Acer XB280HK G-SYNC Review

[m_tieu]

I'm testing this monitor on my main gaming rig with an i7 4770k and 2 gtx 780ti's in SLI. I'm not going to go into too much details about the design of the monitor or what its like to game in 4k because it's mostly exactly as you would expect; its very sharp and crisp with hardly any visible aliasing, requiring very powerful hardware to achieve.  

 

Design:

The monitor has a glossy piano black finish on the bezel that does attract fingerprints and fine scratches rather easily. I would have preferred that they made it a matte finish, like on the Asus 4k monitor. The panel itself has a matte, non reflective surface. The stand also features the same glossy black finish with an orange accented ring. The stand is fully adjustable with height, angle, pivot and rotation. There's also a vesa mount on the back for wall mounting or third party monitor stands/arms. There is a single displayport input at the bottom that is required for 4k 60hz and G-SYNC to work. 

 

Display:

This monitor is based off the same 28" 3840x2160 TN panel as the Samsung and Asus affordable 4k panels. Colors look good for a TN panel but viewing angles leave a bit to be desired. There's a noticeable color shift when you view the panel on an angle. There is also noticeable backlight bleed along the edges that are distracting during dark scenes in videos or in games. With this much resolution in a 28" form factor, everything from texts on desktop to details in games look incredibly sharp. Transitioning from a 24" 1080p screen, there was a noticeable improvement similar to switching from a "non-retina" phone screen to a "retina" one. Scaling in Windows 8.1 looks good at about 150%. 

 

G-SYNC:

Prior to buying this monitor, I was using the Asus PB287Q which is also a 4k monitor based off of the same panel but without G-SYNC. With the Asus panel, whenever games run in anything but 60hz it would look and feel choppy. Screen tearing was also a really big issue. To avoid this, I had to reduce graphics settings from ultra to high and even sometimes medium to be able to have V-sync on to maintain constant 60 fps. With the G-SYNC monitor, I don't have to worry as much about having the frame rate exceed 60 fps to reduce lag and tearing. G-SYNC ensures that the monitor only refreshes when the graphics cards have a frame to feed it with. This results in a smooth feeling gaming experience even with V-sync off. Motions in games do feel smoother at higher refresh rates but when games run in 40-60 fps it feels more consistent than on a conventional monitor. This monitor makes 4k gaming more viable by allowing users to sort of get away with slightly under powered graphics cards and still have a good experience gaming at such high resolutions. Even with 2 of the most powerful graphics cards available today, running modern triple a games in 4k consistently over 60hz with graphical fidelity turned up is still a struggle and leaves a gap in the experience that technologies like G-SYNC fills to deliver a full and immersive gaming experience that PC gamers strive for.  

 

Conclusion:

This monitor is designed for someone who strives for an unparalleled gaming experience today that is very sharp and smooth at the same time. G-SYNC makes sense for 4k gaming, I definitely feel that it is worth the extra $200ish dollars for the built in module. 

[The Crazed Child]

Imma wait for the ASUS ROG IPS model, hopefully it has freesync capability by the time it's released

[Phase]

I'm testing this monitor on my main gaming rig with an i7 4770k and 2 gtx 780ti's in SLI. I'm not going to go into too much details about the design of the monitor or what its like to game in 4k because it's mostly exactly as you would expect; its very sharp and crisp with hardly any visible aliasing, requiring very powerful hardware to achieve.  

 

Design:

The monitor has a glossy piano black finish on the bezel that does attract fingerprints and fine scratches rather easily. I would have preferred that they made it a matte finish, like on the Asus 4k monitor. The panel itself has a matte, non reflective surface. The stand also features the same glossy black finish with an orange accented ring. The stand is fully adjustable with height, angle, pivot and rotation. There's also a vesa mount on the back for wall mounting or third party monitor stands/arms. There is a single displayport input at the bottom that is required for 4k 60hz and G-SYNC to work. 

 

Display:

This monitor is based off the same 28" 3840x2160 TN panel as the Samsung and Asus affordable 4k panels. Colors look good for a TN panel but viewing angles leave a bit to be desired. There's a noticeable color shift when you view the panel on an angle. There is also noticeable backlight bleed along the edges that are distracting during dark scenes in videos or in games. With this much resolution in a 28" form factor, everything from texts on desktop to details in games look incredibly sharp. Transitioning from a 24" 1080p screen, there was a noticeable improvement similar to switching from a "non-retina" phone screen to a "retina" one. Scaling in Windows 8.1 looks good at about 150%. 

 

G-SYNC:

Prior to buying this monitor, I was using the Asus PB287Q which is also a 4k monitor based off of the same panel but without G-SYNC. With the Asus panel, whenever games run in anything but 60hz it would look and feel choppy. Screen tearing was also a really big issue. To avoid this, I had to reduce graphics settings from ultra to high and even sometimes medium to be able to have V-sync on to maintain constant 60 fps. With the G-SYNC monitor, I don't have to worry as much about having the frame rate exceed 60 fps to reduce lag and tearing. G-SYNC ensures that the monitor only refreshes when the graphics cards have a frame to feed it with. This results in a smooth feeling gaming experience even with V-sync off. Motions in games do feel smoother at higher refresh rates but when games run in 40-60 fps it feels more consistent than on a conventional monitor. This monitor makes 4k gaming more viable by allowing users to sort of get away with slightly under powered graphics cards and still have a good experience gaming at such high resolutions. Even with 2 of the most powerful graphics cards available today, running modern triple a games in 4k consistently over 60hz with graphical fidelity turned up is still a struggle and leaves a gap in the experience that technologies like G-SYNC fills to deliver a full and immersive gaming experience that PC gamers strive for.  

 

Conclusion:

This monitor is designed for someone who strives for an unparalleled gaming experience today that is very sharp and smooth at the same time. G-SYNC makes sense for 4k gaming, I definitely feel that it is worth the extra $200ish dollars for the built in module. 

Thanks for the review!

 

I am in the same position as you with an i7-4770k and 780 TI in SLI and have been considering getting either the Acer XB280 HK, the Asus PB287Q, or the ROG Swift PG278Q (1440p).  Can you make a recommendation based on your experiences on which of these would deliver the premium gaming experience for my (our) hardware?  I currently game on a 24" 1080p monitor, so I am looking for an upgrade since I recently acquired a second 780 TI for a low price.

[m_tieu]

Thanks for the review!

 

I am in the same position as you with an i7-4770k and 780 TI in SLI and have been considering getting either the Acer XB280 HK, the Asus PB287Q, or the ROG Swift PG278Q (1440p).  Can you make a recommendation based on your experiences on which of these would deliver the premium gaming experience for my (our) hardware?  I currently game on a 24" 1080p monitor, so I am looking for an upgrade since I recently acquired a second 780 TI for a low price.

What types of games do you play? What other things do you mainly do on your computer other than gaming?

[Phase]

What types of games do you play? What other things do you mainly do on your computer other than gaming?

 

Lately, I've been playing Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor and occasionally BF4 with a friend - games I have enjoyed include the Batman Arkham series, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Skyrim, Diablo III, and Starcraft 2.  My wife loves to play Sims 4 and does some light photo editing.  I would not consider myself a "competitive" gamer.

 

I am an engineer and use my computer for work on weekends, using programs such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

[m_tieu]

Lately, I've been playing Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor and occasionally BF4 with a friend - games I have enjoyed include the Batman Arkham series, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Skyrim, Diablo III, and Starcraft 2. My wife loves to play Sims 4 and does some light photo editing. I would not consider myself a "competitive" gamer.

I am an engineer and use my computer for work on weekends, using programs such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

For those applications then I can recommend getting the 4k gsync panel. I don't recommend the asus pb287q, I bought 2 and both have issues. Gsync is necessary for a smooth gaming experience at 4k right now. Vsync has noticeable latency issues and stutters. The only games where you might encounter some issues are heavily modded skyrim, shadow of morder, and in some instances battlefield 4 just because of the limited vram. Turning AA down or off would reduce vram usage in most instances and if not, then you would have to reduce graphical fidelity from ultra to very high. However, in terms of the current hardware we use I feel that the ROG swift would be a better fit. Games at 1440p use less vram and the horse power of the second card you that recently acquired will help you reach into the higher framerates that the monitor can deliver. But I argue that the higher pixel density of a 4k monitor in game and out of game will deliver an overall better user experience, similar to moving from "non-retina" to "retina" phone screens with much higher dpi. I hope that my insight has been helpful to you forming your own opinion on which option is right for you.

[sgloux3470]

I definitely have to second how awesome this monitor is.

 

G sync (or freesync when that finally comes out) is essential for gaming at 4K right now because it's so hard to really push games at those high framerates.  

 

I think 1440p makes more sense for most people right now, but there is a certain crispness to 4K and the shear work area is really nice for productivity. (Word documents, spreadsheets etc)  Videos etc scale a lot better from 1080p to 4K than they do to 1440p as well, which is worth considering.

[Phase]

For those applications then I can recommend getting the 4k gsync panel. I don't recommend the asus pb287q, I bought 2 and both have issues. Gsync is necessary for a smooth gaming experience at 4k right now. Vsync has noticeable latency issues and stutters. The only games where you might encounter some issues are heavily modded skyrim, shadow of morder, and in some instances battlefield 4 just because of the limited vram. Turning AA down or off would reduce vram usage in most instances and if not, then you would have to reduce graphical fidelity from ultra to very high. However, in terms of the current hardware we use I feel that the ROG swift would be a better fit. Games at 1440p use less vram and the horse power of the second card you that recently acquired will help you reach into the higher framerates that the monitor can deliver. But I argue that the higher pixel density of a 4k monitor in game and out of game will deliver an overall better user experience, similar to moving from "non-retina" to "retina" phone screens with much higher dpi. I hope that my insight has been helpful to you forming your own opinion on which option is right for you.

 

 

I definitely have to second how awesome this monitor is.

 

G sync (or freesync when that finally comes out) is essential for gaming at 4K right now because it's so hard to really push games at those high framerates.  

 

I think 1440p makes more sense for most people right now, but there is a certain crispness to 4K and the shear work area is really nice for productivity. (Word documents, spreadsheets etc)  Videos etc scale a lot better from 1080p to 4K than they do to 1440p as well, which is worth considering.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys - I am planning to pull the trigger on this pretty soon!  Gotta love the LTT community.