GoKawiilAnother Computex means that Acer is back with new gaming monitors. This year, the company is launching five new screens, spread across its Predator and Nitro product families. There’s a little bit for everyone, including a 27-inch 3D Predator monitor and a 27-inch QHD IPS monitor with up to a sizzling 1,000 Hz refresh rate.
Acer Nitro Gaming Monitors: 5K resolutions and 1,000 Hz refresh rates
Acer is launching three new Nitro monitors at Computex: the Nitro XV345CKR P ($899), Nitro XV320QX ($1,099), and the Acer Nitro XV273U F5 ($699). The Nitro XV345CKR P is a headturner with its 34-inch 5K (5120 x 2160) display. The monitor uses a VA panel that’s augmented by a Mini LED backlight with an impressive 1,344 dimming zones. VA panels already excel in contrast ratio compared to IPS panels, but local dimming should further enhance this advantage (the monitor is speced at 4,000:1 native).
The Nitro XV345CKR P has a native refresh rate of 180 Hz (over DisplayPort, HDMI, or USB-C), but dropping the resolution to 2560 x 1080 doubles that metric to 360 Hz. The monitor supports AMD FreeSync Premium and Nvidia G-Sync, while native brightness is pegged at 500 nits (1,000 nits peak HDR). When it comes to video ports, you’ll find two HDMI 2.1, one DisplayPort 1.4, and one USB-C (65-watt PD).
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Image 1 of 3 Acer Nitro XV345CKR P (Image credit: Acer) Acer Nitro XV320QX (Image credit: Acer) Acer Nitro XV273U F5 (Image credit: Acer)
If you need a more vertical resolution (at the expense of sheer panel size), there’s the Nitro XV320QX. This is a 31.5-inch monitor with a 5120 x 2880 resolution that Acer is aiming at gamers and content creators. The IPS panel has a 165 Hz refresh rate at native resolution, but with Dynamic Frequency and Resolution (DFR) enabled, the maximum refresh rate doubles to 330 Hz at 2560 x 1440. The Nitro XV320QX supports AMD FreeSync Premium, has a typical brightness of 350 nits, and covers 95 percent of the DCI-P3 color space. As for ports, the monitor includes two HDMI 2.1 and one DisplayPort 2.1.
Finally, from the Nitro monitor family, we have the Nitro XV273U F5, which is designed for serious eSports gamers. The monitor features a 27-inch IPS panel with a QHD (2560 x 1440) resolution. The monitor already has an impressive 540 Hz native refresh rate at QHD resolution, which ranks it among the best gaming monitors on the market. However, drop the resolution to 1280 x 720 with DFR and the refresh rate maxes out at 1,000 Hz. Of course, you’ll need some beefy hardware to push those insane frame rates, but it’s an impressive feat if you’re willing to put up with a resolution that was popular back in the early 2000s.
Acer Predator Monitors: Embracing 3D and OLED panels
Now, we switch gears to Acer’s Predator family, which includes the Predator XB273K 3D ($1,299) and Predator X34 F1 ($1,099). In what reminds me of a scene from Mean Girls, Acer is still trying to make 3D happen, despite a somewhat lukewarm reception by the enthusiast community.
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