CES 2023 First Look: OLED Panels (and a Deep Curve) Come to Acer’s Predator Gaming Monitors

Acer’s Predator PC gaming line isn’t limited to laptops and desktops—the brand includes gaming monitors, too. While the simply named Predator X45 ($1,699) and Predator X27U ($1,099) may sound prosaic, the two look to be the two of the best-looking OLED gaming monitors to come out of CES 2023. They both appear to produce crystal clear images; deep, deep blacks; lightning-fast performance; and enough brightness to deliver superb visibility in even the darkest gaming lair.

So Big, It’s More Like a Small TV

As a massive 45-inch OLED display, the Acer Predator X45 is made all the more impressive by its curved design, which brings the game closer to you with a dramatic 800R curvature. With a 3,440-by-1,440-pixel native resolution and a peak 240Hz refresh rate, this Predator is made to keep up with the most demanding games and to look gorgeous doing it. The ultrawide panel has a narrow-bezel frame to maximize the user’s field of vision.

(Credit: Brian Westover)

Acer’s OLED panel not only provides inky blacks but the company claims 98.5% DCI-P3 color coverage, as well. Typical brightness hovers around 150 nits but ramps up to 1,000 nits for HDR10 content. In addition to HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4 connectivity for both PCs and consoles—and USB-C for laptops and mobile devices—the monitor also has an integrated USB hub and KVM switch. This makes it simple to switch among different connected devices, such as a desktop, a laptop, and a game console.

(Credit: Brian Westover)

A More Sensibly Sized (and Priced) Gaming Display

For the more average PC gamer, the Predator X27U is another new gaming monitor from Acer, but without the curved panel and for hundreds less in price. Measuring 27 inches from corner to corner, this OLED display delivers the same speedy gaming performance, with a 240Hz refresh rate and 0.01 millisecond response time.

This smaller display obviously doesn’t have the same ultrawide aspect ratio, but it still pumps out a sharp 2,560-by-1,440 resolution, 98.5% DCI-P3 color coverage, and a peak brightness of 1,000 nits. That brightness will be seen best when playing HDR games and videos (the monitor supports any HDR10 content), and games should play smoothly and tear-free, thanks to AMD FreeSync Premium.

The Predator X45 and X27U will be available in North America starting this spring. The X45 will start at $1,699 and the X27U will start at $1,099.