Review for Acer XB270HU Monitor [PC Compatible only ]

Dec 29, 2015
7 min read

IMPORTANT ** This Monitor Review is based solely on PC Usage and readers should know that this Monitor cannot be used with the Playstation 4 or Xbone system. ** Acer XB270HU review (Not COMPATIBLE WITH PS4 / XBone) DISCLAIMER: I bought this monitor myself, no one is sponsoring me. Author Rates : 4/5

Nowadays with GPUs getting more and more powerful, many will feel like 1080p gaming isn’t enough anymore with even mid range GPUs are able to max out games at this resolution. However, with 4k being ridiculously expensive and difficult to run, usually requiring at least dual powerful GPU (GTX 980s or AMD Fury X) to achieve playable frame rates. With 1440p resolution, you get basically the best of both resolutions. Increased pixel density (thus less aliasing and cleaner sharper image) without the performance penalty of 4k. The Acer Predator XB270HU is a 2560x1440 144hz IPS G-sync panel equipped panel. If you want the short version of my review, this is the best gaming monitor on the market you can buy today.

Design

The XB270HU to be honest physically looked underwhelming for a RM2800+ monitor when compared to its closest rival, the ASUS PG278Q. By no means it is a bad looking monitor. However when compared to the Asus which features a matte surface for the bezels and stand, the XB270HU features a glossy finish for the bezel and stand which is bad because glossy means fingerprints will be everywhere when you touch the monitor (turning on or calibrating the monitor). Thankfully, the panel itself is semi matte. There is also a orange ring on the base which feels forced by Acer to make the monitor feels more...I dunno, “gamely” perhaps? Asus fares better here with a LED-lit ring around the base. Even the box itself feels gimicky compared to the Asus with big words being written outside like “Revolutionary Performance of Gaming”. And the model is missing from the front of the box...wadafak Acer?

The monitor supports all kinds of adjustments including height, swivel, tilt and pivot. It also support VESA mount if you are looking to use your own mounting. The XB270HU only features DisplayPort for display which to be fair, is not Acer’s fault but purely a G-Sync limitation. However I do miss the flexibility provided by most 1080p monitor which allows me to connect both my PC and PS4 to the same monitor. This was all fixed by Acer in this monitor’s successor, the Predator XB1 (which btw fixes all the design issues I mentioned above...by costing another RM600). It also features 4x USB 3.0 ports. So wadafak is a G-sync?

G-sync is basically a oproprietory Nvidia technolgy which aims to eliminate screen tearing by using a G-sync module developed by Nvidia in the monitor to force the monitor’s refresh rate to match the FPS produced by the GPU. Traditionally, in order to eliminate screen tearing, gamers would need to enable Vertical Synchronization (V-Sync) to force the GPU to match the monitor’s refresh rate. However, this usually comes with input lag and stuttering when the GPU is unable to achieve the max refresh rate (usually 60hz). Due to the issues shown above, most gamers especially competitive players would disable V-sync in order to achieve maximum responsiveness. However this introduces screen tearing as the monitor would not be able to catch up to the FPS produced by the GPU, which causes the monitor to display more than 1 frame in a single draw.

Specs From Acer's website

Experience with the Monitor I’ve been using this monitor for 3 weeks, and I have to say my experience with this monitor have been nothing short of amazing. While it isn’t jaw dropping as hyped by many reviewers, it is definitely an amazing monitor to use. Resolution of 2560x1440 at 27inch panel gives great pixel density which reduces aliasing compared to 1080p without forcing you to sell your kidneys. At this resolution, you also get more desktop space compared to 1080p which helps for multitasking while not making everything so damn small you need to bring a magnifying glass to use a 4K monitor due to the poor scaling in Windows 8.1 (Windows 10 may have fixed this issue, I am not sure). Text are also sharper in 1440p compared to 1080p again thanks to the higher pixel density of 1440p.

Flying in GTAV now looks even prettier !

Colours are bright and vibrant out of the box with awesome viewing angle as you expect from a IPS panel, response times are good at 4ms rated for a IPS panel which is great, and finally G-sync removes all the screen tearing without the input lag introduced when using V-sync. This makes games with fast moving objects such as Battlefield 4 much more enjoyable. G-sync also for some reason makes games that runs at 45-50+FPS feels like 60FPS. You won't really know its running at only 50+ FPS unless you turn on the FPS counter. This helps out a lot in more un-optimized games like Batman Arkham Knight where FPS likes to drop to the 40-50 mark.

Punching people in Assassin's Creed: Syndicate is smoother than ever

It really shows how awesome this monitor is when I tried to switch back to my previous monitor which is running a TN panel which gives terrible colour reproduction and viewing angles compared to a IPS panel and the lack of G-sync really makes the screen tearing very obvious. The 144hz refresh rate also makes a lot of games (provided you have the hardware to power games to achieve FPS above 60) looks smoother and plays more responsive which makes competitive games such as Battlefield 4 and CSGO a lot more fun. Obviously those things no matter how much I tell you how fun it is you still won't understand unless you experienced it yourself, so you do need to take my word for it.Its worth to note that this monitor also supports Nvidia’s ULMB mode (Ultra Low Motion Blur). However I never bothered to try it as enabling ULMB means lowering your refresh rate to 100hz and disabling G-sync which I just can't do it because G-sync is simply too good for me to disable. Cons The first and most obvious problem I had with this monitor is the price. Costing at around RM2800-2900 although its worth it for the price for me, its still a big investment for a monitor. You would need to have big balls to try and convince your uncle /auntie /father /mother /wife /children on why you need a RM2800 monitor with reasons they would probably wouldn't even understand after explaining for 6 months. This monitor also does not include a HDMI display as HDMI currently do not have the bandwidth to support 1440p at 144hz. This means only your PC would be compatible with this monitor as gaming consoles that include the PS4 XB1 cannot be used with this monitor. This is not neccessary Acer's fault as it is a G-Sync limitation. Newer models such as Acer's successor XB271HU and Asus PG279Q does include a HDMI port, however its significantly more expensive and it only runs at 60hz at 1440p.

One DisplayPort connector...yep... The other problem with this monitor, though not Acer or Asus or any manufacture's fault, is that G-Sync is a Nvidia proprietory technology. This means that you are effectively stuck with Nvidia graphic cards in the future as AMD graphic cards do not support G-sync and vice versa. Seriously I was hopefully for a open solution that allows both brands to be supported. While I got a perfect panel (no dead pixels, IPS bleed etc.), there are a lot of complaints regarding the QC of this monitor. You can google "Xb270hu quality control" and you can see tons of forums regarding QC of this monitor. However I do believe that those issues only affect the first batch of the monitor and according to Acer they have improved the QC of this monitor. The Competition Currently, The obvious rival to this monitor is the ASUS PG278Q. It has similar specs compared to the XB270HU (1440p, 144hz, G-Sync). The main difference being its a TN panel compared to the XB270HU's IPS panel and its 1 ms response time compared to the Acer's 4ms response time. You could read some comparisons between them on Google, though personally I prefer IPS over TN due to image quality. Do note in Malaysia the Asus is also more expensive compared to the Acer despite inferior specs (RM3300+). If you are looking for a 1440p panel without G-sync, some korean models are also worth considering such as Qnix. Conclusion With the XB270HU, Acer have created an incredible monitor that rivals well-known brands in the gaming market such as ASUS. With 1440p, 144hz, IPS Panel and G-Sync, its definitely one hell of a monitor and one of the best monitors you can buy today...if you can pay its massive price tag. At this price, its more expensive compared to its 4k counterpart and significantly more for 4k panels without G-sync. Its actually more expensive than most of the 4k monitors available on the market. Looking past the obvious problems such as lack of HDMI and G-Sync’s proprietory nature, the XB270HU is definitely one of the best monitors you can buy today and is definitely a worthwhile long term investment for any hardcore PC gamer. If you are still unsure whether to pick up this monitor, always remember the BunnyTeam's Shopping Slogan: BUY FIRST THINK LATER ! ** Editor's Note** The Author of this article, Devillightning1 has been a member of the BunnyTeam Gaming Group since our early days. He is a hardcore hardware guy who gives us reasonable analysis of products whenever a team member needs to get some new wares. He also has his own YouTube channel with gameplay videos showing how some video games fare in different sets of hardware. Check him out here! One of his Video !