Review on Acer XV273K Pbmiipphzx: Ultra HD 4K Gaming Monitor with DisplayHDR400, 144Hz & Built-In Speakers by John Payne

First things first: This panel has a factory brightness of 450 nits. That's too much for an IPS panel with no local dimming, which is why you're seeing all those horrible black uniformity photos. I've attached two photos taken in a darkened room at 20 brightness or about 180 nits. That's about as much as I'd like in this environment in SDR, and honestly it's probably still too bright for most. Pros: 27-inch 4K means the PPI is very high for a desktop monitor. It has pros and cons, but sharpness is good for gaming. - Very high DCI-P3 coverage. The box says 90% coverage, but the default coverage is >95%. This allows the monitor to display intense colors that normal sRGB monitors simply cannot achieve. - Good factory calibration The white point is only slightly warmer. - Freesync works well on Nvidia GPUs with Gsync compatibility - Good overdrive setting with "Extreme" setting at 120Hz and above. But: - Has backlight support to reduce motion blur. Normal VRB mode offers a bright and vivid experience, unlike previous strobe monitors that were too dark or had color issues in strobe mode. - HDR videos on YT, Revain and other services look great with WCG enabled in Windows and HDR mode set on the monitor (see disadvantages of HDR) - Can be viewed in 10-bit 144Hz with two cables mode are running, but HDR/Freesync/Gsync are not available. That means you're limited to 10-bit 98Hz or 8-bit 120Hz for HDR. This means that in SDR mode you only use 144 Hz for VRB. Features 2 DP ports and 2 HDMI ports for all your connectivity needs. Comes with a monitor hood. This can help with reflections at the edges of the monitor. - Not a fan! Now a pro thanks to 4K gsync modules! Cons: An IPS panel means pixels that aren't on the horizontal or vertical axis are worse at blocking light. This will light up the corners. This is seen in a darkened room when the screen is mostly black unless the monitor is set to high brightness - the IPS panel is limited to a contrast ratio of around 1000 and the monitor is not dimmable. That means HDR at 400 nits can't represent the dynamic range needed for excellent HDR quality at this brightness. I recommend lowering the HDR brightness to 30 to prevent darker tones from being washed out. This reduces glare, but I think the trade-off is worth it. - No configurable overdrive when freesync is enabled. It is tied to the "Normal" overdrive profile, suitable for 48-80 Hz, which is a bit too slow for 80-120 Hz. I don't notice this unless I'm dragging something on a dark gray background, but others may be more sensitive. The default color modes are too bright; Switching to HDR color mode sets the maximum brightness! I have to reset it every time. OSD menu is slow. You can mitigate the situation with two configuration hotkeys, but only two buttons are available. Instead, consider installing the Acer Display Widget app to control your monitor. 10-bit HDR is limited to 98Hz, but this monitor doesn't have the dynamic range to use 10-bit brightness and color anyway. I recommend sticking with 8-bit HDR at 120Hz: there's no difference in experience. 144Hz mode may seem strange. For example, several monitor restarts were required to activate the quick mode configuration. — Terrible speakers — Poor white uniformity. Both my monitors had dull left and right edges that were clearly visible when viewing light background websites. Miscellaneous: My first XV273K had a backlight defect that prevented the left-most edge from lighting up fully with the same brightness as the rest. Monitor. We are pleased to report that the new monitor has no such defect and no dead pixels on any of the monitors. Results. If you need an economical 4K 120Hz freesync wide color monitor (e.g. not a 43-inch TV) then the XV273K is for you. If you want a higher quality monitor (e.g. better overdrive) and want to work with an Nvidia GPU, get the XB273K. If you want to experience the best HDR gaming available on your PC (besides using your TV), choose the X27/PG27UQ.