Acer Predator X32 FP review: A Mini-LED monitor for work and play

Price When Reviewed

$1,499.99

Best Prices Today: Acer Predator X32 FP

The Acer Predator X32 FP rides a wave of latest Mini-LED displays that cut back the variety of dimming zones with a purpose to decrease pricing. It stands out from the pack for 2 causes: It has gobs of connectivity and delivers 4K decision at as much as 160Hz. These options maintain the X32 FP’s value above $1,000, nevertheless—so, is it well worth the money?

Note: See our roundup of the best 4K monitors to find out about competing merchandise, what to search for in a 4K monitor, and shopping for suggestions.

Acer Predator X32 FP: The specs

The Acer Predator X32 FP may seem much like older 4K gaming displays at a look. However, its options are pretty distinctive: It has a 4K panel, an enhanced refresh charge, and a Mini-LED backlight, however it retains the backlight restrained to 576 dimming zones as a substitute of the 1,152 zones discovered on costlier displays just like the Asus ROG Swift PG32UQX. 

• Display dimension: 32-inch
• Native decision: 3,840 x 2,160
• Panel kind: IPS LCD with Mini-LED backlight and 576 dimming zones
• Refresh charge: Up to 160Hz
• Adaptive-Sync: AMD FreeSync Premium Pro
• HDR: Yes, VESA DIsplayHDR 1000 Certified
• Ports: 1x USB-C with DisplayPort Alternate Mode and 90 watts Power Delivery, 4x HDMI 2.1, 1x DIsplayPort 1.4, 1x 3.5mm audio-out
• Stand adjustment: Height, swivel, tilt
• VESA mount: Yes, 100x100mm
• Speakers: Yes, two 7-watt
• Price: $1,499.99 MSRP

Acer throws a ton of connectivity at this monitor. It has quite a few HDMI ports but additionally helps DisplayPort and USB-C. Many high-end displays provide USB-C, however it’s nonetheless considerably unusual in a gaming monitor.

The monitor’s MSRP is $1,499.99. However, it generally retails beneath that value. It’s at present round $1,275 on Amazon and $1,099.99 at Micro Center.

Acer Predator X32 FP: Design 

Matt Smith

The Acer Predator X32 FP’s design appears like a blast from the previous…should you, like me, remember what Acer was producing eight years ago. There was a time when Acer’s Predator line went for a tank-like, armor-clad look. The X32 FP riffs on that with a tread-like sample down the stand’s neck and thick, beefy plastics that cross to kind an X-shape alongside the again. 

It’s an aggressive look, however one which doesn’t maintain as much as a lot scrutiny. I’m notably irritated by means of silver stickers across the puck-like aspect close to the bass of the stand. It seems and feels unworthy of a monitor on this value vary. To be clear, the X32 FP feels fantastic, even sturdy, not less than by the requirements of most displays. However, it’s no extra spectacular than AOC’s Agon Pro AG274QZM, which sells for lots of much less. 

Acer makes the frequent mistake of choosing a large, aggressive stand. It feels hefty, and the legs appear to be fabricated from stable metallic, however the stand consumes extra desk house than it ought to. On the plus aspect, the stand contains a number of components that can be utilized as handles, which makes the monitor straightforward to regulate or transfer. A 100mm VESA mount is included to be used with third-party monitor stands and arms.

Acer Predator X32 FP: Features and menus 

Matt Smith

The Acer Predator X32 FP units itself other than opponents with in depth connectivity. It features a whole of 4 HDMI 2.1 ports, plus one DisplayPort 1.4, and a USB-C port with DisplayPort Alternate Mode and as much as 90 watts of energy supply. 

That’s a complete of six video inputs. The DisplayPort 1.4 port is the one choice to help the monitor’s most refresh charge of 160Hz, however the remaining can deal with 144Hz, which is greater than satisfactory for a 4K gaming monitor (keep in mind, consoles solely help as much as 120Hz). 

The USB-C port additionally extends to 4 bodily USB-A ports, two on the again of the monitor and two on the left flank. This makes the X32 FP a useful USB-C to USB-A hub. The USB-A ports can be pushed by a USB-B connection in case your laptop doesn’t help USB-C.

Acer’s “whoops, all ports!” strategy provides house owners choices. You can join a desktop tower PC, a laptop computer, a PlayStation 5, a Xbox Series X|S, a Nintendo Switch, and a streaming field concurrently. That’s good news should you plan to make use of the Acer Predator X32 as your foremost show in a small leisure room, gaming den, or studio residence. 

The on-screen menu is accessed by means of a joystick on the precise flank. It works with a number of buttons that management options. This association is fast and simple to know, although I did discover the ability button a bit too near the opposite menu buttons and, consequently, straightforward to hit on accident. 

Matt Smith

Acer offers a wholesome vary of image-quality changes. This contains gamma and colour temperature changes, six-axis colour calibration, and help for a number of colour gamut profiles together with sRGB. The monitor additionally contains an unusual “max brightness” choice, which is turned off by default. This restrains the utmost brightness of the show to a extra manageable stage for SDR content material. It’s a helpful toggle, as dialing in brightness on HDR displays will be fussy resulting from their big selection of luminance. 

Acer Predator X32 FP: SDR Image Quality

The Acer Predator XP32 FP is certainly one of a number of new Mini-LED displays speeding to market after CES 2023. It achieves a cheaper price by limiting the variety of dimming zones to simply 576 (some earlier fashions had 1,152), however it doesn’t compromise in different features of picture high quality.

Matt Smith

Acer offers a most SDR brightness of 461 nits. This is sort of a bit lower than some opponents, and definitely not the very best the monitor can obtain, as I’ll contact on when explaining its HDR efficiency. The Acer’s SDR brightness falls behind some latest Mini-LED displays together with the Viewsonic Elite XG341C-2K and AOC Agon Pro AG274QZM.

Whether this issues is up for debate, as 461 nits ought to be greater than sufficient for comfy viewing in a vibrant, sunlit room. Still, I favor to see displays provide a better stage of brightness if the monitor is able to attaining it.

Matt Smith

The monitor’s most distinction ratio got here in at 3230:1. That’s a very good outcome for an IPS monitor, and on par with the AOC Agon Pro AG274QZM, however lower than another displays with a Mini-LED backlight such because the Viewsonic Elite XG341C-2K, which has extra dimming zones. OLED additionally outperforms because of its means to realize an primarily excellent black stage with zero luminance. 

Still, the XP32 FP seems good in real-world situations. Dark scenes typically seem deep and wealthy, with far much less of the IPS glow discovered on customary IPS displays. Vivid, vibrant scenes appear to leap out of the show because of its excessive most brightness. 

Matt Smith

Acer knocks the colour gamut out of the park, delivering a colour gamut that spans 100 % of sRGB and 96 % of DCI-P3. This efficiency is on par with the easiest displays accessible right now, together with OLED options, and ought to be appropriate for high-end skilled content material creation. In real-world use, the broad colour gamut provides an alluring and over-saturated look I think most house owners will take pleasure in. 

Matt Smith

The X32 FP doesn’t knock colour accuracy out of the park, however this stage of colour accuracy stays satisfactory in practically any state of affairs you’ll throw at it. Still, it’s price mentioning {that a} development is forming: new Mini-LED displays aren’t performing as properly in colour accuracy as OLED displays and IPS displays that lack a Mini-LED backlight.

I measured a default gamma curve of two.2, proper on my most well-liked goal. The default colour temperature was 6100Okay, a bit hotter than the goal of 6500Okay, and far hotter than most displays bought right now. I favor this look, personally, however it could look a bit off should you favor a colour temperature above 6500Okay. The monitor provides gamma and colour temperature changes, so each will be adjusted.

Sharpness is a excessive level. The Acer Predator X32 FP has a 4K panel, which units it other than inexpensive choices just like the AOC Agon Pro AG274QZM and Cooler Master Tempest GP27Q, each of which stick with 1440P decision. The added pixels produce a particularly crisp, engaging expertise irrespective of how the monitor is used, and makes the monitor higher for content material creators (particularly video creators) who must work at 4K decision.

Acer Predator X32 FP: HDR Image Quality

The Acer Predator X32 FP is VESA DisplayHDR 1000 licensed. I verified a most sustained brightness of 946 nits, which is great, and well-suited to HDR content material on a PC. Highlights that ought to seem really searing, like a vibrant midday solar, appear to burst from the display. The monitor additionally offers good element round vibrant highlights.

I used to be a bit disenchanted by the monitor’s distinction ratio, because it didn’t budge in HDR content material. This is completely different from the AOC Agon Pro AG274QZM, which supplied an improved distinction ratio of 4190:1 in HDR. I seen that darkish scenes didn’t look as deep and foreboding on the X32 FP. 

This, nevertheless, ought to be saved in context. The X32 FP didn’t outperform different Mini-LED displays, however it completely demolishes IPS LCD shows with out a Mini-LED backlight. The Acer Predator XB273U F, for instance, has a most distinction ratio of 980:1 and appears dreary in HDR by comparability.

Blooming, an issue that causes vibrant halos round vibrant objects, will be a difficulty. This happens as a result of the Mini-LED dimming zones are bigger than small, vibrant objects that may should be displayed. This doesn’t affect most scenes, however it’s apparent when vibrant objects transfer throughout an in any other case largely darkish efficiency (or vice versa). Mini-LED displays with extra dimming zones, just like the Viewsonic Elite XG341C-2K, do higher right here.

What about OLED? It can’t hope to compete with the X32 FP’s peak brightness, however delivers higher ends in darkish scenes. This makes them higher suited to darkish content material. If you prefer to play Valheim greater than Overwatch 2, for instance, OLED is the higher alternative.

While the X32 FP wasn’t a top-tier HDR performer, largely resulting from its distinction ratio, it stays a very good monitor for HDR. It has the brightness and colour gamut wanted to ship oomph in HDR scenes. 

Acer Predator X32 FP: Motion Performance

Matt Smith

The Acer Predator X32 FP helps refresh charges as much as 160Hz. This is barely accessible over DisplayPort, nevertheless—the opposite ports are restricted to 144Hz. I don’t discover this to be an issue, as I can’t discover any distinction between 144Hz and 160Hz. 

Motion readability is stable because of the refresh charge and the monitor’s low pixel-response occasions. Test photographs of League of Legends and DOTA 2 present that character silhouettes and well being bars are legible whereas scrolling throughout the map. Character names, nevertheless, are troublesome to learn. This is typical efficiency for a 144Hz monitor. 

AMD FreeSync Premium Pro is supported. G-Sync help is unofficial, although it labored with an MSI Titan with RTX 4090. The monitor additionally provides an overdrive mode, which, in an odd determination, is compelled on when FreeSync is in use. It barely improves readability on the expense of minor overshoot, an issue that causes the picture to look a bit over-sharpened and noisy in movement. There’s additionally an Extreme overdrive mode that additional will increase readability on the expense of picture high quality. Some aggressive players may wish to use it, however I’d count on most players will keep away from it. 

The X32 FP’s movement readability doesn’t stand out. A 240Hz or 360Hz monitor will definitely look higher in movement. However, that doesn’t imply it’s disappointing. Motion within reason clear and crisp, with good element and clean body pacing when AMD FreeSync is in use. 

Should you purchase the Acer Predator X32 FP?

The Acer Predator X32 FP is an effective Mini-LED monitor, however its enchantment is determined by your priorities. Those who need the very best picture high quality for his or her buck shall be a bit underwhelmed. The X32 FP seems nice in each SDR and HDR, however the monitor’s practically $1,500 MSRP places it up in opposition to powerful opponents together with OLED displays and Mini-LED displays with extra dimming zones. 

Acer fights again with in depth connectivity that features six video inputs, USB-C with DisplayPort Alternate Mode and 90 watts of energy supply, and 4 USB-A ports. That’s excellent for multi-device customers who wish to join a bunch of computer systems and recreation consoles to the identical show. The X32 FP additionally has a really broad colour gamut with a decent vary of calibration choices. Though bought as a gaming monitor, the X32 FP is a brilliant alternative for content material creators who need one monitor to deal with each high-end content material creation and HDR video games.