color Banding - Send it in for the fix
Problems with Overclocking at 100hz - They say up to 100hz, so even if your monitor only does 65hz, its considered normal
Coil Whine - This is normal and not a defect according to them:
"This is caused by the strain and release of a capacitor that is designed to absorb electical charges from the powering of the device. That release from the capacitor can cause vibrations which can be audible in certain environments. This activity is considered normal and does not require any action from the user or Acer."
Scanlines - Currently being evaluated
In conclusion:
Returning this monitor next week and not looking back. Was going to keep playing the lottery but since Acer is justifying their terrible QA as business as usual, it's going back. At least Asus is marketing theirs as 100hz, I will have to just hope I never need to RMA it with them, because it will probably either be be rejected, be sent back in the exact condition or take months to complete. Sad that these are the only options so far.
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PearlChoco
n00b
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I _finally_ received my replacement monitor, and everything works great now!
- no more vertical stripes
- can do 100hz without flickering (previous monitor was completely unstable @100Hz)
- can't find any banding issues (just used a paint program to fill the screen with blue and green gradients; is there a better way to test this?)
Only have some small remaining issues:
- the panel makes quite a lot of high pitch noise @ 100hz; if I lower the refresh rate (90, 85, ..., 60) the noise becomes gradually less loud but never completely disappears (almost unhearable @60hz though). I guess this is normal behavior?
- Taking a gaming screenshot @3440x1440 (using FRAPS) takes about 2 seconds and gives a short, severe framedrop. Might be too much to handle for my HDD?
striker444
Gawd
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Monitor has now been sent off for a refund for the last time. I honestly don't think ACER has any intention to fix the scanline issue and now there is some competition on the way so I have options.
I am going to try the PG348Q when it comes out. If the ASUS is as big as a disappointment as the X34 I'm just going to settle for the $500 Monoprice one coming out that has the same panel minus Freesync/G-Sync and @75hz. Maybe use the remainder to get a HTC Vive. Best wishes to all!
I am going to try the PG348Q when it comes out. If the ASUS is as big as a disappointment as the X34 I'm just going to settle for the $500 Monoprice one coming out that has the same panel minus Freesync/G-Sync and @75hz. Maybe use the remainder to get a HTC Vive. Best wishes to all!
Okay, so this continues to worry me a bit. If not for this nagging worry, I'll probably keep the monitor. Made a video of the behavior. Would appreciate opinions about whether this behavior is normal. . . on this monitor or even other g-sync monitors.
https://youtu.be/ItsH-SnGs4U
I haven't experienced this but I run G-Sync in full screen mode only.
It's definitely less pronounced when I run g-sync in "fullscreen only" mode. And, with Handbrake (as a windows app), the behavior is absent altogether.
Yet, it's still definitely there in fullscreen when set to fullscreen only on LotRO and Battlefield. Again, though, only during transitions as the framerate (and thus the refresh rate) sink to low double or even single digits.
The behavior actually makes a certain amount of sense I suppose. If the refresh rate dips that low, you would expect the mouse to not be able to show movement. But. . .it's just the fact that I can't find anything about this in google or here on these forums.
--H
Blade-Runner
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Scum bag move on the part of Acer, especially after what they relayed to OC UK and TFTCentral regarding overclocking to 100hz. Thankfully mine has no issue apart from the WFSB, but you can bet your ass I would be getting a refund if it wasn't able to achieve 100hz.
2 x Titan X's SLI
G-Sync set to Full Screen Only (why would you game in anything but full screen, why??)
The X34 has been great (But I did confirm the wake from sleep black screen is there, but Ive disabled sleep).
Sucks that so many others are having problems with this great gaming screen.
G-Sync set to Full Screen Only (why would you game in anything but full screen, why??)
The X34 has been great (But I did confirm the wake from sleep black screen is there, but Ive disabled sleep).
Sucks that so many others are having problems with this great gaming screen.
Same with me. Got it 2 days ago and checked for all the issues except wake from sleep and it's all good. I'm running 3x970s in tri-sli. It was manufactured Dec 2015 so maybe they worked out the issues.
I'm loving this monitor. I have the Acer XB270HU next to it and it looks small and obviously not as cool in comparison.
Either of you guys willing to install Handbrake (video transcoding app) while running g-sync w/ windowed g-sync enabled and tell me if Handbrake causes your mouse to get jumpy as in the youtube video posted a few posts above.
I'm 99% sure this is all normal. . . but that's an expensive 1% if I'm wrong.
I'm 99% sure this is all normal. . . but that's an expensive 1% if I'm wrong.
Drawmonster
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Just watched your video and recreated the same scenario on my gaming rig. Specs in sig. I also got a massive framerate dip and a jerky mouse when Gsync was enabled in Windowed mode when running Handbrake. I turned off Gsync in windowed mode, which I never use anyway, and it runs perfectly. I googled the issue, and others have experienced it too. It's more likely a bug with the Nvidia drivers than it is your monitor. Other people experienced it with other Gsync monitors. So it's not your Predator, it's a problem with windowed mode and Gsync. I'd turn off Gsync for windowed mode and not worry about it. Not sure why people are running games in a full screen window anyway...
https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comments/3o1wy4/psa_nvidia_driver_version_35850_causes_lag_with/
https://steamcommunity.com/app/377160/discussions/0/492378806388068945/
https://discuss.atom.io/t/g-sync-windowed-screen-very-slow/20696
So your Predator is fine.