Acer XB280HK 4K G-Sync Monitor

[nicklmg]

NCIX: http://bit.ly/1rAgLle

Amazon: http://geni.us/495W

 

Acer has taken a huge step back onto the right track with their XB280HK G-Sync monitor. But is 4K G-Sync still too ambitious for most gamers running current mainstream hardware?

 

[SAV1OUR]

last 

 

 

 

also hey nick

[Archangel1994]

Could the industry stop going "OMG 4K OMG"? 1440p already has very good PPI on 27/28" screens and doesn't require as much hardware to run well.

 

Edit: Not hating on LTT for reviewing it ofcourse

[beebskadoo]

That looks pretty awesome!

 

I need 2 new GPU's to run that panel though

[Manny Calavera]

Could the industry stop going "OMG 4K OMG"? 1440p already has very good PPI on 27/28" screens and doesn't require as much hardware to run well.

 

Edit: Not hating on LTT for reviewing it ofcourse

This, i just wanted to write something similar myself and surely linus agrees.

Gsync and Freesync or whatever is called is game changer, literally.

[qwertywarrior]

too bad gsync at 60hz has the same issues with Vsync at 60Hz according to  Tom Petersen of nVidia

[Firearm2112]

Very nice!

[melias24]

That is OP. Shame i don't have money for quad 980's

[miyabwah]

that's nice.

the monitor is good, too

[Antistatic12]

Nice, I was waiting for Linus to review this. very interested in this.

[linusforsell]

Loved the format, nicely done!

[fojacko]

You still can't call a monitor a "Gaming Monitor" if it runs at 60hz. Well, you can, in the same way madcatz releases all those shitty membrane tacky "gaming keyboards". The higher refresh rate is essential for FPS and Racing games (idk about mobas, since i don't play them), as you need to always be aware of your surroundings. I went to insomnia (a gaming event here in the UK), with my "casual competetive" cousin and even he could notice a huge difference between 60hz and 144hz. For a "Gaming Monitor", you really do need a higher refresh rate.

 

That being said, this monitor doesn't look bad, the gsync module probably is the only thing making this monitor usable in terms of gaming. I don't like how the vent mesh thing on the back makes it look like a prototype of some sort, it seems really out of place, that doesn't matter though, because chances are you'll rarely look at the back of your monitor. If i had a 970 and £500 lying around, i'd consider it.

[Black_Vanguard07]

I wish there were more G-sync options available on the market. After Nvidia made such a big deal out of G-sync one would think that the feature would be rolled out in force, but it hasn't. To this day-with the addition of this monitor , there are now only 2 products with G-sync and neither of those price points are exactly consumer-friendly.

 

Is G-sync really catering only to enthusiasts?

[Jcowley]

Could the industry stop going "OMG 4K OMG"? 1440p already has very good PPI on 27/28" screens and doesn't require as much hardware to run well.

 

Edit: Not hating on LTT for reviewing it ofcourse

Do you believe that 1080p at 21 inches is "very good" PPI too then? Because they're about equivalent and I'm pretty sure not many people would define a little over 100 PPI as very good...

 

Most other devices we use on a daily basis - phones, tablets, laptops etc - often have two or more times the PPI of a desktop monitor so in my opinion at least, 4K at 27"-28" is much closer to where we should be aiming for at almost exactly 1.5* the pixel density of 1440p.

[JJB]

what is that spot that you see everytime the monitor goes black?

I saw it in tomb raider too so it isn't the benchmark

[Johnny3tears]

hmmm, I was really looking forward to this release and did some more digging, sounds like Arma 3 is really playable at 4k with any combination of existing cards  

Screen looks great tho, if I do decide to go 4k then this would be the obvious choice at the moment. 

[SpittingLlama]

What kind of system would I need to run this puppy?

[illunare]

so 4k gsync or 34UC97 ??

[VulsaviiK]

 

You still can't call a monitor a "Gaming Monitor" if it runs at 60hz. Well, you can, in the same way madcatz releases all those shitty membrane tacky "gaming keyboards".

 

Which is a real shame, because though this may come as a shock, there are certain areas where Madcatz is considered the "golden standard". I'll touch on the rest of what you said in just a sec

 

 

Most other devices we use on a daily basis - phones, tablets, laptops etc - often have two or more times the PPI of a desktop monitor so in my opinion at least, 4K at 27"-28" is much closer to where we should be aiming for at almost exactly 1.5* the pixel density of 1440p.

 

It's not really the same argument, because you don't run AAA games on phones. Running AAA titles = bigger hardware investment, which I guess up until very recently, wasn't really affordable

 

So, Linus mentioned 1080p monitors don't make much sense, but then mentions the ROG Swift as the option for competitive play. The biggest problem is that quite a number of competitive games are not designed to run at 1440p, or flat out won't let you do it. So, G-sync makes perfect sense for 1080p, if one of the benefits this technology is touting is reduced lag, then that's where it comes into play at 1080p.

 

 

The higher refresh rate is essential for FPS and Racing games (idk about mobas, since i don't play them), as you need to always be aware of your surroundings. I went to insomnia (a gaming event here in the UK), with my "casual competetive" cousin and even he could notice a huge difference between 60hz and 144hz. For a "Gaming Monitor", you really do need a higher refresh rate.

 

As far as high refresh rates go, racing games will see a benefit, as will competitive shooters like say, Unreal Tournament or Quake or CS:GO or something, they'll be the sorts of games that see the real benefit in terms of "competitive play". Mobas and RTS games, I wouldn't call 144Hz necessary, 60Hz seems just fine. The last genre that's I guess big in the competitive scene is fighting games, which the games are designed in such a way that it's 60fps or wrong. With reduced lag from G-sync however, since arguably these types of games are the most frame-sensitive, maybe there would be difference, but it's hard to say

[Warpheus]

mhhh tempted

[fojacko]

Which is a real shame, because though this may come as a shock, there are certain areas where Madcatz is considered the "golden standard". I'll touch on the rest of what you said in just a sec

 

True, but I was using madcatz as an example because they're the main offender for releasing £30 keyboards that look like they'll break even if you breathe on them. I think their fightsticks are decent, but then I don't playing fighting games, so i wouldn't know, they just look well built on the product page, so idk.

[VulsaviiK]

I think their fightsticks are decent, but then I don't playing fighting games, so i wouldn't know, they just look well built on the product page, so idk.

 

You saw immediately where I was going with that. A friend of mine who owns numerous arcade sticks from the main brands, being Madcatz, Eightarc and Hori, and apparently the build quality on the Madcatz sticks is the best. I have a Hori stick and I'm definitely planning on buying a Madcatz one, but, I also play a tonne of fighting games, so I can justify the 200+ dollars for one

[ChrisxIxCross]

Yea unfortunately 60hz G-Sync is pretty much useless as if you're pegging the refresh of  GSync monitor you will experience the same amount of lag you would with vsync 60hz. Tbh the ONLY monitors where Gsync actually makes sense are ones that are 120hz+ such as the RoG Swift. 

[TymmVonD]

hmmm, I was really looking forward to this release and did some more digging, sounds like Arma 3 is really playable at 4k with any combination of existing cards  

Screen looks great tho, if I do decide to go 4k then this would be the obvious choice at the moment. 

ArmA 3 runs like *** at 1080p.

[TymmVonD]

SO, what is the price?