Acer SB272UE Review: Budget 1440p 100Hz FreeSync IPS Gaming Monitor

If you’ve been looking for an affordable 27″ 1440p monitor, the Acer SB272U Ebiip (Acer SB272UE for short) might just be for you! It has an IPS panel and even supports variable refresh rate up to 100Hz!

Image Quality

The Acer SB272UE is based on an IPS panel with full sRGB color space coverage and 178° wide viewing angles. As a result, you get accurate colors and a consistent image that won’t degrade in quality at different angles, which makes the monitor suitable for entry-level color-critical work.

Further, the 2560×1440 QHD resolution results in a high pixel density of 108.79 PPI (pixels per inch) for sharp text and details with plenty of screen real estate and no scaling necessary.

It has a peak brightness of 250-nits, which is the minimum as far as modern LED-backlit displays go, but this should still be more than bright enough for most users under normal lighting conditions.

We find that most users find a brightness of around 150-nits to be bright enough under typical room lighting. However, if you’re in a particularly bright room (studio lighting or with a big window without curtains facing the screen), you may need a brighter (and more expensive) monitor.

Next, the Acer SB272UE has a static contrast ratio of 1,000:1 as expected from an IPS panel display. This means that you won’t get as deep blacks as that of VA panels in this price range, which have a contrast ratio of around 3,000:1 but also suffer from other drawbacks, such as slower response time and narrower viewing angles.

All IPS monitors also exhibit IPS glow, which can be characterized as visible glowing around the corners of the screen. However, this is an expected drawback of this technology as since it’s mainly visible when displaying dark content in a dark room with high brightness settings, it’s manageable.

Performance

The Acer SB272UE has a maximum refresh rate of 100Hz, which provides you with a noticeable boost in motion clarity as opposed to 60-75Hz displays.

In fact, we find that the difference between 60Hz and 100Hz is much more noticeable than the difference between 100Hz and 144Hz+.

The motion will not only be smoother in video games – as just moving your cursor around and scrolling will feel more responsive too.

So, if you can’t afford a 1440p 144Hz gaming display or don’t have a good enough PC to justify getting a higher refresh rate display, the Acer SB272UE is an excellent option since it costs the same as (or even less than) the older 60Hz – 75Hz models!

Thanks to its IPS panel with quick response time, there will be no particularly noticeable trailing behind fast-moving objects nor any smearing that’s usually associated with budget high refresh rate VA gaming monitors.

There are three response time overdrive modes: Off, Normal and Extreme. We recommend using the default Normal mode since it’s a bit faster than Off without introducing any overshoot (inverse ghosting) as the Extreme mode.

Features

The Acer SB272UE monitor also supports AMD FreeSync, which synchronizes the display’s refresh rate with the GPU’s frame rate (Hz = FPS), in order to prevent screen tearing and stuttering without adding input lag like V-Sync does.

It has a variable refresh rate (VRR) range of 48-100Hz, which means that LFC (Low Framerate Compensation) is supported. LFC ensures that you get no screen tearing even below 48Hz/FPS by multiplying the frame rate. So, in case your FPS drops to 47, the monitor will display each full frame twice at 94Hz to prevent tearing.

Even though the Acer SB272UE doesn’t have official G-SYNC Compatible certification by NVIDIA, VRR works with supported GeForce graphics cards (10-series or newer) over DisplayPort without issues.

On AMD Radeon GPUs, VRR is supported over both HDMI and DP.

Alternatively, you can use the VRB (Visual Response Boost) technology, which uses backlight strobing to reduce perceived motion blur at the cost of brightness.

However, VRB can’t be enabled at the same time as VRR. Moreover, it introduces screen flickering that’s invisible to the human eye but can cause headaches to sensitive users after prolonged use.

When VRB is disabled, the backlight of the monitor is flicker-free, and there’s an integrated low-blue lighter filter available.

Beneath the bottom bezel of the screen, there’s a power button and four hotkeys for navigation through the OSD (On-Screen Display) menu.

Besides the standard image adjustments (brightness, contrast, color temperature, etc.), you’ll also find some advanced settings, such as gamma, sharpness, 6-axis hue/saturation, Black Boost (improves visibility in dark scenes), a refresh rate tracker, display scaling (aspect and full) and automatic input detection.

Design & Connectivity

The stand of the monitor is fairly sturdy, but it is tilt only by -5°/15°. You can detach the stand and mount it via the 75x75mm pattern, but keep in mind that there are only two mounting holes – this shouldn’t be an issue as the screen is very lightweight.

Further, the screen has a light matte anti-glare coating that prevents reflections without adding too much graininess to the image.

Connectivity options include DisplayPort 1.2, two HDMI 2.0 ports and a headphone jack. All display inputs support 100Hz at 2560×1440.

Price & Similar Monitors

The Acer SB272UE can be found for as low as $150, which makes it one of the most affordable 1440p displays.

The Acer CB272U E variant with the same 1440p 100Hz IPS panel, integrated speakers and a fully ergonomic stand can be found on sale for $170.

We recommend the KTC H27T13 instead. It’s a 27″ 1440p 100Hz IPS monitor with a wider color gamut, and it can be found for $120. In case it’s not available, check out the MSI MP275Q as an alternative.

For gamers, we recommend the KTC H27T22S with a 180Hz refresh rate for smoother gameplay. It can be found on sale for ~$150.

To learn more about monitors and ensure you’re getting the model most suited for your personal preference, visit our comprehensive and always up-to-date best gaming monitor buyer’s guide.

Conclusion

The Acer SB272UE is an overall excellent budget display, but there are better options in this price range.

Specifications

Screen Size	27-inch
Resolution	2560×1440 (WQHD)
Panel Type	IPS
Aspect Ratio	16:9 (Widescreen)
Refresh Rate	100Hz
Response Time	Not specified
Motion Blur Reduction	Visual Response Boost (1ms MPRT)
Adaptive-Sync	FreeSync (48-100Hz)
Ports	DisplayPort 1.2, 2x HDMI 2.0
Other Ports	Headphone Jack
Brightness	250 cd/m²
Contrast Ratio	1000:1 (static)
Colors	16.7 million (8-bit) 99% sRGB
VESA	Yes (75x75mm)