Acer Predator XB323QK gaming monitor: Specs
Screen Size: 31.5 inches
Resolution: 3,840 x 2,160
Refresh Rate: 144 Hz
Inputs: DisplayPort, HDMI 2.1, USB Type-A/B/C
Dimensions: 28.18 x 12.16 x 21 inches
Weight: 31.8 kilos
The Acer Predator XB323QK ($1,199) is an enormous, lovely 4K gaming monitor with an equally massive price ticket. But when you can afford it, this can be a nice show that is well-suited to each work and play.
With a 144Hz refresh price, a pair of HDMI 2.1 ports and Adaptive Sync/G-Sync help, it is equally adept at showcasing video games operating on a beefy gaming PC (I examined it with the most recent Alienware Aurora R13) or your PS5/Xbox Series X. Plus, it seems to be good on a desk, with an understated black-and-chrome aesthetic up entrance that offers solution to an LED-lit get together within the again.
The MSRP at launch appears somewhat excessive, since you will get similarly-specced 32-inch gaming screens for lots of much less. Still, the Acer Predator XB323QK is without doubt one of the finest gaming screens in the marketplace. Heck, I feel it is top-of-the-line screens, interval — though it looks like overkill to it use it just for spreadsheets and YouTube.
Acer Predator XB323QK evaluate: Price and availability
- $1,199 MSRP is a hefty price ticket, so search for a deal
- Cheaper within the U.Okay., at the least at launch
The Acer Predator XB323QKNV gaming monitor we reviewed is offered for buy for $1,199 proper now by way of Acer’s website (opens in new tab) or choose third-party retailers. However, on the time this evaluate was revealed, it is accessible within the U.S. at a reduced worth of $999.
For the second, people within the U.Okay. may also get a deal on this monitor by buying one from Curry’s (opens in new tab) for £699, discounted down from a £799 asking worth. However, even the usual £799 is a pleasant little bit of financial savings over the MSRP of the identical monitor within the States.
As you will learn on this Acer Predator XB323QKNV evaluate, this is a superb show, however $1,200 is lots to ask, even for an important monitor. Still, when you’re within the U.Okay. (or anyplace you will get an analogous deal), it is best to be capable of get the Predator XB323QKNV for a compelling worth.
Acer Predator XB323QK evaluate: Design
- Good port choice however totally on the underside, which is difficult to entry
- Adjustable top and pivot are good— rotation would have been even higher
The Acer Predator XB323QK is massive and takes up a big quantity of house in your desk, although its footprint is surprisingly small). But at a look, you would be hard-pressed to inform it is a gaming monitor—till you flip it on, at which level an oblong LED mild strip on the again lights up with a cool blue glow. You can customise this coloration, or change it off solely, to fit your tastes.
Spin the monitor round and you will find a chrome Acer Predator brand staring again at you, affixed to a stand that lets you regulate the peak of the show up and down by simply over 5 inches.
I recognize how sturdy the Acer Predator XB323QK’s stand feels, because the show additionally has a 30° adjustable tilt (-5° to 25°, so it tilts farther up than down). You may also pivot it roughly 30° to both facet. This offers you plenty of room to regulate the gadget to suit your wants: a nod to ergonomics that I want rivals would copy when constructing premium screens, such because the Apple Studio Display.
The solely factor lacking from the Predator is an choice to rotate the show on its facet. You cannot spin it sideways into portrait mode whenever you’re taking part in a traditional vertically scrolling shooter, comparable to Ikaruga. If you are into that type of factor, the Gigabyte Aorus FI32U is a similarly-specced 32-inch 4K gaming monitor that may spin as much as 90° right into a portrait orientation.
The Acer Predator XB323QK sits on a V-shaped stand that is simple to snap collectively, and it took me lower than 5 minutes to arrange the Predator XB323QK as soon as I had it out of the field. If you’d slightly mount the Predator on a wall or monitor arm, you need to use the 100 x 100 mm VESA mounting holes on the again of the show.
You flip the Predator XB323QK on and off by way of the ability button beneath the show on the right-hand facet, alongside 5 practically similar perform buttons that management the show’s menus. Unfortunately, the ability jack and many of the ports are additionally situated on the underside of the show, which may make it difficult to see what you are doing when hooking up your PC or console.
On the decrease left-hand fringe of the show, you will discover a pair of USB-A ports, however the remainder are beneath the lip of the monitor. Once you squat down and peer below there, you will discover a respectable array of inputs: two HDMI 2.1 ports (which suggests they’re able to displaying 4K gameplay at 120Hz from consoles), one DisplayPort, one USB-C, one USB-B and two USB-A ports, in addition to an audio out. The Predator can also be able to transmitting energy by way of the USB-C port even when turned off, which is a useful function.
The base of the stand is a straightforward V-shape with an oblong cutout that you need to use to assist route cables off your desk and out of the best way. The audio system constructed into the show will not blow you away with their aural constancy, however they’re adequate for taking part in video games when you have not (but) connected different audio system or a headset. They get fairly loud, too—throughout testing I hardly ever discovered a superb motive to crank the quantity increased than about 30%, though once I did, the metallic high quality of the sound actually got here by way of.
Acer Predator XB323QK evaluate: Screen
- Games look nice, display screen will get good and brilliant (400 nits)
- 8 show modes and a slew of options
The 31.5-inch 144Hz 4K (3,840 x 2,160) display screen on the Acer Predator XB323QK is an Agile-Splendor IPS panel with a 1ms response time you can set to one among eight show modes: Action, Eco, Graphics, HDR, Racing, Standard, Sports and User mode.
As you may guess, Racing, Standard and Sports are alleged to be tuned for optimum efficiency in these types of video games. I examined all three, they usually work effectively sufficient, although I may do with out the superimposed crosshair in Action mode. Luckily, you will have some room to change these modes, although solely User mode offers you full management over the show settings.
Anecdotally, I feel the display screen on the Acer Predator seems to be nice in HDR or User mode. Colors aren’t at all times probably the most vibrant, however they appear correct and the display screen will get brilliant sufficient to make sure you’ll by no means have bother making out particulars. The dimension is compelling too, particularly when you (like me) sit near your desk and like the thought of getting a show that dominates your view.
When we pointed our colorimeter on the Predator and ran it by way of the display screen’s many alternative modes, we bought some readings that again up my expertise. In Eco mode, which is the default, the Predator XB323QK achieved 138% of the sRGB coloration gamut (100% is most correct) and 97.7% of the DCI-P3 coloration gamut, with a Delta-E worth of 0.29 (nearer to 0 is best).
Average brightness (nits) | sRGB coloration gamut | DCI-P3 coloration gamut | Delta-E | |
Eco mode (default) at Max Brightness | 359 | 138.1% | 97.8% | 0.29 |
User mode (brightness maxed) | 378.6 | 137.6% | 97.4% | 0.21 |
Standard mode at Max Brightness | 287.0 | 137.4% | 97.4% | 0.31 |
Action at Max Brightness | 229.8 | 103% | 73% | 0.34 |
Racing mode at Max Brightness | 262.6 | 138.6% | 98.2% | 0.22 |
Sports mode at Max Brightness | 149.6 | 139.1% | 98.6% | 0.21 |
Graphics mode at Max Brightness | 372.4 | 139% | 98.5% | 0.29 |
HDR mode at Max Brightness | 379.0 | 136.9% | 97% | 0.31 |
That’s not unhealthy, and it is roughly according to rivals, such because the Gigabyte Aorus FI32U (127.9% sRGB coloration gamut, 90.6% DCI-P3 gamut). We examined the show capabilities of all eight modes on the Acer Predator XB323QK and whereas there’s some variation in outcomes, particularly within the 3 genre-oriented show modes, they’re typically the identical.
Acer advertises the Predator as being able to reaching as much as 400 nits of brightness, and our show testing bears that out. When we switched the Predator to User mode and cranked the brightness as much as max, the Predator achieved a median brightness of 378 nits that topped out at 407 nits within the middle of the display screen. That’s brighter than the Gigabyte M32U gaming monitor (max common brightness: 323 nits) and the aforementioned Gigabyte Aorus FI32U, besides whenever you feed HDR content material to the 2 Gigabyte screens. When that occurs, they each get brighter (480 and 505 nits, respectively) than the Acer Predator XB323QK. Switching the Predator over to its personal HDR mode does not transfer the needle, because it will get no brighter (405 nits) than in User mode.
Acer Predator XB323QK evaluate: Performance
- Games look nice, throughout each PC and console
- Compelling 4K video efficiency
The Acer Predator XB323QK is constructed for video games, and every thing I performed seemed nice on its 31.5-inch 4K show. The yellows and reds of visitors within the grey and blue streets of Cyberpunk 2077 seemed putting, however not too vibrant. Whenever I cranked my view skyward the brilliant blues of the digital sky and the sharp neon of billboards reaching towards it seemed appropriately brilliant and eye-searing.
I observed no ghosting or body sync points when taking part in Forza Horizon 5 in 4K at a rock-solid 60 fps. The Predator was additionally in a position to maintain regular framerates of as much as 144 fps within the few video games I may get my rig to run that quick, together with Total War: Warhammer II. Playing by way of Death Stranding on PC is a delight on this monitor, as the main points on character fashions look sharp (digital Guillermo Del Toro actually shines) and the cool greens, blues and grays of the hills and valleys that Norman Reedus trudges by way of seem correct. However, they are not so vibrant that they throw off the muted visible design of the sport.
In Total War: Warhammer II, the crisp definition between particular person models was spectacular, and the type of factor {that a} 32-inch 4K monitor actually excels at exhibiting.
A 4K video flyover of Italy confirmed me islands that seemed so sharp and actual, I believed I may make out particular person individuals. The cutscenes in video games seemed adequate that I briefly mistook a CGI view of the Earth for an actual one.
Acer Predator XB323QK evaluate: Interface
- Simple no-frills OSD
- Customizable hotkeys are good
The Acer Predator has a no-frills on-screen interface (OSD) that you simply management by way of 5 buttons specified by a line beneath the right-hand facet of the show, simply left of the ability button. You can customise two of the buttons (by way of the monitor’s “Hot Key Assignment” function) to allow you to shortly entry controls for different options, comparable to VRB (Visual Response Boost) or show gamma. This is a pleasant contact, although in reality I discovered their default brightness and quantity too helpful to ever change them.
The cutscenes in video games seemed adequate that I briefly mistook a CGI view of the Earth for an actual one.
There are notches on the show to point out you the place these buttons are, however no additional clues inscribed as to their function. Plug away at them for a couple of minutes, nevertheless, and you will shortly work out navigate your manner across the easy nested menu system, which is split into classes comparable to brightness, quantity, inputs and show settings.
Here, you may mess around with the show’s many calibration choices and efficiency settings, together with switching between the aforementioned eight show modes. These are pre-configured bundles of settings you can shortly change amongst or tweak to your liking. The OSD offers you management over show options comparable to adaptive sync, HDR, Over Drive (used to overclock your refresh price) and ProxiSense, which you’ll be able to configure to routinely dim the show whenever you stroll away, or remind you to take breaks at customizable intervals.
You may also handle options comparable to energy supply by way of the USB-C port whereas the show is off, or customise the colour and animation of the LED on the again of the Predator.
Acer Predator XB323QK evaluate: Verdict
The Acer Predator XB323QK is a good 4K gaming monitor. It’s simple to place collectively, with an understated matte black aesthetic and a easy, purposeful design. The adjustable top and pivot is beneficial, and whereas accessing the ports on the underside of the show can provide you a crick within the neck, you get sufficient inputs to hook up your favourite gaming PC or console(s). The display screen seems to be nice, and the number of modes offers you some enjoyable choices to play with when fine-tuning image high quality on your subsequent gaming session.
However, whether or not it is an important gaming monitor for you is a trickier query to reply. There’s no query that you simply get what you pay for with the Predator XB323QK, however a $1,000+ price ticket makes it a bit unreasonable for all however probably the most passionate and well-off PC players. If you want what the Predator XB323QK is providing and may afford one with out an excessive amount of bother, it is ought to serve you effectively for years.
But when you’re on the fence about shelling out round $1,000 or extra (at the least, right here within the U.S.) for a 32-inch 4K gaming monitor, it can save you a bit of cash by going with a robust competitor, such because the Gigabyte M32U. It’s a 32-inch 4K 144Hz gaming monitor that is aggressive with the Predator, however (at the least on the time of this evaluate) you will get one at retailers comparable to Best Buy for lots of of {dollars} (~$749) lower than Acer’s new monitor.
Of course, the Gigabyte does not include a customizable LED backlight. Whether options like which might be value the additional value is finally as much as you.