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Acer Predator X27 4K Gaming Monitor Review: Our New Addiction

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HDR Performance

To measure the X27’s HDR performance, we placed an HD Fury Integral into the signal path to put the monitor into its HDR10 mode. Measurements were managed by a special HDR10 workflow in CalMAN 5.8 and taken by a C6 tri-stimulus colorimeter.

HDR Brightness & Contrast

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The principal benefit of the X27’s full-array backlight is tremendous light output. Where most monitors peak at 400 nits or less, this achieved over 1,100 nits when we measured a 10 percent white window (which means a 10 percent section of the screen is white, while the rest is black). The monitor allows the 384-zone backlight to allot extra power to one area of the screen, enabling the super-bright highlights possible with HDR content.

Coupled with a stunningly low .0186-nit black level reading, the X27 achieved an amazing contrast ratio of over 60,000:1. It’s a tad lower than the number we recorded for the Asus, but no one will see that difference. If you’re wondering why the Dell has the same backlight but only hits 17,112.5:1, that comes down to firmware. Various manufacturers implement variable backlight, also known as zone-dimming, differently.

Grayscale, EOTF & Color

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Contrast is great, but we need color and grayscale accuracy as well. The X27 did well in our test, but showed a bit of extra blue past the luminance clip point. We saw slightly better results from the Asus PG27U, but since the Acer’s errors occurred past 75 percent, you’ll rarely see them. Looking at the EOTF graph (lower right), the knee happens at 75 percent brightness, which means properly mastered content won’t show any details brighter than that. Functionally, that renders these errors largely meaningless. This is excellent performance.

The color gamut chart shows decent tracking of the DCI-P3 standard in HDR mode. All colors were a bit oversaturated, and red even managed to exceed the 100 percent target. Overall accuracy is good, and far better than many HDR monitors we’ve reviewed. In fact, only the Asus PG27U and Dell UP2817Q are even in the same league as the X27.

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Christian Eberle
Christian Eberle
Contributing Editor

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.

14 Comments Comment from the forums
  • cknobman
    As nice as this is I just cannot justify the cost.

    I'll be part of crowd waiting for prices to become reasonable on this type of stuff.
    Reply
  • Daniel_225
    It's too small for 4K. Sacrifice down to 60hz and you can step back up to the 32" size we're all more comfortable looking at 4K without font scaling. This monitor's real advantage is HDR + 4K + 144hz but it costs as much as having a better gaming monitor next to a better proofing monitor.
    Reply
  • dominionz
    You say in the article it's a 27" but in Spec's it's listed as 37". Which is it?
    Reply
  • rantoc
    Its 27" and an quite insane price for its size no matter how much goodies it contains, 4k, hdr and 144 is all nice but at this size the 4k is far less useful than on a much larger screen.
    Reply
  • beoza
    The 2nd slide under Product 360 kind of reminds me of the animated desk lamp you see in movies that Pixar has done.

    The monitor is expensive I'll agree with that. The size is good if you don't have the space on your desk for larger monitors. It's a bit much for me though, I only recently made the jump to 1440p, 4k is still too expensive for me to make the switch, not to mention my aging GTX 970 would choke at 4k resolutions. I'll give Acer some credit though they have made some pretty decent gaming monitors recently.
    Reply
  • milkod2001
    Read real reviews from actual users on Newegg. This monitor has built in small fan which can get very loud. That very weird. Don't know what is that doing there. Absolutely not acceptable at over 2 grand monitor. This is just gaming monitor not professional designer monitor. Price is just ridiculous. I'd like to get something more down to earth with specs and price: 4k, 32'', 100Hz factory calibrated monitor $1200 max.
    Reply
  • adamlreed93
    DO NOT BUY ACER MONITORS at least the one with GSync capable, I bought a xb321hk for $1000.00 and got the famous artifacting and screen blanking issue.
    Below link for Acer's community forum regarding this issue
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/441879/xb321hk-weird-artifact/p1

    My Actual issue video:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bo2iExeZRk


    I have reached the END of Acers customer service line, They only offered me $400 refund LOL. After 5 returns, 3 different xb321hk monitors, I have worked with Corporate Customer service and "Elite" technical support and wasted 3-4 months for $400.00 refund.... Unbelievable. I will continue to post my personal experience on websites and I'll update my Youtube video warning people NOT to buy ACER.
    Reply
  • hendrickhere
    This best thing about this monitor is that it is essentially "future proof." The high quality HDR with a 144hz refresh rate that no existing graphics card(s) in SLI can hit with a modern AAA title at max setting makes the price somewhat justifiable. It'd be more apply priced at sub $1,200 in my opinion and it would, in the longer term, be a great investment for an enthusiast.
    Reply
  • barryv88
    $2k.... why on Earth? 2560X1440 144Hz GS/FS 27" to 32" screens all available for $500 or thereabouts. That's 75% less. Sure, you're gaming at a lower res, but it really isn't that significant. Spend $1500 instead on upgrading or enhancing your gaming needs in other areas of the PC.
    Reply
  • Ninjawithagun
    Toms failed to mention the high complaint rate regarding the very loud fan that is inside this monitor. The fan is required to actively cool components inside the housing. For me, this is a huge fail. No way would I buy a monitor that has a moving part that will wear out eventually. I'll wait for the 2nd gen of these monitors that use a passive cooling solution ;-)
    Reply