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I bought this monitor to replace my Samsung 4K, which was a couple years old and had gotten a few dead pixels. Not for that reason alone, of course, but I digress. The point of mentioning the 4K is that many who look at this are possibly also thinking of buying a standard 3840x2160 panel, since it takes about as much GPU juice to drive 4K 60fps as it does to drive 3440x1440 at 100fps. If you're looking for advice, buy the Acer X34. The difference in resolution is noticeable, though perhaps only because I've spent the last 2 years at 4K, but the immersiveness of the 21:9 aspect ratio combined with the buttery smoothness of high (80+) frame rates with G-Sync more than makes up for it. And, to be honest, it isn't THAT noticeable in games. I notice the difference more on my desktop, since the icons are automatically larger and spaced further apart. I've used this for only a few days, and can already tell that not only will this be my monitor for the foreseeable future, but I won't go back to 2160p until they make a 21:9 model that is 1) an IPS panel, 2) >80Hz refresh rate, 3) with G-Sync.
Arrived in a huge package on time. Shipped in the product box, which I always hate, but have learned to live with. Comes in the box fully assembled, just plug it in, remove the saran wrap from the back and foam padding from the base, and you're ready to go.
The monitor's very sturdily constructed, doesn't shake much when I hit my desk or at all when I type. The stand has a fairly large footprint, so it takes up a lot of desk space. Back panel is black glossy plastic, which should never be used on anything, ever. Very slim bezels around the panel itself, no reflection in a dark room.
My first unit had no dead pixels, though as with any monitor your mileage may vary. It is an IPS panel, so there's the normal IPS glow, and a noticeable backlight bleed. At this point, I've never seen an IPS panel that didn't have at least a little backlight bleed, and the bleed on this monitor is within what I would call tolerable levels: only in two corners, only really apparent on a black or near-black screen.
After searching for dead pixels and backlight bleed, I went into the OSD to attempt to overclock (which is a bit of a pain to navigate), and this is where I encountered my first real problem with the monitor. It's advertised as overclockable to 100Hz, but what you find out when you read the manual and go to Acer for support is that they don't guarantee each panel can overclock to that refresh rate. Your mileage may vary. I overclocked to 100Hz in the panel's OSD, and then opened NVIDIA Control Panel to change the active refresh rate, but after doing that the panel wouldn't refresh at 100Hz. In the end, I had to settle for a 95Hz overclock: not enough for me to justify an RMA in my head, but a slight disappointment since, after all, it's marketed as 100Hz capable.
It seems a bit silly to quibble over 5 frames, though, because everything else about this monitor is excellent. The greatest downside to it has nothing to do with the monitor itself, but is the fact that not all games support the 21:9 aspect ratio. Even if they do run as delivered in 3440x1440, I've had numerous issues in several games that require third party fixes. GTA V, for example, flickers to black fairly constantly and the HUD is still displayed in 16:9. The Mass Effect series has no native 21:9 support at all, and the same goes for Fallout, Elder Scrolls, and others. It's something you'll encounter relatively frequently. Luckily, there are third party fixes like Flawless Widescreen and .ini edit tricks that can help you customize your experience and do the job that game developers often seem too lazy to do.
Finally, the feature I've said nothing about: the curve. The curvature of the monitor is fairly subtle, almost imperceptible when you're staring at it head on. I'm not certain that it adds anything, but it certainly doesn't detract from the experience. The monitor's so wide that I could see glare becoming an issue if it wasn't slightly curved, but the matte finish on the screen would also probably prevent most of that. Not sure if the curve of the panel knocked the price up a little further, but to be honest I probably would have preferred a lower price on a flat panel with identical features.
So, to dumb it down into a brief pro/con list...
Pros:
- Overclockable up to 100Hz
- G-Sync
- IPS panel delivers excellent color reproduction
- 21:9 aspect ratio delivers multi-monitor immersion in a single panel
- Sturdy build
- Arrived with no dead pixels, no damage from shipping, and tolerable levels of backlight bleed. YMMV.
- Matte finish prevents screen reflection
Cons:
- Acer does not guarantee 100Hz overclock, your panel may top out lower
- Glossy black plastic case
- OSD difficult to navigate
- Price
| Standing screen display size | 27 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1920x1080 Pixels |
