Acer XB280HK 4K G-Sync Monitor

[Sidiox]

I just want more 1440p G sync monitors that will do 60 or 75 Hz. The ROG swift is just too pricey, at that 800+ price point. I don't need 144Hz, nor 4k,

[SurvivorNVL]

It seems like the only panel technology that can truly have that -mix- of TN and IPS is AH-VA and those damn things are expensive in their own right at just 1080p 24inch.  This panel and monitor looks gorgeous.  I think if I would make the jump to 4k it'd be in an IPS form and once GM200 is out or Pascal(Or Volta whichever it is now).  I think for now - going for the ROG Swift and the PB series of Asus is the sweet-spot until 4k can be hit at 80+ fps with dual gpu set-up's on ultra and when IPS can evolve to support higher refresh rates, or G-sync at any resolution without overclocking the panel.

[zushiba]

I'm one of the 6 that won one of these during the Game24 event.

I can't wait to get it in and play with it. Unfortunately a few months ago I bought a GTX 770 thinking "I'll never be one of those guys with a $800 display" so I'm certain I'll need to upgrade. Which as we all know, is the best problem to have.

Not sure yet if I should go 970, which I can afford now, or wait a bit and pick up a 980. Any thoughts?

 

edit: nVidia said they were sending them out last week but I haven't' heard anything from them yet so I'm in limbo until it gets here.

[Trik'Stari]

Why must I be so poor, all I want to do is laugh at my console loving friends when they talk about how they can play a few games on 1080p on their ps4's.....

 

 

I just want more 1440p G sync monitors that will do 60 or 75 Hz. The ROG swift is just too pricey, at that 800+ price point. I don't need 144Hz, nor 4k,

I'd like to see 1440p and 4k capable of above 60hz.

[Recon97]

No no no. 1440p is good for me. Don't want to spend hell of a money of guys and this monitor.

[GarlanTyrell]

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.

I've been playing FPSs at 60Hz for a little while now and I could easily tell when I overclocked my monitor even to 70Hz, my awareness of the surroundings when moving fast went up by maybe 35%. Only  then did I realise what bottlenecks monitors really were for gaming. (though I'm still reluctant to trade those IPS colours and viewing angles for more frames)

[kraxe_tk]

This should be the sweet spot monitor for 780 sli.  Better yet G-spot monitor.  It's gonna make you happy.

[SolarNova]

4k : Check

GSync: Check

Great input response: Check

Great pixel response: uncheck

OLED: uncheck

36"-42" : unchecked

 

Wish I could say I was tempted, but no. This wont sway me away from my Plasma yet.

Ofc I hate the low PPI, but I cant stand grey blacks, washed out colors, slow pixel response causing ghosting/haloing/blurring, poor viewing angels, or small screens.

 

Pritty much conceded to the fact im gunna have to wait a while tile OLED gets established.

 

My perfect monitor would be:

 

OLED (and all the great things attributed to it)

5k

21:9 (~5119 x 2160)

GSync

39"

75hz+

[Lays]

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.

Phones, tablets and laptops are also closer to your eyes 90% of the time, so it makes sense to have high ppl.

[Jcowley]

Phones, tablets and laptops are also closer to your eyes 90% of the time, so it makes sense to have high ppl.

 

Phones yes, laptops and tablets less so. I wouldn't say that a laptop or tablet screen is half as far away as a desktop monitor.

[Panzer09]

Around $600 this monitor is a pretty good deal at this time. I'll be securing this monitor with a VESA mount if I get it, that's the only build quality issue I see and hindering my thoughts about just sitting on my desk.

[Darthmullet]

 

 

My perfect monitor would be:

 

OLED (and all the great things attributed to it)

5k

21:9 (~5119 x 2160)

GSync

39"

75hz+

 

We can always dream

[minxtech]

Wait, shouldn't GSync eliminate Tearing? I noticed this as I randomly paused the video:

 

 

Or does GSync only effect the viewing experience from a human eye? Or is this an effect caused by the camera?

[PapaFunkyFunk]

Lemme at that. 

What graphics setup you use to get those frame rates? 30-40 is totally playable. 

[Mountaindru]

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.

Just for a little perspective. You might not like mobas (I would agree with you there) but they dominate the e-sports field and also lead in pc gaming of number of players who those games over every other genre. There is little to competition in these metrics. So most people will not need 144 monitors if we are looking at the average gamer. A prettier 60 at higher detail might just be the answer.

[Ninjawithagun]

After reading all of the love and hate posts regarding G-Sync in general, I decided that there was something in common with almost every post...none of them actually OWN a G-Sync monitor. Speculative opinion is one thing, but useless overall when having to make the actual decision of whether or not to buy one. Would I talk to a Honda Civic owner if I wanted to get his opinion on whether or not to buy a Mustang Cobra? Uh, no. I would consult someone who actually owns the car. Sooooo, the point I'm making is that I actually own an Asus PG278Q ROG Swift G-Sync monitor and LOVE IT. It is worth every single penny I paid for it (and not one penny did I pay over the $799 retail thank you very much). And I loved it so much, that I decided to buy the Acer XB280HK 4K G-Sync monitor this morning from Newegg. Yes, that's right. I did my homework and took the plunge. No guessing. No posting unfounded opinions based off of reading an article or another person's unfounded opinion. I decided to lead and not follow and have zero regrets because for me it paid off big time. My PC gaming experience has been nothing short of awesome since 'converting' to G-Sync.  Even my two PC gaming buddies that own AMD graphics cards absolutely loved their experience on my Asus ROG Swift and were cursing AMD for not yet releasing their much anticipated version of G-Sync, FreeSync.

I want to point out one of the largest fundamental flaws with a lot of the negative discussion with regards to input lag when max FPS goes above the maximum refresh rate of the monitor, and V-Sync vs. G-Sync. What every single person failed to point out is that you can DISABLE G-Sync in the Nvidia Control Panel. So that Counter Strike screenshot showing all that lag with no G-Sync vs. G-Sync is null and void. Why? BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE CHOICE TO DISABLE G-SYNC WHEN USING A G-SYNC MONITOR!!! If for whatever reason, G-Sync is not providing an enjoyable gaming experience you can just turn it off like a light switch. You are then free to choose V-Sync or nothing at all. And should your system actually be able to maintain >60FPS in games @ 4K resolutions, then just turn up the graphics settings in the menu. Trust me when I say if you enable complex shadows and max AA, 99.9% of gamings systems that exist today will not be able to maintain >60FPS @ 4K.

 

So, there you have it. To G-Sync or not to G-Sync.  There are those that talk the talk, and there are those that walk the walk. Which one are you?

[Samfisher]

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

 

 

How did that translate to 60Hz gsync being bad? Lol.  Gsync goes funny if you exceed the refresh rate of your monitor by a big amount.  If you can already exceed the refresh rate, why do you even need Gsync?

[mattlgroff]

How did that translate to 60Hz gsync being bad? Lol.  Gsync goes funny if you exceed the refresh rate of your monitor by a big amount.  If you can already exceed the refresh rate, why do you even need Gsync?

I wish we all had the problem of exceeding 60 FPS on 4K!

[Rex Aevum]

If someone could help me, I am thinking between this monitor and the ROG Swift, I will mainly use the monitor for gaming (90%), I mostly play RPGs, FPSs (not competitively ) and action-adventure games, and everyday use:
1. I have a Gtx 970 and I am considering getting another for SLI, will I be able to run newest games on high to ultra with AA turned off or very low at 40-60 FPS? For example, even thou they have not released the specs for one, games like Dragon Age Inquisition, The Witcher 3, the upcoming Batman etc.
2. Is 4k really that impressive in games, or will 1440p be enough, for me not to tell the difference? The screen is around 2-3 feet away from my eyes.
3. Is 4k still too demanding: should I hold off from buying a new monitor now, or would getting something like the ROG Swift be better?
4. How is the color reproduction, color bleed, and viewing angles and scaling in windows?

[zushiba]

It seems as though nVidia has stiffed everyone who won stuff during the #Game24 twitter contest No one who won anything has heard anything from nVidia for 31 days (since the vent) dispite several tweets, DM's and posts on their messageboard. I've been in contact with several of the other winners and no one has heard a thing from nVidia since then. It's too bad I was really looking forward to playing with this monitor. The very last thing we heard was that they'd be sending out prizes next week. (31 days ago)

[NumeroSieben]

If someone could help me, I am thinking between this monitor and the ROG Swift, I will mainly use the monitor for gaming (90%), I mostly play RPGs, FPSs (not competitively ) and action-adventure games, and everyday use:

1. I have a Gtx 970 and I am considering getting another for SLI, will I be able to run newest games on high to ultra with AA turned off or very low at 40-60 FPS? For example, even thou they have not released the specs for one, games like Dragon Age Inquisition, The Witcher 3, the upcoming Batman etc.

2. Is 4k really that impressive in games, or will 1440p be enough, for me not to tell the difference? The screen is around 2-3 feet away from my eyes.

3. Is 4k still too demanding: should I hold off from buying a new monitor now, or would getting something like the ROG Swift be better?

4. How is the color reproduction, color bleed, and viewing angles and scaling in windows?

 

GTX 970 will struggle at 4k but should get above 30fps i think. i think the 1440p one will be better for you because you'll push some pretty awesome frame rates instead of barely scraping by

[bugman12]

Wow this would be my dream monitor, far in future maybe .. 

[Recon97]

Even dual 980 stuggle to keep even 70 FPS in mosts games at 4k.

[PostwarBurrito]

Just ordered this and another GTX 970 for some SLI action...

 

This is gonna be good.

 

 

Also I just want to say thank you Linus, I love your videos and just now made a account on these forums after lurking for awhile...I believe I used your referral link when ordering the monitor so I hope you get a solid kickback and continue to make amazing videos.