Brandon Whitehead's Tech Blog

Check out the new listings I just put up if you're interested at all. All of these listings will be live for 30 days over on  Jawa . Acer Predator Z1 Z321QU 32" (inch) WQHD 1440p 165hz Curved NVIDIA G-Sync Gaming Monitor / Display Listing https://www.jawa.gg/product/58977/acer-predator-z1-z321qu-32-inch-wqhd-1440p-165hz-curved-nvidia-g-sync-gaming-monitor-display My Review https://tech.brandonwhitehead.com/2018/03/acer-z1-z321qu-32-1440p-144hz-va-g-sync.html SOLD Razer Basilisk FPS Gaming Mouse: 16,000 DPI Optical Sensor Chroma RGB Lighting 8 Programmable Button Listing https://www.jawa.gg/product/59094/razer-basilisk-fps-gaming-mouse-16000-dpi-optical-sensor-chroma-rgb-lighting-8-programmable-button My Review https://tech.brandonwhitehead.com/2019/03/a-great-alternative-to-g502-mouse-from_18.html SOLD Razer Black Widow Tournament Edition Chroma V2 TKL Tenkeyless Mechanical Game Keyboard Orange Switch Listing https://www.jawa.gg/product/59101/razer-black-widow-tournament-edi...

Rating ★★★★☆ (4 out of 5) Pros Price to Performance Paid $289.99 (pre-tax) for a 180Hz with adaptive sync, 3440x1440, VESA Certified DisplayHDR 400 monitor Desktop Software  G-Menu /I-Menu for controlling the monitor hardware settings within the windows desktop is a nice addition Hardware Design is fairly tame, not overly gamer looking by any means Plenty of input and output options 2x HDMI 2.0 - Up to 100Hz 2x DisplayPort 1.4 - Up to 180Hz (8-Bit with dithering) or 144Hz (10-Bit) 3.5mm audio out 4x USB [one of which supports Quick Charging] with upstream USB-B port Good stand (although I'm not using it because mine is VESA mounted) VESA 100x100 support Visuals Great Contrast! Black levels are MILES better than the Acer Predator Z1 I'm coming from Hardly any "flashlighting" on the screen from the backlight, or at least I can't see it  High refresh rate Going from 165Hz to 180Hz isn't a huge jump, but it does provide just a bit more smoothness PPI ~110 PPI ...

Before we jump into the review, check out this imgur album of the monitor unboxing. Acer Z1 Z321QU Rating ★★★★★ (5 out of 5) Pros Price... Only when compared to (as of 180328) the 1 other equivalent G-Sync monitor on the market (LG 32GK850G) Features Refresh rate 144Hz out of the box with up to 165Hz OC G-Sync 144Hz out of the box with up to 165Hz OC Solid stand Very sturdy construction with plenty of adjustment options VESA mount capable Quality VA panel Great contrast, no smearing, no ghosting, no slow response time issues LED underglow The "Screen Color" setting is pretty neat Massive size Massive 32"(inch) gaming experience Curve Reminds me of the 1st Gen Predator X34 I owned except with a more pronounced curve Built-in speakers Sound decent but I won't be using them Cons Price $699 is a lot for a monitor G-sync "tax" Still waiting and hoping for Nvidia to adopt VESA adaptive sync or FreeSync ...

This review was originally written on 02/20/2018 but I decided to not post it on Newegg since I ended up returning the panel for a full refund. View post on imgur.com Rating ★★★★☆ (4 out of 5) Pros High refresh  144Hz with 165Hz OC G-Sync  Gorgeous VA panel  Excellent contrast Massive size VESA mount capable  Seriously, every monitor should have this Stand looks like it has a lot of utility  Can't fully comment on it because I mounted this on a monitor arm Cons Price  $799.99 (on sale, normally $849.99) is a lot but that's what you end up paying for something "unique" with minimal competition G-Sync "tax"  Wish Nvidia would adopt VESA adaptive sync already PPI  93ppi isn't bad by any means It's not quite as "sharp" as say a 24" display with this resolution RGB LED Lighting doesn't shut off when the panel goes to sleep  Have to manually shut off with the control wheel Other...

Not too much to add before we jump into the review, but if you're interested in seeing just how much of a size difference there is between 32" and 24", check this picture out... Rating ★★★☆☆ (3 out of 5) Pros Gorgeous IPS panel Massive size Price (Got it for $289.99 on sale) VESA mount capable (I don't know why every monitor doesn't have a VESA mount) Cons Only 60hz PPI (93ppi is lower than I'm used to but it's not a problem really) Not sure how new this monitor is but there is very limited information available online about it (as of 02/16/2018) Other Thoughts TL;DR Good monitor but the disconnecting issue ruins it for me with my multi monitor setup This is a massive and gorgeous display. I used to have a 34" 3440x1440 panel but this panel "feels" larger than that one even because of the 16:9 aspect ratio vs the 21:9 aspect ratio of the 3440x1440 panel. The QHD resolution works well on this monitor and I think i...