10 reviews for Acer Predator XB323QKNV bmiiphuzx 31.5″, UHD, IPS Gaming Monitor – Black/Grey

1. Rated 5 out of 5

   Fish – March 27, 2021

   Overall Experience: The picture is more beautiful than a monitor has any right to be. Playing games (especially in HDR) on this thing will make you feel like you’ve been playing games wrong your whole life. This is the nicest thing I own, and I’m not even ashamed of that, nor do I deserve it. If you’re in the market for a high end gaming monitor, buy this one. Full stop.Price vs alternatives (and my biggest dilemma):So let’s get the big thing out of the way early- this thing is expensive. But if you’re in the market for a high end monitor with all the bells and whistles, this is the one. I was biting my nails over whether to go with the (few) 4K monitor that has similar features (true HDR, G-Sync, high refresh rate, low latency) at 27” or to go with this one at lower resolution with a larger/curved screen and I feel really good about making the call to go with this model.First off, I would argue that at less than 32 inches (and possibly bigger), the difference between 4K and 2k is somewhere between negligible and not observable by the human eye. This is debatable, but if you’re on the other side of the fence on this one, just go buy a 4K monitor. Now factor in that the only real competitors to this monitor in terms of features AND available at 4K resolution are only available in 27 inches (at time of writing; bigger options are allegedly coming out and priced at roughly twice the price of this monitor), I think this monitor is an easy win over those options. The immersion in/appreciation of graphics you will get out of the larger and ultra wide, curved form factor, in my opinion, outshines a monitor with the same features in a flat screen in 4K at 27”. This monitor is more expensive than some of those options, but when you’re talking about a price point of over $1000 for a gaming peripheral, the price difference might be negligible for you. So if you’re in the same dilemma as I was, that is my personal take on it, and I don’t regret the decision for a second. For reference, I watch UHD movies on a 55” 4K TV and have never once thought “man I wish the resolution on that monitor was twice as good (or even a touch better)!” Just because you have a GPU that can run smooth 4K, doesn’t mean a 4K monitor will give you a better experience 100% of the time. If you need to feel like you’re on the bleeding edge by having a 4K monitor thats totally legit but it’s a different argument. My final point on this: If this monitor were available in a 4K option for $500 more (and lets be real, it would be way more than that), I still would have gone with this model.Other features:HDR: After you play in HDR 1000, you can’t go back. You’ve been warned.Refresh Rate: Higher refresh rate than you will need. This is a good thing.G-Sync Ultimate. Man, it just works better than FreeSync and I’m sorry but it does. It’s hardware, not just software and it’s the difference between helping to reduce screen tearing And stuttering (FreeSync) and eliminating it entirely (G-Sync). This upgrade stresses out my GPU a little on some games on ultra settings compared to my old one (running a 2070 on this machine, I’m upgrading soon, chill), but G-Sync means it STILL runs smoother on this thing. It’s actually nuts. Whatever monitor you go with, shelling out the extra cash for a monitor with G-Sync is worth it.Curved Screen: This was also my first curved monitor, and I was more nervous than excited about it. Don’t be like me. Be excited. It’s awesome. The curve is just the right angle to be immersive but not distracting. Ultra wide is the way to go for gaming for sure, but it’s also underrated in productivity. If you’re working from home and in spreadsheet purgatory like me for a large portion of your day, having 3 windows open at once comfortably lets you escape just a little bit faster. And if that excites you like it excites me, I’m sorry, but at least you’re not alone. (Pro tip: for productivity turn off HDR and turn on the blue light filter so you don’t burn out your retinas).Construction: It’s put together pretty beautifully. The stand is rock solid and it’s a heavy beast, but that’s kind of what you want in a monitor this expensive. It also comes totally assembled out of the box which is a nice little bonus. It also has really convenient settings buttons (even a little joystick).Fixes: Some reviews state that the fan settings causes noise that is quite loud and annoying- at time of writing, this seems to have been fixed. I never noticed an issue (I do typically wear headphones while using this monitor). If you do, allegedly – recent and easy to instal firmware update solves this. I have installed the firmware update and haven’t so much as noticed the fan even when not using headphones and sitting 3 feet away from my monitor, or behind it. I would consider this issue solved. I’ve also seen some complaints about flickering screens; I haven’t experienced this at all.Cons (ish?):Expect to fiddle with color settings. I used the NVIDIA interface and found it to be pretty painless.This monitor has built in speakers. They’re fine for general productivity, but they won’t win any awards, that’s for sure. They make sound which is better than no sound and are loud enough for general productivity. They’re more of an added free bonus (compared to the ASUS model with the same panel). That is all I’ll say about them though. They are speakers.I notice some halos with bright colors on black screen. It is VERY noticeable when viewed from off/odd angles, but from straight on (the way a curved screen is meant to be viewed), you’ve almost got to be looking for them to find them. This is the only real con in my opinion, and it’s so barely noticeable I can’t say it has negatively impacted my experience in any way yet.Price. I lied, the price is another con. Not saying it’s not worth it- if you’re going to spend more than $1000 but less than $3000 on a monitor, this is probably one of the best options available, but it will still hurt to click “buy”. And if it doesn’t… well then why are you reading this- go buy an 8k TV and pick up a 3090 in a few weeks like the other rich kids, and send me one of each to boot!
2. Rated 5 out of 5

   LUUS GOOSELUUS GOOSE – April 29, 2021

   Love it and a lot of settings to mess with it to make it to your perfection !

   

3. Rated 5 out of 5

   HannooFX – May 19, 2021

   I got the Acer X35 and took my chance knowing the flickering and fan issues others were complaining about, I was also aware that there is a firmware update earlier this year that resolved both those issues, but I was a bit skeptical and ready to be disappointed, my mind was set to get the Asus PG35VQ, but the Acer one is $600 cheaper than the cheapest PG35VQ I could find, so I pulled the plug and crossed my finger on the Acer.And boy oh boy, this screen is perfect, I can NOT hear any fan, I can’t even hear it when I try to listen for it near the monitor, I am not sure if I got lucky with this one or really the firmware completely eliminated the fan noise.No flickering issues either.Now to the picture quality, well if you need a monitor with high refresh and HDR, this is it, there is no other choice, I have tried HDR600 monitors (Samsung GH70 and newest IPS LG 38GN950) and one HDR400 monitor, picture in HDR doesn’t even come close, IPS screen are terrible for HDR, washed out picture no matter what if you game in dark room with any dark games like Resident Evil or Shadow of the Tomb Raider, blown out highlights in bright scenes, HDR400 and HDR600 are a joke, trust me I went through 3 of them, and not worth it, you better just buy a cheaper SDR only monitor and it will be better.Running 3440×1440 10bit RGB 4-4-4 144Hz, you can go to 180 or 200Hz but you will lose some color accuracy because of DP1.4 bandwidth limitation, for me 144Hz is plenty buttery smoothResponse time are great for VA panel, slight levels of dark smearing but that is expected and most of the time it is not noticeable at all.If you need to game in HDR with high refresh rate you really have 3 options, this Acer X35, its sister Asus PG35VQ for $600 to $800 more or the LG 48″ CX OLED, I know everyone says the LG 48″ CX OLED is cheaper and better..yada..yada..yada…but there is on big thing everyone is missing, if you need to game on the LG CX with 4K at 120Hz YOU MUST BUY one of the newest RTX 3000 series with HDMI 2.1 to get 4K120 and HDR 10 bit, yes you can run 1440p on the LG OLED but it won’t be nearly as sharp, and sitting far, then what is the point? So Now you are spending 1500 for TV + 500 for new GPU to get full benefit, then you paid MORE than just getting this Acer and stick with RTX 2080/Super/Ti or even GTX 1080 Ti will get above 100fps on most games at 3440×1440 HDR with Gsync.If you have the money, this is the best HDR gaming monitor PERIOD!
4. Rated 5 out of 5

   Amazon Customer – May 27, 2021

   This thing rocks, no dead pixels and no crazy backlight bleed. Couldn’t be happier. Definitely worth the money.
5. Rated 5 out of 5

   Armen AvakyanArmen Avakyan – June 6, 2021

   I’ll start off by saying that I was not expecting to like this monitor, but I ended up keeping it because of how good it is. Now if you’re looking for the fastest monitor at 32 inches, This one is probably not the best choice. If you’re like me and just want something for single player games mixed with a few multiplayer games once in a while, this one is perfect for that.I know there are cheaper options on the market, but the build quality is fantastic and having 4 HDMI 2.1 ports is really nice. The HDR is really good as well, I could see a little bit of blooming, but so far it’s been very minimal and doesn’t bother me at all.There was an issue on PS5 initially where a message saying “input not supported”, but after updating the firmware on the monitor, it fixed that issue and now the display works flawlessly. I will say that the auto input switching isn’t the greatest because it cycles through all inputs until it gets to the one you’re on, but it doesn’t bother me.For me this monitor is exactly what I’ve been looking for to hook up to my PS5, Series X, and pc, I’d definitely recommend it.

   

6. Rated 5 out of 5

   LashaLasha – June 12, 2021

   No dead or stuck pixels.Backlight bleed it low which is awesome. (Camera picks it up badly) it looks way better in real.180Hz works great. HDR also looks decent but I don’t really use it.Factory calibration is nice and colors look accurate. I only adjusted brightness. I’m very happy with it. I think it’s the best UW 1440p 34″ IPS monitor at the moment.

   

7. Rated 5 out of 5

   Milk Milkins – July 1, 2021

   This my first Gsync monitor and it is well worth the price. Dont get confused like me if your also a first time Gsync buyer. When enabling Gsync through Nvidia control panel make sure Gsync is enabled in the option and there shouldn’t be a 3rd option since it Native Gsync. I spent hours apon hours and even reset pc entirely thinking i needed that 3rd option box to be checked since it would not show up. I guess from a website i seen a native Gsync also did not have it while2 other different monitors that was, tested Gsync and compatible Gsync had the 3rd option of it. Also Gsync demo software if you use it and have gsync off you wont be able to use the gsync box in that program if that helps also.
8. Rated 5 out of 5

   Banacek – November 6, 2021

   The monitor arrived today. I just got it set up and am putting it through the motions. So far I haven’t identified any dead pixels whatsoever. No real edge bleed to speak of. Color balance looks great out of the box as reviews noted. I like that it comes factory calibrated and ships with a print out from the factory. I haven’t seen a need to really tweak things yet, which makes the setup pretty hassle free.It ships with all needed cables. The included DP 1.4 cable is 8k so you won’t need to upgrade that. It comes with an HDMI cable too and a hefty mounting bracket for other applications, .The screen is a nice size. I like the slightly taller height over my 3440×1440. It’s not much, but it is noticeable. I’m coming from a ROG Swift 34. While there’s not much difference in pixel density, the slightly larger screen size is nice. The curve isn’t discernible at normal distance/viewing angle.You’ll have to activate the higher refresh rates within the monitor settings to get up to 175FPS. Also make sure to double check within Windows too when you change to native resolution. Windows also has an HDR setting you can activate which seems to brighten things nicely without blowing out the contrast, etc. This is my first HDR monitor so I’m still evaluating how it looks while gaming. I can already notice a drastic difference from the GSync board on this monitor over my older ROG Swift34. Whether that’s GSync ultimate, or just newer improvements, I can tell the Predator 38S is a lot smoother when gaming. I haven’t yet put it through many test across different titles, but I’m pleased with how things are looking so far in the few games I tried.I’ll adjust my rating/review if things pop up but so far the only negative I’d say is the price. I’ve been eyeballing the non ‘S’ version of this monitor for over a year and it hasn’t budged from $1600 at all, so while $2000 for this monitor stings, I doubt that price is going to shift much on average going forward. Of course I’ll kick myself if it does.
9. Rated 5 out of 5

   jamo002 – January 1, 2022

   And he has two of them hooked up!
10. Rated 5 out of 5

    carlosmo – January 14, 2022

    Hello e-boys and e-girls,I understand buying this monitor will leave an empty space in your bank account. Please consult with its feelings and emotions first before actually making the purchase. This is why I have decided to provide some of my thoughts before and after the purchase.Before purchase history:Initially, I was going to get a 4k + HDR 1000 monitor (Predator X27 or Asus PG27UQ) to upgrade my 10 year old 1080P monitor for current and upcoming games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Cyberpunk 2077. There was no stock available at the time I wanted to buy and that was when I came across the X35 version. I did some youtube research and found out I actually get more out of the X35 compared to my previous preferences.-Higher FPS (at least 144Hz with good HDR enabled) compared to X27 or PG27UQ (98Hz with good HDR).-More real estate value on screen size for work from home (huge benefit).-3440x1440p, given that this is the resolution 50% less than 4k, you will get more performance out of the current generation graphics cards.Another aspect I took into account before buying this monitor:-I have a 22″ deep desk. This monitor takes a bit more than half of my desk. Take your desk space into consideration as well because you might find yourself sitting too close to the screen.After purchase (2-3weeks of ownership):-Setting up the monitor was very easy. The screen was already mounted with the included stand. However, it was a heavy beast setting up on my desk. I know I am weak.-There is no calibration to be done because it is already calibrated for you. If you want to get 200hz refresh rate, you will need to active the overclock. I do not recommend this option because a friend of mine (Pezky, not really relevant) said that overclocks usually reduce the lifespan of any products. I do want this product to last. Furthermore, the highest default refresh rate is 180hz, I do not think the extra 20hz will make a difference.-I updated the monitor firmware right out of the box. After some testing, I did not notice any fan noise and flickering mentioned on other reviews.-VA panel, yes there is black smearing. I only noticed this when I was moving the Discord App window. It was apparent on the texts. I have not noticed black smearing on other applications. It is a detail that you will need to actually look for it to see the smearing. I want to say that this should not scare you but on the contrary, it is not an issue for gaming and work related tasks. Other reviewers have abused this to scare off people.-Keep Over Drive mode on “Normal”. Mine arrived with normal on. Turning it off or setting it at extreme will cause weird artifacts and ghosting.-HDR 1000 Vesa certified. The HDR is really good. Once you experience this, you will not want to see anything in SDR. Colors are very vivid and vibrant. Seeing a light source displayed on this screen is almost the same as looking at one in real life. It is very bright.Closing thoughts, I am currently running a GTX 1070, not even TI. Obviously, I need the upgrade. Ever since the RTX3080 was announced, I wanted to purchase it. So far, I am out of luck because I work regular hours. I do not stand a chance against botters and people who stay on top of it 24/7. I asked my friend Pezky (irrelevant) to help out but he is too busy playing LoL. Worst case, I will have to get a RTX3090 if I cannot get my hands on the 3080 before 9/24.