Acer and ASUS Delay Their 4K 144 Hz G-Sync HDR Displays to 2018
by Anton Shilov on August 9, 2017 12:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Monitors
- Acer
- Asus
- Predator X27
- ROG Swift PG27UQ
- G-Sync HDR
In a bit of a surprising move, Acer last week announced that its 4K HDR Predator X27 gaming display would be delayed to Q1 2018, missing the important holiday sales season. The monitor, based around an NVIDIA reference design for a G-Sync HDR display that was in turn revealed back at CES 2017, has been eagerly anticipated, and until now was expected by the end of this year. Meanwhile, ASUS's ROG Swift PG27UQ, which features virtually the same specifications, has also been delayed to 2018.
The Acer Predator X27 and the ASUS ROG Swift PG27UQ are based on AU Optronics’ M270QAN02.2 AHVA panel, which offers a 3840×2160 resolution and can reach a 144 Hz refresh rate. Combined with a direct LED backlighting system with 384 zones, and monitors based on the M270QAN02.2 panel have been shaping up to be the gaming monitors to get, as they would offer a second-to-none feature set list.
So far, only Acer and ASUS have announced displays based on this panel, with both being fairly straightforward implementations of NVIDIA’s reference design. Neither Acer nor ASUS have disclosed the reason for the delay, but two specific possibilities come to mind: either the reference design needs to be further polished, or mass production of the panel was delayed by AUO. The latter was expected to start volume production of the M270QAN02.2 AHVA panel in July, but it's rare that we ever see public confirmation of panel mass production.
Unfortunately for NVIDIA, this ultimately serves as a de-facto delay for their G-Sync HDR platform, as these displays are the flagship of the line. No other 4K G-Sync HDR displays have been announced, and there are precious few panels set to be released this year that would even meet NVIDIA's needs. Otherwise, in the opposing AMD camp, while none of AMD's partners have announced similar FreeSync displays, any potential products using the AUO panel should be similarly impacted. So FreeSync users looking for a flagship-quality FreeSync 2 HDR display will find themselves waiting into 2018 as well.
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imaheadcase - Friday, August 11, 2017 - link
I know, i asked them on twitter if it was still coming this year and repeating the end of year statement. So hopefully.FlyBri - Wednesday, August 9, 2017 - link
@jstein -- I was going to wait for one of the new HDR 200hz 21:9 monitors, but there is some speculation is that they are going to be around $2,000. Even at $1500+ (which I think will be the bare minimum price), it's a pretty hard pill to swallow. While the 21:9 100hz displays out now aren't as good as 144hz monitors, I personally decided to grab a used PG348Q 21:9 100hz G-sync for $800, which is still a decent chunk of change for a used product. I figured while 100hz isn't ideal, it's still got G-sync, and it's definitely way better than no G-sync and 60hz.DanNeely - Thursday, August 10, 2017 - link
IF these have slipped too, it suggests that the faster GSync controller both need to run may be the problem not that both sets of new panels ran into production problems.jabber - Wednesday, August 9, 2017 - link
Could just be a worst case scenario in case they cannot deliver on time but if the 'issue' gets resolved they may appear earlier. Probably someone covering their backside.cekim - Wednesday, August 9, 2017 - link
"Nooooo!" -Anakin SkywalkerStochastic - Wednesday, August 9, 2017 - link
Are these going to be properly calibrated? I find it frustrating how many $800+ monitors aren't even calibrated all that well at the factory.Stochastic - Wednesday, August 9, 2017 - link
Also, how many years before OLEDs make it to PC monitors?chaos215bar2 - Wednesday, August 9, 2017 - link
Well, there was this: http://www.anandtech.com/show/11272/dells-ultrasha...Looks like it's no longer on sale, though.
milkod2001 - Wednesday, August 9, 2017 - link
Probably never. It takes forever to fix very high cost of large panels and burn ins. It will very likely be replaced with newer & cheaper tech. I'd opt for monitor with Samsung Qdot HDR panel if you want something better and available right now.GoodRevrnd - Wednesday, August 9, 2017 - link
Probably 2019 at best? IIRC LG's new OLED high volume plant goes online for 2018 (or is it in 2018 and therefore 2019 displays?). I'm sure this is predominately for TV displays, but my hope is once they can get their volume up they'll have some incentive to produce smaller displays for monitors.