Greatest Costs At present: Acer Predator X34

$1,199.99

There’s a brand new technology of 34-inch OLED ultrawides hitting retailer cabinets. They improve the utmost refresh charge to 240Hz, making them aggressive with the newest 27-inch and 32-inch OLED widescreens. Acer’s Predator X34 is a part of this new breed, however it stands out from the group with an especially aggressive curve that’s positive to attraction to som — and significantly annoy others.

Acer Predator X34 specs and options

The Acer Predator X34 has an LG WOLED panel with a refresh charge as much as 240Hz. Refresh charge apart, the panel’s efficiency is similar to earlier panels, however it nonetheless seems to be nice.

• Show measurement: 34-inch ultrawide 21:9 side ratio
• Native decision: 3440×1440
• Panel sort: LG WOLED
• Refresh charge: As much as 240Hz
• Adaptive sync: AMD FreeSync Premium Professional
• HDR: VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black licensed
• Ports: 2x HDMI 2.1, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x USB-C with DisplayPort Alternate Mode and 90 watts of USB Energy Supply, 1x USB-B upstream, 3x USB-A 3.2 downstream, 1x USB-C 3.2 downstream, 3.5mm audio-out
• VESA mount: 100x100mm
• Audio system: 2x 5-watt audio system
• Worth: $1,199.99 MSRP

Acer tacks on helpful extras together with a USB-C port with as much as 90 watts of USB Energy Supply and a pair of 5-watt audio system. Nevertheless, the monitor’s listed MSRP of $1,199.99 is dear, and it’s presently discovered on Amazon for over $1,000. That’s on the excessive finish of pricing for a 34-inch ultrawide.

Additional studying: See our roundup of one of the best gaming screens to find out about competing merchandise.

Acer Predator X34 design

The Acer Predator X34 doesn’t make a powerful impression proper out of the field. It seems to be fantastic, however Acer hasn’t developed a cohesive design language that competes with manufacturers like Alienware, Samsung, or LG. When positioned subsequent to these manufacturers, the Predator monitor seems considerably generic. It has sharp, aggressive strains that point out its gaming-focused intent, however lacks distinctive aptitude. There’s no RGB-LED lighting, both, which is uncommon for a gaming monitor above $1,000.

One function that instantly stands out is the monitor’s aggressive 800R curve. A decrease quantity signifies a extra pronounced curvature, and 800R is considerably extra aggressive than most competing screens, most of which have a 1500R or 1800R curve. This can be a divisive design alternative. An excessive curve can improve immersion in sure genres of video games, like first-person shooters or simulation titles, however could also be distracting on the Home windows desktop and in productiveness apps. Personally, I’m not a fan of the curve.

Acer ships the Predator X34 with an ergonomic stand that provides a superb vary of peak, tilt, and swivel adjustment. The stand is sturdy, and I discovered its operation was clean. Nevertheless, just like the just lately reviewed MSI MPG 341CQPX, the Predator X34 makes use of a large stand that takes up an excessive amount of house on a desk. There’s no want for the stand to be this massive, and I desire a smaller, flatter, extra compact design. In fact, it’s doable to make use of a third-party stand or monitor arm, because the monitor helps a 100x100mm VESA mount.

Acer Predator X34 connectivity and menus

The Acer Predator X34 comes outfitted with two HDMI 2.1 ports, one DisplayPort 1.4, and one USB-C port with DisplayPort Alternate Mode, offering a complete of 4 video inputs. All these inputs are able to dealing with the monitor’s most decision and refresh charge.

The USB-C port helps DisplayPort Alternate Mode and gives as much as 90 watts of USB energy supply. Whereas this isn’t fairly as excessive because the MSI MPG 341CQPX, which offers as much as 98 watts, the additional eight watts are unlikely to make a noticeable distinction usually. The USB-C port permits you to join and cost a laptop computer or pill that helps USB-C.

Connecting over USB-C turns the monitor right into a USB hub with two extra USB-A downstream ports and one USB-C downstream. In case your PC lacks USB-C, you’ll be able to as a substitute entry these ports with a USB-B upstream connection. The monitor additionally has a KVM swap. A 3.5mm audio-out jack rounds out the connectivity choices. This can be a good vary of connectivity for a gaming monitor.

As regular, the monitor’s on-screen menu is managed via a joystick situated within the heart of the underside bezel. The joystick is responsive, and I discovered Acer’s menus simple to navigate. The font measurement within the menus might be bigger, however good distinction helps with readability. The Predator X34 features a typical array of picture high quality and gaming choices, corresponding to colour calibration controls, an on-screen crosshair, and a darkish stabilizer function, which will increase brightness in darkish areas so you’ll be able to see particulars hidden in shadows.

You too can management the monitor’s settings via Acer’s Show Widget software program, which is obtainable for Home windows. Many main monitor manufacturers now supply comparable software program for controlling options instantly within the working system, and whereas Acer’s Show Widget might not be probably the most polished or engaging possibility, it will get the job achieved.

The monitor additionally features a uniform brightness mode. This reduces the utmost brightness of the panel however ensures consistency, stopping noticeable fluctuations in brightness when switching between vibrant and darkish scenes in a sport or between home windows in gentle and darkish modes.

Audio is supplied by a pair of 5-watt audio system. Whereas they don’t sound superb, they’re louder and extra succesful than common. The audio system are fantastic for informal listening, corresponding to podcasts or background music, however for gaming, you’ll nonetheless need to use a headset or exterior audio system for higher sound high quality.

Acer Predator X34 SDR picture high quality

The Acer Predator X34 has a LG WOLED panel with a most refresh charge of as much as 240Hz at 3440×1440 decision. It performs equally to different LG WOLED panels, with strengths in brightness and distinction, however a colour gamut that’s a bit extra slender than Samsung QD-OLED panels.

SDR brightness is a standard weak spot for OLED panels (whether or not it’s Samsung’s QD-OLED panel expertise or LG’s WOLED). The Predator X34 shouldn’t be an exception to this, however it does rating in the direction of the excessive finish of what OLED panels ship in SDR.

The SDR brightness of 287 nits is inching near 300 nits, and it makes the Predator X34 X usable in most rooms with gentle management. With that mentioned, although, rooms with many massive home windows should still problem the monitor’s brightness on a sunny day. Additionally, the monitor’s excessive curve can amplify glare at explicit angles, so it’s sensible to not place a lamp instantly behind the place you’ll view the monitor.

The Predator X34, like different fashionable OLED screens, has an successfully infinite distinction ratio. It might probably attain an ideal minimal luminance of zero nits, which suggests darkish areas of the display screen seem completely black. The distinction ratio significantly improves immersion and offers a wealthy, engaging picture in all kinds of content material, from pictures to Netflix and video games. However, since all OLED panels can obtain this, the Predator X34 doesn’t have a noticeable benefit or drawback towards its direct opponents.

LG WOLED panels are inclined to have a powerful colour gamut, however not as robust as QD-OLED. The identical is true for the Predator X34. It was in a position to show 96 % of DCI-P3 and 89 % of AdobeRGB. Although good, that’s lower than the MSI MPG 341C, which has a QD-OLED panel that hit 98 % of DCI-P3 and 95 % of AdobeRGB.

Avid gamers shouldn’t fear about this a lot, because the Predator X34 nonetheless seems to be vibrant and punchy. Nevertheless, creators who need vast colour help may desire an alternate that may deal with a wider colour gamut.

The Acer Predator X34 achieves an awesome end in colour accuracy. Although it’s not one of the best we’ve seen, any end result near a colour error of 1 is excellent, and signifies a monitor correct sufficient that even probably the most eagle-eyed viewers can have a tough time recognizing any issues. I definitely couldn’t, and I discovered the monitor’s picture to look lifelike and reasonable.

I additionally measured a gamma curve of two.3 and a default colour temperature of 6400K at 50 % of the monitor’s most SDR brightness. These figures barely miss the popular goal of two.2 and 6500K, they usually imply the out-of-box picture is a bit darker and hotter than most popular. It’s a minor distinction, it’s just like the error I’ve measured from different OLED screens, and most of the people gained’t discover it. The monitor additionally has choices that can assist you calibrate gamma and colour temperature to your desire.

Sharpness is okay. OLED panels have an uncommon subpixel structure as in comparison with older panel varieties, and this will trigger pixelation in small fonts, in addition to odd off-color artifacts throughout high-contrast edges. Nevertheless, 1440p continues to be a fairly crisp decision, and these issues aren’t all the time noticeable. It tends to look sharper in motion pictures and video games than on the Home windows desktop. Additionally needless to say 3440×1440 is the one decision out there from 34-inch OLED ultrawides proper now, and all of Acer’s opponents share this subject.

The Acer Predator X34 is a good SDR monitor, although not any higher than previous OLED screens. That’s fantastic, as a result of OLED screens are among the many most beautiful, vivid, and saturated show panels ever bought. Brightness is their sole draw back, however the SDR brightness on faucet right here is stronger than most OLED screens, and must be sufficient as long as you’re not attempting to make use of the Predator X34 X in a really vibrant, sunlit room.

Acer Predator X34 HDR picture high quality

The Acer Predator X34 X helps HDR and has VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 certification. Based mostly on my outcomes, although, I’m a bit stunned it wasn’t in a position to obtain the next stage of certification, like True Black 600.

I measured most sustained brightness of 709 nits in a ten % window, that means 10 % of the Acer Predator X34 was lit. That decreased fairly a bit as extra of the show was lit, which is typical for all OLED screens. Nonetheless, a ten % window results of 709 nits is strong for an OLED show and in the direction of the highest of the pack.

Basically, the Acer Predator X34 seemed good in HDR content material. It delivered nice brightness in highlights, like a flash of lightning, in addition to convincing brightness in scenes with a mixture of darkish and vibrant components. It can solely look dim in uniformly vibrant scenes, like a snow-capped mountain.

With that mentioned, I’ve a pair nitpicks. First, the Acer Predator X34 doesn’t supply many HDR modes. HDR is on, or off. When it’s on, you even have the choice to regulate HDR brightness. However that’s in any other case all you get. Most screens have a number of HDR modes. Additionally, I didn’t discover the Predator’s SDR tone mapping to be nice when viewing SDR on the Home windows desktop. In comparison with different screens I’ve examined just lately, just like the MSI MPG 341CQPX and Asus ROG Swift PG32UCDP, the Predator appeared flat and uninteresting when displaying SDR with HDR turned on. This can be a frequent downside, however one some opponents have improved on.

Nonetheless, the Acer Predator X34 offers strong HDR efficiency general.

Acer Predator X34 movement efficiency

The Acer Predator X34 helps a refresh charge of as much as 240Hz, which is arguably the monitor’s headline function. There’s a handful of 34-inch OLED ultrawides with a refresh charge of 240Hz, like MSI’s MPG 341CQPX, however older fashions solely help between 144Hz and 185Hz.

And, sure, the Predator’s movement readability is superb. A better refresh charge improves fluidity, reduces enter lag, and reduces movement blur. OLED screens even have quick pixel response occasions, which minimizes one other supply of blur. Consequently, fantastic particulars are typically seen on the Acer Predator X34. Quick-scrolling check photographs from League of Legends and DOTA 2, as an example, present that character names and hitpoint bars are typically readable, although names can turn out to be onerous to make out once they don’t distinction properly with the background. Movement readability isn’t pretty much as good as a 360Hz OLED, just like the Alienware AW2725DF, however it’s nice.

Acer offers official help for AMD FreeSync Premium Professional. Nevertheless, the monitor works with G-Sync, too, and was detected as a G-Sync-capable monitor after I linked it to a laptop computer with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050. I’d have preferred to see official help, although: It offers consumers peace of thoughts.

Must you purchase the Acer Predator X34?

The Acer Predator X34 is a good OLED gaming monitor with spectacular SDR picture high quality, good HDR picture high quality, and a 240Hz refresh charge that may ship glorious movement readability. It additionally offers a USB-C port with DisplayPort Alternate Mode and as much as 90 watts of Energy Supply, so it’s simple to attach a laptop computer or pill that helps USB-C. The monitor’s aggressive 800R curve can be divisive, nonetheless, because it’s a profit in some conditions however a distraction in others. Acer’s pricing can be somewhat excessive, with a listed MSRP of $1,199.99. That makes it onerous to advocate over inexpensive competitors, like MSI’s MPG 341CQPX. However should you discover it on sale at a extra aggressive worth, otherwise you need an aggressive curve, the Predator X34 will show a sensible choice.