Acer’s Z35 G-Sync monitor has a 35-inch curved display and a whopping 200Hz refresh rate

Acer’s Z35 G-Sync monitor has a 35-inch curved display and a whopping 200Hz refresh rate

The 34-inch Acer Predator X34 only became available locally in early October, but Acer already has another monitor up its sleeve. The company just announced that the Predator Z35, a 35-inch curved G-Sync monitor with a tantalizing 200Hz refresh rate that was first unveiled at IFA 2015, will be available by the year’s end.

But despite its slightly larger screen size, the Predator Z35 isn’t a direct upgrade to the X34. Instead, it trades pixels for a higher refresh rate (a much higher one in fact), perhaps to cater to gamers who want the most fluid gaming experience possible. The Predator X34’s 3,440 x 1,440-pixel panel supports refresh rates up to 100Hz, whereas the Z35 features a more modest 2,560 x 1,080-pixel display with a decidedly immodest 200Hz refresh rate.

However, the panel’s native rate is really just 144Hz, and you’ll need to enable the display’s overclocking mode to hit 200Hz. This is much like what ASUS has done with the ROG PG279Q, which can be overclocked to 165Hz up from 144Hz.

The Predator Z35 also retains the same 21:9 aspect ratio of the X34, so the two are more or less on par when it comes to how much of the game world – or spreadsheet – you can view.

In addition, you’re not just getting any old TN panel with the Predator Z35 – quite a pleasant surprise for a monitor with such a high refresh rate. Instead, it uses an AMVA (Advanced Multi Domain Vertical Alignment) panel from AU Optronics, which should be significantly better in terms of color reproduction and viewing angles than the TN panels used in the vast majority of gaming monitors.

The horizontal and vertical viewing angles are rated at 178°, the same as the IPS panel on the Predator X34, but AMVA screens are generally known to exhibit greater contrast shifts than their IPS counterparts. The X34 also supports a 10-bit color depth for 1.07 billion colors, whereas the Z35 only does 8-bit for 16.8 million colors.

Both panels feature the same 4ms G2G response time.

So here’s the bottom line: the Predator X34 would probably suit you better if picture quality is your priority, but for the smoothest gaming experience, the Z35 may be a better bet. Oh, and you get some fancy ambient underglow lighting that is adjustable through the monitor itself. Still, you’ll need a graphics card that is powerful enough to push out enough frames to take advantage of the full extent of the 200Hz refresh rate.

The Predator Z35 will retail in the US later this month at US$1,099.

Source: Acer