Acer Nitro 27-inch smart display GA271U ZDNET's key takeaways Acer's Nitro GA271U P smart display is available now for $299.
It's a solid budget smart monitor with a matte, 27-inch IPS WQHD display and 180Hz refresh rate.
However, the speakers leave much to be desired. View now at B&H Photo-Video
When Acer entered the smart monitor market with the Nitro GA271U P smart display, it took aim at competitors like Samsung, LG, and Asus with a comparable but more affordable option starting at $299. Available in black or white colorways, the Nitro GA271U P is a solid budget smart monitor for students, gamers, or anyone with limited space.
The more accessible price couldn't be more relevant now -- in the face of market uncertainty and the threat of increased prices on consumer goods. I recently went hands-on with it by setting it up in my home office and using it for both work and entertainment over the course of a few weeks, and it's grown on me as a capable budget option -- with a few important notes. Let's dive in.
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A good smart monitor should be able to go back and forth between work and play: swapping seamlessly between your laptop or desktop, and then Netflix after hours. By design, they consolidate multiple screens into one device and are ideal for small spaces like apartments or dorms, or in dens, home offices, or guest rooms.
In that sense, Acer's Nitro GA271U P understands the assignment, swapping easily between modes and looking good while doing it. Featuring a matte, 27-inch IPS WQHD display with a variable 180Hz refresh rate that's compatible with both AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync, it caps out at 250nit brightness so it's not the brightest on the market, but this is a display geared toward everyday use.
In other words, it works equally well for both productivity and gaming or entertainment, but it's obviously not the best in either arena. For work, connecting your laptop or desktop is as easy as hooking the HDMI (which caps out at 144Hz refresh rate) or DisplayPort (the aforementioned 180Hz) and using the remote to swap modes.
The WQHD display (also called QHD) offers a pixel resolution of 2560 x 1440 and a 16:9 aspect ratio for that widescreen effect that looks great on TVs. This resolution is a bit less demanding on hardware than 4K, so older laptops or devices with lower-end graphics capabilities will still look good, while providing a very similar visual experience.
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