Acer XB280HK 4K G-sync monitor - any owners here?

[dmoney1980]

I've been waiting for this monitor for close to 4 months now, but now that it's out, I'm having a hard time finding a professional review for this monitor. I'm hoping that some credible site produces a review shortly, as I'm anxiously torn between this and the ROG swift. 4K would be awesome to have as I currently run a 1440p ultrasharp 27". The ROG swift wouldn't be a rez upgrade for me, but the refresh rate and response times, along with g-sync and ulmb would make it an upgrade.

The whole IPS to TN "downgrade" doesn't bother me, as I sit 2' from my monitor at my desk so I don't see how a TN would be so detrimental.

So...any Acer XB280HK owners here that could provide some personal insight and analysis?

 

[linster]

There are plenty of reviews out there, here are two

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Displays/Acer-XB280HK-28-4K-G-Sync-Monitor-Review

http://hothardware.com/Reviews/Acer-XB280HK-4K-GSYNC-Gaming-Monitor-Review/

I'm leaning toward getting this monitor as well. I'm coming from a Dell 3007wfp-hc 30" 2560x1600

Thinking of going GTX 970 SLI

 

[toyota]

it does not matter if you sit directly in front of a TN or not. they are different looking from top to bottom and the larger they are the more noticeable. only someone oblivious or trying to defend their purchase will say otherwise.

plus I actually move my head from time to time and even slouch a bit which really makes the crappy shifting stand out.

and I cant imagine going from a Dell 3007 to any TN panel.

 

[Owls]

Unless you are earning your living by playing video games, fps and the like, then TN is not worth the tradeoffs.

 

[RussianSensation]

BenQ BL3201PH 32" IPS 4K at $999.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...0_uhd_ips.html

 

[RussianSensation]

Dp

 

[Pia]

Unless you are earning your living by playing video games, fps and the like, then TN is not worth the tradeoffs.

As recently as this Spring I would have agreed, but in the current market it's no longer just about the characteristics of the panel itself.

Only way you can get G-Sync, high refresh rates and ultra-low motion blur is by accepting a TN panel. That makes TN a worthwhile tradeoff for quite a few gamers regardless of whether they are "pro" or even play multiplayer games. If you scratch G-Sync off that feature list, your options would still be limited to TN displays and the Eizo FG2421 (which is hampered by low res, small size and no VESA mount).

 

[Mondozei]

it does not matter if you sit directly in front of a TN or not. they are different looking from top to bottom and the larger they are the more noticeable. only someone oblivious or trying to defend their purchase will say otherwise.

plus I actually move my head from time to time and even slouch a bit which really makes the crappy shifting stand out.

and I cant imagine going from a Dell 3007 to any TN panel.

So much ignorance here, where to start?
First, you are still living in the past concerning TN panels.

ROG Swift has a TN panel that is better than many IPS panels. Quite a few 4K TN panels hold a significantly better quality than what you are even aware of. Pcper has stated this and SweC too.


OP: I would still wait a little. We will see some VA 4K monitors with a decent price going ahead. I'd wait until 20 nm GPUs before going for 4K.

 

[toyota]

So much ignorance here, where to start?
First, you are still living in the past concerning TN panels.

ROG Swift has a TN panel that is better than many IPS panels. Quite a few 4K TN panels hold a significantly better quality than what you are even aware of. Pcper has stated this and SweC too.


OP: I would still wait a little. We will see some VA 4K monitors with a decent price going ahead. I'd wait until 20 nm GPUs before going for 4K.

the only person ignorant here is you if you think that newer TN panels are really any better with viewing angles and color shift from top to bottom.

 

[njdevilsfan87]

it does not matter if you sit directly in front of a TN or not. they are different looking from top to bottom and the larger they are the more noticeable. only someone oblivious or trying to defend their purchase will say otherwise.

plus I actually move my head from time to time and even slouch a bit which really makes the crappy shifting stand out.

and I cant imagine going from a Dell 3007 to any TN panel.

Yeah, if you're staring at a blank color on the screen. Anyone who says otherwise is just trying to defend their purchase.

I have a Dell U2713HM right next to the Swift, and the only thing that's notably better about the Dell is its superior AG coating. And during normal use, I don't notice the color shift unless I really look for it an analyze, "hey I think that red on top of the screen looks a little bit different than that red on the bottom of the screen".

Compared to the 1080p 144Hz BenQ I had before it for my high fps gaming - I can say the colors on that TN sucked (6+2 bit panel), and that was a high end TN panel not too long ago. There was a big tradeoff there for the higher refresh rates. I had to ignore the poor colors and just enjoy the higher refresh rates for what they were. That was one of those monitors I only used in fast paced fps and nothing else.

But starting with the Swift, IPS fanboys are living in the past. You'll find out as true 8-bit TN panels become more common. IPS releasing 10-bit panels more frequently is not going to compensate for the superior moving image and response times that TN offers.

 

[toyota]

lol IPS fanboys? I was only addressing the comment about sitting directly in front of the monitor so it would not be an issue. That's nonsense because it's still an issue even if you are sitting right dead center in front of the monitor and again who doesn't move their freaking head or slouch from time to time. Its just a drawback of that technology if it doesn't bother you then fine but that doesn't change the fact that it's still an issue with that type of panel itself.

 

[Grooveriding]

The swift is a bug ridden piece of hardware. The thread on OCN which has a high concentration of owners is a joke, full of people on their 2nd/3rd/4th return and still having one issue or another. That and some users explaining how they can 'live with' the issues because of gsync or 144hz @ 1440p.

It's one of these products that got hyped to the moon and the hype lives on for some owners after the fact. 144hz and low response is great, especially in a high resolution along with having gsync, but it's a low quality panel and I wouldn't kid myself otherwise.

Whenever they come in stock at bestbuy or amazon and I know I can have a no-hassle return for full refund I'm going to grab one and see if the crappy TN screen can be balanced out by the gsync, 144hz and response times. The main issue with the swift is not just the TN tradeoff, but that the model has widespread issues from the panel often having defects to the gysnc scaler causing green screen bugs or overheating. Asus needed to deliver a product of much higher quality than they did for all the hype the screen got.

Benq has released a 32" IPS 4K screen for $1000. That's insane. High quality panel with 4K for $1000... I don't know that now is the best time to be buying monitors with amazing products like that starting to pop up. I also think the AU panel in the swift needs a revision or two to iron out all the defects.

 

[Cerb]

lol IPS fanboys? I was only addressing the comment about sitting directly in front of the monitor so it would not be an issue. That's nonsense because it's still an issue even if you are sitting right dead center in front of the monitor and again who doesn't move their freaking head or slouch from time to time. Its just a drawback of that technology if it doesn't bother you then fine but that doesn't change the fact that it's still an issue with that type of panel itself.

I even "cheat" with it in FPS/TPS that have dark spaces, looking upwards, and using the bottom of the screen to see easier, only lowering my aim to shoot .

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/asus_rog_swift_pg278q_gsync_gaming_monitor_review,9.html
Regular, expected TN. Any reviews with photos in the same lighting show normal TN viewing angle shifting of color, quite objectively.

Colors in general on TN can be fairly good, even with 6-bit, just that with 6-bit, a given monitor will 'favor' one of the rainbow colors (green, if they aren't compensating for the native color range of the panels), and either near-whites or near-blacks (or have both be band-heavy). Even calibrated, they don't quite look right. E-IPS have similar color issues, but less black/white issues, generally. 8-bit should allow calibration, factory or later, to take care of that. But, it won't fix viewing angles.

 

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[Rvenger]

I am going from a Crossover 27" IPS 1440p with an LG panel to an Acer 4k TN panel as well. Probably a bad move but I really have no choice since my Crossover seems to be going out.

 

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[Headfoot]

120hz > IPS for gaming every day of the week. Just switched to 3x Dell U2415H (AH-IPS from LG) and the colors are nicer and all, but its nowhere near as noticeable for gaming as a 120hz monitor running at 120 FPS. This particular monitor has highly noticeable vertical banding. No way I'm gonna get 120 fps @ eyefinity resolution so I figured I'd go for better color/smaller bezel instead.

Single monitor, 120hz every day. Can't comment on 4k vs 120hz though

 

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[Headfoot]

The one I just got 3 of, the Dell U2415H. Was on deal this Black Friday week. Even with the banding I'm quite happy with them because of how insanely thin the bezels are

 

[Madpacket]

Whenever a manufacturer figures out how to make a 120+ hz monitor with G/A-Sync capabilities that does not have the twisted neumatic issues they stand to make a boat load of money.

 

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[Pandora's Box]

it does not matter if you sit directly in front of a TN or not. they are different looking from top to bottom and the larger they are the more noticeable. only someone oblivious or trying to defend their purchase will say otherwise.

plus I actually move my head from time to time and even slouch a bit which really makes the crappy shifting stand out.

and I cant imagine going from a Dell 3007 to any TN panel.

I just went from a BenQ U2715 120Hz 27" TN monitor to a LG 34M95 34" 60hz IPS monitor. The difference between an IPS and TN panel color output is insane. Plus like you said, if you're not sitting directly infront of the monitor, the colors don't look right, and it's hard to see whats on the screen. I too slouch when gaming and it's so nice to still be able to see what's on the screen as clearly as if I was looking at it directly head on.

TN panels are not worth the trade off at all.

 

[Mondozei]

High quality panel with 4K for $1000... I don't know that now is the best time to be buying monitors with amazing products like that starting to pop up. I also think the AU panel in the swift needs a revision or two to iron out all the defects.

Asus has announced a 800 dollar IPS 4K display.
But yes, the Swift seems pretty broken on many levels.

I'm still waiting for 144 Hz IPS display. They're finally coming. But having Freesync support on top of that would be the icing on the cake. Nvidia will support it inevitably, G-Sync will die a slow death.

There's been more happening in the last 12 months in the monitor space than in the last 12 years.

 

[Mondozei]

I just went from a BenQ U2715 120Hz 27" TN monitor to a LG 34M95 34" 60hz IPS monitor. The difference between an IPS and TN panel color output is insane. Plus like you said, if you're not sitting directly infront of the monitor, the colors don't look right, and it's hard to see whats on the screen. I too slouch when gaming and it's so nice to still be able to see what's on the screen as clearly as if I was looking at it directly head on.

TN panels are not worth the trade off at all.

It depends what TN panels we are talking about. The TN panel in the ROG Swift is actually pretty awesome when it comes to color reproduction.
You probably don't read Swedish, but Google Translate is your (unreliable) friend:

http://www.sweclockers.com/recension/19072-asus-rog-swift-pg278q/3#pagehead

The guy who wrote that review isn't some interning hipster who is a wannabe tech reporter. He is a specialist on monitors and have written about them for 10 years for Sweclockers. It's possible he got an exceptionally good example, but most other reviews I've read have confirmed what he wrote.

The Swift shows that TN panels can be pretty awesome in terms of color reproduction, but it requires a high-end TN panel, which is why the good ones we've seen are in gaming monitors like the Swift or in expensive 4K monitors.