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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tk.icepick - Wednesday, August 9, 2017 - link
MicroLED seems more promising: no burn-in, longer lifespan than OLED or LCD, and (potentially) competitive on other metrics like cost and manufacturing yields.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MicroLED
Lolimaster - Wednesday, August 9, 2017 - link
It's totally pointless to include HDR on a monitor with a craptastic AHVA/IPS low contrast panel. That should stick to AMVA/VA-OLED.GoodRevrnd - Wednesday, August 9, 2017 - link
FALD should help significantly, but I'm still skeptical. Even if the HDR is garbage I'd be tempted to get one for the IPS speed if the FALD mostly eliminated IPS glow.DanNeely - Wednesday, August 9, 2017 - link
Has there been any talk about similar panels in other sizes?I was about to pull the trigger on a 32" 4k 60hz GSync monitor (the taller size plays nicer with my existing 1200x1600 and 2560x1600 displays) when these were first announced. I decided to hold off assuming a larger version would be right behind in production; but haven't seen anything yet and am starting to wonder if I should just go with last years tech as an interim upgrade.
DanNeely - Thursday, August 10, 2017 - link
Semi-answering my own question, AU Optronics lists a 32" 4k HDR 384 panel, but doesn't indicate if it's also high refresh rate.DanNeely - Thursday, August 10, 2017 - link
... lists on TFT Central.http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/panel_parts_c...
mooninite - Wednesday, August 9, 2017 - link
Has AU Optronics fixed their panels to not have light bleed or horrific backlight uniformity that their current 1440p models currently have?madwolfa - Wednesday, August 9, 2017 - link
That remains to be seen.TheJian - Thursday, August 10, 2017 - link
I'll be interested when I see gsync in a 16:10 gaming monitor. Until then...pfftt. I have no use for WIDE crap in monitors.DanNeely - Friday, August 11, 2017 - link
Going to be a long wait, 16:10 is in the same terminal decline that 4:3 was a decade ago; with models built around older panels still around but very little in the way of new products coming out.