The Acer Predator X27U is a high-end OLED gaming monitor with a simple identify (a rarity typically on this market) that’s much like different 27-inch OLED shows that we have lately reviewed: the LG 27GR95QE, Asus PG27AQDM, and Corsair 27QHD240.
All 4 of those make the most of the identical LG WOLED panel, that means the elemental efficiency traits needs to be equivalent no matter whether or not we’re analyzing the Acer mannequin or others. Nonetheless, by our testing, we’ve got famous some attention-grabbing variations between them, akin to general panel brightness and have assist. That is why we’re again once more to evaluate whether or not the Acer mannequin is definitely worth the funding.
When you’ve seen our evaluations of the opposite screens we simply talked about, the design of the Acer X27U needs to be fairly acquainted. All look strikingly comparable from the entrance, a minimum of for the show part: it is a decent-sized OLED display screen with comparatively skinny bezels.
Viewing from the rear, all manufacturers appear to undertake a variation of the ‘central field’ design with the skinny OLED panel extending out from there. Acer’s central field, crafted from customary black plastic with numerous texture highlights, seems respectable and lacks any RGB LED lighting.
Options and Design
The first aesthetic distinction lies within the stand, which is a mixture of two supplies. The legs look spectacular and appear to be manufactured from a sturdy steel with a clean end. The pillar, nevertheless, would not match up by way of construct high quality. It is simply fundamental black plastic, and whereas it isn’t seen from the entrance, we’d have most well-liked one thing a bit extra premium in end when buying a high-end monitor.
That mentioned, the stand does provide peak, tilt, swivel, and pivot assist, offering a incredible vary of ergonomic management. There’s an ample quantity of peak obtainable right here that ought to go well with most desk setups.
For inputs, we’ve got one DisplayPort 1.4 with DSC, two HDMI 2.0 ports, and a USB Sort-C enter that helps DP Alt-Mode and a beneficiant 90W of energy supply, wonderful for charging laptops.
It is a tad disappointing to see solely HDMI 2.0 used right here, that are restricted to 144Hz; at this level, they actually needs to be HDMI 2.1 to permit for the complete 240Hz over HDMI. Additionally included is a built-in KVM change that can be utilized with the offered USB ports (each Sort-C and the two-port type-A hub).
The OSD is operated by a directional toggle alongside the underside edge, and inside it, you will discover a respectable vary of options primarily centered round gaming. There is a crosshair, FPS readout, timer, sniper mode, black boosting, low blue mild mode, plus an assortment of different shade controls and settings. A few of these options, like crosshairs, we would not advocate utilizing on an OLED monitor because of the danger of burn-in, however they’re included for infrequent use.
Display Coating, Subpixel Structure, Burn In
Like the opposite three variants of this OLED monitor that we have examined to date, the Acer mannequin makes use of a matte anti-glare coating. As we talked about in our evaluation of the LG mannequin, the primary variant we examined, we consider this is without doubt one of the higher matte display screen coatings. Although it leans on the heavier aspect, those that dislike any coating grain will not be enormous followers. Nonetheless, it does an distinctive job of eliminating reflections, lowering diffuse mild, and preserving OLED blacks.
Typically, these are our ideas on matte versus shiny. When you’re utilizing this show in a brightly lit room, if there are mild sources instantly in entrance of the show, or if you cannot management room lighting successfully with blinds, a matte coating for an OLED is preferable and the X27U seems nice below these situations.
In a dimly lit room with some ambient mild, or for those who can optimize mild within the room by situating mild sources behind the show or utilizing blinds, a shiny end is preferable as it should seem richer and clearer. In a darkish room, like gaming with the lights off, there’s nearly no distinction between shiny and matte, with a slight benefit to shiny because it is not going to have any coating-related grain.
The WOLED panel’s subpixel array is not preferrred for desktop utilization, and it is extra noticeable on a panel of this dimension and determination, in comparison with bigger OLEDs the place you may view them from just a little additional away. When utilizing a 27-inch 1440p display screen, we consider most individuals might be utilizing 100% scaling and sitting at a normal desk viewing distance, which exposes the problems with the RWBG subpixel format used right here.
That is compared to a standard RGB format which working programs anticipate when rendering textual content utilizing trendy subpixel rendering strategies. WOLED employs a further white subpixel which alters the best way every shade is rendered, inflicting a level of blurriness and nearly shadowing for high quality components like textual content relative to an everyday RGB subpixel LCD. We do not suppose it seems excellent, and it is a noticeable downgrade over an LCD by way of textual content high quality.
In consequence, we do not consider this monitor is effectively suited to desktop use or productiveness work. This downside is exacerbated by the chance of everlasting burn-in when utilizing an OLED for desktop use, which frequently includes many static components.
You should not be involved about burn-in (or the subpixel format for that matter) when utilizing OLED for content material consumption like watching movies or enjoying video games. However when you have the identical components on the display screen for prolonged durations – like say the toolbar in an software – they may doubtless burn in over time. That is why we do not advocate OLED as a productiveness monitor.
Sadly, Acer doesn’t provide burn-in safety as a part of their guarantee assist, so there is no peace of thoughts to assist alleviate any issues over burn-in. The Acer retailer lists a 3-year basic guarantee, however Acer confirmed to us that this doesn’t embrace burn-in. At this level, Corsair affords the most effective guarantee throughout the 4 fashions we have examined to date, protecting burn-in for 3 years.
Show Efficiency
The movement efficiency from the X27U is equivalent to that of different OLED screens, so for those who’ve seen our different evaluations, this part may not be overly fascinating. At 240Hz, that is an extremely quick monitor, boasting a mean response time of 0.28ms, with no considerable overshoot and a very good cumulative deviation. The one notable distinction is available in comparability with the LG mannequin, which exhibited a extra pronounced interval of overshoot that lasts for one refresh cycle. The remaining fashions carry out basically identically.
Moreover, we noticed wonderful outcomes throughout the refresh price vary, as OLED panels don’t expertise efficiency degradation at decrease refresh charges, not like LCDs. So, for players preferring variable refresh charges, that is an distinctive alternative as you will expertise top-notch efficiency even at average refresh charges like 120Hz. We additionally did not observe any overshoot artifacts at 60Hz, which was a minor problem with the LG counterpart.
Compared to different screens, there actually is not something setting the X27U other than different OLEDs, as most clock in round a 0.3ms common response at 240Hz. That is additionally true for QD-OLEDs, so do not anticipate any distinction there versus WOLED.
Probably the most substantial distinction comes when evaluating it to LCDs, and it’s fairly a big distinction certainly. The PG27AQN is without doubt one of the quickest LCDs round, and even then, OLED response occasions are considerably higher. This usually offers OLED an edge over LCD on the similar refresh price, permitting for comparable movement efficiency to an LCD at a decrease refresh price. In our opinion, 240Hz OLED and 360Hz LCD provide comparable visible experiences, with the 360Hz LCD solely marginally superior.
Identical is seen in different efficiency charts; OLEDs ship distinctive efficiency throughout the refresh price vary, as they’ll preserve the identical stage of pace at any refresh price. In distinction, LCDs usually decelerate because the refresh price decreases or produce extra overshoot.
So, when analyzing the typical cumulative deviation, OLEDs preserve a major lead over LCDs on common, and like the opposite graphs, the Acer monitor is not completely different from different OLEDs.
The X27U is a superb monitor for 120Hz gaming, though it is a 240Hz monitor. So, for those who intention to pair this with a sport console and play at 1440p 120Hz, that is a extremely appropriate alternative. The 60Hz efficiency can also be exceptional, though because of the pattern and maintain nature of OLEDs, there’ll nonetheless be some stage of blur right here that you simply will not encounter at increased refresh charges.
We have been happy to validate that the Acer mannequin affords wonderful enter latency, with a processing delay of simply 0.1ms. Nonetheless, this aligns with the opposite variants, so there is no actual distinction between any of the 4 selections. All present an especially quick expertise: a really low processing delay, a excessive refresh price, and fast response occasions. This makes any of those 1440p 240Hz OLEDs a wonderful alternative for aggressive multiplayer gaming or every other fast-paced video games.
Like different OLED screens in the marketplace, this Acer variant doesn’t assist backlight strobing / black body insertion. Whereas it seems nice at 240Hz and does have a readability benefit over a non-strobed LCD on the similar refresh price, the most effective readability continues to be solely achievable on LCDs with strobing.
The Asus PG27AQN and BenQ XL2566K are some examples of excessive finish screens with wonderful movement readability by strobing, which beats the X27U and affords the next refresh price. Till OLEDs assist strobing, this can proceed to be the case, though strobing is just not very appropriate with variable refresh charges so these outcomes are solely attainable at mounted refreshes.
The facility consumption from this Acer OLED is the bottom we have recorded, at simply 36 watts when displaying a full white picture. That is barely decrease than the Corsair mannequin at 40 watts, and considerably beneath the LG and Asus fashions which push energy above 50W. The brightness on this take a look at was corresponding to the Corsair unit (neither attain 200 nits), suggesting that the Acer mannequin is barely extra environment friendly.
Coloration Efficiency
Coloration House: Acer Predator X27U OLED – D65-P3
We already know what this panel brings from a shade house standpoint because it’s the identical panel as different OLED fashions. So getting 97% DCI-P3 protection is not an enormous shock, and is consistent with our outcomes from the opposite variants. This led to 73% protection of Rec.2020, which is correct on the anticipated quantity for a WOLED panel and simply high quality for HDR content material.
Default Coloration Efficiency
Manufacturing facility calibration on the X27U was common, although typical of a gaming monitor. Like Corsair, Acer have opted to focus on round a 6500K shade temperature out of the field, which is rather more correct and usable than the LG and Asus variants. This results in cheap greyscale deltaEs, although gamma may very well be improved. As for saturation and ColorChecker efficiency, we get the same old problem with a large gamut monitor the place there is no such thing as a sRGB clamp by default, so SDR content material is expanded and oversaturated.
In comparison with different screens the X27U’s manufacturing facility grayscale calibration is common, although considerably higher than the LG and Asus fashions. For ColorChecker there’s not rather a lot separating the 4 WOLEDs, though the X27U general is mid-table, once more with a mean consequence.
What was disappointing to find is that the X27U’s OSD controls are rather a lot much less versatile than the opposite three variants. Acer do present an sRGB mode and the power to modify shade areas, however this locks out different essential controls like white steadiness. The Corsair and Asus fashions have an sRGB configuration with out locking controls, and the LG mannequin does lock some options but additionally gives {hardware} calibration assist. Finally this makes the Acer mannequin the least versatile and hardest to calibrate.
The included sRGB mode is cheap, although inferior to the Corsair variant in greyscale. For ColorChecker the sRGB mode is the most effective of the 4 variants barely edging out the Corsair and providing enchancment over the opposite fashions. This mitigates the inflexibility over shade controls considerably, although I nonetheless do not suppose it is a terrific answer.
Calibrated Coloration Efficiency
As for a full calibration through Calman we get fairly typical outcomes right here relative to different OLED screens, which are usually a bit more durable to calibrate relative to LCDs as a result of their dynamic efficiency. sRGB and P3 efficiency finally ends up fairly good for functions that assist ICC profiles, although for numerous different causes like textual content readability I nonetheless would not advocate an OLED for shade crucial work.
Brightness, Distinction, Uniformity
One of many principal variations we see between OLED fashions is most brightness within the SDR mode and that continues to be the case with the Acer mannequin. It is a main weak spot of this monitor, solely in a position to provide 136 nits of full display screen white brightness, barely increased than the Corsair variant, however considerably beneath the LG and particularly Asus fashions, in addition to QD-OLED screens. This makes it arduous to advocate the Acer for SDR content material.
To make issues worse, the Acer mannequin is the one one of many 4 WOLEDs to ship with out a uniform brightness setting, or any technique to disable the automated brightness limiter. This implies as you progress home windows round on the desktop and resize issues, or change between brighter and darker functions, the general brightness of the display screen will change – and there is no technique to disable this from taking place.
It is actually very irritating for desktop use, because the brightness change is fairly substantial, anyplace from 136 nits for full display screen white, to over 300 nits for smaller white home windows with nearly all of the display screen being darkish. Being able to modify off the ABL, even when this implies limiting the display screen to a low brightness stage, is a way more preferable manner to make use of the display screen for desktop app utilization.
Minimal brightness is superb, at simply 10 nits, so this can be a extremely usable show for darkish rooms the place you actually don’t need an eye fixed scorching picture. Nonetheless once more that is only for a full white picture, so content material with a decrease common image stage will see the next minimal brightness. And naturally as anticipated we’re getting a black stage of 0 because the OLED panel can totally change off to show black, giving us an successfully infinite distinction ratio.
Viewing angles are wonderful on this OLED, as we have come to count on from this expertise. You may principally view this show from any angle and get a terrific expertise, plus it is a flat panel so there is no points arising from the curve.
Uniformity although was a bit much less spectacular. Whereas an OLED can’t undergo from backlight bleed or IPS glow, my unit did have a little bit of a “soiled display screen impact” when viewing gray content material, which is the place you may see some gray uniformity points viewing mid darkish tones relative to an LCD that reveals these tones in a extra constant vogue.
Whereas white uniformity general was excellent, the X27U is not that good for apps which have darkish gray backgrounds which is, surprisingly, fairly just a few of them. The opposite variants additionally had this problem, so it appears that evidently this WOLED panel basically suffers from this problem as a result of its {hardware}.
HDR Efficiency
This Acer monitor is a superb HDR show. This is because of OLED expertise’s inherent {hardware} qualities which are tailored for displaying HDR content material. The important thing function right here is that every particular person pixel is self lit, that means at a pixel stage the show can activate or off to precisely show every little thing from darkish shadows to vibrant highlights.
When the show wants to indicate pure black, it will possibly totally change off, giving us the trademark wealthy zero-level blacks and deep shadows that OLED is thought for.
That is in distinction to most HDR succesful LCD panels, which aren’t totally controllable on the pixel stage. LCDs require a backlight, and for HDR shows this usually means using full array native dimming, a expertise that splits the backlight into zones.
Whereas OLED can flip off every pixel individually, LCDs with native dimming can solely flip off sure zones encompassing lots of and even hundreds of pixels. This may nonetheless be efficient for HDR content material and look nice, however it has some elementary flaws in tough circumstances.
For instance, when exhibiting a vibrant and darkish aspect shut collectively, an OLED can management every pixel as wanted with a clear, correct distinction between vibrant and darkish. LCDs with native dimming must masterfully management the zones to realize the mandatory distinction between vibrant and darkish, and when the aspect is just too small or not within the optimum place, the intense aspect can spill into the darkish space inside the backlight zone, creating ugly blooming artefacts.
OLED subsequently has the sting in terms of displaying clear HDR content material with minimal blooming or haloing. In some scenes this would be the distinction between raised blacks and deep blacks, akin to for starfields and Christmas lights.
At different occasions, OLED can have a brightness benefit for small vibrant objects inside a darkish scene. Subtitles will look cleaner on an OLED with diminished blooming. And customarily, OLEDs produce richer shadows because of its inherently increased distinction ratio.
Except for brightness and shadow element, OLEDs additionally produce other benefits for HDR. As there are not any backlight zones, OLEDs are sooner to transition between vibrant and darkish with no seen zone transitions.
OLEDs are a lot much less more likely to undergo from backlight flickering, though mild PWM habits particularly when utilizing a variable refresh price is frequent. And OLEDs like this one don’t enhance enter latency in its HDR mode, as they needn’t run a backlight zone algorithm.
The draw back to HDR on an OLED is brightness. OLEDs usually do not get as vibrant as an LCD with full array native dimming in HDR content material, particularly for giant window sizes. And we see that is the case for the X27U, with a full display screen white picture within the HDR mode delivering 138 nits, the identical because the SDR mode. That is within the ballpark of different WOLED panels, except the PG27AQDM, however it’s nonetheless not a terrific consequence general in comparison with QD-OLEDs and any LCD we have ever examined.
10% window brightness was okay at 633 nits, however this was the weakest results of the 4 WOLED 27-inch screens we have examined. The brightest is the Asus mannequin at round 900 nits, so this can be a large discrepancy that offers the Asus variant an enormous benefit. Nonetheless the Acer mannequin is comparatively much like the Corsair and LG variants, although just a little dimmer. It’s brighter than QD-OLED screens as effectively.
Taking a look at brightness vs window dimension, the Acer and Corsair fashions carry out in the identical method, with the Acer mannequin barely much less vibrant than the Corsair in my testing. The LG mannequin can also be comparable, however affords much less brightness for the very smallest components. The Asus mannequin is clearly the most effective, with by far the brightest expertise for window sizes at and beneath 25%.
This carries throughout to a lot of the actual scene benchmarks. The X27U is mid-table for video scene 1, whereas for video scene 2 it affords comparable brightness to the opposite WOLEDs aside from the Asus mannequin. For gaming efficiency I noticed 591 nits, with an absolute most recorded of round 670 nits, which continues to be effectively beneath the pack chief within the Asus PG27AQDM.
HDR accuracy is just not nice, with the higher a part of the EOTF curve being boosted in brightness relative to what’s correct. The decrease elements are very stable so darkish and mid-tone efficiency is nice and there is no points with shadow element, however it appears Acer are attempting to artificially enhance obvious HDR brightness right here – and there are not any HDR settings to regulate this. HDR shade efficiency is mediocre, affected by that boosting of brightness within the higher EOTF vary.
I additionally wasn’t pleased with the best way the Acer mannequin handles the change between the HDR and SDR modes. Once you first allow HDR, it’s important to go into the OSD and set HDR to “Auto” below the Image settings – this delivers a correct HDR expertise. However this setting is poorly named, because it’s much less of an “auto” and extra of an “on” change. As quickly as you turn again to SDR, the HDR mode continues to be enabled within the OSD, and it’s important to then manually flip it off to get an correct SDR expertise. Very annoying, the monitor ought to positively be switching off its HDR mode when an SDR sign is detected routinely.
HUB Necessities Guidelines
The ultimate part of this evaluation is the HUB Necessities Guidelines, which evaluates whether or not Acer is promoting this monitor precisely and assembly fundamental minimal efficiency requirements. Within the first part, the principle deduction is for utilizing HDMI 2.0 as an alternative of HDMI 2.1.
We additionally noticed a advertising picture that incorrectly shows the bezel dimension for this monitor, although most different photographs seem correct.
Acer receives borderline outcomes for brightness and shade house, that are shut to what’s marketed. It is encouraging to see that Acer marketed manufacturing facility calibration and delivered that of their sRGB mode, though there are different limitations.
For movement efficiency, Acer advertises a 0.01ms response time, clarified to 0.03ms gray to gray of their spec sheet. That is nonetheless considerably optimistic for panel efficiency and would not genuinely symbolize the true distinction to “1ms class” LCDs. Relating to HDR efficiency, that is certainly a real HDR product, although claims of 1,000 nits of brightness are exaggerated. Like many different WOLED screens we have examined, we have been unable to hit this determine below sensible take a look at situations.
Within the ultimate part, we deducted some factors for the non-RGB subpixel array, danger of everlasting burn in, the automated brightness limiter that may’t be disabled, and the problems switching between HDR and SDR modes. Thankfully, firmware updates are supported, so in concept, Acer might deal with these points sooner or later.
What We Discovered
At this level, we have examined 4 27-inch 1440p 240Hz OLED gaming screens utilizing the identical LG WOLED panel and sadly, out of those fashions, we’d place the Acer Predator X27U in fourth place. It might appear harsh to name this the least spectacular of the bunch given in lots of respects it is nonetheless an honest high-end gaming monitor, however there are just a few areas the place Acer hasn’t carried out in addition to its rivals and that makes it arduous to advocate.
We’ll begin with the nice points, that are the inherent qualities of this OLED panel. It is extremely quick, with a excessive 240Hz refresh price and elite response time pace delivering wonderful movement readability. When mixed with its nice HDR capabilities, we find yourself with a monitor that is effectively suited to a number of kinds of gaming. Whether or not you are enjoying fast-paced multiplayer titles or visually gorgeous single-player video games, such a OLED panel delivers a wonderful expertise unmatched in versatility by different monitor sorts for the time being.
On the HDR entrance, we do get a real HDR expertise right here with a pleasant large shade gamut, wonderful distinction capabilities because of per pixel native dimming and 0 stage blacks, plus ample ranges of brightness with out being notably excellent. The X27U affords a noticeable and important step up over an SDR setup and we consider many patrons might be pleased with what this affords for HDR gaming and video playback.
The place Acer has stumbled with the X27U is in not providing some extent of distinction in comparison with the opposite fashions we have examined. There isn’t any killer standout function right here. The Asus mannequin, for instance, is far brighter in each the SDR and HDR modes. The LG mannequin can also be brighter within the SDR mode, and affords {hardware} calibration assist. The Corsair mannequin is not wonderful however does present the most effective manufacturing facility calibration, particularly within the sRGB mode. We won’t actually level to any facet of the Acer mannequin and say that it does one thing higher than its rivals.
On the similar time, there are some areas the place the X27U is inferior to the others. The lack to disable the automated brightness limiter makes this the least appropriate 27-inch WOLED we have examined for desktop app utilization. The sRGB mode is locked down, stopping additional {hardware} calibration. Switching between the HDR and SDR modes is irritating and requires OSD setting modifications each time. General brightness is the weakest of the 4 choices examined, with no burn-in protection specified within the guarantee.
The excellent news is most of those issues might theoretically be resolved by a firmware replace. Add in a uniform brightness mode, unlock the sRGB mode, repair HDR/SDR switching and maybe bump up brightness barely, and we would be left with a wonderful product. However there is no assure these points might be mounted, and actually, a few of them should not have made it into the delivery firmware.
One other downside to the X27U is the value. Whereas not but obtainable within the US, when Acer initially introduced it, they set the value at $1,100. Given the opposite three variants have a $1,000 MSRP, and the Acer mannequin is the least compelling, if Acer does go along with $1,100 at launch, will probably be lifeless on arrival. LG and Corsair have already begun discounting their fashions through the occasional sale. There’s simply no manner the Acer variant is value $100 to $200 extra. At MSRP pricing, we’ll proceed to advocate the Asus PG27AQDM, which is the most effective of the bunch.
In Australia, Acer has priced the monitor at $1,900 AUD, which can also be not particularly well-priced. The 27GR95QE from LG has an $1,800 MSRP and was very lately discounted to only $1,600. The Corsair mannequin is priced at $1,750, whereas the Asus mannequin is notably dearer at $2,000.
Acer simply hasn’t made a compelling providing right here. We might be selecting between the LG and Asus fashions at present costs, solely choosing the X27U if it was discounted by a number of hundred {dollars}. Nonetheless, it is nice to have a variety of various choices, competitors finally ends up being wonderful for customers and we would count on fairly a pricing battle all through the remainder of 2023.
Buying Shortcuts:
- Asus ROG Swift PG27AQDM OLED on Amazon
- Corsair Xeneon 27QHD240 OLED on Amazon
- LG Ultragear 27GR95QE OLED on Amazon
- Acer Predator X27U OLED on Acer.com
- Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 on Amazon
- Alienware AW3423DW 34″ QD-OLED on Amazon
- LG C2 42″ OLED TV on Amazon
- Asus ROG Swift PG32UQX on Amazon
