Acer Predator X27 with Ultra HD, 144Hz, G-sync and HDR
April 30th 2017
Following on from the eagerly anticipated
Asus ROG Swift PG27UQ, Acer have now released details of their equivalent screen - the Predator X27. The Predator X27 is an NVIDIA G-SYNC HDR monitor and features 'Acer HDR Ultra technology' according to the press release. There is also integrated Tobii eye-tracking technology help gamers aim, shoot, and explore more intuitively. Pairing eye tracking with mouse and keyboard or gamepad controls offers a richer, more immersive gaming experience as gamers are able to mimic actions that occur in real life, such as ducking for cover or aiming at a target. To date, there are 100 games that support eye tracking. The continuously updated library can be viewed at
www.tobii.com/apps
Getting in to the detail now, the X27 uses an AU Optronics IPS-type panel, offering a 3840 x 2160 Ultra HD resolution, along with a 144Hz native refresh rate and 4ms G2G response time spec. It is paired with NVIDIA G-sync to offer variable refresh rate support, and also allows for the use of the integrated Ultra Low Motion Blur (ULMB) feature as well. The screen uses Quantum Dot technology to offer a wide colour gamut supporting 99% Adobe RGB and its top-end
HDR support is achieved with the help of a 384-zone local dimming zone backlight system for optimal performance. With a 1000 cd/m2 peak brightness it can offer a luminance range several times greater than that of traditional dynamic range monitors. By dimming the backlight behind parts of the screen displaying black, blacks appear deeper and darker on those parts of the panel, a significant bonus for people who play games with darker scenes.
The chiselled diamond cut, all-metal stand is very robust to provide stability and ergonomic with adjustable tilt, swivel and height. The new displays provide wide viewing angles up to 178-degrees horizontally and vertically. Furthering comfort, Acer VisionCare with Flickerless, BluelightShield, ComfyView and low dimming technologies which may help reduce eye fatigue during long gaming periods. Predator GameView lets gamers make precise color adjustments, set up aim points for hip-fire accuracy and adjust dark boost levels for more clearly spotting enemies. Custom settings can be saved in three different profiles including action, racing and sports, for switching between scenarios at any time during gameplay.
You will need a high end graphics card to power this screen, with an NVIDIA 10 series with DisplayPort 1.4 connectivity required. That alone still isn't enough bandwidth for 144Hz Ultra HD and HDR, though, with the X27 using 4:2:2 chroma sub-sampling to compress the image down when using the full 144Hz refresh rate. The X27 also features a HDMI 2.0 port, but that's limited to 60Hz. It looks from the press pics that the screen will also come with a removable hood perhaps.
No word on price or release date yet, but we know that the AUO panel goes in to production in July, so expect it sometime in Q3.