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Brightness and Contrast

To read about our monitor tests in-depth, please check out Display Testing Explained: How We Test PC Monitors. We cover brightness and contrast testing on page two.

Uncalibrated – Maximum Backlight Level

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Acer Predator X34 OLED — (Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

It’s easy to spot which screens have variable brightness; it’s the top four with the X34 OLED delivering 407 nits to a 25% window pattern. It’s a tad behind the Corsair, Gigabyte, and Asus, but in practice, you won’t find it deficient. The Alienware and AOC have constant brightness only, so they top out at 259 and 236 nits, respectively. Black levels and contrast cannot be measured.

After Calibration to 200 nits

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Calibration doesn’t change the static contrast results. I noted that switching between uniform and variable brightness necessitated a change in the brightness value. The X34 OLED doesn’t retain those settings, which is a tad annoying. It still looks incredible, though. The ANSI checkerboard pattern also has immeasurable blacks.

Test Takeaway: The X34 OLED has the same perfect blacks and infinite contrast as any other OLED display. It has a variable brightness option, which not every other product has. That delivers brighter peaks for SDR and HDR, perfect for video and gaming content.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

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Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors. Christian began his obsession with tech when he built his first PC in 1991, a 286 running DOS 3.0 at a blazing 12MHz. In 2006, he undertook training from the Imaging Science Foundation in video calibration and testing and thus started a passion for precise imaging that persists to this day. He is also a professional musician with a degree from the New England Conservatory as a classical bassoonist which he used to good effect as a performer with the West Point Army Band from 1987 to 2013. He enjoys watching movies and listening to high-end audio in his custom-built home theater and can be seen riding trails near his home on a race-ready ICE VTX recumbent trike. Christian enjoys the endless summer in Florida where he lives with his wife and Chihuahua and plays with orchestras around the state.