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Review of Acer Predator X34

Time and again Acer gaming monitors has proven itself to be a force to be reckoned with. Its products keep on getting better every year with the implementation of new technologies and constant little improvements that eventually lead to significant differences in performance. The Acer Predator X34 is an Ultra-wide gaming monitor built for the hardcore gamer. And even though this is a pricey display, this is something you should start saving up for.

Today, we will try to understand the features and applications of this gaming display. We will be reviewing the monitor’s technical aspects, add-on features, gaming performance, comfort and it’s connectivity.

What’s in the box

The Acer Predator X34 is priced at $1299 and in the box are all the elements that you will need to start your gaming experience with the monitor. Depending on your choice of purchasing, you can probably get a $100-200 discount on it. However, this price is definitely on the higher end of the spectrum (and not exactly an Unique Selling Point).

The box includes the display along with its power cable, standard Display Port, HDMI and USB 3.0 cables, the and a 100×100 VESA mounting plate.

Acer Predator X34 Specifications

• Display Size: 34 Inch
• Panel Type: IPS
• Resolution: 3440 x 1440
• Aspect Ratio: 21:9
• Pixel Pitch: 0.233mm
• Refresh Rate: 60Hz (OverClocking to 100Hz)
• Response Time: 4ms
• Speakers: 2 7-Watt speakers

The Predator offers gamers with everything that they can dream of. The 34-Inch display is curved for an enhanced environmental output of the games. The native resolution of the monitor is 3440 x 1440 pixels, which when combined with a 4ms of Response Time provides you glitch-free, stuttering free gaming output.

NVIDIA G-Sync and 100-Hz overclocking? Check. Built-in LED lights? Check. Some add-on features specifically designed for gaming? Why not!

If there is an issue with this display, it is either with the high price or with the user interface (that can be a bit pesky in my opinion). When it comes to performance, the Acer Predator X34 proves itself to be far superior to ninety percent of the monitors out there (if not more).

Design

Let’s talk about the design of the monitor first. The Acer Predator X34 features a bezel-free design with a huge cabinet (measuring 14.8 by 32.2 by 4 inches). The IPS Panel has been wrapped in a metal frame to protect it. On the front of the display is a fierce looking predator logo that isn’t bright and doesn’t stand out like an eyesore. The back features a chevron-shaped pattern. The display has a glossy black finish, and the base is a minimal, metal skeleton made of heavy duty metal. The X34 draws 49 watts of power in its Standard mode. It also has an Eco mode that reduces its consumption to 36 Watts.

On the underside edge of the display are physical buttons (instead of touch-buttons that can prove to be difficult to interact with sometimes), and there are LED lights on the bottom side to illuminate your keyboard and mouse gently for those long overnight hours. A feature which the anti-glare coating on the monitor complements. But will be discussing that later on in the article.

The Predator X34 is also, the world’s first curved gaming monitor. Yes, you heard it right. The Acer Predator X34  has a curvature radius of about 3,800R. This means that if you put a few Predators in an edge to edge fashion to create a circle, the radius would be 3,800mm. It allows you to immerse yourself in the game’s universe in a way no other monitor does.

So the question is, how does the curved panel help improve the experience?

This is what Acer has to say:

“The curved monitor wraps you in a world of entertainment with every corner of the screen at the same distance from your eyes for a uniform viewing experience without blind spots.”

“The UltraWide 21:9 aspect ratio presents a more immersive experience with a wider field of view which brings a better movie and game experience compared to a flat display of the same size, while the ZeroFrame design provides the maximum viewing experience and supports seamless multi-monitor setups perfectly. “

To put it in simple terms, the monitor has a brilliant gaming output. Combine that with a screen that covers almost all of your viewing range and you have an experience of being in the game. The bezels around the display are reduced to about one centimeter to maximize the screen area. And considering the results Acer got by doing all of these experiments, we can say that the technique undoubtedly works!

Gaming Performance

Now, let’s talk about the display’s output. We will be tackling the color and display first, then the gaming and add-on features.

The Acer Predator X34  combines a massive 3440 x 1440 resolution with a 21:9 aspect ratio and 1.07 billion colors (a 100% of the sRGB color gamut). This means that the color accuracy, as well as the pixel density of this monitor, is off the charts. The X34 can produce a picture quality that is so high that it needs to be compensated with a good frame rate and a refresh rate for it to do the job well. This is where the Refresh Rate and the Response Time comes into play. With a 4ms of response time and a 60Hz of refresh rate that can be over clocked up to 100Hz, there are absolutely no complains when it comes to viewing pleasure and gaming at maintaining color quality while gaming at high frame rates.

The color quality of the Acer Predator X34 (as shown in the chart below) is excellent. It aligns Red, Blue, and Green color measurements nicely with their ideal CIE coordinates. The Acer Predator X34 displays every single shade of gray on the DisplayMate 64-Step Gray-Scale test. This is simply fantastic. From Blu-ray movies to gaming in Ultra modes. This is a monitor that gets the job done. No clipped whites, no crushed blacks.

The 4 ms gray to gray response time eliminates Ghosting completely. Ghosting is caused by the slow speed of the shift in images, resulting in a scenario when the previous image can still be seen. The response time here is pretty solid, and that is something that was needed for such a massive resolution and accurate color generation. The fast response time and refresh rates also allow a gaming experience that is ‘stutter-free’ and smooth.

Playing games like Crysis 3 on the default 75Hz of the X34 shows that there aren’t any issues at all. The gaming is lucid and blur-free, compensated nicely with an enhanced peripheral vision due to the curved shape of the display.

The NVIDIA G-Sync on the X34 gives gamers a lot of value for the money. Now that we have established how great the color reproduction and image quality is, the question is ‘will it stay that sound during gaming?’

The answer is, yes of course! The G-sync eliminates screen tearing and stutter during gaming. This is done by syncing the monitor directly with a PC’s graphics card. With an input lag (the time taken for the display to react to a command given by a controller) as short as 10.3 milliseconds, this is a perfect display to connect to a gaming-oriented system. And while BenQ XL2430T is a monitor that has a lower input lag, the Predator still trumps that display in other things.

Gaming monitors usually come with built-in speakers of 5 Watts. But the Predator has two built-in 7W DTS Sound speakers that produce a high-quality sound.

The wide 178-degree viewing angles allow you to go ‘into the game’, and there are four ambient inbuilt lighting effects that you can apply to those games for them to look more real to you by illuminating the darker spots and enhancing the overall look of the game subtly.

Comfort

Now that we have discussed the massive firepower of this 34 Inch powerhouse, you might be wondering ‘how comfortable is it?’

To sum up a long story, the monitor is convenient regarding viewing. But if you hate displays taking up a good amount of space and if you love to keep your keyboard very close to the stand, the Predator does not allow it. The stand takes up a good amount of space and with an enhanced peripheral vision, comes a feeling of being ‘less aware of your surroundings.’

But this is what this monitor is made for. The Acer Predator X34 is made for ‘Curved Immersion’ and the title is self-explanatory. The viewing angles on the display are 178X178 degrees, and the ergonomic stand lets you adjust the tilt from -5 – 35 degrees. The vertical adjustment is up to 5 inches. Additionally, this is a VESA mounting compatible display that comes with a 100×100 VESA mounting plate. So there aren’t any complains in the versatility of the viewing department.

Prolonged viewing is made easy on the Predator X34 with its anti-glare coating. The coating is an optical coating that is applied to this IPS display directly to absorb some extra light to reduce reflection. This makes it easier to game at nights with the lights on, and also reduces the strain on the eyes, resulting in lower eye fatigue.

There is also a Low Blue Light picture setting on the Acer Predator X34 that adjusts the wavelength of the blue light before emission. This is done as the wavelength of the blue light is the closest to that of the UV. And all of us know what UV light can do to your eyes!

The Low Blue Light feature keeps only the ‘beneficial’ wavelengths of the blue light in the spectrum and adjusts the other ones to reproduce the colors in a way that does not affect the performance, but prevents the dangerous blue light emission. This feature can be found in most monitors these days, and is a must if you want to protect your eyes from fatigue and damage.

Connectivity

This is a monitor that is designed to handle high-speed data transfers. All of the X34’s Input/output ports are located around the back, facing outwards. It has two high-bandwidth connection ports (for video inputs): one HDMI 1.4 and one Display Port. There are five high-speed USB 3.0 ports (4 downstream, one upstream) that make it easy to connect your devices. And you can charge your portable devices fairly quickly using these USB ports. Other than these, the Predator X34 also has a standard headphone jack.

On the bottom edge of the monitor’s cabinet, there are five red function buttons and a Power switch located off to the right side. They help navigate the menu easily and serve as hotkeys for toggling between screens and adjusting volume on the speakers. The OSD is not very impressive, though. You are gonna have to press a random button there for the description to pop up. After that, you’ll get to know which button does what. Not exactly the best on screen display out there, but not the worst one either. Overall, the interface can be a bit pesky.

Verdict

Pros

• Curved IPS Display with a 3440×1440 resolution
• Refresh Rate of 60 Hz (OC up to 100)
• NVIDIA G-Sync 2.0
• Exceptionally good gaming performance without Tearing, Ghosting and Stuttering
• Ergonomic Design
• Gamer-centric settings

Cons

• Only two video inputs
• Expensive
• A wide base stand
• The OSD has no visual markings that tell you what the buttons do. You have to press one so that the description pops up. Navigating menus can be a bit of a pain

It is clear from the pros and cons list here that the only issues with the monitor are with its price and a couple of things there that really does not matter all that much when it comes to Gaming.

Additionally, this monitor was the first curved monitor, but the BenQ’s XR3501 (priced at $999) features a wider (35 Inch) display and a 144 Hz refresh rate. But it does not have an adaptive sync support. So even at $1,299, the Acer Predator X34 is worth every premium penny when it comes to Gaming. I would definitely give it a 9 out of 10.

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