Updated at: 23-06-2022 - By: Leo Hall

As soon as you hear or read “TN display,” you’ll probably think of either fast or inexpensive. When discussing TN monitors, these two terms are commonly used, but only the first one pertains to the model we’ll be looking at today.

An excellent gaming monitor with a performance focus, the Acer Predator XB241H is a far cry from the cheap TN panels you’ll find online, whether they’re 60 or 144 refresh rate.

However, what exactly distinguishes it as being superior? Find out for yourself by continuing to read!

The Design

As with every Acer Predator monitor, you have a good idea of how this one was designed if you’ve seen any of those before.

As a general rule, the frame is matte black, while the stand is angular and red-accented. In addition, the monitor bezels are tiny, however there are monitors with even thinner bezels on the market.

In addition to its strong accents and highlights, the stand is also extremely adaptable, allowing for full height, tilt, swivel, and pivot alterations. To be clear, this monitor is compatible with any 100 by 100-inch VESA mount or stand.

Although we’re not a huge fan of the stand design, that’s just a matter of personal taste. If you’re okay with or even enjoy this method, you won’t have anything to complain about because, as previously indicated, it’s a stable and adjustable stand.

Specifications

The Display

Now, we’ve just established that this is a TN display, so you presumably already know what to anticipate. Overclocking the display to 180 frames per second allows it to achieve a pixel reaction time of 1 millisecond. Gaming on the XB241H is a lot more fluid and responsive than on a 60Hz/4ms IPS or VA panel, making it a lot more enjoyable.

Speaking of IPS and VA displays, how does the Acer Predator model deal with the inherent shortcomings of the TN panel?

As it turns out, TN panels, which are both fast and affordable to produce, have poor viewing angles, as well as inadequate color reproduction and contrast, compared to their IPS and VA counterparts. As a result of technical constraints, any type of TN panel, no matter how basic or complex, will not be accepted for use.

The XB241H, on the other hand, effectively addresses these drawbacks. Even though the TN panel’s color gamut is pretty high, some calibration is required to improve color accuracy. The default settings make colors look washed out. It’s not going to be able to compete with IPS panels, and it’s not going to be appealing to professionals, but it’s perfect for gamers.

At 350 nits, the display is bright and has a good contrast ratio; however, the viewing angles aren’t particularly impressive. Color distortions can, of course, be alleviated by the adjustable stand.

Overall, the XB241H delivers exactly what we’d expect from a high-end TN gaming monitor: impressive performance with low impact on the inherent drawbacks of such a display. It’s fast and responsive, the colors aren’t terrible, the contrast is good, and there is no harsh backlight bleed. However, the XB241H’s color reproduction and contrast will fall short of what you’re used to from IPS or VA panels.

Image Quality

Because of this, the Acer XB241H is one of the few gaming monitors that uses the same type of panel used in all 1ms (GtG) displays: the TN (Twisted Nematic) panel.

There is less color vibrancy on VA and TN displays, but the transition time between pixels is faster.

Narrow 170/160° viewing angles on TN panel displays cause images to change in color and brightness when the screen is seen from certain angles.

It’s a non-issue while you’re playing video games because you’re glued to your monitor the vast majority of the time.

The Acer Predator XB241H monitor’s visual quality is excellent for a TN panel display.

In addition, you receive an 8-bit color depth, a typical contrast ratio of 1,000:1, and an impressive 350-nit peak brightness.

The complex 6-axis settings, gamma presets, saturation, and other picture modifications are available, so you can get more than a fair image from this gaming monitor.

Performance

Acer Predator XB241H input latency is only 4ms, making it unnoticeable to even the most experienced of gamer players.

Fast-paced games are more responsive and immersive as a result of the 1ms response time, which eliminates ghosting and trialing of fast-moving objects.

Overclocking the monitor’s native refresh rate to 180 Hz provides an additional increase in motion clarity.

In addition, overclocking is a breeze. The OSD (On-Screen Display) menu and the drivers for your graphics card both allow you to set the refresh rate to 180Hz.

Overclocking the Acer Predator XB241H will not result in frame skipping or other visual distortions, so don’t be scared to push it to its limits.

G-SYNC is the main course now.

The G-SYNC feature of the Acer Predator XB241H 180Hz display can be activated by connecting an NVIDIA GeForce graphics card GTX 650 Ti or newer via the DisplayPort connector.

As the frame rate of the GPU increases, the monitor’s refresh rate decreases.

With VSync, you’ll receive a fixed refresh rate but no screen tearing or stuttering, but you’ll also get a large increase in input lag.

It can be overclocked up to 180 Hz, so you can play without any tearing.

AMD graphics cards do not support G-SYNC. A FreeSync gaming monitor is a good idea if you have an AMD graphics card.

The NVIDIA Ultra Low Motion Blur (ULMB) technology, which uses backlight strobing to reduce ghosting and motion blur in fast-paced games, is another option. It is incompatible with G-SYNC.

Also, keep in mind that ULMB is incompatible with FreeSync cards. To use ULMB, you must disable G-SYNC and reduce the refresh rate of the display to one of three options: 120Hz, 100Hz, or 85Hz.

Additional Features

Nvidia G-Sync

Adaptive sync is a must-have feature for any high-refresh rate monitor. AMD’s FreeSync is usually the obvious choice for the OEM when it comes to most 144 Hz TN monitors, and for several solid reasons. However, Acer chose Nvidia G-Sync for this particular monitor, which has increased the MSRP.

Since FreeSync is less expensive to implement than G-Sync, it’s a popular choice among manufacturers, especially for lower-priced displays. A monitor must have a scaler module in order to support adaptive sync. AMD, in contrast to Nvidia, does not demand licensing fees or force OEMs to purchase their proprietary scaler modules. FreeSync displays are already commonplace at the lower end of the price spectrum as a result.

There are some benefits to using G-Sync, but it’s not all bad news. G-Sync displays must exceed Nvidia’s exacting criteria because the company is heavily involved in the manufacturing process. As a result, G-Sync works better and provides additional features like input lag reduction, motion blur reduction, etc.

Acer chose G-Sync over FreeSync because they wanted to make the XB241H a premium 144 Hz gaming monitor, even if it meant increasing the price.

While FreeSync is now compatible with Nvidia GPUs, the reverse is not true: G-Sync is still limited to Nvidia GPUs. When considering purchasing this monitor, if you have an AMD GPU, you’ll need a FreeSync-enabled monitor, or you’ll need to switch your GPU.

The speakers are built-in

This monitor is no exception, since many of today’s monitors have built-in speakers. It has two rear-facing 2W speakers, which is a handy thing to have, but you’ll still require a professional gaming headset or speakers for gaming, viewing movies, or listening to music.

For the most part, monitor speakers aren’t all that impressive, and there’s a good reason for that. Furthermore, there is no motivation for manufacturers to spend money on high-quality speakers, as a result of the narrow frame of a modern monitor (this also impacts new televisions).

The XB241H’s speakers, on the other hand, aren’t particularly impressive. They can be extremely loud, but the sound they produce lacks any punch or boom. Since such is the case, it is possible to use them to view YouTube videos without having to put on your headset, but for anything more serious, they will not do the job at all.

FAQS:

Is the Acer Predator monitor worth it?

An excellent TN gaming monitor is the Acer Predator XB241H, which has a 144 Hz refresh rate and a 1ms reaction time, making it the only panel that can give this level of smoothness and responsiveness.

Is the Acer Predator XB271HU still good?

G-SYNC, ULMB, fast response time, high refresh rate, and low input latency make the Acer Predator XB271HU an excellent gaming monitor. Although calibration is required, the visual quality is outstanding. In addition, the design is flexible and there are additional functions for gaming.

Are predator monitors good?

Gaming Monitor for 4K Playback

Conclusion:

If you are looking for a gaming monitor, the Acer Predator 241H is a solid choice.

Even though it’s one of the better instances we’ve seen in the essay, its present price and competition makes it a bit of a doubtful investment..

TN monitors like this one are the only way to get both a fast refresh rate and a low response time, so they’re an excellent choice if you prioritize performance over all else. An IPS or VA monitor in this price range, on the other hand, may be a better choice if you’re looking for a more neutral viewing experience.

The only serious flaw we’d want to bring out is that the monitor does not contain a USB hub, which is a standard feature for panels in this price range. Even if the speakers were better, we’d rather have had a few USB ports than this.