Acer Introduces Its First HDMI 2.1 Monitor

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Acer’s marching into the new year with a new(ish) port. The Acer Nitro XV28K KV announced today is the vendor’s first monitor to offer an HDMI 2.1 port, which brings higher bandwidth over its predecessor and should eventually be found on most of the best 4K gaming monitors.

The Nitro XV282K KV announced today is a 28-inch IPS panel with 4K resolution and a max refresh rate of 144 Hz (via DisplayPort, see our DisplayPort vs. HDMI article for more). Its HDMI 2.1 port allows for uncompressed 4K video at a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz, compared to HDMI 2.0’s limit of 60 Hz. It was possible to surpass 120 Hz with HDMI 2.0, but the monitor would have to use compression tactics (for example, the Asus ROG Swift PG43UQ).

With a bandwidth of 48 Gbps compared to HDMI 2.0’s 18 Gbps, HDMI 2.1 also includes uncompressed support for 8K resolution video at 60 Hz, but even the best gaming monitors are a ways away from such high-res.

HDMI 2.1 also helps the Nitro XV282K KV be a little more versatile, allowing for high-speed, 4K gaming with the new PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.

For PC gamers, the monitor includes AMD FreeSync Premium, which adds low framerate compensation to your standard screen tear-fighting FreeSync. You also get 90% DCI-P3 color coverage.

The Nitro XV282K KV will be available in May for $900, but Acer isn’t the first to promise an HDMI 2.1 gaming monitor, so the race is on. In August, Asus said it has some in the pipeline but didn’t provide much detail. The crowd-funded Eve Spectrum with HDMI 2.1 is still in the works too.

Surprisingly, Acer is bringing HDMI 2.1 to its Nitro line of monitors before its higher end Predator series. Today, Acer also announced the 27-inch Predator XB273U NX and 31.5-inch Predator XB323QK NV, both lacking the new HDMI port.

At 1440p resolution, however, HDMI 2.1 isn’t necessary for the Predator XV273U NX. But it does come with another new, lavish feature: Nvidia’s Reflex Latency Analyzer. This is a hardware-software solution that helps you monitor input latency and can reduce it by up to 50%, Nvidia has claimed. This should help serious gamers ensure they’re getting the most out of the monitor’s refresh rate, which is 240 Hz and overclockable to 275 Hz. THat’s coupled with a 0.5ms GTG response time.

While 240 is still more Hz than many gamers need, it’s nice to see Reflex introduced in a more accessible monitor. Up until this announcement, Reflex was only supported by the small number of 360 Hz monitors available.

Acer couldn’t confirm whether or not gamers will need a specific mouse in order to use Reflex with the Predator XV273U NX, but that’s generally the case. As of writing, these mice include the Logitech G Pro Wireless, Asus ROG Chakram Core, Razer DeathAdder V2 Pro and SteelSeries Rival 3, but it’s possible Acer will eventually have its own supported mouse.

Like the Nitro, the Predator XB273U NX is also IPS and adds VESA DisplayHDR 400-certification and 95% P3 color coverage. There’s even a stylish pattern framed in RGB around back. The Predator XV273U NX will be available “in the May timeframe” for $1,100.

Acer’s 31.5-inch Predator XB323QK NV, also RGB-clad, is another 4K IPS screen with a 144 Hz refresh rate. There’s DisplayHDR 400 certification and 90% coverage of P3, and it’s equipped to fight screen tearing with Nvidia G-Sync Compatibility. Acer will release the screen in May for $1,200.