Acer Predator XB1 27 inch Gaming Monitor Review
Built with the Gamer in mind, this beautiful 27 inch bezel-less widescreen IPS panel 2k resolution display is capable of a native 144Hz refresh rate and 4ms response time. Overclock to a blazing 165Hz with a little help from nVidia’s G-sync for rip roaring motion accuracy and beautiful color reproduction.
Acer Predator XB1 Specifications
The Predator XB1 aka XB271HU features a widescreen 27 inch flat sRGB panel display for excellent color saturation and reproduction. The XB271HU is capable of 2560 x 1440 WQHD resolution and boasts 100% sRGB color gamut coverage and color accuracy on matte screen surface. It can produce up to 16.7 million colors and displays vibrant details and robust looking imagery in your media or games.
Smearing and Ghosting effects where your monitor can’t keep up with the action are virtually eliminated with the XB271HU. The XB1 features a 4ms response time, the fastest IPS panel speed currently available with a native refresh rate of 144Hz. nVidia’s G-sync technology allows you to bump to a maximum 165Hz refresh rate.
Caveat: You can only take advantage of the G-sync technology and the native refresh rate of 144Hz/overclocked 165Hz if you’re running a Display Port connection. AMD Graphics users are out of luck with G-sync compatibility unfortunately and will need to lean on V-sync.
Connectivity ports include 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort v1.2 and a USB 3.0 hub with 4x ports. Two Integrated 2W stereo speakers provide dynamic audio. The 2W stereo speakers can be a bit Tinny sounding. While the 2W stereo speakers could be a little fuller sounding, they are acceptable, after all you didn’t grab the monitor for it’s audio did you? The depth of the monitor is about 7/8″, however the thickest part of the monitor measures about 2 3/8″ centered vertically across the width of the back as you can see in the photo above.
The Predator XB1 features 4 presets; Eco, Graphics, Standard, Movie as well as 3 user defined presets that you can customize to your liking for different modes of use. You even enable the built-in Aim Point on-screen cross-hair to keep reference to dead center on the screen for FPS gamers. There’s plenty of preference controls via the on monitor buttons and OSD for you to fiddle with to your hearts content.
Predator XB271HU Design & Build Quality
The bezel-less and reduced border area makes this panel absolutely beautiful. I can only sit and imagine what it would be like to have 3 or 4 of these and set up a command center! The display’s image area does not extend/bleed to the edges 100% but does leave a small enough bordering area that it feels edge to edge.
There’s about a 1/4″ black border screen space on the left, top and right edges, that’s including a small physical gap between the panel and the exposed edge of the monitor casing that is flush with the screen. The bottom of the display area hugs the monitor frame snugly with about 1/16″ or less of black screen and under that is about an inch of plastic where the logo and physical monitor buttons find their home.
The Predator XB1 27″ styled with masculine angles giving the monitor a great look without looking too juvenile. The XB271HU’s stand is solid and angled feet provide a low profile, nice looking and most importantly stabile base. Tilt action from -5 to 35 degrees, swivel from +/- 30 degrees, pivot and height adjustment up to 5.9 inches allow you to get comfortable. As low as about 1 inch off the table and tall enough for that I don’t feel the need to place it on a monitor stand. It’s also equipped with a standard VESA mount for convenient attachment and the power cable doesn’t have a big fat converter box on it that will take up valuable space, always a plus in my book.
If I had a complaint, it might be that the monitor can be a little wobbly (not the stand, just the monitor on the stand) when using the physical buttons or if your table shakes at all. The OSD controls can take a little getting used to and requires lots of pushes for different settings. Thankfully once you dial it in, you typically don’t spend a ton of time fiddling or touching the display.
While the Asus PG279 ROG Swift was toted as the ultimate gaming 27″ monitor earlier last year, the Acer Predator XB1 27″ virtually mirrors the performance but shines through with a better build quality in my opinion. I found the Asus PG279 ROG Swift to exhibit a creeky loose bezel and seams that just didn’t line up the way they should. I’d lean towards the Acer XB271HU between the two.
images courtesy of Universal Pictures, Despicable Me 2
Acer Predator XB1 Performance
Does the Predator XB271HU live up to it’s hype? You bet it does. Excellent viewing angles and you will definitely notice the 4ms response time as well as the crisp detail and color saturation. Unfortunately our gaming tests were performed on another machine at another location and did not get a chance to grab pictures, you’ll have to live with these for now. Games and movies look amazing on it.
Overclocked 165Hz with nVidia G-sync and nVidia’s ULMB or Ultra Low Motion Blur technology enabled the Predator XB1 makes your motion super smooth and devoid of smearing or ghosting. I’m not real fond of the TN panels and prefer the color depth and accuracy of an IPS panel even if it may be slightly slower historically. While no monitor is perfect, the XB271HU is one of the best monitors you’ll find in the sub $1000.00 category and definitely one of the best, if not the best 27 inch gaming monitor. Just make sure your video card/s is up to speed.
Back-light bleed can affect different people differently. Not everyone will notice it, or pay attention to it, for others it becomes a point of focus.
While I’m fairly sensitive to back light bleed and spot lighting effects, backlight bleed on our XB271HU test unit is almost non-existent. There will always be some dud panels that exhibit issues like dead pixels, discoloration, spotlighting effects, backlight bleed etc… With content showing full screen, such as a letterbox movie with black bars top and bottom, the IPS LED panel seems flawless and are hard pressed to notice any spotlighting or backlight bleed at all. The black bars are consistent and smooth across the display and appear deep in saturation. That said, on a purely 100% black screen you WILL see some subtle bleed and spotlighting however it is significantly softened enough that it doesn’t bother me a bit. (I don’t think it would be fair to show the picture of a purely black screen in a pitch black room since the camera increases ISO and becomes more sensitive to light over-exaggerating what subtle bleed and spotlighting that IS there in this infrequent scenario. It also does not appear anything like that to the human eye.) Due to the way LED panel displays work, it’s difficult to have a completely 100% pure black screen and show ZERO bleed or spotlighting effect at all. I’m also not sure how long or often I’ll be staring at a purely black screen (no content at all on it) in the pitch black anyway. Zero dead pixels. Ok I’m officially impressed! Great monitor all around.
The above photo is the boot screen, an almost pure black screen. Please ignore the white and orange reflection of ambient light on the top middle and top left corners.Top right corner and bottom left corner is back light bleed and spot lighting but this is even less noticeable by eye.
The OSD is fairly intuitive, though I admit it took me a little while to get used to. You have presets as well as a plethora of fine tuning options that you’d be accustomed to in a top shelf monitor. You can one touch into the Gaming Mode preset, put the monitor into overdrive and overclock it to 165Hz and even display your refresh rate in the upper right corner of your screen.
Acer has three monitors in the Predator line; Predator XB1, X34 and the Z35. If you can drop the dime, the Acer Predator X34 features 3440×1440 resolution on a stunning curved 34 inch IPS panel display 21:9 Aspect Ratio with the same 4ms response time. The Z35 35″ display will support overclocking to over 200Hz! I had a chance to see the X34 in person recently, it’s absolutely wow – with significant curve for a more cinematic gaming/viewing experience. MSRP on the X34 is $1299.99
Acer Predator XB1 Recommended
The Acer Predator XB1 27 inch Gaming Monitor XB271HU is the cream of the crop of the flat 27 inchers. The bezel-less 2k resolution flat screen features excellent color saturation and 100% sRGB gamut coverage, 4ms response time along with a max refresh rate of 165Hz, nVidia G-sync and ULMB technology to eliminate screen tearing and ghosting. The XB1 may seem a little steep in price for a 27 but performance and build quality considered, you get what you pay for. The Predator XB1 is an excellent choice for hardcore gamers looking for the benefits of an IPS panel display for precision gaming performance. Still a great choice for graphics/media oriented types who occasionally game but want a monitor that looks good doing anything.
Acer Predator XB1 – XB271HU $799.00
www.acer.com
