Acer Bakes Nvidia's G-Sync Into 27-inch IPS QHD Monitor With 144 Hz Refresh Rate
Wait, is that a 27" IPS monitor with a QHD resolution, 144 Hz refresh rate, 1 ms response time, and support for Nvidia's G-Sync? Why yes it is!
Nvidia's G-Sync has already been out for well over a year, but it seems that before AMD's alternative launches (FreeSync), Nvidia is already feeling the pressure created by the red team. However, if you wanted a G-Sync enabled monitor with an IPS panel, you were left in the cold, because they didn't exist – until now. Acer announced two new gaming monitors, one of which is that which we've been longing for. The two monitors are called the XB270HU and the XG270HU.
The star of the show is the XB270HU, which is a 27" monitor with an IPS panel and a resolution of 2560 x 1440. On top of that, it has an extremely high refresh rate of 144 Hz, with a response time of just 1 ms, and support for Nvidia's G-Sync. As far as IPS screens go, this is unseen territory, and we're curious how Acer has managed to pull this one off.
Well, when we say Acer, we should really say AU Optronics, because we strongly suspect that this is the AHVA gaming panel that the display manufacturer was rumored to be working on a couple of months ago. An AHVA panel is technically not an IPS panel, but placed side to side, few people will be able to distinguish between the two, as they both offer high viewing angles and better colors than standard TN films.
The XG270HU is also a 27" gaming monitor with a 2560 x 1440 resolution and a 144 Hz refresh rate, but does not feature an IPS panel. Acer boasts that this monitor has a frameless bezel, but in reality the bezel is just very thin, for an "edge-to-edge" viewing experience. It also isn't built with G-Sync support.
Acer did not announce pricing for the monitors, and we're particularly curious about what the XB270HU will cost. The company did mention that both monitors will be shipping globally in March 2015.
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Niels Broekhuijsen is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He reviews cases, water cooling and pc builds.
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SkyBill40 I think I've run out of excuses for buying a new panel and video card. Now it's time for Acer and MSI to take some of my money.Reply -
segio526 Any word on if either panel supports Freesync (or Adaptive-Sync if you want to use the standard's actual name)? I'd be willing to bet that nVidia has some sort of incentive if manufacturers leave that standard out.Reply -
Ninjawithagun Same exact specs as the Asus ROG Swift. Looks like the same exact bezel too. Hopefully, Acer will know how to meet customer demand and not be sold out for 6 months straight after initial release. And the price had better be more reasonable. $800 is completely REDUNKULOUS!!!Reply -
Ninjawithagun ...now the XB270HU is a whole new animal and would definitely be worth a higher price for entry since it is the very first 144Hz IPS panel. But notice how Acer didn't provide a response time, which leads me to believe they were not able to get it down to 1ms. I guess we'll know soon enough ;-)Reply -
SkyBill40 Reply14966593 said:...now the XB270HU is a whole new animal and would definitely be worth a higher price for entry since it is the very first 144Hz IPS panel. But notice how Acer didn't provide a response time, which leads me to believe they were not able to get it down to 1ms. I guess we'll know soon enough ;-)
Uh, how did you miss this?
"The star of the show is the XB270HU, which is a 27” monitor with an IPS panel and a resolution of 2560 x 1440. On top of that, it has an extremely high refresh rate of 144 Hz, with a response time of just 1 ms, and support for Nvidia’s G-Sync."
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hysteria357 if they could undercut the ROG Swift by 100-200 dollars and keep it in high supply, I could see this selling well.Reply -
clonazepam Damn! I hope my Acer HN274H (1080p, 120hz) breaks sometime around March! Can't believe I just said that. Still working like a dream since 2011.Reply