Acer Predator X34 Curved 34-in IPS 3440×1440 G-Sync Monitor Review

UltraWide G-Sync Arrives

We take a look at the newest NVIDIA G-Sync display, a curved 34-in IPS panel with a 3440×1440 resolution!

When NVIDIA first launched G-Sync monitors, they had the advantage of being first to literally everything. They had the first variable refresh rate technology, the first displays of any kind that supported it and the first ecosystem to enable it. AMD talked about FreeSync just a few months later, but it wasn't until March of 2015 that we got our hands on the first FreeSync enabled display, and it was very much behind the experience provided by G-Sync displays. That said, what we saw with that launch, and continue to see as time goes on, is that there are a much higher quantity of FreeSync options, with varying specifications and options, compared to what NVIDIA has built out. 

This is important to note only because, as we look at the Acer Predator X34 monitor today, the first 34-in curved panel to support G-Sync, it comes 3 months after the release of the similarly matched monitor from Acer that worked with AMD FreeSync. The not-as-sexyily-named Acer XR341CK offers a 3440×1440 resolution, 34-in curved IPS panel and a 75Hz refresh rate. 

But, as NVIDIA tends to do, they found a way to differentiate its own products, with the help of Acer. The Predator X34 monitor has a unique look and style to it, and it improves the maximum refresh rate to 100Hz (although that is considered overclocking). The price is a bit higher too, coming in at $1300 or so on Amazon.com; the FreeSync-enabled XR341CK monitor sells for just $941.

Here are the specifications for the Acer Predator X34 G-Sync display.

The key specs here are the huge 34-in horizontal width and the massive 3440×1440 resolution that will make gamers drool over the possibilities. If you haven't experienced an UltraWide display yet, you should find a friend or a retail location that can demo it for you, because the difference between that and a standard 16:9 monitor are drastic. In my opinion, they are well worth the upgrade.

Though it lists its refresh rate at just 60Hz, lower than the standard refresh rate of the XR341CK, both Acer and NVIDIA advertising the Predator X34 has being overclockable to 100Hz refresh rate. That process is done with a combination of OSD options and Windows driver settings, and it is simple enough to do – it's just annoying that it isn't how the monitor comes out of the box.

The panel is based on in-plane switching, so you are going to get a great quality screen with excellent viewing angles, although that comes at the expense of a bit higher response time. You'll see in our testing of overdrive, though, that the Acer Predator X34 makes for a great gaming monitor regardless.