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The Acer Predator XB271HK is superb. Acer’s second crack at a 4K G-Sync display hits the target, bang on the mark.
Most importantly, the picture quality is spot on. In use it’s razor sharp, the viewing angles are excellent, as it’s an IPS panel, the colours look good and in our tests it shows good contrast and colour accuracy, although perhaps not the highest brightness we’ve ever seen. And it wont disappoint in games. When G-Sync kicks in, it works very well, reducing tearing and making animation super smooth in all games, when using an Nvidia graphics card.
Although it relies on traditional button operation on the front edge, the menu system is perhaps slightly better than Asus’ already commendable efforts on its ROG Swift PG27AQ, with a slightly neater menu structure. It’s easy to find settings and customise the image, and there are a few other useful gaming related features such as an FPS counter, linked to your game’s frame rate up to 60fps, as well as on-screen crosshairs, if you choose to use them.
The design is good too, although we’re not entirely sure this industry-wide move towards big, brash design will have universal appeal. We’ve seen Asus introduce it on one of its displays too, and the red metal base is common across all Acer’s Predator monitors. We like it, but accept that some people would prefer a more traditional monitor design. Then again it’s a lot more modern and better quality than some of Acer’s older displays.
We’ve already mentioned Asus’s ROG Swift PG27AQ a few times for a good reason – the two rival firms are the only companies to have produced 4K G-Sync displays.
Side-by-side, the two products are incredibly similar, and from our tests, the brightness on both is slightly on the low side (which on neither display is noticeable in use, we add). This makes us suspect both screens are using the same AU Optronics panel.
Whether that’s the case or not, there’s little more than a razor’s edge to put between the two. They’re both well built and offer a great picture.
The Acer Predator XB271HK is about 10% cheaper though, which will be a big draw for anyone considering a 4K display with G-Sync.
But while that works out in Acer’s favour, the combination of 4K and G-Sync is arguably slightly less impactful now, given that refresh rates above 60Hz will be possible with a next-generation video card that supports DisplayPort 1.4. We’d hazard a guess that the first of such displays to support higher 4K refresh rates will land before the end of the year, although that entirely depends on panel availability.
But future gazing can’t detract from what is a very strong product. The Acer Predator XB271HK hits all the right notes, delivering a harmony of gaming performance and image quality at a price that’s competitive with other high-end displays. While it doesn't offer the colour accuracy, or wide gamut of high-end professional displays, for general-purpose use, the Acer Predator XB271HK is excellent and will be just fine for graphic design work, while in games, while it doesn't go above 60Hz, the G-Sync feature still means tear-free animation and a better experience all round.
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Pros:
- Great desktop image quality.
- G-Sync module works fantastically well.
- Plenty of useful features in on-screen menu.
Cons:
- Displays with 4K refresh rates above 60Hz may be on their way this year.
- Slightly low recorded brightness.
- The combination of G-Sync and 4K bumps the pricing of a display considerably.
Kitguru Says: 4K resolution, great picture quality, G-Sync, an attractive design, and a competitive price. Acer has a winner here.
