Acer Predator X35 review: I'm finally sold on ultrawide gaming

Acer Predator X35 Source: Windows Fundamental

Acer has added to the the extra-high-end PC gaming monitor loonshit with the Predator X35, a commanding 35-inch 1440p ultrawide with G-Sync Ultimate, a 200Hz refresh rate, 2ms response fourth dimension, and VESA DisplayHDR thousand certification. Information technology certainly fulfills the needs of nigh gamers out in that location, simply it comes with a huge price tag that'southward more than than what most people spend on a gaming PC. I've been ~~basking in~~ testing the Predator X35 for a couple of weeks to see exactly what Acer has delivered.

35-inch ultrawide gaming monitor

Acer Predator X35

Bottom line: The Acer Predator X35 is an outstanding high-performance gaming monitor packed with premium features. It made me fall in dear with ultrawide, but the price puts it out of achieve for most people.

Pros

Unreal picture, especially with HDR enabled
Plenty of options in the OSD
Quality build and ergonomic stand
200Hz refresh charge per unit with G-Sync Ultimate
Thin bezel and perfect 1800R curve

Cons

Price is very prohibitive
Fan is loud and sometimes random
Speakers are average

What I love almost the Acer X35 Predator

The Predator X35's 35-inch brandish has a 21:9 aspect ratio and 1800R curve. Information technology's a huge monitor that takes up a ton of space on your desk, merely the bend is ideal for the size. It's not too aggressive for the width, and it does a decent job of pulling you in for increased immersion. The metal stand has a split-human foot design to take upwards the least amount of room possible while notwithstanding offer sufficient stability, though if yous have a pocket-sized desk with keyboard, mouse, and PC belfry already established, you're likely going to have to brand some changes to fit the huge screen.

Category	Spec
Size	35 inches Ultrawide
Resolution	3440x1440 at 180Hz refresh
Curvature	1800R
Attribute ratio	21:9
Refresh rate	200Hz (overclocked)
Response fourth dimension	2ms
Dissimilarity	ii,500:one
Colors	ane.07 billion x-fleck
Effulgence	LED backlight 600 nits (native) i,000 nits (HDR)
Panel	VA
HDR	DisplayHDR 1000
G-Sync	Ultimate

The stand offers decent ergonomic options, including adjustments for top, tilt, and swivel. No rotation for portrait mode; the brandish is meant to exist used horizontally. I similar my monitor set up at nigh middle level to prevent slouching and back hurting during long gaming sessions, merely the stand up doesn't go quite high enough without adding a riser. For a more permanent setup, at that place are 100mm x 100mm VESA on the dorsum.

The monitor is relatively thick, but to exist off-white it'southward packing some intense hardware, including a cooling system. The back panel has customizable lighting controlled through the on-screen brandish (OSD) menu, dual 4W speakers, and a collection of ports in a defended cutout department. Birthday information technology looks rather stylized, specially with the additional thermal vents positioned from the centre out.

Ports include DisplayPort 1.four, HDMI 2.0, 3.5mm audio, iii USB-A, and ane USB-B, spaced out fairly to not cause crowding if y'all're taking advantage of multiple ports. To control the OSD, a joystick and four concrete buttons live virtually the right side of the back panel. In that location are a number of presets available, including three customizable gaming modes for action, racing, and sports, every bit well as an eco mode, graphics mode, moving picture mode, and user mode where you can set things upwards exactly how you lot'd like. I was able to delve deep to get the exact picture show I wanted, and in that location are joystick shortcuts — including brightness command — so that you don't have to open up the full menu for common, quick adjustments. A blue-lite filter can be enabled to aid with gaming or working after hours.

Acer has removed well-nigh of the bezel along the pinnacle and sides of the brandish, with a slightly thicker mentum along the lesser that includes a Predator logo. It'southward an impressive picture. The screen has a bit of an anti-glare finish on information technology, though it's not as powerful as you'll find on something similar a business laptop. It's plenty to keep the picture clear without adding too much grain. Considering how brilliant the monitor gets, peculiarly with HDR enabled, you shouldn't have any problems gaming in a well-lit room.

Connecting an NVIDIA graphics menu (GPU) with DisplayPort allows yous to make the well-nigh of the X35, including upwards to a 200Hz refresh charge per unit, 2ms response time, G-Sync Ultimate, and HDR. I by and large used the monitor without the 200Hz overdrive enabled — my PC hardware isn't quite upwardly to pushing 200 frames — and fifty-fifty at 144Hz without HDR enabled games looked amazing. A 1440p resolution is an ideal middle footing between 1080p and 4K for nearly people, and with Thou-Sync turned on the picture is polish and tear-free.

The Predator X35 easily offers the best movie I've ever seen from a gaming monitor.

The panel offers 100% sRGB and 83% AdobeRGB colour reproduction, as tested with my Datacolor Spyder5 Pro colorimeter. To put itself in line with VESA DisplayHDR grand standards, it also manages about 90% DCI-P3 color. I primarily played Phone call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Age of Empires Two: Definitive Edition; the picture from both games blew me away. The former game, particularly in missions with night-vision goggles, fabricated the variable backlight with 512 carve up zones especially axiomatic. Dark spots in the scene remained dark despite bright lights nearby, with niggling to no bleeding over.

The variable backlight (which is also flicker free to be easier on the eyes) is enabled by default with HDR enabled. You might see a flake more haemorrhage over due to the lights and dark existence then much more pronounced, but overall the HDR picture is incredible. The Predator X35 easily offers the best picture show I've ever seen from a gaming monitor. Colors are vivid without looking unnatural, and every game I tested seemed to take on a new life. The combination of precise color reproduction, loftier refresh charge per unit with Grand-Sync, and ultrawide format sucks you in and offers a PC gaming experience that's not like shooting fish in a barrel to reproduce.

What I dislike about the Acer Predator X35

The Acer Predator X35 delivers an outstanding picture and features premium gaming features, only it's not a perfect piece of hardware. The dual 4W speakers on the back go loud and they remain clear, though they don't actually deliver anything more than average sound. If y'all're watching a pic or playing casually y'all should observe they get the job done, but for whatever sort of competitive gaming — or for the most immersion possible — y'all'll want to invest in either a quality headset or separate prepare of dedicated gaming speakers.

Monitors with this level of performance include a fan to keep hardware absurd, and for the almost office yous won't notice the noise overtop of whatever noise is coming from your PC. Nevertheless, I did find a few times that turning the monitor off with the concrete push button rather than letting it go into sleep mode on its own acquired the fan to kick into high gear. Leaving my office and returning minutes subsequently, information technology sounded like someone was vacuuming behind the closed door. This didn't happen every time, but it did occur more than than once. I resorted to leaving the monitor lone after use.

I concluding thing I noticed during regular apply was slight backlight bleed along the bottom edge of the brandish. It wasn't annihilation egregious and it tin can certainly be ignored, but it is there. Then there's the cost. The Predator X35 reaches nearly $2,500, making information technology pricier than what nearly people spend on an entire gaming PC. This puts information technology into a narrow user-base and makes it a waste of money for anyone not using high-terminate PC hardware. The NVIDIA RTX 2060 GPU I used to examination the monitor with couldn't come near getting the most out of the X35 when used with modern AAA games. That doesn't hateful I didn't fully savor what I was able to get out of it, but if you lot're spending that much coin, you lot want to milk every last drop.

Should you buy the Acer Predator X35?

Acer Predator X35 Source: Windows Central

Answering whether or not y'all should buy the Acer Predator X35 actually comes down to your budget. If you have disposable income to blow on PC gaming, this is well-nigh the best motion-picture show and performance you're going to discover. The X35 has some flaws, but it's going to majorly elevate your immersion and enjoyment no matter the game you play.

If you don't have the budget and withal want to get in on a quality gaming experience, exist certain to bank check out our roundup of the best gaming monitors available now. For the well-nigh role they won't match upward to what the X35 delivers, but they also won't cost equally much as a used car.

35-inch ultrawide gaming monitor

Acer Predator X35

The monitor you wish you had

The Acer Predator X35 is one of the best gaming monitors out at that place, but it'due south reserved for a select few who can afford the price.

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