Acer Predator X34 34-inch WQHD Curved G-Sync Monitor Review

[ceberle]

Today, we're looking at Acer's flagship curved gaming monitor, the Predator X34. It offers WQHD resolution, G-Sync, a 100Hz refresh rate and DTS audio in an impressive ultra-wide package.

Acer Predator X34 34-inch WQHD Curved G-Sync Monitor Review : Read more

 

[Alan Caldwell]

Looks great!

 

[Realist9]

Finally a large monitor that checks all the boxes, resolution included.

Now I just have to decide between this and a 4k.

 

[TechyInAZ]

It's a very nice display. But $1300 is still very hard to swallow.

 

[WyomingKnott]

Serious question, and maybe I'll learn something. Didn't freesync / Gsync eliminate the need for 100hz rates?

 

[Au_equus]

Which batch did this monitor come from?

The predator x34 was produced in two main batches. The 2nd batch (Feburary 2016) was done to correct problems in the first batch.

 

[av30]

There is no blb etc.. because you received a cherry picked press sample. I can't take this review at face value due to that fact. The fact is that these panels have huge quality control issues that a visit to the forums will provide evidence of. I've gone through enough panel lotteries tyvm. Buy one of these at retail and see what a difference it makes.

 

[natedawg72]

Serious question, and maybe I'll learn something. Didn't freesync / Gsync eliminate the need for 100hz rates?

Not at all. The purpose of Freesync/Gsync was to increase the apparent smoothness of gameplay by syncing refresh and frame output, which also happens to reduce possible input lag somewhat.

High refreshrates (90+) still have the advantage of less pixel blur (from pixels transitioning colors faster) which makes images clearer in fast paced games, and can still appear smoother than 60 hz gsync. Additionally, with a game running at 120 fps+ input should feel a tad snappier, especially with a higher refreshrate monitor.

How much you will notice it depends on several things I suppose. Some people don't care about it, but I've really enjoyed my 144hz monitor, even when I disable free-sync.

 

[natedawg72]

Not at all. The purpose of Freesync/Gsync was to increase the apparent smoothness of gameplay by syncing refresh and frame output, which also happens to reduce possible input lag somewhat..

Forgot to mention one the most important points, elimination of screen tearing (within the dynamic refresh range). I apologize that I don't know how to edit comments here..

 

[scott91575]

There is no blb etc.. because you received a cherry picked press sample. I can't take this review at face value due to that fact. The fact is that these panels have huge quality control issues that a visit to the forums will provide evidence of. I've gone through enough panel lotteries tyvm. Buy one of these at retail and see what a difference it makes.

I own one. The only issue I have is some backlight bleed that has actually improved with time. It is noticeable in a completely dark room and a black screen but I never notice it during normal usage. No other issues at all and I do get 100Hz.

That is of course a sample size of one, and for $1300 (although I paid $1150) expecting perfect is not unreasonable. Yet it is a fantastic monitor.

 

[Sam Hain]

Conclusion... By looking at the test comparisons, the BenQ X3501 bests the X34 OVERALL and is cheaper by a landslide.

$1300 plus say $600 (average) for a GPU to push the X34's pixels, not to mention S&H and potential sales-tax... and your looking at $2K for your video-display option. SLI/X-Fire, ramp it up even more. Going Titan with this monitor as a dual-purchase and that's a loan, LOL! No thanks!

DSR upscale to 1440p with the X3501 makes more sense, i.e. bang-for-buck performance.

Who cares if the desktop is 1080p? If you are a strictly a gamer, it matters not to most, only those who vid/photo render/edit, or are just plain elitist's.

The X34 is a grand monitor, yes. But for the price, strictly for gaming... There are better/smarter options. Just my opinion.

 

[Luay]

You know when someone with that kind of money invests, not buys, in this kind of peripheral, that someone makes sure it will last the next, two or three builds, if not more.

The port on this monitor is DP 1.2, which is already replaced this quarter with DP 1.3, not to mention 1.4 to follow up more quickly since it's announcement earlier this year. An educated person would wait.

 

[Dosflores]

You know when someone with that kind of money invests, not buys, in this kind of peripheral, that someone makes sure it will last the next, two or three builds, if not more.

The port on this monitor is DP 1.2, which is already replaced this quarter with DP 1.3, not to mention 1.4 to follow up more quickly since it's announcement earlier this year. An educated person would wait.

I don't think any monitor can last three builds. I don't think it should even last two builds. If you buy a much better graphics card, you should buy a much better monitor too in order to fully enjoy it.

So, DP version is not important. Newer versions add support for higher resolutions, higher refresh rates, HDR, etc. No firmware update can improve those specs, so the DP version a monitor features is the DP version it needs.

It's wise to wait for the next big thing you're most interested in, but you cannot wait for all the next big things you're interested in, because there's always more and more of them coming.

 

[jadedtwo]

I owned one for 2 weeks. It was a March 2016 build. There was no BLB, only IPS glow in the corners during black screens. No burnted out pixels. It was super easy to take out of the box and setup. The overclock to 100hz was very easy and there was no coil whine as some people have found. Ran for hours at 100hz.

There is a giant but. Here it is: The anti-glare coating on my monitor was defective. There was one spot that was very noticable in the middle of the screen, almost like a smear. It wouldn't come off and after closer inspection, it was about a 3 mm scratch/bubble in the anti glare coating. I returned the monitor and got a full refund. At $1300, whatever technology(or anything else for that matter) better work perfectly. Acer still has a long way to go with their quality control.

 

[pezonator]

Interesting how you don't mention any of the issues this monitor has faced. I bought one of these in December in Australia for $1899. It had the color gradation problem and noisy gsync module. I sent it back and got the Asus PG279Q instead, awesome screen. The X34 was beautiful but I'm not playing that lottery again.

 

[scott91575]

You know when someone with that kind of money invests, not buys, in this kind of peripheral, that someone makes sure it will last the next, two or three builds, if not more.

The port on this monitor is DP 1.2, which is already replaced this quarter with DP 1.3, not to mention 1.4 to follow up more quickly since it's announcement earlier this year. An educated person would wait.

You know when someone with that kind of money invests, not buys, in this kind of peripheral, that someone makes sure it will last the next, two or three builds, if not more.

The port on this monitor is DP 1.2, which is already replaced this quarter with DP 1.3, not to mention 1.4 to follow up more quickly since it's announcement earlier this year. An educated person would wait.

DP 1.2 is enough for this monitor. 1.3 is about bandwidth, and this monitor does not require 4k at 120 Hz. It can do 3440x1440 at 100Hz through DP 1.2. 1.3 would be a waste. 1.4 is a different animal, but again, it would be a waste since what 1.4 brings would not help this panel at all. If you play the waiting game for something better you will wait until the day you die.

 

[powerincarnate]

Let's see. Some of us have been using 2560 x 1600 resolution monitor since 2006-2007 with the Dell 3007wp monitor. Many of use upgraded to the Dell U3011, which is my current monitor.

Why then in 2016 are we getting a 34 inch monitor with lower resolution?? At this point a 34 inch monitor that is 21:9 should be 5120 x 2160 resolution. PERIOD. That can be the 4K version of 21:9, and if you want higher res then you go for the 5K monitor that goes up to 2880 vertical to go with the 5K horizontal.

Also sRBG for color?? what is this 2000?? at least give me adobe rgb.

I do like that 75Hz, and overdrived to 100 Hz. Maybe if that can be even higher natively like at 120Hz, that would be even more awesome.

 

[Dosflores]

Let's see. Some of us have been using 2560 x 1600 resolution monitor since 2006-2007 with the Dell 3007wp monitor. Many of use upgraded to the Dell U3011, which is my current monitor.

Why then in 2016 are we getting a 34 inch monitor with lower resolution?? At this point a 34 inch monitor that is 21:9 should be 5120 x 2160 resolution. PERIOD. That can be the 4K version of 21:9, and if you want higher res then you go for the 5K monitor that goes up to 2880 vertical to go with the 5K horizontal.

Also sRBG for color?? what is this 2000?? at least give me adobe rgb.

I do like that 75Hz, and overdrived to 100 Hz. Maybe if that can be even higher natively like at 120Hz, that would be even more awesome.

3440 x 1440 is certainly not a lower resolution than 2560 x 1600. Just multiply.

The rest of things you say are certainly right for a professional monitor. But this is a gaming monitor. It's not only that monitor progress is slower than desired. Graphics card progress is far from reaching that performance specs.

If you're looking for a professional monitor, stop reading when you meet the words "gaming monitor". Currently, there are even 35-inch 2560 x 1080 144 Hz gaming monitors that would be terrible to work with, but are indeed great gaming monitors.

 

[Eggz]

CORRECTION:

The screen size (in the spec list) should be 34 inches (not 32 inches).

Also, glad to see Tom's getting around to this display. There's been a lot of press on it lately.

 

[9warloc9]

I purchased my x34 on march 22nd and I don't see any ghosting and zero backlight bleed. I know others have reported having issues. I either got incredibly lucky or Acer has resolved the issues because my display is absolutely beautiful. I had some buyer's remorse after hitting the checkout button and laying down the $1200 until I received the monitor. coming from a 1080p 27" monitor I was spoiled but there's no comparison from my old monitor to the x34 I couldn't be happier with the quality of the picture and the build quality of the x34

 

[suli559]

I'm taking this whole box as in with me on the airplane, im going to check it in with my luggage and will put fragile sticker all over it, should i be worried about any damages or is the packaging safe enough?

 

[Eggz]

I'm taking this whole box as in with me on the airplane, im going to check it in with my luggage and will put fragile sticker all over it, should i be worried about any damages or is the packaging safe enough?

Ha, I'd be a little worried, but I'd also know it mostly likely going to survive. They package those monitors pretty well. Enjoy!