14 DAY TRIAL // Gaming monitors of extreme sizes and refresh rates begin to be the norm these days, with ASUS launching its own 100Hz ROG Swift PG348Q curved G-Sync display, while smaller 27” 144Hz aim at dominating the gaming display market with higher and higher refresh rates.
Acer takes the crown, however, offering what seems to be the largest and the highest refresh rate equipped gaming monitor on the market. Boasting an extreme 35” size and featuring NVIDIA’s G-Sync adaptive refresh rate technology, the display also impresses with the incredible 200Hz refresh rate that seems way ahead of what the best, 144Hz refresh rate monitors currently offer their clients.
Called the Acer Predator Z35, the new monitor comes equipped with a 35” AMVA 8-bit RGB panel with a slightly underwhelming 2560x1080 resolution. It has 178°/178° horizontal/vertical viewing angles, which is fairly common among curved displays out there, while its panel arrives at 2000:1 contrast ratio, 12ms response time and 4ms grey-to-grey response time.
Acer breaks new refresh rate records
Technology-wise, the monitor comes with support for NVIDIA’s G-Sync technology, which is NVIDIA’s alternative for VESA’s Adaptive Sync that was licensed by AMD in its own FreeSync technology. G-Sync basically matches the monitor’s refresh rate with a GPU’s rendering rate on a frame-by-frame basis to provide a smooth gaming experience, enhanced by the company’s new ultra-low motion blur (ULMB) backlight strobing technology.
However, the real achievement of this monitor, while still remaining a mystery for many, is the monitor’s impressive 200Hz refresh rate that, Acer claims, is achieved via “overclocking.” While the display’s default refresh rate is 144Hz, it can be overclocked somehow to reach 200Hz via built-in display settings. Although the company did not disclose if such measures will damage the screen on the long run, or if it will void its warranty, clearly gamers will flock at the new device, trying to see if it’s all true.
The new Acer Predator Z35 will feature DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI interfaces, and has two DTS Sound 9W speakers. The monitor will be available in North America and EMEA in December with prices starting at US$1199 (€1099).
