Acer Nitro XV272U Pbmiiprzx 27" WQHD (2560 x 1440) IPS G-SYNC Compatible Monitor, 144Hz, 1ms VRB, VESA Certified DisplayHDR400, DCI-P3, Delta E<2

After much research and testing of several other gaming monitors, I've settled on this Acer Nitro 27" 1440p IPS 144hz. Do you need 1440p at 27"? No, 1080p is OK, but 1440p gives a super sharp image and more space on the screen for tasks. Do you need 144 hz for gaming? You will be blown away by how smooth your game runs on the screen. Massive improvement over 75hz. Yes. Is IPS the best panel tech for beautiful and vibrant color? Yes. It seems like most gamers who don't know better settle for VA or even worse, TN. Unless your an e-sports competitor who requires ultra low GtG response time, there's literally no good reason to run a TN.The Acer is over a hundred bucks cheaper than it's nearest competitor of similar specs and quality (ASUS). I didn't really want to spend $400 on a monitor, but once you see the difference between the different panel techs (VA, TN, and IPS), it was very hard to settle for a lesser monitor. This monitor allows Freesync through the full range of hz up to 144hz. The more expensive ASUS does not. That was a deal breaker for me.Getting the Acer for less was just a bonus. The Asus screams high quality though and beats this one in that case for it's super solid ergonomic stand and exceptional picture. This Acer is also high quality compared to cheaper monitors such as Viotek, but the stand design results in some wobbling and the height doesn't go quite high enough for me as a tall dude. Overall, I'm very pleased with this purchase, my games look gorgeous on it. It comes color calibrated out of the box, so you really only need to dial the brightness into your preference and you're set to play. Super smooth, beautiful rich colors at a large range of viewing angles. These little details add up to an excellent gaming monitor. This monitor doesn't get much hype in social media and stuff but it definitely deserves it. I'm an Acer fan now.

To start off, I am more than satisfied with this monitor, especially being at only $300 (or $255 at the time I purchased it on prime day). It arrived the next day and in full working order. It was easy to set up and dialing down the settings is very simple. This is my first monitor, so I am not able to really compare it to other monitors. I'm too used to 4k gaming to go back to 1080p, but I wanted higher framerates as well, so I concluded that 1440p was a good balance for me.Only considering this monitor, there were no dead pixels, and there is a bit of backlight bleed, but that's to be expected with IPS panels. The 144 Hz is silky smooth, though there is a bit of ghosting, but I can't really notice unless I'm testing for it. The HDR works well, but not as well as my Vizio V-series 4k HDR TV. It's still better than SDR. However, I will always choose the higher framerate over slightly better HDR. Also, enabling HDR limits framerate to 120, but that's also just barely noticeable. I haven't tested for input lag, but I can assure you it's very low, even with HDR on. I notice very little difference in the response time with HDR on vs off. The monitor has an "ultra low latency mode" that sets it to 1ms.One thing that I wish this monitor had was more image settings with HDR enabled. When I turn on HDR, I can't customize the contrast or brightness or color any further to fit my preferred settings. Again, the HDR 400 works well, but I wish it was a bit better. Another strange problem I had was enabling the HDR in some games. More specifically, Fallen Order and Shadow of War. For some reason, the HDR just looks bad for both of these games. I've adjusted picture settings in game and on my pc as best as I can and it still looks like SDR. I know it isn't the PC or the games because both of these games looked beautiful on the 4k TV I have, but not on this monitor. That being said, other games look fantastic with HDR. Destiny 2, Metro: Exodus, and others look just as amazing as they did on the TV. I don't know why this problem is happening, but it's something to consider when looking at this monitor. The HDR on this monitor is hit or miss with some games.If you aren't a super competitive gamer who needs the lowest possible response time, or you're on a budget, or both, this monitor will work well for you. Despite my issues with the HDR, I still think this monitor is a great deal for 1440p gaming. Of course you could surely get a better monitor for $400-500, but this is a good balance for a lightly competitive gamer on a budget. So I give it 4 stars for overall quality, but 5 stars considering its price.