Acer Predator XB272 G-Sync Monitor Review: Perfect For Fast-Paced Gaming

Introduction

Acer has sent us the Acer Predator XB272 which is a 27-inch 240 Hz G-Sync gaming monitor that retails for $680 on Amazon and comes with 3 years of warranty. It comes with a TN panel with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, a fully adjustable stand, and supports NVIDIA's G-Sync tearing prevention technology. The Acer Predator XB272 is positioned toward the higher end of the gaming monitor market and competes with other 240 Hz monitors on the market such as the Asus Swift PG258Q, BenQ Zowie XL2540, ViewSonic XG2530, and Alienware AW2518H.

The Acer Predator XB272 is the first 27" 240Hz monitor on the market while the other monitors that I listed above are all 24.5" to 25" and range from $490 and all the way up to $580. Before we move on, I want to mention that Acer has also announced that they will release the HDR version of the Predator XB272 which will feature a 4K resolution with an IPS panel at 144 Hz refresh rate. Although, the XB272-HDR was supposed to be released during the first half of 2017 and is estimated to sport a $2000 price-tag.

Features & Performance

Moving on, the Acer Predator XB272 has a response time of 1 ms and a native refresh rate of 240 Hz. If you are into fast-paced gaming such as Counter-Strike Global Offensive, Doom or Overwatch where you need a super high frame rate, the Acer Predator XB272 might be the monitor you need. But otherwise, its a bit uninspiring as a all-purpose monitor for the money. The resolution is very low for a 27-inch monitor which means doing other things other than playing games will not look look very sharp. Also, TN panels typically have washed out colors, the viewing angles are not as good compared to an IPS panel, and the color quality is not as accurate.

In the future, 240 Hz gaming monitors are going to be in high demand due to the fast-paced world of PC gaming and thanks to Nvidia's G-Sync technology which helps you get those critical missing images on the screen in ultra smooth motion so you can easily target your enemy on the screen. NVIDIA's G-Sync is designed to ensure smooth on-screen action which works by synchronizing the display’s refresh rate to the NVIDIA GPU to eliminate screen tearing. With that being said, you will need a powerful video card to drive a monitor such as this to the limit.

Specifications

Acer Predator XB272 Specifications
Manufacture:	Acer
Model:	XB272
Viewable Screen Size:	27"
Panel Type:	TN Panel
Aspect Ratio:	16:9
Brightness:	400 cd/m²
Refresh Rate:	240Hz using DisplayPort 60Hz using HDMI port
Screen:	Anti-glare
Contrast Ratio (dcr):	1000:1
Response Time:	1 ms
Max Resolution:	1920 x 1080
Color Depth:	16.7M
Color Gamut:	72% NTSC
Support:	NVIDIA G-Sync NVIDIA ULMB Acer DarkBoost BlueLightShield Flicker-less Technologies
Viewing Angles:	170° left/right, 160° up/down
Audio:	2 x 2W Built-in Speakers
Pixel Pitch (mm):	0.3113mm
Tilt Angle:	-5° to 20°
Swivel Angle:	45°
Maximum Adjustable Height:	115 mm
Tearing Prevention Technology:	NVIDIA G-SYNC
Input Signal:	DisplayPort v1.2 HDMI v 1.4 USB Hub 3.0 x 4 (1 up, 4 down) Audio Out
Energy Consumption per Year:	44 kWh
Input Voltage:	120 V AC / 230 V AC
Operating Power Consumption (EEL):	30 W
Operating Power Consumption (Energy Star):	29.71 W
Standby Power Consumption:	500 mW
Off-Mode Power Consumption:	470 mW
VESA Wall Mounting:	100x100mm
Height x Width x Depth without stand:	367 mm x 614 mm x 61 mm
Height x Width x Depth with stand:	524 mm x 614mm x 268mm
Weight Without Stand:	5.63 kg
Weight with Stand:	7.51 kg
Warranty:	3 Years
Release Date:	April 2017

Packaging

The monitor comes in an elegant box which weighs around 8 kg. The features of the monitor are listed at the top and on the sides of the box. Looking at the bottom left of the box, we see the name 'PREDATOR' and on the sides, we see all the features that come with this monitor such as 27" FHD LED, Nvidia G-Sync, Nvidia 3D Vision, ULMB, 240Hz, 1ms, ZeroFrame, ErgoStand and EyeProtect.

The included cables are high quality and durable. The components inside are well packaged and everything feels well secured inside the box. Inside you will find the 27” monitor, power cord, HDMI cable, DisplayPort cable, USB cable and the manual.

The monitor is protected by two high density foams as shock absorbent and plastic wrapping to prevent any accidental damages during shipping. Overall, the packaging is top notch just as you would expect from Acer.

Design & Build Quality

Visually, the Acer XB272 sports a modern design that is very pleasing to the eyes thanks to the thin bezel. Despite having a mostly plastic construction, the stand offers excellent stability and is quite sturdy. The stand and base come pre-assembled assembled and you do not need any screws to attach the panel to the stand. Attaching and detaching the base is easy and it can easily be VESA mounted if desired.

On the back, you will find the OSD buttons which are located on the bottom left corner and also Acer's logo which is located at the top-right corner. Acer has made the stand fully adjustable meaning that it is capable of adjusting the height of the monitor up to 115 millimeters, and swiveling it to the left and right by 45 degrees. The screen itself can be tilted by 20 degrees and it can pivot by 90 degrees into the portrait position. There's some ventilation on the back because the G-Sync module requires ventilation openings due to the heat that it generates which need to be dissipated.

As far as ports go, you get 1x HDMI 1.4, 1x DisplayPort 1.2, 4x downstream USB 3.0 ports which can be used to connect your keyboard, mouse, or other devices. There's also a audio line-out port for the headphones or external speakers. If you will be using a G-Sync video card, you must use DP 1.2 to get full access of the monitor and the 240Hz refresh rate.

Acer has included two USB 3.0 ports on the left side of the monitor for easy accessing.

The base is made entirely of plastic and it doesn't wobble at all even if you move your desk around but it does take up quite a bit of space which I'm not a fan of. I prefer bases that are simple in design such as AOC's Agon gaming monitor series because they don't take up much space. Typically, large monitors come with a power supply but the Acer XB272 does not require one so you don't have to worry about finding a place to hide the power brick.

On-Screen Display & Panel

The on-screen display buttons are located behind the monitor which makes the placement of the buttons a little odd since most manufactures usually have them on the front or on the bottom of the screen. Now let's go over the OSD setup. From left to right, the first setting is mode, then we have brightness, after that comes input, and then comes customizations and the last one is the power button.

In the Mode setting, you will have the option of choosing between eight different modes. I tested each one independently and they all seem to be well calibrated. The monitor ships with the standard mode enabled.

The brightness setting is self-explanatory and the monitor ships with a default brightness of 65.

In the Input setting, it will display whether you are using an HDMI or a DisplayPort connectivity.

Now here's where you will be spending most of your time. This is where you will go to play around with settings such as Color, Audio, Gaming, OSD, and System. In the Picture section, you can customize things such as brightness, contrast, blue light, dark boost and adaptive contrast. The Blue Light option can be adjusted to reduce the effects of eye strain and Dark Boost option is used to dial-in shadow levels to increase contrast for better dark areas without affecting the rest of the screen. Adaptive contrast is used to allow the monitor to automatically adjusts picture detail and brightness.

The Color section provides control over color temperature via three presets, Warm, Normal, Cool, with Warm being the default. Besides the color temperature option, you can also tweak the sRGB colors in here as well as the saturation and 6-axis color and most of these settings can be left the way they are.

The audio setting is pretty self explanatory but I will say that the 2x2W built-in speakers are fairly low-quality and the sound output is low even when it is set to 100%.

In the gaming section, you have the Over Drive feature which is used to help with eliminating ghosting. You can select between three options, off, normal and extreme. After that, you will see a ULMB option which is used for blur-reduction when using G-Sync. Then you have aim point which displays a custom crosshair overlay on-screen and can help with gaming by making it easier to hit the enemy.

Moving on to the OSD section, here you can change the language, OSD timeout which the default is 10 seconds, transparency, and refresh rate number which can help to show if G-Sync is working correctly by displaying the refresh rate of the monitor.

In the system section, you can tweak settings such as input, macro keys assignment, wide mode, deep sleep, quick start mode and power-off USB charge.

When you are inside the modes setting, you also have the option to view some basic information such as the resolution, refresh rate and the mode of the GPU.

In the bottom center bezel is where the Predator logo is located which stands out the moment you unbox the monitor.

Acer advertises this monitor as "ZeroFrame" which you would think it means that the screen would go all the way to the frame but that's not the case here. You will notice that the screen does not go all the way to the frame of the monitor because there is a gap between the screen and the frame. The LCD itself does appear to have a very thin bezel surrounding it but the gap between the screen and the frame makes the design of this monitor look odd.

Backlight Bleed & Viewing Angles

Now we are going to test the backlight bleed at 0%, 50% and 100% brightness and the testing will be performed in a dark room. Backlight bleeding is a major concern among enthusiasts and gamers because it is a common issue with IPS panels but not so much with TN panels. The above photo is tested at 0% brightness and you can see that despite the brightness being 0%, this monitor does suffer from some backlight bleeding but it's nowhere near as bad as an IPS panel.


The above photo is tested at 50% brightness.


Now we are testing at 100% brightness and you can see a heavy concentration of backlight bleeding in the bottom left corner and right side. There is a small amount on the bottom too, but the right side is what bothers me the most. When it comes to backlight bleeding, it will all depend on how sensitive you are to it but I can tell you from spending a week testing this monitor, that it's not a big issue and you won't notice it unless you look for it. Also, keep in mind that this is going to vary from panel to panel but it's definitely bearable.


Now we are testing the viewing angles at 0%, 50%, and 100% brightness and the testing will be performed in a dark room. The above photo was tested at 0% brightness and you can clearly see the color shifting when viewed from an angle.


The above photo is tested at 50% brightness.


Here we are testing at 100% brightness. Overall, the viewing angles and color uniformity is not very good. There was a lot of color shifting or loss of luminance when viewed from an extreme angle during testing. The colors do not stay true when you view the screen from basically any angle without distorting the picture or losing color.

Conclusion

The Acer Predator XB272 is a solid gaming monitor that incorporates many modern features such as a thin bezel, high build quality, Nvidia's G-Sync technology and a fully adjustable stand. The build quality is sleek and elegant and it definitely has a premium feel to it and it also comes with a long three-year limited warranty. The difference between 144Hz and 240Hz is minimal, almost unnoticeable to the naked eye.

Like I have already mentioned, viewing angles are not going to be very good with TN panels and the XB272 also suffers from some backlight bleeding. So basically the viewing angles are only good if you are looking at the monitor straight on. Another downside to this monitor is the 2W built-in speakers. They are fairly low-quality and even when the volume is set to 100%, the sound output is still too low. I rarely use the built-in speakers so this doesn't affect me but definitely keep that in mind if you are looking for good built-in speakers.

If you are going to be building a PC to play fast-paced games, then you might want to consider the Acer Predator XB272 monitor. The 240Hz refresh rate is great for fast-paced gaming and the difference will be huge if you are coming from a 60 Hz monitor. If you are already on a 144/165 Hz monitor, then the difference will not be noticeable at all. But I will say that the Acer XB272 makes for a great responsive screen and the OSD menu is clear and simple to navigate.

Pros:
+ Good Gaming Performance
+ Aesthetic Design
+ Thin Bezel
+ G-Sync/ULMB Feature
+ 240Hz Refresh Rate
+ Excellent Packaging
+ Fully Adjustable Stand

Cons:
- Weak Built-In Speakers
- 1080p Resolution
- Expensive
- TN Panel

The Acer Predator XB272 offers super quick panel response with 1ms and the color accuracy and image quality is acceptable for a TN panel and it could be slightly improved if you spend some time calibrating the display. If we compare the Acer Predator XB272 to the Asus Swift PG258Q, BenQ Zowie XL2540, ViewSonic XG2530, and Alienware AW2518H, the Acer XB272 is anywhere from $110 to $180 more expensive but it is also a 27-inch while the other monitors are all 24.5 to 25-inches. A 27-inch monitor with a 1920x1080 resolution is not going to look very sharp compared to a 25-inch monitor with the same resolution so I would personally go with a smaller monitor and save some money. Overall, the Acer Predator XB272 deserves our recommended award.

Final Score    8.5