Earlier this year we hypothesized monitors with a 240 Hz refresh rate would become more common as their 144 Hz counterparts dropped in price. A few companies have announced 240 Hz monitors since, and now Acer is joining the fun with the Predator XN253Q X gaming monitor, which combines the blink-and-you'll-miss-it refresh rate with a 0.4ms response time in overdrive mode (1ms GTG otherwise) in an effort to make gameplay smoother than ever.
The Predator XN253Q features a 24.5-inch display with a 1080p resolution and 400 nits max brightness. Sticking with the Full HD resolution likely helps keep the monitor's price down, but it's also a matter of utility. Most people aren't going to have the graphics horsepower to be able to push 240 frames per second (fps), at least not consistently, and upping the resolution would require an even more powerful system.
That's why the the Predator XN253Q X supports Nvidia G-Sync. The variable refresh rate technology is supposed to eliminate screen tearing by making sure the monitor and Nvidia graphics card work in tandem. It's hard to justify the purchase of a 240 Hz monitor if it's going to have issues simply because the system it's connected to can't guarantee 240 fps, no matter what it's being asked to render.
Acer said the Predator XN253Q X's ergonomic stand is supposed to let "gamers find the most comfortable viewing angle with –5 to 25 degree tilt, +/-20 degree swivel, +/-90 degree pivot and height adjustment up to 4.5 inches." The monitor supports VESA mounting, too, and the TN panel's 170-degree horizontal and 160-degree vertical viewing angles should help enable whatever setup is most comfortable.
Connectivity is handled via one DisplayPort 1.2 port, one HDMI 1.4 port and four USB 3.0 ports. Acer said that tangle of wires should be easily managed via "handy cable management," but we'll believe that when we see it. (And then when we check six months later to see if the elves that tangle all our other cables were able to thwart Acer's solution.) The monitor also has two built-in 2W speakers.
The Predator XN253Q X is "available at leading retailers," Acer said, with an MSRP of $500. It doesn't appear to be available from the company's U.S. or UK websites at time of writing. We couldn't find it on Newegg, either, but Amazon currently lists the device with 90 days of free tech support for $500. Unfortunately, it's currently marked with the "Usually ships within 1 to 2 months" disclosure of doom.
Response Time Race
Acer's new Predator monitor raises the bar for low response times, another growing trend we've seen among gaming monitors, especially this summer. This includes AOC's 0.5ms reponse time monitors, which are also 1080p and 240 Hz but with AMD FreeSync. They're selling for $300 (24.5 inches) and $340 (27 inches) at the time of writing.
And in June, LG introduced the first 1ms response IPS displays. They're packaged in 27 and 35-inch form factors with up to 175 Hz refresh and 3840 x 1600 or 2560 x 1440 resolution for $496.99 and $799.99, respectively.
It'll be up to speed-hungry gamers to decide if they'll opt for the lowest reponse time, highest refresh rate, greater resolution or lowest price.
Photo Credits: Acer
