Acer 28" 4k monitor with G Sync $800 - preorder

[Mand]

Why would anyone pay a premium for Gsync now? nVidia is going to support Async. Async for all brands or Gsync and be married to a single vendor. I don't get it?

Probably because G-Sync is here now, and A-Sync is not?

There's also the assumption that A-Sync implementation will be equivalent in performance, one we have no way of knowing until A-Sync actually shows up in a functional form.

 

[Grooveriding]

4k and TN sounds awful.

 

[toyota]

"The XB280HK will support 3840x2160 at 60 Hz via DisplayPort 1.2, along with a 1 ms gray-to-gray response time and a fixed frequency up to 144 Hz."

um what? so the 144hz is for 1080?

 

[Skott]

Monitor buying these days has taught me to wait for actual reviews before buying. So many have serious back light bleed or some other hardware problem that makes them rather crappy. Hopefully Acer has a winner on it's hands.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

$800 for a TN panel

$800 for TN, no thanks

and add another $1000+ to the price tag?

4K isn't cheap, the cheapest 4Ks in this size are ~$650, and you have to go to TN to get it. Don't like it? Be prepared to back down on resolution and/or pony up a lot more money.

this model incurs a bit of a premium due to G-Sync, arguably worthwhile if the overall experience is better even with a weaker GPU setup, i.e. GTX 970 + G-Sync 4K monitor will probably provide a superior experience to a GTX 980 + regular 4K monitor as teh two scenarios can cost about the same (or even more drastic, SLI 970s + G-Sync 4K vs. SLI 980s + regular 4K)

4k and TN sounds awful.

$800 is already steep, the smaller 24" Dell 4K IPS is $850 w/o G-Sync (i.e. likely would be $1K with it, and possibly more limited)

"The XB280HK will support 3840x2160 at 60 Hz via DisplayPort 1.2, along with a 1 ms gray-to-gray response time and a fixed frequency up to 144 Hz."

um what? so the 144hz is for 1080?

I'm definitely curious about this, as it should be possible for the monitor to run a higher refresh rate at a lower resolution (although definitely strange territory for LCDs), the limiting factor should just be DP1.2's bandwidth.

 

[Subyman]

Why would anyone pay a premium for Gsync now? nVidia is going to support Async. Async for all brands or Gsync and be married to a single vendor. I don't get it?

To get functionality now? Any news on when Async will show up? Next year?

 

[Subyman]

"The XB280HK will support 3840x2160 at 60 Hz via DisplayPort 1.2, along with a 1 ms gray-to-gray response time and a fixed frequency up to 144 Hz."

um what? so the 144hz is for 1080?

Yes. There were two monitors shown in the initial press release. The 1080p one is 144z, the 4k is 60hz.

 

[f1sherman]

Why would anyone pay a premium for Gsync now? nVidia is going to support Async. Async for all brands or Gsync and be married to a single vendor. I don't get it?

When we reached out to Nvidia for a comment, the company flatly denied that the rumor is true and told us that

"NVIDIA is solely focused on delivering the best gaming experience with G-SYNC—which is shipping and available today from leading monitor OEMs."

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/nvidia-amd-adaptive-sync-freesync,news-48898.html

 

[Eric1987]

4k and TN sounds awful.

It's great. Check out the Samsung 590D reviews.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Why would anyone pay a premium for Gsync now? nVidia is going to support Async. Async for all brands or Gsync and be married to a single vendor. I don't get it?

To get functionality now? Any news on when Async will show up? Next year?

there's also no guarantee Async will be as good as Gsync, or that much cheaper.

I think a better question to ask is why would anyone pay the 4K premium when they're still limited to 60Hz? But of course the answer would still be the same - because they can get at least some new functionality now as opposed to waiting for who knows how long.

 

[toyota]

It's great. Check out the Samsung 590D reviews.

its still TN so colors shift quite a bit from top to bottom.

 

[Eric1987]

its still TN so colors shift quite a bit from top to bottom.

I don't know what you mean by that but I know my syncmaster 55A looks way worse and its a pretty good 1080p monitor.

 

[toyota]

I don't know what you mean by that but I know my syncmaster 55A looks way worse and its a pretty good 1080p monitor.

its just like it says. the colors will be different on top as opposed to the bottom. you can just drag something up and down the screen and it will change a bit. ALL TN panels do that but some are way worse than others.

 

[tidy]

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[3DVagabond]

Probably because G-Sync is here now, and A-Sync is not?

There's also the assumption that A-Sync implementation will be equivalent in performance, one we have no way of knowing until A-Sync actually shows up in a functional form.

That doesn't address the point of my question. Why lock yourself into a particular GPU vendor now. People have waited months for even limited availability on Gsync. Wait a bit longer and have GPU options down the road is smarter. Gsync is going to go the way of the dodo once Async monitors come out. It's planned obsolescence at this point.

Which metric do you think that Gsync might be better?

 

[3DVagabond]

I'm definitely curious about this, as it should be possible for the monitor to run a higher refresh rate at a lower resolution (although definitely strange territory for LCDs), the limiting factor should just be DP1.2's bandwidth.

I believe it is dp1.2 bandwidth limitation. So, unless it offers dp1.3 you won't get Gsync above 60Hz. Assuming Gsync works with dp1.3.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

I believe it is dp1.2 bandwidth limitation. So, unless it offers dp1.3 you won't get Gsync above 60Hz. Assuming Gsync works with dp1.3.

its definitely a DP1.2 bandwidth limitation at 4K, the question is if the monitor can do 1920x1080 @ 120+Hz considering this 4K TV could do just that over a year ago...that kind of flexibility would add a ton of value to the monitor, as you could do 4K + G-Sync for the slower games and then go for 1080p120+ for the faster paced ones.

it simply isn't encouraging that they're not expressly advertising such a feature as a major feature (would definitely help set it apart from, or at least put it on even ground with, the equally expensive ASUS ROG Swift), so I'm not exactly going to believe it has it until otherwise proven, even though the AT article suggests it can do it (more inclined to believe that's a mistake on Ian's part)

 

[poohbear]

"thank god for 4k gsync monitors cause i was gettin 70-80fps @ 4k and the tearing was unbearable!!" said nobody ever.

How many 4k setups are gonna be doing 50-70 fps that need gsync? I imagine the fps will usually be below 60fps @ that resolution, and if the monitor is 60hz, not much screen tearing is gonna be happening hence no need for vsync or gsync.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

"thank god for 4k gsync monitors cause i was gettin 70-80fps @ 4k and the tearing was unbearable!!" said nobody ever.

How many 4k setups are gonna be doing 50-70 fps that need gsync? I imagine the fps will usually be below 60fps @ that resolution, and if the monitor is 60hz, not much screen tearing is gonna be happening hence no need for vsync or gsync.

you can still get tearing even when the frame rate is below the refresh rate...

 

[tidy]

.

 

[toyota]

"thank god for 4k gsync monitors cause i was gettin 70-80fps @ 4k and the tearing was unbearable!!" said nobody ever.

How many 4k setups are gonna be doing 50-70 fps that need gsync? I imagine the fps will usually be below 60fps @ that resolution, and if the monitor is 60hz, not much screen tearing is gonna be happening hence no need for vsync or gsync.

oh god please not this topic. tearing happens at ANY framerate. do you seriously think tearing only happens when you go over the refresh rate? really? so in all the years you have gamed are you actually going to sit there and say you have never seen tearing below 60hz? heck tearing is even more noticeable at lower framerates even though there is less of it.

and one of the main points of gsync is to smooth out those framerate drops. basically it stops the tearing and cuts out the stuttering from low framerates. so really you seem to have everything backwards as a 4k monitor is exactly the kind of monitor you would want gsync on.

 

[Nebor]

Jesus, who invents these ridiculous myths. Sub-60 fps means no tearing on a 60Hz display? That's the first time I've heard that piece of folk wisdom. Usually it's 120Hz monitors being touted as the magical cure for tearing by the deluded.

Sub-60fps on a 60Hz monitor is precisely the scenario where G-Sync is going to shine.

Not to mention that G-Sync is supposed to address more than just tearing.

I have very little understanding of what G-sync does, but I know that I want it. I'm a huge NVidia fanboy. I hate vertical tearing, so I always turn on v-sync. I've heard that g-sync makes it so I don't have to use v-sync, so I think that means I can get higher FPS AND no tearing simultaneously.

My Asus Swift (that I ordered over a month ago) gets here on Friday.

 

[Subyman]

That's not what it says though, it's not talking about a different monitor:




Sounds interesting to me, because it's pixel pitch is large enough to make 1:1 pixel mapped 1080p usable (ie. on a 4k 24" monitor it would be too small). If I could have a 4k Gsync monitor that could also do 144Hz 1080p for games like UT2004, it would really be hitting the sweet spot.

From what I read elsewhere, that is not the case. There is a XB280HK, which is 4k 60hz and will not do 1080p 144hz and there is a XB270H that is 1080p-only 144hz.

This is from their official press release:

The two XBO series display models for North America include the Acer XB280HK boasting a 28-inch 4K2K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) display with a @60Hz refresh rate and the Acer XB270H with a 27-inch screen and a maximum Full HD 1080p @ 144Hz resolution. Both models provide a quick 1ms response time, further enhancing in-game performance. They also feature revolutionary NVIDIA® G-SYNC technology, comfortable ergonomics and excellent connectivity.

Press release here: http://us.acer.com/ac/en/US/press/2014/82208

Also new review for the XB280HK:

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Displays/Acer-XB280HK-28-4K-G-Sync-Monitor-Review

 

[Eric1987]

its just like it says. the colors will be different on top as opposed to the bottom. you can just drag something up and down the screen and it will change a bit. ALL TN panels do that but some are way worse than others.

Do you know a good way to test it? Because I've tried to notice the difference if there is one from the top of the screen to the bottom but I can't see a difference.