Acer XV272UX Review: 1440p 270Hz FreeSync IPS Gaming Monitor

Update: Some users report image retention issues. It seems that the Black Boost option in the OSD menu is causing it. To prevent it, try setting the Black Boost option to 0 – or at least below 3. We recommend the HP Omen 27qs instead.

The Acer Nitro XV272UX is a 27″ 1440p 240Hz (270Hz OC) IPS gaming monitor with a wide Adobe RGB color gamut, a quick response time speed, and AMD FreeSync support.

Its full model name is Acer Nitro XV272U Xbmiipruzx, but we’ll shorten it to XV272UX in order to avoid confusing it with the Acer Nitro XV272U P, which is a 144Hz model.

Image Quality

The monitor is based on an AHVA (IPS-type) panel by AU Optronics that’s enhanced by quantum-dots for the striking 99% Adobe RGB and ~95% DCI-P3 color gamut; that’s equivalent to ~160% sRGB!

In comparison to the more common wide gamut gaming monitors which mostly cover the DCI-P3 gamut, the Adobe RGB gamut allows the Acer XV272UX to produce extra cyan, blue, and green shades for more lifelike colors.

There’s also an sRGB emulation mode that restricts the color output to ~100% sRGB, and the monitor is factory-calibrated at Delta E < 2, making it fit for professional color-critical work.

The picture won’t shift in color or contrast when the screen is looked at an angle thanks to the 178° wide viewing angles.

Moving on, the monitor supports HDR (High Dynamic Range) and has VESA’s DisplayHDR 400 certification. Alas, due to the lack of local dimming and high brightness, you’re not getting the true HDR viewing experience.

Regardless, implementing a proper local dimming solution would significantly increase the monitor’s price. The main accent of the Acer XV272UX is on colors and speed, not HDR.

It has a decent 350-nit peak brightness (400-nits for HDR), 10-bit color depth support, and a static contrast ratio of 1,000:1, which is standard for IPS panel displays.

So, you won’t get quite as deep blacks as that of VA panels with a contrast ratio close to 3,000:1, but you will get more vivid and consistent colors.

Another strong point of the Acer XV272UX is the high pixel density of 108 PPI (pixels per inch), which results in sharp details and text as well as plenty of screen real estate.

As expected, some IPS glow is visible, but nothing extreme. Keep in mind that the amount of IPS glow varies across different units of the monitor.

Performance

The Acer XV272UX monitor has three response time overdrive modes: Off, Normal, and Extreme.

The Extreme mode is useless as it’s too aggressive and adds a lot of pixel overshoot. It’s just there so that Acer could advertise the quoted 0.5ms GtG pixel response time speed.

Regardless, the Normal mode is fast enough to eliminate any ghosting up to 240Hz (or 270Hz if overclocked) without adding overshoot.

At lower frame rates (48 – 144FPS), however, inverse ghosting becomes noticeable. At ~144FPS, it’s negligible, but the closer you get to ~60FPS, the more apparent it becomes.

Sadly, FreeSync is locked to the Normal overdrive mode.

So, if you find overshoot bothersome when playing games with VRR enabled at ~60FPS, you’ll need to disable FreeSync/G-SYNC Compatible in order to get rid of inverse ghosting.

This means that you’ll get screen tearing, but this visual artifact is hardly noticeable at 240Hz anyway. Alternatively, you can use V-Sync to eliminate tearing and use this trick to minimalize the input lag penalty it causes.

The monitor supports AMD FreeSync Premium and NVIDIA G-SYNC Compatible with a 48-240Hz variable refresh rate (VRR) range for tear-free gameplay up to 240FPS with imperceptible input lag of just ~2ms.

When overclocking is enabled in the OSD menu, FreeSync becomes grayed out.

LFC (Low Framerate Compensation) is supported as well, allowing the variable refresh rate to function even below 48FPS by framerate multiplication.

Even though the monitor is not certified as G-SYNC Compatible, VRR works without any issues with compatible NVIDIA graphics cards (GTX 10-series or newer).

What’s interesting is that the Acer Predator XB273UGX, which uses the same panel and offers identical specifications (except for the design) as the XV272UX, is officially G-SYNC Compatible.

So, it’s either a marketing thing or the XV272UX will be added to NVIDIA’s G-SYNC Compatible list in time too. Either way, you will not get any VRR-related issues, such as brightness flickering or micro-stuttering.

Features

The Acer XV272UX display also supports MBR (Motion Blur Reduction) via Acer’s VRB (Visual Response Boost) technology.

This technology uses backlight strobing to simulate CRT-like motion clarity, but it sacrifices brightness in the process and it cannot be active at the same time as FreeSync.

It also introduces screen flickering, which is invisible to the human eye, but those very sensitive to it might experience headaches after prolonged use.

There are two VRB modes: Normal and Extreme. The Extreme mode offers better motion clarity but at a higher brightness penalty (~130-nits), whereas ‘Normal’ drops the brightness down to ~270-nits, but the performance is not quite as smooth.

Other useful features include a refresh rate tracker, custom crosshairs, Black Boost, and various pre-calibrated picture presets including different color space selection (General, sRGB, Rec.709, DCI, HDR, EBU, and SMPTE-C).

Apart from the standard image adjustment tools such as brightness, contrast, and color temperature, you’ll have access to advanced settings (gamma and 6-axis hue/saturation).

The OSD (On-Screen Display) menu is well-organized and easy to navigate through thanks to the directional joystick at the back of the monitor. There’s also a power button and three hotkeys, two of which can be assigned to certain OSD shortcuts.

The backlight of the monitor is flicker-free (unless VRB is enabled) and there’s a low-blue light filter (the ComfyView picture mode).

Design & Connectivity

The stand of the monitor is fairly sturdy and offers full ergonomic support with up to 120mm height adjustment, 360° swivel, 90° pivot, and -5°/25° tilt

Further, the screen has a matte anti-glare coating that eliminates reflections and 100x100mm VESA mount compatibility.

Connectivity options include DisplayPort 1.4 (with DSC), two HDMI 2.0 ports (maximum 144Hz at 1440p), a headphones jack, a quad-USB 3.0 hub, and dual 2W speakers.

DSC (Display Stream Compression) allows you to use the monitor up to 270Hz at 1440p with 10-bit color depth without any sacrifice in image quality. This feature is only supported on AMD’s Navi and NVIDIA’s Turing/Ampere or newer GPUs.

There’s also a USB type C port with DisplayPort 1.4 Alternate Mode (works up to 270Hz at 1440p 10-bit color) and 65W Power Delivery.

Price & Similar Monitors

The Acer XV272UX price amounts to $680, which is good value for the price.

However, we recommend considering the HP Omen 27qs instead. It has similar specifications and goes for as low as $300!

Other gaming monitors worth considering at this price range include the Samsung Odyssey G7 with a curved VA panel, the Acer XB283K 4K 144Hz display, and the LG 34GP83A ultrawide model.

Visit our comprehensive and always up-to-date best gaming monitor buyer’s guide for more information and the best deals available.

Conclusion

The Acer XV272UX is an excellent gaming monitor, but there are better 1440p 240Hz models at this price range.

Specifications

Screen Size	27-inch
Resolution	2560×1440 (QHD)
Panel Type	IPS
Aspect Ratio	16:9 (Widescreen)
Refresh Rate	240Hz (270Hz OC)
Response Time (GtG)	0.5ms (GtG)
Response Time (Visual Response Boost)	1ms (MPRT)
Adaptive-Sync	FreeSync Premium (48-240Hz)
Speakers	2x2W
Ports	DisplayPort 1.4, 2x HDMI 2.0, USB-C (DP 1.4 Alt Mode, 65W PD)
Other Ports	Headphone Jack, 4x USB 3.0
Brightness	350 cd/m²
Brightness (HDR)	400 cd/m²
Contrast Ratio	1000:1 (static)
Colors	1.07 billion (8-bit + FRC) 99% Adobe RGB
HDR	DisplayHDR 400
VESA	Yes (100x100mm)