The only thing that beats gaming on a big-screen monitor is gaming on a curved big-screen monitor, such as the Acer XB341CK ($1,099.99). This stylish 34-inch display is outfitted with an ultra-wide, In-Plane Switching (IPS) panel with a UW-QHD (3,440-by-1,440) resolution and a generous assortment of I/O ports. It also uses AMD's FreeSync anti-tearing technology to provide smooth gaming action, and it delivers solid gray-scale performance. Colors are mostly accurate, but not as sharp as what you get with our top pick for big-screen, ultra-wide gaming monitors, the Acer Predator X34($499.00 at Amazon).
Design and Features
While not a part of Acer's Predator line of gaming monitors, the XR341CK looks almost identical to the Predator X34. It has the same zero-bezel design and glossy-black cabinet with chevron patterns, and it has a 34-inch ultra-wide IPS panel with a 3,800R curvature radius (This means that if you put a bunch of XR341CK monitors edge to edge to create a complete circle, the circle's radius would be 3,800mm.) The most noticeable differences are minor; the XR341CK has a silver V-shaped stand (the X34's is gray), and it sports an Acer logo on the front instead of the Predator logo.
The XR341CK's UW-QHD panel has a matte, anti-glare coating, a 21:9 aspect ratio, and a 75Hz refresh rate (the Acer X34 can be set to refresh at 100Hz). The dual 7-watt speakers are loud and provide better-than-average bass response, and there is a set of LED lights mounted on the bottom edge that can be programmed to glow red, green, blue, white, or orange. You can set the lights to change colors randomly and assign one of four lighting patterns (fixed, breathing, ripple, or flashing).
The XR341CK offers a decent selection of I/O ports, all of which are located at the rear of the cabinet facing outward. Five USB 3.0 ports (one upstream, four downstream) are joined by two HDMI 2.0 ports, one full-size DisplayPort input, one mini-DisplayPort input, one full-size DisplayPort output that allows you to daisy-chain multiple monitors, and a headphone jack. One of the HDMI ports supports Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) technology which allows you to connect to and charge compatible smartphones and tablets.
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Six function buttons (including the Power switch) located under the lower bezel provide access to the XR341CK's settings menus and serve as hot keys for several functions: changing the input source; selecting one of three programmable game profiles that allow you to assign custom image settings; selecting an overdrive mode (Off, Normal, Extreme) that accelerates pixel response to eliminate motion artifacts; and adjusting speaker volume. As with the Acer X34, you get lots of picture settings, including Brightness, Contrast, Gamma, Color Temperature, Dark Boost, Low Blue Light, and Adaptive Contrast. You also get advanced color settings, such as 6-Axis Hue and 6-Axis Saturation, and three Aim Point settings to help you zero in on your target. Preset picture modes include User, Standard, Movie, Graphics, and Eco.
The XR3401CK is covered by a three-year warranty on parts, labor, and backlight. Included in the box are a mounting plate for hanging the monitor with a wall-mounting kit (not included), a Quick Start Guide, an HDMI cable, a USB cable, and a DisplayPort cable.
Performance
Unlike the Acer X34, which uses Nvidia's G-Sync technology to eliminate screen tearing and deliver ultra-smooth gaming action, the XR341CK uses AMD's FreeSync technology to achieve the same goal. You need a compatible AMD graphics card in your PC to take advantage of FreeSync, but the results are impressive. Screen tearing was completely eradicated in my Crysis 3 gaming tests with FreeSync enabled. Moreover, the picture looked noticeably smoother and more fluid. Input lag (the amount of time it takes for the monitor to react to a controller command), as measured with the Leo Bodnar Video Signal Lag Tester, came in at a relatively swift 10.6 milliseconds (ms). That's nearly identical to the Acer X34 (10.3ms) and much quicker than the BenQ XR3501( at Amazon) (26.4ms) but not as fast as our leader, the BenQ XL2430T($470.69 at Walmart) (9.5ms).
Color accuracy is good, but not ideal. As shown on the chromaticity chart below, red and blue color measurements (represented by the dots) are closely aligned with their ideal CIE coordinates (represented by the boxes), while green is completely outside of its box. Fortunately, the flaw is minor and will likely go unnoticed while gaming. If dead-on color accuracy is a must, you can use the XR341CK's advanced color settings to calibrate the panel.
Despite the misaligned greens, the XR341CK delivered vibrant colors in testing and while playing Grand Theft Auto V on the Sony PlayStation 4 ($799.95 at Amazon) . Gray-scale performance was superb on our tests; the IPS panel displayed every shade of gray from the DisplayMate 64-step Gray-Scale test correctly from dark to light. Viewing-angle performance is also excellent, with no loss of luminance or color shifting at any angle.
The XR341CK consumed 50 watts of power in testing when set to the Standard picture preset and 36 watts when set to the Eco preset. That's in line with the Acer X34 (49 watts and 36 watts, respectively) and the BenQ XR3501 (50 watts in Standard mode).
Conclusion
If you're looking to bring big-screen goodness to your gaming experience and have a high-end AMD GPU in your PC, the 34-inch Acer XR341CK is a solid choice. Its curved wide-screen panel puts you close to the action, and it offers a good selection of digital-video connections and lots of image settings. It uses AMD's FreeSync anti-tearing technology to deliver smooth gameplay and is equipped with a powerful set of speakers with decent bass response. That said, its green-color accuracy could be better. Our Editors' Choice for big-screen, ultra-wide monitors, the Acer Predator X34, will cost you $200 more, but it offers superior color performance, along with the same gaming features as the XR341CK. However, it supports Nvidia's G-Sync technology, so you'll need a compatible Nvidia graphics controller to take full advantage of its anti-tearing and smoothing capabilities.
The 34-inch Acer XR341CK is a beautifully designed curved-screen monitor that delivers sharp imagery and excellent gaming performance, thanks to AMD's FreeSync technology.
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