Acer Predator XB273U F review: The very best motion clarity, full stop

Price When Reviewed

$1,099

Gamers who crave movement readability must be happy with the screens arriving in 2023, and the Acer Predator XB273U F is a primary take a look at what they need to anticipate. It’s among the many first 27-inch, 1440p screens with a 360Hz refresh charge, and it depends on a brand new panel that guarantees even higher movement readability than older 24-inch 360Hz screens. The monitor’s movement efficiency doesn’t come low-cost however does set a brand new normal for readability.

Note: Go to our roundup of the best monitors to study extra about competing merchandise, what to search for in a monitor, and shopping for suggestions.

Acer Predator XB273U F: The specs

The Acer Predator XB273U F is amongst a brand new breed of 27-inch, 1440p screens with a 360Hz refresh charge. This is the most effective mixture of refresh charge and backbone that’s presently accessible. A couple of screens with a refresh charge as much as 540Hz are introduced, like the Asus’ ROG Swift PRO PG248QP revealed at CES 2023, however they gained’t arrive till summer time of 2023.

• Display measurement: 27-inch
• Native decision: 2560×1440
• Panel kind: IPS
• Refresh charge: 360Hz
• Adaptive-sync: Nvidia G-Sync
• HDR: VESA DisplayHDR 600
• Ports: 2x HDMI 2.0, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 4x USB-A, 1x USB-B, 3.5mm audio out
• Stand adjustment: Height, tilt, swivel, rotation 
• VESA mount: Yes, 100x100mm
• Speakers: Yes
• Price: $1,099

Refresh charge apart, the Predator XB273U F’s specs are typical for a premium gaming monitor. This is a show constructed for one goal: velocity.

Acer Predator XB273U F: Design

The Predator XB273U F is an instance of Acer’s normal Predator design language. It has a matte black-on-black aesthetic that’s largely refined, although the rear does add some texture and aptitude. Surprisingly, there’s no RGB lighting in any respect, leaving avid gamers to carry their very own. 

Build high quality is nice. The monitor’s plastics really feel thick and sturdy. The show has skinny bezels, however a considerably giant backside chin and thick rear panel, which provides to a way of rigidity and sturdiness. 

Acer affords a large, tripod-like stand with an aggressive look and durable steel toes. It’s heavy, affords important ergonomic adjustment together with top and rotation, and does a superb job of holding the monitor secure. However, its vast legs take up important house on a desk. The monitor does embrace the standard 100x100mm VESA mount, so a third-party monitor arm or stand may be connected.

Acer Predator XB273U F: Features and menus

You’ll discover three video enter choices round again: one DisplayPort 1.4 and two HDMI 2.0. The DisplayPort 1.4 port is the one manner to make use of the monitor’s full 2560×1440 decision at 360Hz. That’s disappointing however appears to be normal apply for now. Similar screens, just like the Asus ROG Swift PG27AQN, share this draw back.

The monitor contains 4 USB 3 Type-A ports pushed by one USB Type-B upstream port, plus audio-out. That’s a wholesome vary of connectivity for a gaming monitor. The USB-A ports aren’t straightforward to entry, so connecting a USB thumb drive or SDcard adapter isn’t handy.

Matt Smith

Enthusiasts must be happy by Acer’s joystick-controlled menu system, which affords an enormous vary of customization choices. This contains 5 gamma modes, 5 coloration temperature modes, and six-axis coloration calibration. There’s additionally an sRGB mode that may be turned on or off per show enter, fairly than for the show general. A fast observe: The sRGB mode is turned on by default. There’s no DCI-P3 mode, nonetheless.

Gamers even have loads of choices. The monitor helps Nvidia’s G-Sync Reflex Analyzer, which can be utilized to measure whole system enter latency. It additionally affords a built-in purpose level, a black equalizer to spice up darkness in shadows, an on-screen refresh charge monitor, and a 25-inch mode (which forces the show right into a 25-inch show house with 1080p decision). All of that is helpful for aggressive avid gamers, although I did discover the 25-inch mode a bit finicky (it didn’t at all times correctly detect when my show output was set to 1080p).

On steadiness, the Acer Predator XB273U F has a terrific set of menu choices and options worthy of a premium gaming monitor. Though clearly focused at aggressive e-sports gamers, the monitor’s image-quality options make it suited to YouTube and Twitch creators seeking to create aggressive gaming content material.

Acer Predator XB273U F: SDR Image Quality

The Acer Predator XB273U F is supposed for high-refresh, aggressive gaming, however that doesn’t imply it could actually’t look good doing it. The monitor’s picture high quality is strong in SDR content material.

Matt Smith

Brightness is a perk for the Predator XB273U F, because it comes out swinging with a most brightness of 529 nits. That’s excessive for SDR content material and, generally, the monitor shall be used at a mere fraction of its most brightness. 

This degree of brightness is perhaps helpful if you end up utilizing the monitor in a window-filled room on a sunny day, and it’s in the direction of the higher finish of what trendy IPS LCD screens ship.

Matt Smith

The XB273U F affords a most distinction ratio of 980:1, which is merely okay for an IPS LCD monitor in 2023. It’s not the worst, however not the most effective, and the restricted distinction could make darkish scenes look hazy and ill-defined. 

It’s value noting that the Asus ROG Swift PG27AQN, a key competitor, performs equally. The Asus and Acer screens possible use the identical show panel, and there’s a powerful probability different 1440p / 360Hz screens in 2023 will, as effectively. 

Matt Smith

Acer’s coloration gamut efficiency is nice, delivering 100 p.c of sRGB, 95 p.c of DCI-P3, and 89 p.c of Adobe RGB. This vary of coloration gamut just isn’t distinctive amongst premium screens, however nonetheless nice, and supplies a vivid, participating look when viewing colourful content material. 

The coloration gamut is nice sufficient to deal with artistic {and professional} duties together with normal photograph modifying, YouTube video creation, and digital artwork for viewing on-line. Though meant primarily for gaming, the Acer Predator XB273U F performs about as effectively in skilled content material as a mid-range skilled monitor just like the BenQ PD2720U or Asus ProArt PA279CV (nonetheless, the Acer’s decision is decrease).

Matt Smith

Color accuracy reinforces the XB273U F’s strong all-around efficiency with exact coloration in a broad vary of conditions. This degree of accuracy just isn’t the most effective accessible, however shut, and errors of this diploma are very troublesome to note with the human eye. 

The monitor’s coloration accuracy is supported by an affordable default gamma studying of two.3, which is barely off the goal of two.2. Content may look darker than meant, however the deviation is sufficiently small that I didn’t discover it subjectively. The default coloration temperature was 6400Ok, only a hair off the goal of 6500Ok. This means content material gained’t seem too heat or cool out-of-the-box. Remember, too, that the monitor has many gamma and coloration temperature choices to assist homeowners dial of their most popular look.

What about sharpness? Unsurprisingly, the XB273U F’s pixel density of 108 pixels per inch can’t compete with 4K alternate options, which have about 163 pixels per inch. Small fonts can seem barely pixelated and video games don’t look fairly as detailed, particularly when viewing noisy textures or extraordinarily skinny objects (like energy traces or a chain-link fence). Still, 1440p decision affords satisfactory sharpness for a 27-inch show, and its drawback doesn’t leap except in contrast side-by-side with a 4K monitor.

The Acer Predator XB273U F’s general SDR picture high quality is nice. It has unbelievable brightness, nice coloration efficiency, and satisfactory sharpness. Contrast is the plain draw back, because the monitor’s IPS panel can’t produce a deep, convincing black degree. The monitor’s general picture high quality just isn’t good worth for cash, given its MSRP of $1,099—however velocity, not picture high quality, is the main focus of this monitor.

Acer Predator XB273U F: HDR picture high quality

The Acer Predator XB273U F is VESA DIsplayHDR 600 licensed. It proves to be a powerful performer in HDR content material, although it has limits.

Let’s begin with brightness. I recorded a most HDR brightness of 557 nits. That’s not as excessive because the VESA DisplayHDR 600 certification may recommend, but it surely’s shut. And, maybe extra importantly, the monitor didn’t waver in brightness relying on the quantity of the show displaying vivid content material. 

The monitor handles tone mapping and coloration effectively at default settings, which is nice information for normal use. Flipping on Windows 11 HDR doesn’t negatively influence coloration accuracy or grayscale. The Windows desktop appears to be like a lot because it does in SDR sRGB mode, however brighter.

Contrast stays an issue. Acer tries to enhance issues with a dynamic backlight mode, which is on by default. This is an edge-lit monitor with only a handful of zones, nonetheless, so the dynamic backlight causes distracting pillars and streaks of sunshine in darkish scenes. It’s higher to show it off in most conditions. This is true of each SDR and HDR, however the dynamic backlight flaws turn out to be extra apparent in HDR because the monitor’s brightness is elevated.

The monitor’s backlight can also be an issue when displaying vivid highlights, just like the gleam of chrome in a darkish alley or a subject of stars. There’s no manner so as to add brightness to those small slices of the show with out additionally brightening all the show, which robs scenes of rigidity and drama. It’s a combination, then. HDR efficiency is okay, however removed from the most effective. A Mini-LED monitor is a better bet if eye-searing HDR is your objective.

Acer Predator XB273U F: Motion efficiency

Matt Smith

The Acer Predator XB273U F’s sturdy picture high quality is definitely good to have however, as talked about, it’s not the main focus. This monitor is among the many first 27-inch, 1440p, 360Hz screens available on the market. Motion fluidity and readability is the objective—and the monitor delivers.

Motion readability at default settings is great. Viewing the traditional UFO take a look at exhibits the tiny pupils within the three-eyed alien’s peepers are distinct (albeit simply barely), whereas take a look at pictures from DOTA 2 present that hitpoint bars and hero names are readable. This is a bonus over even 240Hz shows: Hitpoint bars are distinct at 240Hz (particularly with OLED shows), however names are troublesome or not possible to learn, relying on their coloration relative to the background. 

Gamers ought to keep in mind that a recreation wants to attain 360 frames per second, or near it, to see the most effective movement readability. That means the XB273U F is greatest used with a top-tier video card just like the Nvidia RTX 4080 and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX. With that mentioned, movement readability remains to be higher than most IPS shows at decrease refresh charges.

Acer activates an OverDrive mode by default, and it does trigger seen “overshoot.” It seems as an over-sharpened look that surrounds vivid objects and causes points in detailed textures. Personally, I might suggest turning off this mode for normal use. There’s additionally an Extreme mode that throws warning to the wind and causes main overshoot to attain most readability. It could make superb particulars simpler to see, however appears to be like butt-ugly, so I’d steer clear.

The Acer Predator XB273U F’s general movement readability is among the many greatest accessible on trendy gaming screens (Asus ROG Swift PG27AQN, one other 1440p / 360Hz monitor, performs equally). It’s a step above older 24-inch, 1080p 360Hz screens and superior to 240Hz screens with an OLED panel. Frame pacing can also be glorious because of assist for Nvidia G-Sync. If you need the final phrase in movement readability, look no additional. This is it.

Should you purchase the Acer Predator XB273U F?

Acer’s Predator XB273U F is a superb monitor for a specific area of interest. 

Priced at $1,099, the monitor’s 1440p decision and IPS panel with edge-lit backlight can’t compete with the standard of equally priced OLED or Mini-LED shows. 

But that’s not the purpose. This is the most effective movement readability accessible on a contemporary pc monitor, and it’s prone to be the most effective accessible at 1440p decision by the remainder of 2023 (although rivals with the identical panel will possible match it). The XB273U F is nice for avid gamers who play competitively but stays versatile sufficient to work as a day-to-day monitor and deal with content material creation.