[TFTCentral - Review] Acer XB270HU - 27" 144Hz IPS G-Sync

[alcoholbob]

These are Acer monitors folks...don't be surprised if more than 50% of these have dead pixels. Doesn't matter if it's $100 or $2000. You know Acer is getting B+ level panels from the manufacturers and paying top dime, lmao...and I'm probably low-balling here about the 50%. I was excited to hear about 1440P Gsync IPS until I heard Acer lmao. I went through 8 of the B326HKs before settling on one with "just" 2 dead pixels. The rest all had between 3-11.

And from the initial user reviews I've seen it's pretty much in line with my expectations--looks like at least half of these have dead pixels, not even talking about backlight bleed. $800 for a 27" 1440P monitor from a company with the quality control of Acer...well. You can chalk it up to the Nvidia tax. The Freesync version of this monitor will probably be $450.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

I think there were already indications a FreeSync version would be in the $650-700 range. Can I run FreeSync on an nvidia card or it's not supported at all?

Edit: It appears the Asus FreeSync version w/ this panel will be $600. However, the Acer dropping in price a bit when it's released wouldn't surprise me.

 

[Subyman]

I think there were already indications a FreeSync version would be in the $650-700 range. Can I run FreeSync on an nvidia card or it's not supported at all?

Edit: It appears the Asus FreeSync version w/ this panel will be $600. However, the Acer dropping in price a bit when it's released wouldn't surprise me.

Nvidia has no plans to support free sync at this time.

 

[Subyman]

These are Acer monitors folks...don't be surprised if more than 50% of these have dead pixels. Doesn't matter if it's $100 or $2000. You know Acer is getting B+ level panels from the manufacturers and paying top dime, lmao...and I'm probably low-balling here about the 50%. I was excited to hear about 1440P Gsync IPS until I heard Acer lmao. I went through 8 of the B326HKs before settling on one with "just" 2 dead pixels. The rest all had between 3-11.

And from the initial user reviews I've seen it's pretty much in line with my expectations--looks like at least half of these have dead pixels, not even talking about backlight bleed. $800 for a 27" 1440P monitor from a company with the quality control of Acer...well. You can chalk it up to the Nvidia tax. The Freesync version of this monitor will probably be $450.

Seems like a "gaming" monitor means sub-par panel, stylized plastic, and 50% mark up these days.

 

[3DVagabond]

These are Acer monitors folks...don't be surprised if more than 50% of these have dead pixels. Doesn't matter if it's $100 or $2000. You know Acer is getting B+ level panels from the manufacturers and paying top dime, lmao...and I'm probably low-balling here about the 50%. I was excited to hear about 1440P Gsync IPS until I heard Acer lmao. I went through 8 of the B326HKs before settling on one with "just" 2 dead pixels. The rest all had between 3-11.

And from the initial user reviews I've seen it's pretty much in line with my expectations--looks like at least half of these have dead pixels, not even talking about backlight bleed. $800 for a 27" 1440P monitor from a company with the quality control of Acer...well. You can chalk it up to the Nvidia tax. The Freesync version of this monitor will probably be $450.

You aren't the type to scrimp (looking at your sig. Dynaudio, for example.) I doubt you'd be happy with anything that wasn't top build quality.

 

[thetuna]

You aren't the type to scrimp (looking at your sig. Dynaudio, for example.) I doubt you'd be happy with anything that wasn't top build quality.

I don't think the number dead pixels should be used as a metric to judge the quality of an LCD... Even one dead pixel means the display is defective!

And for what it's worth, my current display has 1 stuck pixel. I bought it from one of the sketchy korean companies with the understanding that it would most likely have some small defect. But, I also paid <$400 for the same panel that Dell was selling for over $1000.
Acer is not selling these as 'discount' or '2nd grade' monitors, so they should be fully functional out of the box.

 

[imaheadcase]

This is the best monitor i've ever owned. Been using it now for a bit and not a single thing i don't like about it.

Well one tiny thing, the LED on power button is super bright, i just put a piece of black masking tape over it.

 

[Xed]

This is the best monitor i've ever owned. Been using it now for a bit and not a single thing i don't like about it.

Well one tiny thing, the LED on power button is super bright, i just put a piece of black masking tape over it.

I'm glad you got one of the good ones. My Swift has no issues aside from the pixel inversion which I only notice every other day for a few seconds. But many people have had an absurd number of problems with both panels and Asus and Acer should be ashamed.

Plenty of pictures in this thread documenting them http://www.overclock.net/t/1549176/official-acer-predator-xb270hu-owners-club/810

 

[imaheadcase]

I'm glad you got one of the good ones. My Swift has no issues aside from the pixel inversion which I only notice every other day for a few seconds. But many people have had an absurd number of problems with both panels and Asus and Acer should be ashamed.

Plenty of pictures in this thread documenting them http://www.overclock.net/t/1549176/official-acer-predator-xb270hu-owners-club/810

Not really a lot of people with problems in that thread..just the first couple pages..most of it is just talking about the monitor in general.

 

[Gryz]

It depends on what you expect.

I think a lot of gamers that used to have TN screens have been trying out the XB270HU as their first IPS screen. I certainly have. Normally people who care about colors, and buy IPS screens, care about general photo-quality colors. Gamers care less about that, they care about colors in games.

The XB270HU has very nice colors. But not the dark colors. If you are a gamer who plays a lot of single-player games, where you often have to sneak through dark levels and dark dungeons, or horror-games that play in the dark, general colors will be relatively less important. And what you want is nice dark colors and black-levels. And I think that is the weak spot of IPS-panels in general. And this XB270HU specifically.

I've tried 2 XB270HUs. They both had terrible ips-glow/backlight bleeding in the right bottom corner. I've seen many (and I mean *MANY*) photos of people taking a picture of their XB270HUs with a black screen. The yellow glow is often terrible. I know photos can exaggerate. Therefor people take movies with their phones, and then take a screencap from the movie. Supposedly that shows a more realistic picture. But even then, the yellow glow can be terrible.

My first monitor had no dead pixels. My 2nd one had 2 dead pixels. And dirt in the panel (or underneath the anti-glare coating). I'm reading threads about the XB270HU on several forums every day. And there are constantly people with dead pixels and people who are disappointed because of the glow. I don't think problems are gone after the first shipment in March.

I'm convinced now that IPS-monitors are not for me. Because of that glow that breaks dark pictures. People have told me that all IPS-monitors have it. I now might buy a TN-screen after all. I still want a 144Hz G-Sync screen. Or I am waiting for a VA panel with G-Sync. I was considering the Eizo FG2421 (a 120Hz VA monitor), but it has no G-Sync. And it is only 23.5".

Lucky for me, last week Acer announced the first VA-monitor with G-Sync !
It's a 21:9, 35 inch, 144Hz cruved monitor.
VA-panel. Resolution 2560x1080.
With G-Sync. (Nobody knows about ULMB yet).
Called Acer Predator Z35.

Some people might get upset about the low resolution. Especially on a 35" monitor. But pixel density of a 34" 21:9 is exactly the same as a 27" 16:9. I play on a 16:9 1920x1080 monitor now. Yes, some stuff looks nice on 1440p. But 1080p is acceptable to me. I prefer it for the desktop and in my browser (no problems with crappy fonts). And the lower resolution allows me to configure more eyecandy. Like SSAO and better shadows, further view-distance and denser foilage. So I don't mind that the Z35 is only 2560x1080. But it might not be the monitor for everyone.

 

[moonbogg]

Pulled the trigger on this thing. I get it Tuesday. I hope its not a defective piece of filthy crap. That overclock.net thread scared me a bit, but I'll know when it gets here if this thing is a POS or not. So far it seems tons of people have sent them back, like mountains of them going back to the retailer. Stuck pixels, nasty bleed, DIRT under the coating, wtf @ $800? We'll see.

 

[Muadib]

I'm waiting on mine right now, and agree with you moonbogg. That overclock thread has made me paranoid.

 

[Xed]

Not really a lot of people with problems in that thread..just the first couple pages..most of it is just talking about the monitor in general.

There's another thread as well, but it's rather obvious it has a higher rate of issues than it should.

Not telling people not to buy it as there are plenty with a good panel, just saying buy it from a store that has a nice return/exchange policy.

 

[Annisman*]

I think you've got to go in knowing that this is not in fact the holy grail of gaming monitors, but it does alot of things right, I'm enjoying mine but it's not perfect.

 

[moonbogg]

I think you've got to go in knowing that this is not in fact the holy grail of gaming monitors, but it does alot of things right, I'm enjoying mine but it's not perfect.

What do you wish was different about it?

 

[Muadib]

Thankfully for me, my fears were for nothing. My panel is pretty much perfect. No bad pixels, and very little ips glow in the lower right corner. I'm really relieved, as my box was in bad shape. Fn Newegg should have shipped it inside of a box but didn't. UPS came really late, so I've had no time to test it out, just set it up using the TFT ICC Profile listed on overclock.net. Will spend more time with it tomorrow, sometime between Avengers 2 and the fight.

 

[imaheadcase]

Thankfully for me, my fears were for nothing. My panel is pretty much perfect. No bad pixels, and very little ips glow in the lower right corner. I'm really relieved, as my box was in bad shape. Fn Newegg should have shipped it inside of a box but didn't. UPS came really late, so I've had no time to test it out, just set it up using the TFT ICC Profile listed on overclock.net. Will spend more time with it tomorrow, sometime between Avengers 2 and the fight.

Newegg is where i got mine as well, maybe those having problems got it from another supplier or a certain batch number.

 

[Subyman]

Pulled the trigger on this thing. I get it Tuesday. I hope its not a defective piece of filthy crap. That overclock.net thread scared me a bit, but I'll know when it gets here if this thing is a POS or not. So far it seems tons of people have sent them back, like mountains of them going back to the retailer. Stuck pixels, nasty bleed, DIRT under the coating, wtf @ $800? We'll see.

There was a ton of bad comments about the Swift as well. I had no issues at all with mine. It was even an open box monitor that someone had sent back for whatever reason. No dead pixels, not much bleeding, and worked fine. It looked stunning in Shadows of Mordor at 100fps+ with gsync.

Have fun with the monitor and let us know how you like it. I have a friend that is ordering two of them so I'm curious to see how it turns out.

 

[Muadib]

Newegg is where i got mine as well, maybe those having problems got it from another supplier or a certain batch number.

Perhaps we got a different batch then. There were some in the overclock thread that claimed Newegg was giving out returns for new orders. Thankfully, they appear to have stopped that practice.

 

[Annisman*]

What do you wish was different about it?

Two stuck pixels right next to eachother, so it looks like one big stuck pixel. Backlight bleed, ag coating, noticiably higher latency than my old Asus with modded Gsync module. But, I am being pretty picky here to answer your question. I very much love this monitor but you'd have to fix my list of flaws before I would call it perfect.

 

[Flapdrol1337]

Maybe most of them are perfectly fine, but if there's a few that have defects they keep getting returned, sent to the next customer, who returns it as well, etc.

 

[Rakewell]

I've been holding out on this monitor for a while, reading about the nightmares of QC that others have experienced with this model.

There's a guy in the Overclock.net forum who reported going through 11 monitors before he got to three without any issues.

Well,

I just received mine from Newegg (in the US), ordered on 4-27, shipped from NJ to Central Coast CA where I live.

No problems at all. No glow, dead/stuck pixels; nothing but absolute perfection.

I had a ROG Swift for a spell, and did not think that anything could top that. I stand corrected - This monitor is breathtaking.

Here's to hoping that all of you who decide to take the plunge will luck out as I have with getting it right the first time.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

How do you feel about the black levels / dark scenes compared to the ROG?

 

[imaheadcase]

How do you feel about the black levels / dark scenes compared to the ROG?

Can't speak for him, but my Dell U2410 24inch IPS next to me looks comparable. This monitor has more brightness controls, so harder to get that "feel" just right though compared to the dell was just a few minor tweaks.

Now my Benq 144Hz, i don't use it much except for 3rd monitor its to light to watch dark scenes in.

 

[QuantumPion]

How do you feel about the black levels / dark scenes compared to the ROG?

I owned both monitors briefly. Both monitors had very poor contrast/black level. The Predator is probably better in the center of the screen but the corners where the glow is distracting. The Swift was just poor all over.

I'm convinced now that IPS-monitors are not for me. Because of that glow that breaks dark pictures. People have told me that all IPS-monitors have it. I now might buy a TN-screen after all. I still want a 144Hz G-Sync screen. Or I am waiting for a VA panel with G-Sync.

Not all IPS are bad - maybe just the cheap AUO or LG IPS. My X-Star (korean PLS) has great contrast and blacks and no glow.