Acer may not be a name that comes to mind when you think PC gaming, but it should be. The company has put a lot of effort into recent gaming monitors, like the XB280HK, and it’s now upping the ante with two new entries, each with its own unique feature.
The XB270HU’s claim to fame is its combination of IPS technology with Nvidia’s G-sync refresh rate synchronization feature. We’ve seen both many times before, of course, but they’ve never been combined, which means gamers have to choose between smooth gameplay and excellent image quality. This model also has an “ErgoStand” with tilt, swivel and height adjustments.
Going for the XG270HU means losing those technologies but gaining an edge-to-edge display with a response time of one millisecond. That’s not unheard of, but it’s absurdly quick, and the nearly frameless panel will improve immersion. The XG270HU is also built with Acer EyeProtect, the company’s name for the use of a flicker-free backlight at low brightness settings. Many LCD monitors achieve low levels of brightness by pulsing the backlight at a frequency too quick for human eyes to perceive, but the technique can cause eyestrain for some users.
Both monitors are 27-inch screens with a 16:9 aspect ratio and 1440p resolution. They also boast an impressive refresh rate of 144Hz, which translates to 144 screen refreshes per second. That’ll be particularly important for the XB270HU, as it means it can display up to 144 frames of gameplay per second without tearing or stuttering (as long as your Nvidia GPU can handle it, of course).
Both models are expected to hit store shelves in March of 2015 in most global markets, including North America. Pricing has not been announced.
