Acer Predator XB323U GX is big, bold, and super-fast

Acer's latest premium gaming monitor is big, bold, and super fast.

What you need to know

• Acer announced its latest premium gaming monitor today, the Predator XB323U GX.
• The Predator XB323U GX is a 32-inch WQHD display with G-Sync, 270Hz refresh rate, and HDR.
• Acer expects to launch the Predator XB323U GX in January for $900.

During its "Next @ Acer" event today, Acer took the wraps off of the latest premium gaming monitor in its range, the Predator XB323U GX. The 32-inch monitor packs in all of the goodies you'd expect from a competent gaming monitor in 2020. It also embraces a new aesthetic that breaks from previous Predator monitors.

Digging into specs, the Predator XB323U GX is a beast. The monitor serves up a WQHD (2560 x 1440) resolution and is VESA certified for DisplayHDR 600. If you play HDR-enabled games or watch HDR movies, that certification means the brightest parts of a scene can hit up to 600 nits on the IPS panel.

Speed is another area where the Predator XB323U GX should excel. Acer is touting a 0.5ms response time, and the monitor can be overclocked to hit a refresh rate of 270Hz. Both specs are important for games that require twitch-reactions, like first-person shooters (FPS).

Rounding things out is NVIDIA G-Sync compatibility, which works with your NVIDIA graphics card to eliminate screen tearing by keeping the frames flowing from your GPU in-sync with the monitor's refresh rate. Acer has also managed to dial in some impressive color coverage for a gaming monitor, hitting 99 percent of the Adobe RGB color spectrum. Some handy eye protection features are built-in, including tech to eliminate flicker and BlueLightShield for cutting down on blue light exposure.

Acer says that it expects to launch the Predator XB323U GX in January 2021 for $900.

Acer Predator XB323U GX hands-on

Ahead of its launch, Acer provided an early Predator XB323U GX sample to try out. The most striking thing about the monitor is its design. It's a departure from the black and red aesthetic featured on a lot of Predator monitors in the past.

This isn't entirely new, of course. The design is very close to one of our top picks for the best PC gaming monitors, Acer's Predator X27. The nearly all-metal build feels and looks premium, with a distinct sturdiness to the overall package.

You also get a fair amount of adjustability here, thanks to the flexibility of the stand. Tilt, swivel, and height adjustments are all here, with a pretty good range of motion. The height mechanism feels particularly good, gliding easily up and down the stand, but staying in place once set.

Where the Predator XB323U GX becomes particularly interesting is when you consider the value for the money. At $900, it's definitely an investment. But if twitch-action games are your groove, then the 270Hz overclocked refresh rate is a tempting draw.

The color coverage is also a plus that you won't find on many cheaper gaming monitors on the market. With nearly all of the Adobe RGB color space covered, the monitor should double as a competent photo editing display as well.

Acer's Predator X27 features similar styling and packs a 4K display with similar color gamut coverage. However, it's over twice the price and cuts down on the gaming specs with a 4ms response time and 144Hz refresh rate. The Predator XB273K is much closer in price with great gaming specs if you prefer to go full 4K.

The only notable knock against the Predator XB323U is that it's using an 8-bit panel. This is something that will mostly matter for HDR content, where a 10-bit panel is preferred. However, you could experience some color banding, as is typical with 8-bit panels.

Still, the Predator XB2323U looks like it will offer a competitive package of specs and features once it's available in January.