Acer gaming monitors at CES 2021 target consoles and speedsters

This story is part of THESE, where our editors will bring you the latest news and the hottest gadgets from fully virtual CES 2021.

Acer presents a trio of new gaming monitors like CES 2021, highlighted by a new Nitro with HDMI 2.1. But HDMI 2.1 still hasn’t made any significant inroads into desktop monitors; there are other technologies like AMD FreeSync that can handle variable and adaptive refresh rates on the PC, so this has not been a top priority. Now that monitors are becoming almost as ubiquitous as home TVs, it’s more likely than ever that you have a console installed nearby: this is what I have, which may finally be the impetus to expand its use, unless in high-end models.

Acer has put it in just one of its 2021 displays so far, the 28-inch Nitro XV282K KV at $ 900. Aimed at “mainstream” gamers, this addition to the XV2 series brings to the range a 4K resolution screen at 144 Hz with an HDMI 2.1 port to connect to your Xbox Series X or PS5 console, supporting maximum resolution and variable refresh rate of 120Hz. Like some recent members of its family, it supports FreeSync Premium on PC, DisplayHDR 400 certification and Acer’s Agile Splendor technology to increase pixel response times.

But Acer decided not to put HDMI 2.1 in its more expensive, more enthusiast-focused Predator gaming monitors. The 1440p Predator XB273U NX, at $ 1,100, hits a refresh rate of 275Hz – overclocked from a native 240Hz – and features Nvidia’s Reflect latency analyzer, announced at last year’s CES in its 360Hz esports displays. The technology is designed to help you determine where input latency is in your setup, such as the gap between mouse movements and screen rendering, to optimize competitive performance. It also supports Nvidia G-Sync and has the widest color gamut in the bunch at 95% P3.

The $ 1,200 32-inch Predator XB323QK NV goes 4K at 144Hz, also features Agile Splendor (I never tire of saying this), and is DisplayHDR 400 certified with a 90% P3 color gamut. It is compatible with G-Sync; it’s similar to FreeSync and doesn’t require expensive built-in Nvidia hardware.

Both predators add Acer VisionCare 4, which adds automatic ambient light adjustment and TUV Rheinland Eyesafe certification for low blue light output.