Acer Predator CG48 review: A great 48-inch OLED monitor

Price When Reviewed

$1,499.99

Best Prices Today: Acer Predator CG48

PC avid gamers searching for a giant display screen monitor have nice choices in 2022, together with new 42-inch and 48-inch screens with OLED panels. These have many advantages over the IPS and VA panel screens that got here earlier than them, but additionally promote at the next worth. The Predator CG48 proves the premium is price paying. It’s slightly much like LG’s various, although, so worth might develop into the deciding issue.

Note: This evaluate is a part of our ongoing roundup of the best monitors. Go there to study competing merchandise, what to search for in a monitor, and shopping for suggestions.

Acer Predator CG48: The specs

The Acer Predator CG48 is a 48-inch 4K monitor with an OLED panel. While Acer doesn’t element the panel utilized by the monitor, it’s in all probability the identical LG-produced OLED panel discovered within the LG Ultragear 48GQ900-B.

• Display dimension: 48-inch, 16:9 side ratio
• Native decision: 3480×2160
• Panel sort: OLED
• Refresh price: 138Hz
• HDR: Yes, HDR10
• Adaptive sync: AMD FreeSync Premium Pro
• Ports: 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x HDMI 2.0, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x USB-C with DisplayPort Alternate Mode and 65 watts Power Delivery, 1x 3.5mm audio out, 4x USB-A 
• Stand adjustment: None
• VESA mount: Yes, 200x200mm TV wall mount
• Speakers: 2x 10-watt stereo audio system
• Price: $1,499.99 MSRP

Despite its TV-like dimension, the Predator CG48 is a monitor, not a tv. It lacks a TV tuner and might’t be linked to a coaxial enter. It additionally lacks the good options discovered on many trendy TVs corresponding to built-in apps and a processor able to smoothing jerky movement (like that of 24 FPS motion pictures). The CG48 makes up for this with quite a few PC-friendly connection choices together with DisplayPort and USB-C.

Acer Predator CG48: Design

The Acer Predator CG48 is a 48-inch monitor meant as a substitute for shopping for a tv, corresponding to LG’s 48-inch C1 or C2 OLED. This comes throughout in its design, which has similarities to most OLED TVs.

Matt Smith

It begins with the profile, which consists of a super-slim panel connected to a bulkier low half that comprises the monitor’s brains and ports. The end result is an easy silhouette that’s just about similar to the LG Ultragear 48GQ900-B, LG C2 OLED, and Sony Bravia XR A90Okay. All of those shows are about 1.5-inches thick at their thickest level. There are variations in supplies, as Acer opts for silvers and grays as an alternative of the black and charcoal of rivals—however that is solely apparent from the rear, which most homeowners will solely see when unboxing the show. 

The primary purposeful distinction is the stand. Acer opts for a pair of legs, at both finish of the show panel. It’s a easy, steady design, but additionally requires a desk or TV stand that’s practically as broad because the 48-inch monitor. LG’s Ultragrear 48GQ900-B as an alternative makes use of a wedge-shaped stand, extra like a standard monitor, making it simpler to place on a small floor. This is a small win for LG. Neither of those shows provide peak, tilt, or swivel adjustment.

Wall mounting is an choice, and can work higher than another large-screen screens. The Acer’s ports face to the facet, not the rear, which is much simpler to work with when making an attempt to mount the show flush with a wall.

Acer Predator CG48: Features and menus

Matt Smith

The Acer Predator CG48 ships with 4 HDMI ports, plus DisplayPort and a USB-C port with DisplayPort Alternate Mode. That’s a complete of six video inputs, which is probably the most of any comparable monitor I’ve examined. 

Just one of many 4 HDMI ports helps HDMI 2.1: the remaining solely assist HDMI 2.0. That’s a limitation for avid gamers who personal each an Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. One of the 2 consoles should join over HDMI 2.0 and, in so doing, lose out on 4K at 120Hz (although you should utilize an HDMI switcher, in fact).

The monitor’s USB-C port helps each DisplayPort Alternate Mode and as much as 65 watts of USB Power Delivery, which means it may possibly cost a linked system. It additionally functions as a USB-C hub which connects to 4 downstream USB 3.2 ports.

A 3.5mm audio output can ship audio to a soundbar or residence theater system. It works effective, however the LG Ultragear 48GQ900-B additionally has optical audio, which is a higher-quality connection. This is a vital level if you wish to use the monitor with high-end residence theater audio.

A bundled distant is included with the Predator CG48 and controls the on-screen menu (controls are additionally discovered on the monitor, however the distant is extra handy). Unlike LG’s Ultragear 48Q900-B, which has an odd distant constructed round a giant dial, the Predator CG48’s distant is slim and constructed round a circle that navigates up, down, left, or proper, with a giant “OK” button within the center. This is much like most TV and streaming field remotes and feels extra approachable.

Matt Smith

The menus are intuitive—for PC fanatics. Acer makes use of the identical menu system it does for some other monitor. It’s not as slick as that utilized by Dell, and the font dimension is on the small facet, however choices are clearly labeled and simple to navigate with the distant. In truth, the distant makes the menu a lot simpler to make use of than most screens. There’s no must awkwardly lean ahead and fiddle with buttons. 

I did discover a couple of quirks. The show lacks a manufacturing facility reset choice, which is unusual. HDR was not set to computerized out-of-the-box, so HDR content material received’t look its finest till that setting is turned on. And the “standard” coloration gamut, though very broad and correct, appears to be like notably oversaturated and a bit too yellow with some SDR content material. Fortunately, the monitor has many different coloration modes, together with an sRGB mode, plus six-axis coloration customization. 

A pair of 10-watt audio system spherical out the choices. They present acceptable audio in much less complicated conditions: the beeps and boops of Vampire Survivors have been crisp. Content with a extra complicated soundscape, like music, motion movies, or open-world video games corresponding to Cyberpunk 2077, can overwhelm the audio system and muddy the presentation. Maximum quantity is lackluster, too, so the audio system are solely appropriate for a small room.

Acer Predator CG48: SDR picture high quality

The Acer Predator CG48 is a giant OLED monitor with 4K decision and a large coloration gamut. These traits result in efficiency that, whereas not excellent in each class, is bound to impress most individuals. 

Matt Smith

Maximum full-screen SDR brightness is available in at 213 nits. This is larger than the LG Ultragear 48GQ900-B, which restricted SDR brightness to only 143 nits. 

The Predator’s CG48’s brightness continues to be low when in comparison with extra typical screens, and manner, manner decrease than the Asus ProArt PA32DC, a high-end 32-inch OLED monitor. However, I discovered the brightness greater than sufficient in use. 

The Acer additionally advantages from an efficient anti-glare coating that helps hold the show usable in vivid rooms. It works properly in most conditions, although a powerful gentle supply (like a sunlit window) will nonetheless trigger issues.

Matt Smith

Contrast ratio is the place OLED stands out, and the Acer Predator CG48 is not any exception. OLED can management every pixel individually and even flip a pixel off fully when required, offering a very abyssal black degree in darkish scenes. It additionally doesn’t undergo from bloom, an issue that may trigger a vivid halo round small objects on a Mini-LED or edge-lit LED monitor with dimming zones. 

The distinction ratio of the OLED screens I’ve examined is successfully infinite, since they will all obtain a luminance studying of zero nits. None of them clearly outperform or overperform their rivals on this metric, however all of them beat an IPS monitor. The distinction is apparent, particularly when utilizing a monitor in a darkish room.

Matt Smith

The Acer Predator CG48 has a large coloration gamut that covers greater than 100 % of sRGB, 98 % of DCI-P3, and 89 % of Adobe RGB. This is similar to the efficiency of LG’s Ultragear 48GQ900-B and a bit higher than Alienware’s ultrawide AW3423DW. Asus’ ProArtwork PG32DC leaps forward, because it covers a formidable 98 % of Adobe RGB. 

In real-world use, the Predator CG48’s coloration gamut is loads broad to do content material justice. It can deal with all kinds of content material creation together with graphics design, video enhancing, and photograph enhancing, and it’ll look extremely saturated and vivid in motion pictures and video games. 

[color accuracy]

Matt Smith

Color accuracy is sweet, as properly, beating the LG Ultragear 48GQ900-B, which had points with coloration accuracy at default settings. The Acer can’t beat both the Asus ProArtwork PG32DC or Alienware AW3423DW, however the hole is sufficiently small that it received’t be apparent in use. The Predator CG48’s coloration appears to be like sensible and convincing out of the field.

The Predator CG48 scored properly in coloration temperature with a default studying of 6400Okay, barely off the goal of 6500Okay. This gives a heat, inviting picture, and is a giant enchancment over the LG Ultragear 48GQ900-B, which was manner astray at 10200Okay out of the field (and 7100Okay after some tweaks). My testing additionally turned up a gamma results of 2.1, which is close to the goal of two.2. This means content material appears to be like roughly as vivid as supposed.

Sharpness is an issue for the Predator CG48. 4K decision on a 48-inch display screen works out to about 91 pixels per inch—about the identical as a 24-inch 1080p monitor. To make issues worse, this monitor doesn’t seem to make use of an RGB pixel association (a standard concern amongst inexpensive OLED screens), which results in issues round effective fonts and interface components. I noticed “fringing” round fonts, a problem the place the font seems to have a shadow or border that shouldn’t be seen. The LG Ultragear 48GQ900-B and Alienware AW3423DW each share this concern, whereas the costly Asus ProArtwork PG32DC avoids it.

Despite this, the Acer Predator CG48’s SDR picture high quality is nice total. It’s fitted to PC gaming, streaming video, and high-quality 4K motion pictures, all of which play to the strengths of its distinction and coloration whereas avoiding points with sharpness and brightness. And it appears to be like even higher with HDR turned on.

Acer Predator CG48: HDR picture high quality

The Acer Predator CG48 claims a most HDR brightness of as much as 900 nits, however it’s not VESA DisplayHDR licensed. My testing confirmed that its full-screen HDR brightness was 228 nits, barely larger than the SDR results of 213 nits. Testing in a 10 % window (that’s, with solely 10 % of the show lit) didn’t change this end result. It does seem that the show achieves a a lot larger brightness when a slim fraction of the show is lit, as may be seen when displaying stars in an evening sky, however I’m unable to check the brightness of particulars this small.

Despite this, the Predator CG48 supplied a convincing HDR expertise when utilized in a darkish room. Its brightness is nowhere close to that of Mini-LED, however nonetheless vivid sufficient to pack a punch in a house theater. This is much less true when utilizing the monitor on a desk in a well-lit residence workplace, nevertheless. 

The HDR expertise is supported by its superior distinction ratio and broad coloration gamut. These strengths present a variety of luminance to work with and loads of colours to seem vivid. 

Lumiance stability is respectable in HDR. Some OLED shows, such because the Alienware AW3423DW, have issues with the general show brightness swinging noticeably when minimizing or maximizing home windows. The Predator CG48, just like the LG Ultragear 48GQ900-B, reveals a touch of flicker in probably the most excessive conditions, corresponding to opening a Word doc on a desktop with a darkish background, however it’s barely noticeable. I’d choose that it not be seen in any respect, however that is the truth of present OLED panel know-how. Even the high-end Asus ProArtwork PA32DC has this concern.

The Acer Predator CG48, just like the LG48GQ900-B, solely helps the HDR10 normal and never different HDR requirements, corresponding to Dolby Vision. That’s effective should you intend to make use of the monitor with a pc, as a result of practically all HDR content material proven on a pc can be supposed to be considered in HDR10. Dolby Vision is extra related should you wish to stream reveals from main streaming platforms or stay dedicated to 4K Blu-ray discs. 

Overall, the Acer Predator CG48’s HDR efficiency is sweet. It leans extra closely on its distinction ratio and coloration efficiency than its brightness, which implies it’s going to by no means hit the eye-searing heights of a Mini-LED various just like the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9. But it does present shadow element, good highlights in darkish scenes, and vivid coloration. It’s finest to be used in a darkish room, as this may make its lack of full-screen brightness more durable to note.

Acer Predator CG48: Motion readability

The Acer Predator CG48 has a most refresh price of as much as 138Hz and helps AMD FreeSync Premium Pro. The LG Ultragear 48GQ900-B has each of those options, plus official G-sync assist, giving LG a slight edge right here. 

Matt Smith

Motion readability is superb. A refresh price of 138Hz is nowhere close to the very best obtainable right now, however it’s excessive sufficient to supply a beautiful sense of fluidity and loads of element. Small objects are seen when transferring shortly throughout the display screen and quick digital camera pans protect sufficient element to know what you’re . Very effective components, like small fonts exhibiting a personality’s title in League of Legends, stay exhausting to learn—for that degree of movement readability you’d want a 240Hz or 360Hz refresh price, which isn’t obtainable in an OLED monitor (but).

It helps that OLED screens have very low pixel response occasions. This means a pixel’s coloration can change shortly, additional aiding in movement readability. The good thing about that is improved movement readability even at decrease refresh charges, corresponding to 60Hz. 

The lack of HDMI 2.1 assist for all HDMI ports is a limitation, because it means not all HDMI ports could make full use of the improved refresh price (HDMI 2.0 tops out at 4K/60FPS in most conditions).

Still, this doesn’t spoil the Predator CG48’s glorious movement efficiency. This is a transparent, crisp monitor that appears nice when displaying video games and feels fluid in on a regular basis use. The LG Ultragear 48GQ900-B can match it, however not exceed it, and aggressive screens with IPS or VA panel know-how can’t examine.

Should you purchase an Acer Predator CG48?

The Acer Predator CG48 is a superb 48-inch OLED monitor and a sensible choice for anybody trying to go huge with their subsequent monitor. It has glorious coloration efficiency, a variety of connectivity, and a helpful distant.

Compared to the LG 48GQ900-B, the obvious various, the Predator CG48 feels higher suited to PC use and fewer suited to make use of with sport consoles. The Acer solely has one HDMI 2.1 port, in comparison with the LG’s three. But the Acer has USB-C with Power Delivery, which the LG lacks, and has extra video connections total. The Predator CG48’s on-screen menu choices and structure are a greater match for PC use than these of the LG, which has fewer choices and depends on a bigger, extra awkward distant. 

Pricing and availability is the wildcard. The Acer Predator CG48 and LG 48GQ900-B each retail at an MSRP of $1,499.99. However, the LG 48GQ900-B dipped as little as $849.99 throughout Black Friday gross sales and was sometimes $1,199.99 previous to that. Acer’s monitor continues to be listed at MSRP.

At sale costs, the LG is the apparent decide. The two screens are extra related than they’re totally different, so it is smart to choose the inexpensive choice. If the 2 occur to be equally priced when shopping for, although, the Acer is the higher selection total.