Acer’s big and fast 43-inch gaming monitor lands in the US for $1,499

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If you have $1,499.99 to drop on a large format gaming display (not to be confused with big format gaming display, or BFGD) and simply can't wait for the rash of Black Friday deals that are right around the corner, then heads up—Acer's big and bad Predator CG7 is now available in the US.

Pricing is a couple of hundred dollars higher than what were told when it was first announced in April. However, at least it's not short on features. For one, this is a 43-inch monitor with 4K resolution and native 120Hz refresh rate, which can be overclocked to 144Hz.

It's also built around a VA (vertical alignment) panel. In terms of quality, VA screens typically slot in between TN (twisted nematic) and IPS (in-plane switching) displays, offering color reproduction almost on the level of the latter with the speed of the former. Some people (and it varies by panel) even rate VA higher than IPS.

In this case, Acer rates the response time at 1ms, albeit that's a VRB (visual response boost) rating and not GtG (gray to gray). That means it uses a strobing backlight effect to make blur less noticeable. It's not clear what the native GtG response time is on this monitor.

This is also a G-Sync Compatible certified display. There's no G-Sync module inside, instead relying on AMD's FreeSync tech, but with Nvidia's latest GPU drivers it will run in G-Sync mode (and this is enabled by default). In addition, it "supports a variable refresh rate over HDMI to provide smooth gaming on Xbox One consoles," Acer says.

The other notable features are the combination of of HDR support with a 1,000 nits peak brightness rating. On LCD displays, brightness is directly tied to the quality of HDR, and many consider 1,000 nits to be the point where it really, uh, shines.

• Screen size—43 inches
• Resolution—4K (3840x2160)
• Refresh rate—120Hz native, 144Hz overclocked
• Panel type—VA
• Color gamut—90 percent DCI-P3
• Contrast ratio—4,000:1
• Brightness—1,000 nits
• Response time—1ms VRB
• Backlight—LED
• Viewing angles—178 degrees (horizontal and vertical)
• Speakers—2x 10W
• Ports—3x HDMI, 2x DisplayPort
• Tearing prevention tech—Adaptive sync/G-Sync compatible
• Dimensions—38.5 x 26.5 x 3.9 inches (with stand)
• Price: $1,499.99

We have not tested this display so can't say how it stacks up to the best gaming monitors. In terms of specs, it's right up there with the Acer Predator XB273K and Asus ROG Swift PG279Q, only with a larger display size. If that's enough to get you to roll the dice, you can find it on Amazon. It comes with four magnetic LED light strips to attach to the back of the display, and a remote control.