Gaming, Media Consumption and Thou-Sync

This is where the Acer Predator shines

For movies, the Predator X34 was an absolute treat. The slightly curved nature of its screen lends to the overall illusion of immersion. The vast width of this brandish allows high-cease 21:nine cinematic content without letterboxing (i.eastward. black confined on tiptop and bottom). This makes for a spectacular widescreen experience. And while this type of content will bring you much joy, more pedestrian 16:9 content will be pillarboxed (i.east. black bars on the sides). xvi:ix formatted content is quite prolific online (and for older flicks) but it'south not so bad; the display is big plenty that you still go a sizeable image when compared to any 24 inch or 27 inch 16:9 screen.


credit: Newegg / Gamecrate

As you might look, gaming is where the Acer Predator X34 really shines. Its continuous ultra wide surface area was significantly more immersive than traditional sixteen:10 or 16:9 displays. The curved blueprint is part of this, but certainly the 21:9 aspect ratio is the single largest reason. The wider field of view theoretically grants gamers an edge; being able to meet more than on screen tin be a valuable reward. In few words, connecting a fast G-Sync-enabled PC to the cute enormity that is the Predator X34 is something shut to gaming elation.

Are there any drawbacks to going ultrawide? Absolutely. Still, not all complaints will be of equal importance to everyone. First, it's worth noting some graphics-intensive titles volition require college-end hardware to run smoothly at 3440 ten 1440 in its total celebrity.

Compared to typical 1920 10 1080 displays, the Predator X34's native resolution more than doubles the amount of pixels on screen. This will quickly requite you trouble on budget and mid-range GPUs.

Playing games ultrawide

or not...

Another irritation is the demand for games to back up ultrawide resolutions. Some titles just don't work (or piece of work well) in 21:9 aspect ratio. Fallout 4'south HUD, for example, doesn't calibration properly at 21:9. Sleeping Dogs did pretty well, but some cinematics were pillarboxed and in-game UI elements kept their 16:9 positioning. Curiously, Bioshock Infinite happily supported an aspect ratio of "42:18" only worked flawlessly.

Equally expected, some games (Marvel Heroes) tin can't do ultrawide at all, while some older titles (Dungeons and Dragons Online, Diablo 3, Squad Fortress 2) may surprise you lot with their solid ultra-wide support. With that said, many games handle ultrawide ratios just fine, like Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide and Metro 2099: Last Low-cal.

Ultimately, your experience will depend largely on your favorite games. Be sure to do a bit of research earlier you have the plunge. As we move into the time to come, it's a safe bet well-nigh new titles will back up 21:9, so attempt not to permit a few bad apples scare you lot away from the ultrawide experience.

1000-Sync

The Predator X34's defining characteristic is arguably G-Sync, Nvidia's proprietary variable refresh rate engineering science. Of course, the Predator X34'due south immense size and reasonably proficient image production brand information technology a wonderful sail for showcasing Thou-Sync and yes, the results are very pleasing.

At their core, VRR technologies (G-Sync, FreeSync) aim to eliminate frame stuttering and screen tearing by synchronizing display timings to frame rates. The "name brand" VRR strategies also perform numerous tricks to enhance this illusion, but that's the gist of it. And as some witnesses may attest, beautiful things happen when FPS and refresh charge per unit are in agreement. It should be said that non-VRR displays with very high refresh rates (eastward.g. 144Hz) can too provide gamers with a shine experience. Nonetheless, the nearly gorgeous titles crave absurdly high-stop hardware to make the most of this. G-Sync and similar technologies offer comparably smooth gameplay to the masses fifty-fifty at lower, less consequent frame rates.

Of form, information technology would exist remiss to discuss Thou-Sync without discussing VRR a lilliputian chip. As awesome as VRR may be, the technology is mired in industry politics. Essentially, the graphics carte you own determines what display you'll need (or vice-versa) for total VRR enjoyment. At the time of this writing, in that location are no displays (nor graphics cards) which support both Thou-Sync and FreeSync together. They are mutually exclusive, for at present, at least.

G-Sync monitors require Nvidia hardware, more specifically a GeForce GTX 650 Ti or newer. Such displays are equipped with custom G-Sync scalers which come at an boosted manufacturing price. Arguably, this hardware gave Nvidia a technical edge early on in the VRR state of war, but FreeSync has rapidly evolved into something that is at to the lowest degree comparable. At present, it's fair to say both technologies have their strengths and weaknesses.

The large alternative to G-Sync, FreeSync, is an AMD engineering science and -- yous guessed information technology -- requires an AMD GPU. The uniform GPU list for FreeSync is a fleck more complicated than the Thousand-Sync list, merely generally a Radeon Hard disk 260 or newer is required. One cool affair FreeSync has going for it is its reliance on Adaptive-Sync, an open, royalty free VESA standard. If your brandish does FreeSync so information technology necessarily supports Adaptive-Sync. Any graphics hardware (not just AMD'due south) may be capable of basic VRR provided it has two main ingredients: DisplayPort ane.2a support and driver back up.

Intel recently appear it will support Adaptive-Sync in its future graphics silicon. In fact, even Nvidia could back up Adaptive-Sync on future chipsets (Pascal, peradventure?) but let's be clear: FreeSync is not Adaptive-Sync. Sure, FreeSync leverages Adaptive-Sync, only both One thousand-Sync and FreeSync practice a bit more than than merely synchronize refresh rates with frame buffers. Each technology employs its ain set up of psychovisual tricks which tin lead FreeSync, G-Sync and varying Adaptive-Sync implementations to perform differently under different scenarios. What works all-time tin can sometimes exist situational, but from what I've seen, any VRR is an improvement over just being able to toggle 5-sync off on or on.

Although I'thou not personally sold on Thou-Sync due to its licensing and hardware costs, I am (if you haven't guessed) a fan of VRR more generally. Getting this silky smooth experience on Nvidia hardware will cost you though.

The Acer Predator X34 with G-Sync MSRPs for a stiff $1299. Meanwhile, the company's decidedly less sexy sounding XR341CK model with FreeSync offers nearly identical specs sans Chiliad-Sync for $1099 (actually $850 every bit of writing). Such a markup seems vicious, but this cost disparity is fairly congruent with other Grand-Sync displays when compared to their non-M-Sync counterparts. Remember, the Predator X34 with Thousand-Sync does not back up Adaptive-Sync nor FreeSync, and then brand extra certain you have the correct hardware earlier splurging on this display.

Closing Thoughts

With little doubt, Acer'south new brandish is an addition worthy of any gaming rig armed with a one-half-decent Nvidia card. Drooling for a curvaceous, ultrabig and ultrawide G-Sync experience? Well then, this is your only and all-time choice at the moment. If the cost tag doesn't scare you away -- which also happens to exist the highest MSRP for whatsoever curved 34-inch UQHD brandish -- the Predator X34 is currently the only offering in its class to characteristic Yard-Sync.

Triple monitor, ultrawide (and ultraexpensive) gaming?
Gamecrate put together a crazy gaming build with evident incredible results.

Putting Chiliad-Sync aside for a minute, the Predator X34 is a good packet overall. Information technology boasts good brightness, colour and dissimilarity with minimal IPS glow making it a good pick for dwelling and office utilize. Exceptional IPS panel operation paired with a 100Hz vertical refresh rate also makes this a decent choice for veteran gamers. Lastly, the Predator X34 is comprised of enough inches and pixels to make a reasonable substitute for more traditional dual screen setups.

The Predator X34 likewise has its share of faults. Dropping $1299 on a display with limited input connectivity, clumsy OSD controls and potential backlight drain issues will undoubtedly make some buyers squeamish. There's also a lack of 3D support with 100Hz beingness the highest (official) refresh rate. 100Hz isn't bad, simply there's a growing number of 144Hz monitors out there, so the Predator X34's oddball 100Hz refresh rate may underwhelm some.

Don't care about Thousand-Sync? Then await at Acer'south own FreeSync model (XR341CK) which used to cost virtually $200 less, however it's dropped even further to $850 as of writing. Rivals similar Samsung, LG, HP and Dell all offering 34-inch curved displays ranging from $900-$1200, simply you won't observe G-Sync on whatsoever of them.

Acer has this niche market cornered for now. I say for now, considering Asus announced the ROG Swift PG348Q, a comparable display with Thousand-Sync. Supposedly arriving in early 2016, Asus' curved 34 inch UQHD display non only does G-Sync, but matches the Predator X34's peculiar 100Hz refresh rate.

With that in mind, it seems reasonable to suspect the Asus ROG PG348Q and Predator X34 will actually share the aforementioned AH-IPS brandish panel. While we tin can await some differences in overall design, flare and perchance (but not necessarily) price, panel quality should be identical. If this is indeed the case, then the Acer Predator X34 is a quick way to jump aboard the ultrawide G-Sync train now, instead of later on.

Pros: Amazing overall gaming experience. The Predator X34 checks all the boxes (IPS, WQHD, 100hz and G-Sync support) with strong performance and image quality.

Cons: Expensive. Some noticeable backlight drain.

Masthead image and some other images courtesy of Newegg.