This Anker charger may be tiny, but it’s also mighty. Capable of charging up to three gadgets at once, this Anker Prime 67W 3-port wall plug is only $35 right now, a 30% discount from its $50 MSRP. View this Amazon deal This Anker accessory is built with GaN technology, which is a major advantage compared to older USB charger blocks. It’s faster, smaller, more efficient, and produces less heat. Frankly, we’re quite fond of GaN USB-C chargers here at PCWorld, so if you see us recommending a power adapter, there’s a 99.99% chance it’s gonna be GaN. This Anker Prime USB-C charger block has three ports. The two USB-C ports can each hit 67W when used individually, while the USB-A can reach a max of 22.5W on its own. When used simultaneously, the total output will cap at 65W across the two or three ports. That’s solid performance considering how tiny this little charger is, measuring just 1.97 x 1.57 x 1.52 inches—small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. Those foldable prongs make packing this thing into your luggage or your laptop backpack super easy, too. Snag this Anker Prime 3-port USB charger block for $35 before this deal runs out. This matches its lowest ever price, so it is indeed a deal! Save 30% on this Anker 3-port USB wall plug, selling out fast!Buy now at Amazon Read...

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Guys, I’ve done it. I’ve drunk the kool aid and joined the pantheon of super gamers that will tell you without doubt, that if you aren’t gaming on an OLED monitor, you’re missing out. That’s what I wish I’d been able to tell myself earlier, at least. This upgrade was a long time coming, but finally, after eight years with my previous main monitor, I bought an Alienware AW3225QF and there’s no looking back. I believed the hype for a long time, and have had a monitor upgrade on my to-do list for a number of years, but the timing was just never quite right. There was something else more important to upgrade next, or the pricing wasn’t right, or I was waiting for the right monitor to come along. But this recent Black Friday I finally pulled the trigger. I got in at a price that worked for me, and now I work and game on a 32-inch, QD-OLED, 4K, 240Hz monitor that is every bit as good as I hoped, and more. It’s not perfect, but I do wish I’d bought it sooner. Neglecting monitor upgrades is silly I now realize that I’ve been rather foolish with my upgrade focus. I switched up my processor and graphics card in 2023, and updated the memory and storage in 2024. A new case too, because my old one looked trash and one of the fan covers was dented. And the CPU cooler needed upgrading too, for something quiet. my magnificent new oled monitor Alienware AW3225QF Read our review Best Prices Today: $1199.99 at Dell All the while I was gaming on a monitor from 2016. The Asus MG279Q was a great gaming monitor when it first released: 1440p resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, IPS panel, 4ms response time, and FreeSync support. It was almost as good in 2018 when I bought it, but by the mid-2020s, it was really starting to show its age. It’s still a decent gaming display. Still pretty fast, and 1440p still looks great. But it’s not OLED. The 4K resolution and 240Hz refresh rate of the new monitor are nice, but OLED is the real game changer here. Upgrading my monitor has been more noticeable than any of the performance or cosmetic upgrades I’ve made in recent years. I should have prioritized this sooner. It looks gorgeous… but not always Obviously OLED is the best and it looks the best and anyone who says different is not the best and they’re wrong. Obviously. But my first impressions of the Alienware AW3225QF weren’t as groundbreaking as I was expecting. In games at least. A few HDR videos on YouTube looked like I could have grabbed the dripping honey right off-of the screen. Jon Martindale / Foundry But when I jumped into Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2, expecting this color-popping epic of gorgeous proportions, it all looked washed out. Super bright on the highlights and some decent contrast, but not the life-changing experience the Kool Aid had promised me. Once I realized I didn’t need (or want) HDR turned on in non-supporting games (or Window 11’s desktop, for that matter), it all looked and felt far better. The inky blacks were there, the rich and vibrant colors, and in games and with movies and videos that support HDR, I could switch it on with a quick shortcut (Windows key + Alt + B) to get those eye-popping highlights I was hoping for. One area it is 100 percent, undeniably better than my old monitor, though, is reflection handling. Even with a glossy panel like this Alienware model has, it’s a million miles beyond what was possible on my 2016 display. Where before, a bright light behind would illuminate my silhouette no matter what I was watching, now, I can’t see a thing. Sure, the curve introduces the odd weird reflection that I have to counter, and it’s not a scratch on the matt displays out there. But compared to what I had? Night and day. I can finally play all the games I’ve been waiting for I didn’t realize my list of games that I’d “Play when I get an OLED,” had grown so long. Space Marine 2 was a relatively recent addition, but since it was on sale the day I brought the monitor home, it was an easy first play. Who needs triple-A titles when you have pixel graphics?Jon Martindale / Foundry Other games I’ve been holding off on playing just so I can enjoy them for the first time on a monitor that doesn’t wash out the blacks include: God of War Ragnarok, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Hellblade 2: Senua’s Saga, and the Final Fantasy VII remake, among others. My Steam wishlist is currently 155 titles long, which is utterly ridiculous, and more a reflection of my dad-of-young-kids phase of life than my previous lack of an OLED monitor. But now I will make some progress through it. Probably. When I’m not using this monitor to write about buying it. The price barely changed I did manage to get quite a good deal on the monitor this Black Friday just gone. “Just” £640 ($857 after taxes) and it’s definitely a 100 percent work expense, so I can write off some of the taxes on it. That’s around £200 ($268) off its historic average, and almost half the price it originally launched at. But that’s a complete outlier. A look at this monitor’s pricing history shows that it typically bounces between £850 ($1140) and £990 ($1,325), and that’s been about it since the monitor released. It’s only been this last sale where it went anywhere south of that range. Whether I’d bought it two weeks after it came out, or right now, the only real time the price would have been different is when I got it. Sure, in terms of pure savings I waited for the right moment, but if I hadn’t gotten lucky here, I wouldn’t have saved much at all. I neglected this upgrade for almost two years and it was almost for nothing. Valheim never looked so good.Jon Martindale / Foundry And next year? It could get even worse. While OLED technology might be getting cheaper, just about all electronics look poised to get more expensive in 2026 as the memory pricing crunch radiates out through the industry. Although monitors may not be directly affected, manufacturers everywhere might be forced to raise prices to offset the lost margins on memory-adjacent products. I still haven’t upgraded my TV though I enjoy big movies and TV shows as much as anyone else, and do plan to upgrade the big living room TV to an OLED at some point too. But that’s another expense that keeps getting pushed down the list, with my 7-year-old, non-HDR Samsung TV being perfectly adequate, for now. But I could have been watching HDR movies and TV shows with inky blacks on my PC for a much more affordable upgrade. Where my TV plans stretch into the near $2,000 territory, I got this monitor for less than half of that. In the absence of a TV overhaul, an HDR monitor is a very capable alternative. I don’t plan to watch too many movies by myself in my office, but I do have the option now. Not to mention non-HDR movies look utterly gorgeous with QD-OLED-boosted coloring. I’m going to have to rewatch Redline for sure. It’s awesome and I should have done it sooner I’m still merrily skipping through the honeymoon phase with this monitor, so I’m sure I’ll bump up against some issues, or eccentricities in the months that come, but for now, it’s just gorgeous. I didn’t need to go quite this fancy, though. I can take or leave the curve, and the 240Hz refresh rate, while nice and smooth, is complete overkill for a non-competitive gamer like me. All my lightweight indie games can now run at a buttery smooth infinite FPS, though, so that’s nice. Jokes aside, this is a gorgeous monitor and the Kool Aid drinkers aren’t kidding. OLED really does look like nothing else when those high-contrast scenes hit. Mini LED isn’t far off though, so don’t pigeon hole yourself on a specific technology — especially if you’re working and gaming in a brighter room, or if you still don’t want to risk burn-in. For me, though, this one was worth the wait… even if I wish I hadn’t. Read...

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Corporations don’t have feelings. And yet, they want others to think they do—and that we’re being too rough on them. Twice this past week, major tech companies appealed to empathy. One bid bubbled up in a Wccftech interview with Micron, when the memory producer was asked if it and other suppliers were abandoning consumers. The response: “Our viewpoint is that we are trying to help consumers around the world. We’re just doing it through different channels. […] What’s going on right now is that the TAM [ed: Total Addressable Market] and data center is growing just absolutely tremendously. And we want to make sure that, as a company, we help fulfill that TAM as well.” Welcome to The Full Nerd newsletter—your weekly dose of hardware talk from the enthusiasts at PCWorld. Missed the surprising topics on our YouTube show or latest news from across the web? You’re in the right place.  Want this newsletter to come directly to your inbox? Sign up on our website!  The other came from Nvidia, with CEO Jensen Huang calling gloomy views of AI “extremely hurtful” during a discussion on the No Priors podcast. Huang’s take: “I think we’ve done a lot of damage lately with very well-respected people who have painted a doomer narrative, end of the world narrative, science fiction narrative. […] It’s not helpful to people, it’s not helpful to the industry, it’s not helpful to society, it’s not helpful to the governments.”  I was struck by the argument Huang went on to present in that same podcast segment, which suggests AI is going through growing pains while reaching the goal of functionality, and such negativity hinders and slows that progress—as well as that of the podcast hosts, who seeded the idea of self-interest as the motivator for regulatory action. That those seeking regulation may be trying to freeze out new startups, not save humanity. So expensive. And not going to drop in price anytime soon, either, no matter how you buy it as a consumer.Foundry There’s a lesson here for those of us in the stands—everyone is looking out for their own interests, including consumers. And we should be smart about appeals to emotion, because they’re not always in the interest of the listener. Micron reported a revenue of $37.38 billion for fiscal year 2025. Nvidia reported a revenue of $57 billion for just its latest quarter. AI is hot. Meanwhile, inflation and interest rates continue to depress consumer spending power here in the U.S., which is reflected abroad as well. AI has also torched jobs—it’s fueled thousands of layoffs already. Sure, in the grand scheme of things, the fevered pace of tech often has led to good outcomes in the end. But that doesn’t change the individual impact of incomes lost, plans destroyed, security evaporated. So when a company makes a play for my agreement through emotion, I always wonder: Who benefits from this vision? In this case, consumers not being completely shut out isn’t the win Micron delicately posited. RAM now costs triple what it did just bare months ago—many will still be effectively shut out from upgrades and replacement PCs. For Nvidia’s part, the hints that zero regulation benefits progress ignores the human element: As the saying goes, regulations are often written in blood. How much regulation is warranted is a different conversation, and a reasonable one to have. But you can’t have a reasonable discussion without some critique or outright criticism. When companies appeal to emotion, I wonder why it doesn’t cut both ways. I wonder who benefits. In the case of technology right now, certainly not individuals. This approach isn’t a fair tactic. None of us should accept it as such. In this episode of The Full Nerd  In this episode of The Full Nerd, Will Smith, Adam Patrick Murray, Alaina Yee, and Michael Crider give CES 2026 a final send-off with a look at the smaller things we liked at the show. I’m still considering building my own E-Ink picture display now. If technology can save me from my sad bachelor-esque habits, I’m for it.  Also, Will did make me feel better that I’m not as bad as I thought, regarding home decor. I have a couch, sir. And even a coffee table! I was not in the majority on my opinion of the show floor robots, though. Willis Lai / Foundry Missed our live show? Subscribe now to The Full Nerd Network YouTube channel, and activate notifications. We also answer viewer questions in real-time! Don’t miss out on our NEW shows too—you can catch episodes of Dual Boot Diaries and The Full Nerd: Extra Edition now! And if you need more hardware talk during the rest of the week, come join our Discord community—it’s full of cool, laid-back nerds. This week’s quieter nerd news I can’t say I’m mad about the slow flow of news this week—I guess everyone’s still wrung out from CES 2026…or just tired from counting all the mentions of AI from the keynotes. (I would like to note that Will and I got our count through pure, old-fashioned grit.)  Still, there’s plenty to eye with speculation. Or outright suspicion. (I’m giving that supposed Steam Machine pricing some side-eye.) I guess my old Sandy Bridge system could get revived again… kingston.com Digging deep into the archives: Apparently, Chinese DIY builders are now recommissioning DDR3 motherboards for use. I never thought I could justify my continued use of my Sandy Bridge system, but here we are. Necessity is the mother of invention: Or at least, the precipitator of modding laptop RAM to work as desktop RAM, because it works out to be cheaper. I am not all-in: Google Gemini can now connect with Gmail, Photos, Search, and YouTube to provide more personalized answers to an individual’s questions. It’s currently set as opt-out, and Google pinky-swears it’s not training the model on any accessible data…but the company also is reminding everyone that, you know, your data is living already on its servers. Yeah. On the inside: I like me a good factory tour. I was very pleased when I saw a notification for this Gamers Nexus video, which gives a cool peek into production of Intel Arc cards at Sparkle. Uh, congrats, Linux? Security researchers have uncovered a new, previously unknown—and more advanced—malware targeting Linux cloud servers. An unwanted (but I guess predictable) reminder that bad actors go after people, not platforms. ICYMI: Nvidia DLSS 4.5 (at least, the super resolution part) is live—if you have a compatible card, you can try it out right now. Valve I’m dubious: Buried deep in a Czech retailer’s website were two possible indicators of the upcoming Steam Machine’s price, with both the entry-level and upgrade versions circling the $1,000 mark. Placeholder, or a sign of the times? My vote’s for the former. More chip tariffs inbound: These will focus on “advanced” processors, according to reports. Oooooh: Is AMD taking a page out of Nvidia’s playbook? Rumor has it that Team Red will drop its new Gorgon Point CPUs just days ahead of Panther Lake’s imminent launch. (Shhh, don’t tell Brad I’m spreading scuttlebutt.) Cool…but I don’t have a problem, Brad: Brad raved about this particular software demo among those he saw at CES 2026. I admit it’s interesting, but I want to stress I have no issues with how many tabs I keep open. I live a comfortable life. I winced: Those deep in the memory trenches predict years of RAM shortages, given the current climate—the best estimate came from Micron, with things beginning to ease in mid-2027. Yeah. Thanks, I hate it: Verizon made a deal to allow its users to unlock phones after 60 days. A new FCC ruling says it no longer has to. I guess it’s back to unlocked phones only for me… Gosh, what a banger of a start to the new year. I thought I’d spend most of this week sneaking in complaints about crowded gyms. Yes, it’s absolutely other people’s fault I ate too much and drank a ton of Will’s excellent eggnog. (Thanks again for sharing that with us!) Catch you all next week! Alaina This newsletter is dedicated to the memory of Gordon Mah Ung, founder and host of The Full Nerd, and executive editor of hardware at PCWorld. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Excellent contrast and color performance More video connectivity than competitors, plus USB-C Stellar motion clarity at 500Hz refresh rate Low MSRP for a 1440p, 500Hz QD-OLED Cons Design is basic, with no RGB-LED lighting Adjustable stand is larger than it needs to be Lacks some extras, like a proximity sensor Our Verdict The Acer Predator X27U F5 is yet another 1440p 500Hz OLED monitor that delivers great motion clarity, and it cuts some less essential features to lower the price. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Acer Predator X27U F5 Retailer Price $699.99 View Deal $799.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices The arrival of 1440p 500Hz QD-OLED monitors in the fall of 2025 has been fascinating to watch. A monitor with a refresh rate this high would’ve seemed exotic a couple years ago, but now you have roughly a half-dozen options to choose from. Acer’s entry into the crowd chooses to cut back some features to provide the 500Hz panel at a lower MSRP. Read on to learn more, then see our roundup of the best monitors for comparison. Acer Predator X27U F5 specs and features The Acer Predator X27U F5’s basic specifications are familiar by now, as it’s part of a fleet of new 500Hz QD-OLED monitors arriving on store shelves. These monitors achieve an extraordinary refresh rate while sticking to a more modest resolution. Display size: 26.5-inch 16:9 aspect ratio Native resolution: 2560×1440 Panel type: QD-OLED Refresh rate: 500Hz Adaptive sync: Yes, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro HDR: VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 Ports: 2x DisplayPort 2.1, 2x HDMI 2.1, 1x USB-C with DisplayPort and 65 watts of Power Delivery, 1x USB-B upstream, 2x USB-A downstream, 1x 3.5mm audio Audio: 2x 5-watt speakers Extra features: Headphone stand Price: $799.99 MSRP One aspect of the Predator X27U F5 that stands out, though, is connectivity. It has two DisplayPort ports, two HDMI ports, plus USB-C with DisplayPort, for a total of five video inputs. Most competitors only have three, and many lack USB-C. Acer’s Predator X27U F5 is shipping with an MSRP of $799.99. That’s lower than most alternatives: The Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 lists an MSRP of $999.99, the Asus ROG Strix XG27AQDPG is $899.99, and the MSI MPG 271QR is also $899.99. Sales are frequent, though, so keep an eye on current deals before you make a purchase—pricing can drop to several hundred dollars under MSRP. Acer Predator X27U F5 design The Acer Predator X27U F5’s design is nothing special even by the standards of computer monitors, which rarely make a bold design statement. From the front it’s a simple slab of glossy glass with thin black bezels and an almost unnoticeable Predator logo. It’s not much different from the rear, as the monitor is mostly built from basic, though sturdy, black plastics. There’s nothing wrong with a simple approach. Personally, I tend to prefer subtle design, as I rarely see the rear of my monitor once it’s on my desk. Still, you should note the X27U lacks even basic RGB-LED lighting, a feature common at this price point. It does have a flip-out headphone stand on the stand neck, though its location makes hard to reach. Matthew Smith / Foundry I’m not a fan of the stand. It’s sturdy enough, but the stand has a deep neck and a wide base that takes up more desk space than necessary, particularly for a 27-inch monitor. The stand might be a problem if you have a narrow desk, as it places the display closer to the user than most stands that ship with 27-inch monitors. The stand provides the usual range of height, tilt, and swivel adjustment. It can also pivot 90 degrees for use in portrait orientation. All of this is typical at this price point. The VESA mount differs slightly from the norm, as a 75x75mm VESA mount is used instead of the more common (among monitors, at least) 100x100mm VESA mount. Most monitor stands, arms, and wall mounts support both, though, so it’s not much disadvantage. Acer Predator X27U F5 connectivity Connectivity is an area where the Predator X27U F5 stands apart from competitors. It has two DisplayPort 2.1 ports, two HDMI 2.1 ports, plus a USB-C port with DisplayPort and 65 watts of Power Delivery. That’s a total of five video inputs; most direct competitors only provide three. The dual DisplayPort inputs are also unusual, as most monitors offer just one. The wide range of video connectivity will stand out if you’re using the Predator X27U F5 like both a monitor and TV. With this many ports you can connect two game consoles, two desktop PCs, and a laptop. The USB-C port connects to two downstream USB-A ports. These can also be driven by a USB-B port, and the monitor has a KVM switch. It would’ve been nice to see a USB-C downstream port as well, but most competitors also lack that feature. The Acer Predator X27U F5 has a total of five video inputs; most direct competitors only provide three. Acer Predator X27U F5 menus and features The Acer Predator X27U F5’s on-screen menu system is controlled by a responsive joystick centered behind the lower bezel. The menu system is well organized and features are well-labeled. I can nitpick about the font size, which is a bit small, but it’s a good menu system. There are quite a few options to tinker with. The monitor has a number of color modes, gamma, and color temperature presets. They’re not perfect (there’s no DCI-P3 or AdobeRGB color mode and the color temperature presets are vague values such as “Warm” instead of exact values like “6500K”), but they’re not bad. Further image calibration is available through six-axis color adjustment. Matthew Smith / Foundry Acer also provides a range of gaming features like on-screen crosshairs, a refresh rate counter, a dark stabilizer, and the option to decrease the screen’s viewable area if you want to simulate a smaller monitor (which can be useful in certain esports titles or some retro games). One feature notably absent here, but found on competitors such as Asus ROG Strix XG27AQDPG, is a proximity sensor. A handful of OLED monitors now include this as a way to combat OLED burn-in, as the sensor will automatically dim or turn off the display when you’re away from your desk. Acer Predator X27U F5 audio Acer provides a pair of 5-watt speakers with the Acer Predator X27U F5. They’re not great, but they’re not the worst, and that alone is high praise in this category. Most monitors in this category do not provide speakers at all. I wouldn’t want to use the built-in speakers for most games and music, but they’re fine if I just want to listen to ambient tunes at low volume, or want to play a game where audio isn’t the focus. Acer Predator X27U F5 SDR image quality The Acer Predator X27U F5 has a Samsung QD-OLED panel with 1440p resolution and a 500Hz refresh rate. This panel first appeared in monitors this fall, and most major manufacturers now have a monitor with it. In short, it’s a known quantity, and the Predator X27U F5 performs as expected—which is to say, it’s excellent. Matthew Smith / Foundry First up we have brightness, where the Predator X27U F5 delivers a result in excess of 300 nits. That’s towards the high side for an OLED monitor, though also something the latest QD-OLED panels are beginning to achieve with consistency. A brightness of 300 nits is usually more than adequate and, in a dark room, you may end up using the Predator X27U F5 at just 20 or 30 percent of its maximum. The panel has a glossy finish, though, so bright room performance can still feel strained. Matthew Smith / Foundry Contrast is always great on OLED monitors, and the Predator X27U F5 is no exception. The fact is that SDR contrast performance is maxed out here. It literally can’t get better than this. Contrast is expressed as a ratio that defines the difference between a display’s minimum and maximum luminance. But OLED monitors achieve a perfect minimum luminance of zero nits, which breaks the ratio. In practical terms, that means the Predator X27U F5 delivers a sense of depth, immersion, and shadow detail you won’t find on any IPS-LCD or VA-LCD display. Even Mini-LED monitors can’t match it. Matthew Smith / Foundry Color gamut is also a strength for QD-OLED monitors, as they use a technology called Quantum Dots to boost color coverage. The result is an incredibly wide color gamut. That’s useful if you want to create content in wide color gamuts and also provides a vivid, saturated image in all other content you’ll view. Matthew Smith / Foundry Next up is color accuracy. Technically, the Acer Predator X27U F5 lags the pack here, but the color accuracy of OLED displays is generally so excellent that you’ll be hard pressed to notice any difference. I personally can’t tell a difference in color performance or accuracy between modern QD-OLED panels, even with them side-by-side. The Acer Predator X27U F5 hit a gamma curve of 2.3, slightly off the target of 2.2, and a color temperature of 6400K, slightly off the target of 6500K. These again are subtle differences, though I personally do find the gamma curve noticeable. It means content will look ever so slightly darker than on a monitor that hits gamma 2.2. Most OLED monitors have the same gamma and color temperature performance, though. Sharpness is not a perk for the Acer Predator X27U F5. The monitor’s 1440p resolution works out to about 110 pixels per inch across the 26.5-inch panel. That’s adequate but certainly not impressive for a modern monitor, as 4K panels are widely available even at much lower price points. While this will of course mean games and movies are a bit softer than at 4K, I find the downgrade most obvious on the Windows desktop, where small fonts and interface details can look a bit jagged and blocky. In summary, there’s no surprises with the Acer Predator X27U F5, and that’s a positive. The image looks vivid, saturated, deep and immersive. It all adds up to a fantastic experience when playing games or watching movies in SDR. Acer Predator X27U F5 HDR image quality The Acer Predator X27U F5 is VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 certified and has an HDR 1000 mode to achieve a promised maximum brightness of 1,000 nits. Like most monitors I test, the X27U F5 doesn’t quite get there, but it gets close and is generally very bright for an HDR monitor. Matthew Smith / Foundry As the graph shows, the Predator X27U F5’s performance lands in the same range as most modern OLED displays. You can expect a peak brightness close to 1,000 nits in HDR, but only when a fraction of the display is brightly lit. HDR brightness drops significantly when larger areas of a display are lit. The good news is that bright, quick HDR highlights are often what contribute most to the sense of HDR pop, particularly in PC games, so the overall level of HDR performance is great. One feature missing from the X27U F5’s HDR mode is brightness adjustment. HDR typically gives content control over brightness, but some modern monitors provide an override. That’s handy if you are playing in a very dark space, or you are playing a game with an uncomfortably bright HDR presentation. The lack of HDR brightness control on the X27U F5 isn’t a deal breaker, but I would’ve preferred to see it. Acer Predator X27U F5 motion performance The Acer Predator X27U F5 has a 500Hz refresh rate which, of course, is fantastic for motion clarity and responsiveness. A 500Hz refresh rate is way higher than the old 60Hz standard, of course, and also twice that of a 240Hz display. It makes a noticeable difference, at least in games capable of hitting up to 500 FPS (which is necessary to enjoy the faster refresh rate’s benefits). Fast-moving objects are extremely crisp, with even details a few pixels in size visible, and quick camera pans in 3D games look hardly different from standing still. The improvement in motion clarity will be shocking if you are coming from a 60Hz display, and likely still noticeable even if upgrading from a 240Hz display. One thing missing from the Predator X27U F5 is a backlight strobing mode, such as ELMB on the Asus ROG Strix XG27AQDPG or MPRT on the MSI MPG 271QR. Backlight strobing can improve motion clarity at lower refresh rates, and its absence may turn off some gamers. Adaptive sync is supported through AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, though Nvidia G-Sync was detected when I connected the monitor to an RTX 5050 laptop. I would have preferred to see both FreeSync and G-Sync badges on the box, though. Shoppers should keep in mind that the X27U F5’s motion clarity is not much different than other monitors with the same QD-OLED panel. This arguably works to the X27U F5’s favor, because it’s on the lower end of pricing. Should you buy the Acer Predator X27U F5? The Acer Predator X27U F5 is another great entry in the swelling ranks of QD-OLED monitors with 1440p resolution and a 500Hz refresh rate. It has outstanding contrast and color performance and superb motion clarity. Compared to its peers, such as Samsung Odyssey G6 OLED and Asus ROG Strix XG27AQDPG, the X27U F5 is less eye-catching and has an inferior stand. However, the Acer Predator X27U F5 strikes back with a competitive MSRP of $799.99 (though the Samsung is currently less expensive on sale) and more connectivity including a total of five video inputs. Read...

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