Acer Predator X34P 34" Gaming Monitor Review: Overclocked Curves

Viewing Angles, Uniformity, Response & Lag

Viewing Angles

The Predator X34P has better off-axis image quality than many IPS panels, curved or flat. In our photos, you can see a 40% light falloff with almost no color shift in the horizontal plane. From the top, things become decidedly green with a 60% loss in brightness. Obviously, the extra curvature has affected the X34P for the better. This is some of the best performance we’ve seen of late.

Screen Uniformity

To learn how we measure screen uniformity, please click here.

Image 1 of 3

Both Acer screens are at or near the top of the numbers in our field uniformity tests. Measured values show slightly less brightness along the bottom of the screen, but we couldn’t see that with the naked eye. The black field is visually perfect with no glow or bleed present. Samples will vary of course, but we don’t expect users to see a problem here. Color uniformity is also excellent with no visible shifts anywhere on the screen.

Pixel Response & Input Lag

Please click here to read up on our pixel response and input lag testing procedures.

Image 1 of 2

Gamers will appreciate the speed upgrade that comes the Predator X34P. An 8ms improvement in input lag will likely be perceived by the most skilled players. Screen response remains the same at a quick 9ms. Both monitors are good candidates for high-speed first-person shooters, but the newer display offers a little smoother presentation courtesy of higher refresh rates. Our sample had no trouble maintaining 120fps with the overclock engaged. While it won’t quite match the experience of a 240Hz competition screen, the difference between 120 and 240Hz isn't as different as the numbers indicate.

Gaming With G-Sync

First off, we love the pixel density of a 34” ultra-wide at 3440x1440 pixels. It’s not quite Ultra HD, but speed is a higher priority for us and the Predator X34P, and our GeForce GTX 1080 Ti allowed us to play Tomb Raider at 120 fps no matter how intense the action became. It’s quickly apparent that the Extreme overdrive setting is too much. Ghosting is obvious and distracting at that setting. Normal works just fine and keeps motion blur to almost non-existent levels. And you won’t care that ULMB has been left out, as it just isn’t necessary at these frame rates.

Far Cry 4 also spends a lot of time over 100fps in our testing, though some scenes with fine shading dropped into the 70-80 range. That didn’t diminish the gameplay experience in any way, even when detail was set to Ultra. With V-sync turned off, the fps count sometimes jumped as high as 140. Pixel density appeared ideal here too as the finest details and textures popped right out. Despite sporting only average contrast, the X34P’s superior gamma implementation gives it an edge over many other displays. If you’re considering buying the older X34 for its lower price, we think the X34P is worth the extra cost. It is a superior monitor.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: How We Test Monitors

MORE: All Monitor Content