4k gaming is within reach.
Acer’s Predator line of monitors really need no introduction in the gaming world as they are considered to be some of the best available in terms of features, design, and performance. The model I’m examining is the XB271HK (See it on Amazon), which is its 27” 4k model with an IPS panel and G-Sync, and if you think that combo sounds spendy, you are correct. At a $900 MSRP it’s one of the most expensive models available in this category, but if you’re an Nvidia gamer with a GTX 1080 or 1080 Ti and want a 4k panel for gaming it’s the one that should be on your wish list.
Design and Features
As part of the Predator line, the XB271HK has a striking aesthetic that signals to everyone it’s a gaming monitor. The feet are angular and pointy, and have red metal tips on them that sort of look like blades after a beer or two. They attach to the base and neck, which can be lifted vertically by 5.9 inches. You can also rotate the panel for a portrait orientation, and it tilts 30 degrees too. All in all, it’s every bit as adjustable as you would expect from a high-end, fancy monitor.
The display itself uses an IPS panel, which offers a slower 4ms response time than a TN panel at 1ms, but it makes up for it with better viewing angles and color reproduction. Its native resolution is 3840x2160, but just so you know games will still let you run it at lower resolutions if your video card can’t hack it. With my GTX 1080 card I had to run Battlefield 1 at 2560x1440 as it was not playable at 4k resolution with settings maxed out. It has a standard refresh rate of 60Hz, and it also has Nvidia G-Sync adaptive refresh technology as well.
Although 144Hz refresh rate will eventually come to 4K monitors, that doesn’t exist in a 4K IPS monitor at this time. Even if it did, good luck getting 100+ frames per second at 4k resolution with today's GPU tech. And if you're a deep-pocketed gamer that can afford to SLI two high-end cards you’ll probably want Acer’s X34 curved monitor anyway.
The panel is nestled into the monitor with what appears to be an almost invisible bezel, as it’s incredibly thin. If you look at the photos you can see the actual bezel is miniscule, but that’s not the edge of the display. Acer has laid down a black “screen” around the edges of the panel that’s about a half-inch long, so that’s where the actual images are displayed. Still, it looks cool, and it does give the appearance of an edge-to-edge display, despite not really offering that perk.
Connections include HDMI 1.4, and DisplayPort 1.2, and there are also two USB 3.0 ports on the left-side as well. You have to use the DisplayPort connection for G-Sync, so the HDMI port is just there to allow you to use the monitor with a laptop. If you do end up using the HDMI connector, my condolences, as it'll only run at 30Hz. Rounding out the connections is a 3.5mm audio jack, as well as USB passthrough with a whopping four USB 3.0 ports. Two are located on the left side and are easy to access, while the other two are facing downwards on the back of the monitor, making them nearly impossible to access. The Predator XB271HK also includes speakers, but they are rinky dink 2w units that are terrible, and since they're behind the panel whenever they are accidentally engaged by Windows 10 they sounded like they were made of tin cans placed a few feet away. They are better than nothing I suppose, but I do not recommend using them.
Finally, as a gaming monitor Acer has included some gaming-specific features in the On Screen Display (OSD), also known as its menu thingie that pops up when you tap the buttons on the lower bezel. Overall navigation of the OSD is a painful experience, and not one that I enjoyed in the slightest. It's almost as if the Acer design team spent all its budget on the exterior of the unit then threw in the towel when it got to the OSD because it's just as bad and awkward to use as any cheap monitor from years ago, requiring delicate tapping of keys over and over again to navigate. I'd much prefer something easier to use, and on a high-end monitor like this it's wildly disappointing to see Acer hasn't included something better.
Touching any of the buttons along the bottom of the bezel brings up a quick menu, but honestly most of the time I spent navigating it was confusing. I'd tap a button expecting a result, or something to change, and it would just disappear. I finally had to pull out the manual to try to figure it out, which is a little embarrassing for a person such as myself, but I blame Acer for it as it's not clear which buttons do what. Regardless, if you can figure it out, there's a "Game Mode" that lets you access three presets for settings such as brightness, color temperature, response time, and other settings. I fiddled with it but didn't like having to access the OSD at all, so I just calibrated the display with a Spyder and left it as-is, which looked quite good without much tweaking. For gaming there is a Dark Boost feature and one called Aim Point. Dark Boost makes blacks grey so you can see in the dark better in games, but it felt like cheating to me, and Aim Point replaces your crosshair in First Person Shooters, but again, I'm more comfortable with what the game offers so after trying it out I discarded it as not useful.
Gaming
It's hard work testing a monitor for gaming performance, but I put in many hours testing it, just for you. My first impression was that it's the perfect size as I've used smaller 24" models and also larger 32" panels, and I think 27" at 4k is the perfect balance of size and resolution. With my GTX 1080 GPU I was able to run games like Doom and Battlefield 4 at maximum settings with no issues, but for Battlefield 1, and other newer games, I was forced to drop the settings down considerably, so you do need a burly GPU to run games at 4k resolution.
Thankfully the monitor has G-Sync adaptive refresh rate, so even at 35fps or so gameplay was always smooth. In all the games I tested I never saw any tearing or other weirdness, and found gaming at 4k resolution to be an eye-opening experience. My previous monitor was 2560x1440 and I found the jump in resolution to be a noticeable improvement. That said I would not even think about a monitor like this unless I had at least a GTX 1070 GPU, and a GTX 1080 is preferred, or a GTX 1080 Ti if you can swing it. But of course every gamer wants their gaming monitor to be future proof, so you could always pick one up now and let your GPU grow into it over the coming years.
As far as its performance goes it is a bit difficult to evaluate since it just looked awesome the whole time, but I enabled G-Sync through the Nvidia Control Panel and then disabled V-Sync in-game and never suffered any tearing or things that looked out of sort. Colors were crisp, movement was fluid, I never experienced any ghosting, and it was just an overall awesome experience. I toyed around with the various gaming settings in the OSD but never saw any difference with any of them aside from the Crosshair feature, which works as advertised.
In the Lagom tests for panel quality, the XB271HK performed as expected, excelling in color reproduction but displaying a slower response time that's typical of IPS displays. Starting with black and white saturation tests, it passed both benchmarks with flying colors, meaning it has excellent black and white color reproduction as it's able to produce very fine shades of both colors instead of producing a muddy mess. The gradient test showed just a hint of banding, so it was not a perfect result, and in the response time test I was able to notice flickering in five out of 8 boxes, whereas a perfect score would be zero flickering. Still the flickering was in the middle of the range, so it wasn't too extreme. I tried altering the Overdrive setting, which is supposed to increase response time, but I didn't see any changes. This isn't too surprising given its 4ms response time, and people might argue that IPS displays aren't the best for gaming since they don't do well on these types of tests, but in the real world the extremely minimal response time didn't present any noticeable input lag.
Purchasing Guide
The Acer Predator XB271HK Gaming Monitor has an MSRP of $899.99, but like a lot of PC hardware it can generally be nabbed at a discount. Its price fluctuates a bit between $799 and $899, but it's usually offered at a modest discount on Amazon:
• See the Acer Predator XB271HK Gaming Monitor on Amazon
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The Verdict
The Acer Predator XB271HK is certainly sweet, but to fully take advantage of it you'll a GPU capable of running games at 4k, which currently is basically the GTX 1080 or the GTX 1080 Ti, SLI setups notwithstanding. I tested the monitor for a few weeks with gaming, general daily driving, and also professional photo work and found it to be spectacular in every measurable way. The 4k resolution granted me quite a bit of desktop real estate despite the smallish 27" panel size, and for gaming it's absolutely incredible, especially with G-Sync to keep things running smoothly. I absolutely hated the OSD though, and the fact that two of the USB ports are very tough to access. Overall, these are issues I could live with though. In the end the Predator XB271HK isn't perfect but it's close. A 2560x1440 144Hz monitor might be a better option for most gamers, but if you want 4k and are packing an Nvidia GPU, the XB271HK is a fine specimen indeed.
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