14 DAY TRIAL // Acer has recently announced the world's first "overclockable" 200MHz refresh rate gaming monitor at IFA, the 35" curved Acer Predator Z35. While being extremely attractive to enthusiasts, it did not unfortunately boast a true 4K resolution being limited to just 2560x1080.
This did not limit Acer, however, from bringing a second model to the market, this time with a true 3440x1440 resolution featuring G-sync as well. Called Predator XB271HK, it's a 27-inch form factor 4K display that features a ZeroFrame edge-to-edge design while being backed up by a 4K, IPS-based panel.
Color-wise, the new monitor supports 100% of the sRGB color gamut for great color reproduction. However, what the new Predator XB271HK does better that its predecessor, the XB270HK, is amping up the refresh rates from 60MHz to 75MHz on a 4K 27-inch screen, something that will draw lots of display enthusiasts to the new device.
Although the DisplayPort1.3 is here, industry is stuck to 1.2 and HDMI 2.0
Although 75Hz refresh rates doesn't sound like much, it’s worth noting that generally display manufacturers have to make a serious compromise between resolution and refresh rates these days. And even if a 35" 144Hz display sounds incredible, it is worth mentioning that it only boasts a resolution of 2560x1080, so you're not getting a real 4K screen with that refresh rate.
However, when having G-sync enabled, all that refresh rate will sync smoothly with whatever games you're playing, so there's another great thing about the new display monitor.
However, this seems to be limited by today's manufacturers that produce video cards and monitors. Last year VESA announced its next-generation DisplayPort 1.3 which allows monitors to reach 5K resolutions via four 8.1 Gbps/lane bandwidth, allowing a total 32.4 Gbps combined link rate. Refresh rates, frequency-wise, mean a total 120Hz for 4K resolution screens. Although this is a new VESA standard for a while, graphics cards manufacturers like NVIDIA and AMD still use DisplayPort 1.2a to display 4K content at a limited 60Hz refresh rate.