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Physical Layout
The medium anti-glare screen layer is surrounded by a thin black bezel polished to a high gloss. While a surface like this can pick up reflections, it looks much blacker than the textured surfaces found on most other monitors. A similar piano-black finish is also used on the base, along with a red accent. The whole package looks high-end.
The OSD is controlled with small mechanical buttons in the lower-right. Four keys navigate the menus and one toggles the power, flanked by a bright blue LED. The controls click with a quality feel and respond to just the right level of pressure.
The stand offers full tilt, swivel, height and portrait adjustments. All the movements are firm without too much resistance, yet the panel stays where you set it. At first glance, the bezel looks to be the same width all around. However, it’s three millimeters wider at the bottom. If you want to set up multiple screens in a vertical orientation, take this into account.
The XB280HK’s side profile is fairly slim, dominated by a bulge containing the monitor’s internals. There are two USB 3.0 downstream ports on the left side and slightly behind the edge of the panel.
You can see that there is plenty of ventilation at the top of the bulge around back. This is a cool-running monitor. Its upright contains a small cable management hole for convenience. Acer’s logo is proudly displayed at the top so your opponents will know what you’re running from across the room.
The only video input offered is a lone DisplayPort interface. The XB280HK doesn’t include audio support, so you won’t find any headphone or speaker jacks. You’ll have to route sound from your computer to an external solution. At the far right, you can see the USB 3.0 upstream and two downstream ports. Not shown is the power plug with accompanying master switch.
