Monitors are getting exciting. Not only are higher resolution panels becoming more of the norm, but the combination of different panel dimensions and feature sets means that buying the monitor you need for the next 10 years is getting more difficult. Today Acer adds some spice to the mix by announcing pre-orders for the XB280HK – a 28-inch TN monitor with 3840x2160 resolution that also supports NVIDIA’s G-Sync to reduce tearing and stuttering.

Adaptive frame rate technologies are still in the early phases for adoption by the majority of users. AMD’s FreeSync is still a few quarters away from the market, and NVIDIA’s G-Sync requires an add-in card which started off as an interesting, if not expensive, monitor upgrade. Fast forward a couple of months and as you might expect, the best place for G-Sync to go is into some of the more impressive monitor configurations. 4K is becoming a go-to resolution for anyone with deep enough wallets, although some might argue that the 21:9 monitors might be better for gaming immersion at least.

The XB280HK will support 3840x2160 at 60 Hz via DisplayPort 1.2, along with a 1 ms gray-to-gray response time and a fixed frequency up to 144 Hz. The stand will adjust up to 155mm in height with 40º of tilt. There is also 120º of swivel and a full quarter turn of pivot allowing for portrait style implementations. The brightness of the panel is rated at 300 cd/m2, with an 8 bit+HiFRC TN display that has a typical contrast ratio of 1000:1 and 72% NTSC. VESA is also supported at the 100x100mm scale, as well as a USB 3.0 Hub as part of the monitor, although there are no monitor speakers.

The XB280HK is currently available for pre-order in the UK at £500, but will have a US MSRP of $800. Also part of the Acer XBO range is the XB270H, a 27-inch 1920x1080 panel with G-Sync with an MSRP of $600. Expected release date, according to the pre-orders, should be the 3rd of October.

Source: Acer

Comments Locked

57 Comments

View All Comments

  • jb510 - Friday, September 19, 2014 - link

    4k for $800 with portrait orientation. Awesome! Wait it's TN. How's that going to work
  • Centauri0 - Friday, September 19, 2014 - link

    Ug.. all we want is 27" 1440p or higher IPS!!! with GSync.. Why oh why can't it be. I can't stand TN period when you go IPS you just can't go back.
  • chizow - Friday, September 19, 2014 - link

    To each his own, but that's not true for everyone. I went from IPS to 120+Hz TN and just can't go back, there are trade-offs but I prefer crisp, blur-free images in motion over great still images/desktop and muddy blurry mess in motion.
  • Asmodian - Sunday, September 21, 2014 - link

    I went from 2560x1440@110Hz IPS (overclocked) to 2560x1440@144Hz TN with Gsync and I would not go back either. The low motion blur is amazing even without ULMB on. Of course there is a trade off going to TN; we need faster refresh rate IPS type panels.

    However, if you are looking at 4K we are bandwidth limited to 60Hz so IPS would have similar apparent motion blur. Something like a PA328Q with G-sync would be my pick. Of course that would be $2000+.
  • chizow - Sunday, September 21, 2014 - link

    Haha Swift owner? Same here /high five.

    Great monitor, I've had a few SLI G-Sync issues but should be resolved once my 980 arrives this week. :)
  • gwolfman - Wednesday, September 24, 2014 - link

    "...8 bit+HiFRC TN display...and 72% NTSC." Horrible, horrible panel! I can't imagine how ugly this will look for for games/photos/movies. Let's just throw away 30% of your color space... NO thanks!
  • Tempest1232 - Sunday, September 28, 2014 - link

    Is that a mistake in here or is the 4k screen supposed to be 144Hz compatable ?

Log in

Don't have an account? Sign up now