Acer’s awesome Predator X34 gaming monitor is getting a big speed boost
The upcoming Predator X34 S has a 200Hz (up from 120Hz) refresh rate and incredibly low 0.5ms response time (down from 4ms).
An unannounced version of Acer's bodacious Predator X34 gaming monitor has shown up on a Chinese retail site, with some nifty upgrades. Chief among them is a 200MHz refresh rate, nearly double that of the current model. It also has an incredibly fast 0.5ms response time.
Called the Predator X34 S (similar to how Apple offers "S" upgrades within the same iPhone family), this upcoming display is listed at Taobao (via TFTCentral) for ¥9,999, which is around $1,472 in US currency. Pricing often varies by region, however, so it remains to be seen how much this monitor will cost in the US and other parts of the world.
The first-gen Predator X34 is one of the best curved gaming monitors, with an IPS screen, 3440x1440 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and 4ms response time.
Acer's Predator X34 S also employs an IPS panel of the same size with the same resolution. It is likely an LG Nano IPS that has been overclocked from 144Hz (native refresh rate) to 200Hz, though we can't say for sure. Like it's predecessor, the S variant supports Nvidia's G-Sync technology.
Regarding the response time, it's listed as 1ms, with the ability to hit 0.5ms. That is quite impressive for any display, let alone an IPS panel, especially if it is a gray-to-gray (GtG) measurement as TFTCentral surmises.
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While not yet listed on VESA's website, the listing shows this as being a DisplayHDR 400 certified display, with a 400 nits typical brightness rating and peak 550 nits brightness. Ideally, an LCD monitor would be able to hit 1,000 nits for HDR content, so we will have to see how it actually performs when it releases. Either way, this is another upgrade over the regular Predator X34.
Connectivity options include a DisplayPort, HDMI, USB Type-C with 85W power delivery, USB 3.0, and 3.5mm audio out.
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Look for this monitor to arrive in December, if the listing is accurate.
Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).