GoKawiilThe Acer Predator XB273U F5 brings amazing technology to the LCD category with G-Sync Pulsar. It brings the smoothness of OLED with low input lag, high brightness and no downsides. It is a gaming enthusiast’s weapon of choice.
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The evolution of the best gaming monitors has seen a number of new technologies aimed at smoothing the experience, so that moving objects are rendered with the same detail as static ones. We have Adaptive-Sync/VRR/FreeSync/G-Sync to prevent frame tears. We have overdrive to reduce motion blur. We have ELMB/ULMB/backlight strobing to further reduce blur. And of course, there are ever-faster refresh rates coming down the pike, with speeds over 500 Hz now common.
At the forefront of this revolution is Nvidia, and its latest effort is nothing short of super cool. G-Sync Pulsar combines the benefits of Adaptive-Sync with ULMB to deliver high motion resolution with no brightness reduction and no frame tearing. One of the first screens to receive this goodness is Acer’s Predator XB273U F5. It’s a 27-inch QHD IPS panel with 360 Hz, G-Sync Pulsar, HDR500, and wide gamut color. Let’s take a look.
Acer Predator XB273U F5 Specs
Swipe to scroll horizontally Panel Type / Backlight IPS / W-LED, edge array Screen Size / Aspect Ratio 27 inches / 16:9 Max Resolution and Refresh Rate 2560x1440 @ 360 Hz Row 3 - Cell 0 G-Sync Pulsar Row 4 - Cell 0 FreeSync and G-Sync Compatible Native Color Depth and Gamut 8-bit / DCI-P3 Row 6 - Cell 0 DisplayHDR 500, HDR10 Response Time (GTG) 0.5ms Brightness (mfr) 400 nits SDR Row 9 - Cell 0 500 nits HDR Contrast (mfr) 1,000:1 Speakers 2x 2 watts Video Inputs 1x DisplayPort 1.4 Row 13 - Cell 0 2x HDMI 2.1 Audio 3.5mm headphone output USB 3.2 1x up, 3x down Power Consumption 46.5w, brightness @ 200 nits Panel Dimensions WxHxD w/base 24.2 x 16.6-22.4 x 9.7 inches (615 x 422-569 x 246mm) Panel Thickness 2.36 inches (60mm) Bezel Width Top/sides: 0.3 inch (8mm) Row 20 - Cell 0 Bottom: 0.87 inch (22mm) Weight 12.3 pounds (5.6kg) Warranty 3 years
G-Sync Pulsar was first seen at CES 2026, so gaming enthusiasts have at least received a primer in its operation. In a nutshell, it combines blur reduction via black frame insertion (ULMB/ELMB) with Adaptive-Sync. While Asus has been doing this with ELMB Sync for a while, G-Sync Pulsar takes it a step further by scanning the backlight along with the TFT layer to produce even smoother motion with no reduction in brightness. ELMB Sync flashes the entire backlight as a unit, whereas Pulsar performs a rolling scan that varies in speed with the refresh rate.
The XB273U F5 is among the first group of displays to incorporate this new tech. Even without it, the list of performance features is long. It’s a 27-inch IPS panel with QHD 2560x1440 resolution and an LED backlight arranged in two vertical arrays on the left and right sides. This is required to achieve the rolling scan of G-Sync Pulsar. In this application, it is not used as a zone dimming feature. The max refresh rate is 360 Hz, and there’s a variable overdrive available with 400-click resolution.
The XB273U F5 delivers image quality and fidelity as well. QHD means 109ppi pixel density, so the picture is plenty sharp. It’s bright as well, with over 500 nits peak available in SDR and HDR modes. Contrast is a bit higher than the IPS average at 1,100:1. The only thing missing is some sort of zone or field dimming. You’ll see the same dynamic range for SDR and HDR content.
Acer provides vivid and accurate color with around 86% coverage of DCI-P3 and no need for calibration. There are plenty of adjustments available, including color temps, RGB sliders, gamma presets, and an sRGB gamut option. HDR content gets adjustable brightness and selectable color temps.
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