Nvidia G-Sync is the latest feature for Acer's gaming monitors
Computer displays are going through an odd phase at this time.
For those who like strong colours and excellent viewing angles, there are amazingly priced IPS panels. And for gamers, there's enhanced twisted nematic film (TN) technology. It might have less colour saturation and poor viewing angles, but it can also deliver the high refresh rates that gamers need to work with the high frame rates modern video cards can easily generate.
The Acer XB270HA is a TN panel made for that specific gaming market, offering a 1ms response time and a 144MHz refresh rate on a sizeable 27" screen.
What confused me initially about the review product was that it seemed to differ from the Acer Predator XB270H that I found on the Acer website. Soon the penny dropped that this 'A' version (part coded UM.HB0EE.A01) has an extra special feature. It's an Nvidia G-Sync compliant screen, critically.
What that means is that if you have an Nvidia Kepler or Maxwell GPU, then you can use a special mode where the monitor's refresh rate synchronises with that of the video card throughput, entirely stopping the tearing, lag and juddering we've long come to expect.
To make this possible, Nvidia built some clever electronics that the video card can directly communicate with, allowing the card to hold the display cycle until the latest frame is fully rendered before displaying it.
The compatible cards are most of the GTX 600, 700 and 900 series models, along with the GTX Titan. Few of those are especially cheap, and this monitor isn't either, so this is probably only of interest to well-funded gamers.
Having tried it, I can confirm that it just isn't marketing fluff. The whole gaming experience is distinctly smoother, and it makes big changes in frame rate noticeably less jarring.
There are, however, a few major caveats to this amazing technology, not least that it's about £90 more than Acer's core XB270H design that doesn't support G-Sync. In addition to the extra cost. Acer decided to also remove the HDMI inputs on this monitor, leaving it only with a single DisplayPort and missing DVI also.
While I entirely accept that G-Sync only works with DisplayPort, why remove the other inputs? That choice, and the lack of any speakers whatsoever, makes repurposing the screen highly problematic.
The only light on that horizon is that it did include a very nice USB 3.0 hub with four ports, reducing desktop clutter and cabling complexity.
And, on the subject of ports, if you insist on it being only DisplayPort, where is the through-port to chain the displays? The answer, I'm told, is that G-Sync doesn't support chaining, and the only way to get multi-display is to have a video card for each monitor (SLI).
It's also entirely incompatible with anything similar that AMD has cooked up, in the predictably proprietary and anti-customer way that Nvidia often does things. Since what happened with PhysX, Nvidia has learned nothing, I'd assert.
AMD for its part has its own equivalent called FreeSync, which has been adopted by VESA as an approved component of the DisplayPort 1.2a specification.
So far, Acer, AOC, Asus, BenQ and Philips have all made G-Sync monitors, and BenQ, LG, Nixeus, Samsung and ViewSonic have made FreeSync ones.
Critically, though, AMD has also convinced three major LCD panel chip makers, MStar, Novatek and Realtek to support DisplayPort 1,2a Adaptive-Sync in their future products, expanding massively the number of displays that will support FreeSync in the coming year.
For those that prefer G-Sync, the Acer Predator XB270HA is probably the cheapest I've seen and a dramatic reduction on its original launch RRP.
Yet even at this price, this costs a bundle of money purely to avoid screen tearing, and that assumes you have a compatible Nvidia GPU handy and won't be forced to make a substantial investment there too.
Those that consider themselves serious gamers might consider it a price worth paying, though this reviewer isn't currently one of them.
Maybe if the XB270HA cost £30 more with G-Sync and had a full selection of inputs, then I'd probably be more enthusiastic, but it doesn't. Mark Pickavance
An expensive display exclusively for hardcore gamers.
Display
• Size: 27”
• TN+film panel
• Resolution: 1920 x 1080 Full HD
• LED backlight
• Refresh rate: 144Hz
• Brightness: 300cd/m2
• Contrast ratio: 100M:1
• Response time: 1ms
• Viewing angle: 170° /160°
Connectivity
• DisplayPort x 1
• USB 3.0 hub (1up, 4down)
Features
• Tilt: +35°~-5°
• Swivel: +607-60°
• Pivot: 90°
• Height adjustable: 150mm
• VESA 100 x 100
• ComfyView
• G-Sync
Power
• Power consumption on mode: 29w
• Power consumption sleep mode: 0.45W
Dimensions (WxHxD)
• 640 x 408-558 x 247mm