Acer Predator X32FP Review: 4K 160Hz Mini LED HDR Gaming Monitor

We’re finally seeing more viable 32″ 4K high refresh rate monitors with proper HDR support! Let’s see where the Acer Predator X32FP fits in!

Image Quality

Based on an IPS panel, the Acer X32FP provides you with 178° wide viewing angles and an exceptional color gamut coverage of 99% Adobe RGB and 96% DCI-P3.

As a result, you get consistent and accurate colors with Delta E < 1 factory calibration fit for professional color-critical work as well as vibrant colors in games and videos.

You’ll also find dedicated picture presets that clamp the gamut down according to the selected color space, including sRGB, DCI-P3, Rec.709, HDR, EBU, SMPTE-C and ‘Standard.’ Sadly, there’s no dedicated Adobe RGB mode, so if you want to do work in this color space, you’ll need a colorimeter to profile the display.

Next, the 4K UHD resolution perfectly suits the 32″ sized screen of the Acer Predator X32 FP monitor as you get plenty of screen space with sharp details and text, and no scaling necessary (though some users might prefer ~125% scaling in order to make small text a bit easier to read).

Keep in mind that 4K is quite demanding on the GPU, so if you wish to see high frame rates, you’ll need a high-end graphics card.

Further, the screen can get exceptionally bright, up to around 500-nits in the SDR mode. Make sure that the ‘Max. Brightness’ option is enabled in the OSD (On-Screen Display) menu; otherwise, you’ll be limited to ~160-nits.

In HDR, it goes up to 1200-nits for short bright flashes and small highlights, providing you with vivid and punchy details.

There’s a 576-zone mini LED FALD (full-array local dimming) solution that improves the native 1,000:1 contrast ratio by dimming parts of the image that are supposed to be dark.

Of course, as there are ‘only’ 576 zones and over 8 million pixels on the screen, when illuminating small bright objects, some light will bleed into the surrounding dimmed zones and create blooming, also referred to as the halo effect. This is an expected drawback of this technology and it’s tolerable considering that it’s mainly noticeable in particularly demanding scenes, such as fireworks and stars in a night sky.

On OLED displays, each pixel is self-emissive, so this isn’t an issue, but they have other disadvantages – they suffer from the risk of burn-in, can’t get as bright, have uncommon subpixel layouts that cause fringing on small text and they’re not available in many form factors.

Local dimming can be enabled in SDR too. However, while it can improve content consumption, we recommend disabling it for regular desktop use and work. There are three operating speeds under the Adaptive Dimming setting in the OSD menu: Low, Average and Fast.

We recommend using the Fast mode while gaming, but since it can make some fast-moving objects appear as if they’re flickering, you might want to dial it back to ‘Average’. For competitive fast-paced games, you’ll want to disable it anyway.

For optimal performance, make sure you have the latest firmware installed.

A similar monitor to the Acer Predator X32FP is the Innocn 32M2V, but it has an 1152-zone mini LED FALD. The local dimming algorithm on the 32M2V prioritizes to minimize blooming, so the Acer X32FP will appear a bit brighter, but with more blooming.

Performance

Another difference between the Acer X32FP and the Innocn 32M2V is that Acer’s model has a noticeably faster pixel response time speed. If you play a lot of fast-paced games and you’re sensitive to ghosting, the X32FP will suit you better.

The response time speed of the Innocn 32M2V is still decent, so if you’re not bothered by minor ghosting, it’s definitely worth considering too.

There are three response time overdrive modes on the Acer Predator X32FP: Off, Normal and Extreme.

Both Normal and Extreme add too much overshoot, therefore, we recommend using the Off mode. When VRR (variable refresh rate) is enabled, the overdrive is locked to the Normal overdrive mode.

However, there’s a workaround for this, which involves first changing the overdrive to ‘Off’ and then enabling FreeSync using Acer’s Display Widget desktop application.

There appears to be some differences between the X32FP models sold in different regions. On some models, you might not need to change the overdrive option to Off as the Normal mode won’t have any overshoot. We recommend going over to Blur Buster’s ghosting test to check which overdrive mode works best on your unit.

Input lag amounts to ~4ms of delay, which is imperceptible.

Variable refresh rate works via FreeSync Premium Pro, NVIDIA G-SYNC Compatible and HDMI 2.1 VRR with a 48-160Hz range. While the monitor doesn’t appear on NVIDIA’s official list, VRR works without issues when using supported cards.

VRR can work at the same time as HDR, and there are no flickering issues.

The backlight of the monitor is flicker-free (unless local dimming is enabled) and there’s an integrated low-blue light filter mode.

Features

At the rear of the monitor, there’s a directional joystick for quick and easy navigation through the OSD menu, but as previously mentioned, you can also use Acer’s Display Widget desktop application (though it’s a bit buggy). Above the joystick, you’ll find three hotkeys and a power button.

Besides the standard image adjustments (brightness, contrast, color temperature, aspect ratio control), you also get some advanced tools, including 5 gamma presets from 1.8 to 2.6, sharpness and 6-axis hue/saturation.

Useful gaming features include Black Boost (improves visibility in dark scenes), crosshair overlays, a refresh rate tracker and various picture presets (including three customizable profiles). Auto Source Detection is also supported, but it has to cycle through all sources until it detects the signal.

There’s no Picture by Picture or Picture in Picture support.

Design & Connectivity

The stand of the monitor is robust and versatile with up to 130mm height adjustment, +/- 30° swivel, -5°/35° tilt and 100x100mm VESA mount compatibility.

Connectivity options are abundant and include four HDMI 2.1 ports with full 48 Gbps bandwidth, DisplayPort 1.4 with DSC, a USB-C port with DP Alt Mode and 90W Power Delivery, a quad-USB 3.0 hub (4 downstream + 1 upstream type B), a headphone jack, dual 7W built-in speakers and integrated KVM functionality.

To get 4K 160Hz over USB-C, you’ll need to set the ‘USB 3.0’ option in the OSD menu to ‘Off.’ The Acer X32FP also supports the 4K 120Hz mode with HDR and VRR on the PS5 and Xbox Series/One S/X consoles.

The screen has a light matte anti-glare coating that prevents reflections without making the image too grainy.

Price & Similar Monitors

The Acer Predator X32FP price ranges from ~$1,250 to $1,500.

There’s also the ASUS PG32UQXR, based on the same panel. It’s usually more expensive and although it has “DisplayPort 2.1”, the DP 1.4 does just fine on the X32FP thanks to DSC, which is a visually lossless compression.

In fact, even the PG32UQXR has to use DSC since its DP 2.1 port uses only UHBR10 transmission speed (which requires DSC for 4K 160Hz 10-bit).

The Innocn 32M2V can be found for ~$800, so we find that it offers better value for money. It doesn’t have as fast response time and it doesn’t get quite as bright with small highlights, but it has less blooming. Note that some units of the Innocn 32M2V also have flickering issues when simultaneously using VRR and local dimming in some games.

Another model worth considering is the Samsung Neo G7 with a fast response time speed and even less blooming thanks to its VA panel with a high native contrast ratio. However, some users really don’t like its 1000R aggressively curved screen.

Finally, you should also check out the Dell Alienware AW3225QF with a 32″ 4K 240Hz QD-OLED panel.

If you’re looking for something different with proper HDR support, check out our best HDR monitors buyer’s guide.

Conclusion

All in all, the Acer Predator X32FP is an excellent HDR gaming monitor with a fast response time speed, smooth VRR performance, vibrant colors, a high peak brightness and a high contrast ratio. On top of that, it features an ergonomic stand with rich connectivity options and plenty of useful features.

However, if you’re not too concerned with burn-in, we recommend the Dell AW3225QF instead.

Specifications

Screen Size	32-inch
Resolution	3840×2160 (Ultra HD)
Panel Type	IPS
Aspect Ratio	16:9 (Widescreen)
Refresh Rate	160Hz
Response Time	1ms (GtG)
Speakers	2x7W
Adaptive-Sync	FreeSync Premium Pro (48-160Hz)
Ports	DisplayPort 1.4, 4x HDMI 2.1, USB-C (DP Alt Mode, 90W PD)
Other Ports	Headphone Jack, 4x USB 3.0
Brightness	500 cd/m²
Brightness (HDR)	1200 cd/m²
Contrast Ratio	1000:1 (static)
Colors	1.07 billion (8-bit + FRC) 96% DCI-P3, 99% Adobe RGB
HDR	VESA DisplayHDR 1000
Local Dimming	576-zone mini LED FALD
VESA	Yes (100x100mm)