If you’ve already watched the unboxing video of the Acer Aspire GD245HQ (same in terms of hardware as Acer GD235HZ) display you should know that I’ve been testing the 24-inch (23.6″ to be exact) Full HD display that is 120Hz and 3D Vision compatible. The expectations for this display are quite high, especially after the release of the Alienware OptiX AW2310 that did not provide a completely problem free 3D gaming experience (or so I’m reading, haven’t tested it personally) as we all hoped it would as it being in the next generation of 120Hz displays. This does not mean that the Alienware or that the Acer are not better in terms of what they offer to the user and in general compared to the previous generation of 22″ displays, but also does not mean that the fulfill every expectation consumers had… probably we just expected too much to happen in too little time. Anyway both Alienware and Acer make a good step towards better S3D experience, but lets get back to a more detailed look on the Acer GD245HQ that I’ve tested and compared to the 22″ ViewSonic VX2268WM and Samsung 2233RZ (the first generation 120Hz models).
Let me start with the official specifications:
Display size: 60 cm (23.6″) Wide, 16:9 Full HD, 521×293 mm
Panel Technology: TN (Twisted Nematic)
Resolution: 1920×1080 @ 120Hz
Pixel pitch: 0.2715 mm
PPI (pixels per inch): 92
Horizontal Frequency: D-Sub & HDMI 30-83KHz, DVI 30-140KHz
Vertical Frequency: D-Sub & HDMI 56-75Hz, DVI 56-120Hz
Contrast ratio: 80000:1 (Dynamic)
Brightness: 300 cd/m2
Response time: 2 ms
Colours: 16.7M (6 bit + HiFRC)
NTSC Colour gamut coverage: 72%
Internal speakers: N/A
Viewing angle CR 5:1: 176°/176°
Viewing angle CR 10:1: 170°/160°
Tilt / Swivel / Pivot: Tilt. -5°/15°
Height Adjustment: No
Wall-mount: 100 mm x 100 mm
Kensington lock support: Supported
Connections: Analog (D-sub), Digital (DVI-D), HDMI (Optional), Internal Power Supply
Power consumption: Energy Star – On 38.2W, Off 0.85W, Stand by 1.85W
Dimensions: 574.8×417.8×194.4 mm
Weight: 5.8 Kg
Note that the above official specifications do not mention anything about built-in speakers as the monitor does not have such (and why would it need), although it seems at some places selling the display you can see speakers mentioned. This is a bit misleading and the seller had mistaken the presence of a stereo audio jack on the display and cable in the kit thinking there are built-in speakers, but it is a completely different thing. Since the monitor has an HDMI and this allows you to pass audio trough it, but you probably wouldn’t want to hear it trough some crappy built-in speakers you have the option to output the audio from the HDMI to a decent set of external speakers. And the stereo cable is for just that, to output the audio passing trough the HDMI (if any) to an external speakers, and it is clearly not for built-in speakers as there are no such in the display!
The display does come with DVI-D, DSUB15 and HDMI connectors, but you can use the 2D/3D mode in 120Hz only on the Dual-Link DVI. There is a Dual-Link DVI cable and an analogue DSUB15 video cables, bundled with the monitor, there is no HDMI cable, but as I already said you cannot send more than 60Hz as an input signal to the display trough HDMI or DSUB15. Apart from that there is the audio out cable (for HDMI audio output) and of course the power cable, the expected manuals and a CD with documentation and control software for the display.
The external look of the Acer GD245HQ is quite nice, mostly black with just a little bit or orange on the monitor stand. And not to mention that unlike the 22-inch ViewSonic and Samsung displays here with the Acer, the stand is much more stable preventing the monitor from starting to swing around at the slightest vibration of your desk. A bit of a disappointment for some people might be the lack of height adjustment in the stand and that is kind of reasonable, especially having in mind that Acer’s display is with aspect ratio of 16:9 as compared to 16:10 for the ViewSonic and Samsung. This might not seem too significant, but when you compare a 22″ and the 24″ monitor side by side they do not seem very different in terms of size at first look, the ViewSonic is even a bit higher as you can see on the picture above. For me personally the 16:9 is better for stereoscopic 3D gaming as there is the wider aspect gets better coverage for the peripheral vision, but this might differ from person to person and it seems that people even want 1920×1200 displays with 16:10 aspect.
And now of to the bleeding of the LCD panel of the Acer GD245HQ. The above image is taken in a dark environment with the display showing a completely black image with a camera set a very high ISO and afterwards the image has been processed with an image editor just to enhance the visibility of the bleeding. In reality there is not that much light passing trough the LCD panel from the backlight, but you can clearly see that the most light bleeding is coming from the left side of the panel, some from the top and just a bit from the right and bottom parts of the screen.
Now, don’t think that there is no bleeding on the first generation of 120Hz displays, there is as there is on a lot of other monitors. On the picture above you can see that the ViewSonic display has the most bleeding coming from the bottom part of the screen and some from the left top. This picture comparing the Acer and ViewSonic displays next to each other has not been enhanced in an image editor, just shot with high ISO settings on the camera. As you can see the light bleeding here is less apparent and it is still more visible than what you’ll probably see with a naked eye directly looking at the display. In order to get more uniform backlight and less bleeding we’ll have to wait for the first 3D-capable displays to come out that use LEDs for backlight, but this also does not guarantee better results… it still depends on how good the implementation is.
As with the previous generation of 120Hz 3D-ready displays the Acer GD245HQ is also using a fast response TN panel with 2ms response rate for the pixels compared to 3ms (for 3D mode) in the first generation. As a direct result of this we can expect to have less ghosting and this is true, the ghosting is actually less as you can see on the image above. It is taken trough one of the lenses of the 3D Vision glasses in order to show you how much from the second image (the one for the other eye) is actually visible and thus creating the ghosting effect. Look at the center part of the pictures as some of the outer parts are not covered by the shutters lens because of it being too small for the camera lens. The important thing is that the ghosting is less, making it more comfortable to enjoy 3D content without annoying “shadows” lurking around some objects on the screen, or so it seems…
I’ve noticed something else you can see on the pictures above – the weird red/green ghosting that rarely appears on some images, it is probably related to some specific colors present. The both Ghosting comparison images were made from the game Tomb Raider Underworld on Lara’s boar before going underwater, but there are some other games and scenes where you can see the same strange ghosting. I’ve also seen it present for a brief moment on some videos, but I believe that this is something related to software issues and thus can lets say be fixed with a driver update for 3D vision for example. The above images are sent to Nvidia and lets see if they can figure out what is the issue and provide us with a fix, but as I said the above issue is rarely seen and you might not even notice it if you are not playing enough attention.
And now off to some measuring of the Acer GD245HQ with the help of an X-rite i1 Display 2 colorimeter. Calibrating the display colors does bring a bit of improvement in color reproduction (we are talking about a TN panel after all), but the most serious area where we have trouble with colors still remains – the very dark areas. There are not that much adjustments being done to the primary colors and the color reproduction before and after calibration changes just a bit – there is not a big difference. The brightness level after calibrating however might be an issue, as you can see the display brightness measured after calibration was just 171.6 cd/m2 and that is not that very good for when you wear the 3D Vision shutter glasses and play in S3D mode as there is an additional brightness drop. The maximum level of brightness I was able to measure was about 240 candelas per square meter which is still a bit less that the 300 cd/m2 stated in the specifications. The black level was measured to be about 0,2 cd/m2 which in turn resulted in quite good contrast ratio of almost 900:1, which in turn with the good sharpness of the display makes it noticeably better performing especially when watching videos in 2D or stereo 3D. Even when setting up the max brightness the display still manages to maintain a contrast ratio of about 900:1, so you don’t need to worry too much even if you play in stereo 3D mode with maximum brightness. After all by wearing the 3D Vision shutter glasses you are loosing some of the light and the black seems darker and closer to true black and the lightest objects are not so light anymore.
The next important thing for every gamer is the input lag, or at least it should be, no matter if the games will be played in 2D or S3D mode. In my last input lag tests I was able to confirm that the 120Hz Viewsonic has little to no input lag compared to a good CRT monitor, so how well does new 120Hz Acer GD245HQ compare to that, you can see on the video. Use the pause button to compare the numbers on both displays, the video is shot with a camera recording at 240 fps which is more than enough for the displays 120Hz (120fps). Slower response (lower number of milliseconds) means input lag (delay) of the image because of the processing before being show on the screen. The Acer shows from zero to about 15-16 ms delay compared to the ViewSonic, but have in mind that both displays are running a clone image (using DVI splitter) with resolution of 1680×1050 which is not the native one for the Full HD Acer display!
The next video shows the top/bottom screen ghosting issue on the Acer. As in the first generation of 3D capable 120Hz displays the second generation Acer GD245HQ still has some ghosting at objects show on the top and bottom parts of the screen as opposed to seeing the same object in the center part of the screen. Notice the shadow in front of the wind turbine in the video when it is being moved to the top or bottom parts of the screen. But generally as the ghosting is less on the Acer the top/bottom ghosting is also less.
This here is another interesting effect that I’ve noticed in the game Borderlands, look at how if you leave the cable onscreen and then move a bit there is an afterimage left for a bit that fades in another moment. This issue is also present on the 120Hz ViewSonic displays, but it takes more time with with the cable static on screen for the afterimage to appear. So far I’ve noticed this only in Borderlands, so it might be something related just to that game, but it is there and it handles differently on both 3D displays. The above is of course visible when you shoot the video trough the shutter glasses in S3D mode, not when you look directly at the screen without them. Also watch the HD version of the clip to see it more clearly!
Another thing to note is that the “grainy texture” or more like a scanlines look (brighter lines) that could be seen on some scenes when in 3D mode on the first generation of 120Hz screens is now gone, or to be more exact much, much, much… harder to notice, so it should not bother you anymore, if it was bothering you on the ViewSonic or the Samsung displays.
So to sum up all things said so far, the Acer GD245HQ is better designed, better built and performing better than the first generation 120Hz displays from ViewSonic and Samsung. It has an updated list of parameters, offers less ghosting, and although it brings some other new possible issues, in general it is more of a good improvement. If you wanted this to be the perfect and absolutely problem free monitor for stereoscopic 3D gaming, like a lot of people did, you might be a bit disappointed, but that is because we all probably had set too high expectations for it. After testing it personally I’m ready to make the switch to the Acer, when it officially becomes available on the market next month, as what I tested was a testing sample produced in November 2009. I might’ve missed something in the review above so please feel free to ask if you want to know something else or to try on the Acer as I’ll continue testing it for a few more days before having to return it…
- Acer GD235HZ/GD245HQ is already available for $399.99 USD at Amazon
106 responses so far ↓
1 Kevin Newman // Jan 26, 2010 at 18:48
Wow those photos through the shutter lense are a fantastic idea! Has anyone done similar photos for the Samsung 2233RZ?
2 JupiPupi // Jan 26, 2010 at 18:55
Thx, 4 sharing this with us!
3 Maxim // Jan 26, 2010 at 18:55
2 questions please
1: How does the monitor profrom in 2D as I would like to use it for Photoshop etc
2: Does it support 3D in no narrative res or does it have to be 1080p
4 Dave G. // Jan 27, 2010 at 04:56
You know I have to ask it – how do still stereo photos look?
5 3dpo // Jan 27, 2010 at 13:57
So lets say that I do want “the perfect and absolutely problem free monitor for stereoscopic 3D gaming.”
What should I get? A 1080p Mitsubishi DLP? Do the DLP’s offer enough brightness or resolution for gaming? Or would it be better to wait for an ‘10 3dTV or improved ldc monitor?
I really want to get a 3D Vision set up, but I don’t want to rush in and buy sub par equipment. Issues such as the samsung monitor ghosting would ruin the experience for me.
As always, thanks for your advice and for writting such an awesome S3D gaming blog. I read it daily!
6 Bloody // Jan 27, 2010 at 17:07
Kevin, there is not much difference between the ViewSonic and Samsung as they both use the same LCD panel, produced by Samsung. Do you need a picture of anything specific from the Samsung display?
Maxim, on the first question it depends a lot on what do you want to use it for in Photoshop. If you are going to edit photos or any other job that requires exact color reproduction then you better go for a display with an IPS-based or at least MVA/PVA-based panel and not to a one with TN. The Acer can also work in 120Hz in 2D/3D mode in lower resolutions too, although for best image quality it is recommended to stick to the native resolution.
Dave, for high-resolution photos I can say they do look a bit better, but that is probably because of the improved sharpness of the image on the Acer. As for 3D representation this is harder to judge as it also depends on how the photo was taken, so it is hard to say that the same 3D photos look much better on the Acer as compare to Samsung/ViewSonic, but subjectively said they appear to be a bit better too.
3dpo, I can tell you for sure that a thing like “perfect” and “problem free” 3D display still does not exist, so we have to opt out for the “best so far”. Unfortunately I’m still unable to try 3D Vision on Mitsubishi DLP, because they are not available where I live… actually nobody is selling 3D-ready DLP TVs on my local market. The expectations for the upcoming line of 3D-capable LCD HDTVs are also quite high, but we should wait until the summer to see how good will they turn out to be…
7 Magius // Jan 27, 2010 at 17:48
Maxim, you do not want to use a TN-based monitor for Photoshop editing or any other software that requires color accuracy. An IPS panel will always be better for those applications.
8 Maxim // Jan 27, 2010 at 20:32
Its not my job or anything its more just of a hobby and I would be using it more for gaming and such. I was just wondering if its of a decent quality in terms of sharpness do do some film editiing/composting and photoshop on the side.
9 craylon // Jan 27, 2010 at 20:56
you totally need to ask acer for a review model of the Acer H5360.
I’d be really interested to your a comparison of 2nd gen monitor to projector especially in terms of ghosting.
For me it was a real big step towards “almost perfect” by going from Samsung Synch Master towards the Acer H5360. The size of the screen didn’t was great but the biggest pro I found that i personally never see any ghosting anymore. When I was using the Samsung I was very shy putting much depth into the scenery because bigger separation meant more ghosting to me. Now on the PJ I don’t have any problems at all with high depth settings.
So I’m seeing the Synch Master on the lower spectrum of “overall S3D Image Quality” and the Acer PJ at the higher end. What I really would like to know how these 2nd generation screens position themselves.
I
10 Bloody // Jan 27, 2010 at 21:15
Maxim, then it should be Ok, especially if you are going to use it mostly for gaming and the other will be just as hobby.
Craylon, I’m also eager to test the Acer H5360, but unfortunately it is still not available here, so I’ll have to wait some more…
11 RPGWiZaRD // Jan 28, 2010 at 14:25
Thanks for the nice review, it fared about as what I expected after checking digitalversus review however it’s nice to also get some BLB shot and another input lag test especially.
It bothers me to see your ViewSonic VX2268wm has WAY LESS backlight bleed than mine, it’s absolutely horrible for me. What brightness was used for the monitors though when checking BLB? At 100 for me I can notice a blue half circle reaching almost to the middle of the screen from bottom edge and at setting 25 it reaches like up to 6cm from bottom.
12 Bloody // Jan 28, 2010 at 15:12
The backlight bleeding can differ from monitor to monitor, there is no guarantee that it would be the same, so sometimes it is also a matter of luck. The bleeding shots were done at factory default settings for both displays in 120Hz mode, but 2D so the brightness is not forced at maximum level. Also don’t forget maximum brightness might be needed only for when using the stereoscopic 3D mode at which point you are also wearing the shutter glasses that do block some of the light and the end result is not that apparent bleeding issues ;)
13 fish99 // Jan 28, 2010 at 15:19
Excellent detailed review, thanks.
14 SwarmDMX // Jan 28, 2010 at 15:27
The one thing that is concerning me with this monitor is the input lag. Your test was not performed at native resolution and not head to head with a crt. Are you able to do a comparison with a crt at 1920×1200?
Digital Versus has done tests which indicate this monitor has an average input lag of 18ms with minimum of 0ms and maximum of 50ms!
This last result is very concerning for those wanting to purchase a monitor aimed at the gaming market, so I think many would like to see if you could confirm these results or not…
Otherwise great review ;-)
15 Bloody // Jan 28, 2010 at 15:32
Does anyone even have an idea of a CTR that can handle 1920×1200 resolution with 120Hz refresh… ;)
16 skitoday // Jan 28, 2010 at 16:25
Does this have a glossy screen? can’t tell from the video.
I’ve read the Alienware is matte.
17 SwarmDMX // Jan 28, 2010 at 16:28
Oops sorry meant 1920×1080 and I think high end CRTs like the FW900 will do that at 100hz. That should be close enough for the head to head, since the CRT should have virtually no input lag and should just act as the baseline.
But of course if you don’t have access to a FW900, I don’t know that it needs to be at the same resolution for the test – just so long as the Acer is at it’s native resolution of 1920×1080…
Don’t mean to be a bother, but most gamers would like to find out more about the input lag I’m sure and the Max of 50ms reported by Digital Versus is worrying…
18 Bloody // Jan 28, 2010 at 17:00
Both displays need to run at the same resolution and with the same refresh rate, because in order to obtain accurate results a video splitter cable is used so that the PC will output the same image on both screens from a single output of the video card.
19 SwarmDMX // Jan 28, 2010 at 17:08
Ok – makes sense and begs the question as to how Digital Versus got their results… Maybe they’re not reliable after all and that in itself is useful to know.
http://www.digitalversus.com/duels.php?ty=6&ma1=38&mo1=631&p1=7352&ma2=36&mo2=458&p2=4495&ph=12
Many thanks
20 Bloody // Jan 28, 2010 at 17:38
Well they say how they test: “We put the screen in clone mode as well as our CRT reference” and this does produce a bit different results because the two video card outputs in clone mode does not provide as accurate results as when using a video splitter cable from a single video output. I’ve personally confirmed that…
21 Kevin Newman // Jan 28, 2010 at 18:36
Bloody, I was just wondering if the ghosting was as really obvious when playing a game in 3D mode as it is in that photo. That’s pretty unplayable in my opinion (assuming the ghosting is as strong when you play as it is in that photo). If that’s how it is, I’d need to be looking for an alternative solution to LCD+shutter glasses (not that there seems to be very many non-ghosting solutions, aside from maybe DLP). I was hoping I could just buy some cheap shutter glasses to go with my Samsung 2233RZ, which I already bought for gaming (love the 120Hz) – but they don’t have any cheap ones.
I really wish some store had these setup, so I could just look at it in person. That much ghosting really does look like a deal breaker for me, but without seeing it in real life, I suppose it’s hard to make a determination.
22 Bloody // Jan 28, 2010 at 18:45
The ghosting also depends on the level of depth you set. In the above photos I had deliberately set the depth to high level in order to have big separation between the two frames so that the difference is easier to see. Also have in mind that every person’s eyes perceive the ghosting differently and they tend to adapt and you can learn to ignore it easily, but the same cannot happen when you are taking pictures with a really good digital camera ;)
23 Quaritch // Jan 28, 2010 at 19:52
You mentioned that the monitor will be available in February.Is there an estimation about the exact date (Europe)?Some sites list mid-February, others late February.There was also a press release from Acer, which mentioned that the monitors are already being shipped to Europe (U.S.A /Asia Q1 2010).
Which graphics card would you recommend for 3D gaming?
24 Bloody // Jan 28, 2010 at 20:03
Well, in each country it kind of depends on the local Acer distributor to order it on time and have it delivered earlier or later… so by end of February it should be widely available I suppose, but this does not mean in whole Europe. As for the video card – the faster, the better… :)
25 Ritorix // Jan 28, 2010 at 23:35
Thanks for the great review. Its available on newegg as the GD235HZ, went ahead and ordered one. 120hz might get its foot in the door via the 3D hype, but I’m picking it up for gaming.
26 Mark Rejhon // Jan 29, 2010 at 06:52
The ghosting test (Tomb Raider) has exactly the same checkerboard subpixel pattern as LCD inversion — see Lagom’s inversion test at http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/inversion.php
From what I believe, there is lots of difficulty in designing LCD inversion algorihms that’s compatible with stereoscopic 3D without looking ugly.
I think it’s the monitor manufacturer that needs to improve this, not nVidia. (Unless the 3D glasses wasn’t perfectly synchronized to the IR emitter, which would minimize the interplay between LCD inversion frequency and the 3D glass shutter frequency)
27 Eynahsint // Jan 29, 2010 at 06:55
Ritorix is right, it’s on New Egg now, which is great. But if you do a search for GD235HZ it’ll have no results and will pull up completely unrelated USB sticks. However, if you do a search for Acer, then limit the search to LCD monitors you’ll find it. You can also try using the search-term “GD235HZbid” (no quotes) which works for me. It’s a mystery why GD235HZbid works but not GD235HZ. Anyway, New Egg is selling it for $399 with $17 standard shipping. Not too bad compared to the price of the 22″ 120hz first generation monitors.
28 Eynahsint // Jan 29, 2010 at 07:00
Update: You can now find it on Amazon for $399 with free shipping if you search for GD235HZ. It’s not marked as currently being in-stock yet, but I’ll probably buy it from Amazon since they have a better return policy if the monitor has dead pixels.
29 Dave G. // Jan 29, 2010 at 22:27
I ordered my Acer last night off of Newegg – they shipped it today. I’ll post a review of it on my website as soon as I get it and get a chance to tinker with it.
30 Jens // Jan 31, 2010 at 21:18
I have been using a samsung LE40A656 as a computer monitor the last 1½ year, and before that i had a Lacie Electron Blue IV 22″ CRT for 4-5 years, so it has been a while since i looked at the Monitor market, so i dont know if this question is rediculous or not but here goes.
I was kinda curious if you are able to adjust the backlight(dimming/illuminate) on the Acer GD245HQ, as you are on most new LCD TV’s.
ty in advance, and thanks for the most detailed review of this monitor so far.
31 Bloody // Feb 1, 2010 at 11:05
What do you mean by being able to adjust the backlight like on most new LCD TVs? The Acer has the typical brightness and contrast adjustments available for just about any computer display…
32 Jens // Feb 1, 2010 at 15:38
What i mean is, that you via the Menu on many LCD TV’s can turn down the level of light from the backlight. Just as turning down the light in your living room with a dimmerswitch. That way you get better black levels and in a dark room you can fully utilize the panels native contrast without straining your eyes.
33 Bloody // Feb 1, 2010 at 15:44
No, no such option is available…
34 CrystalCowboy // Feb 1, 2010 at 20:48
NewEgg must have sold out their first batch already, the GD235HZ is now listed as “Auto-Notify.” Same for Amazon.com, “Temporarily out of stock.”
I might wait for one of the competing LED-backlit models – if I don’t have to wait too long.
The Alienware OptX AW2310 is now listed on the nVidia 3D Vision list of supported displays.
35 CrystalCowboy // Feb 1, 2010 at 20:56
“Does anyone even have an idea of a CRT that can handle 1920×1200 resolution with 120Hz refresh… ;)”
No.
Big fast CRTs are very hard to find now; even if there was a model that could handle that spec, you might have to look for a used model.
They also pre-date the widescreen era.
The Sony GDM-FW900 will do 1920×1200@80.
36 chizow // Feb 2, 2010 at 00:10
Very nice preview, didn’t see it covered in the other comments but was wondering if the GD245HQ in your preview and the GD235HZ are infact the same model under different marketing names for different regions? The specs, bezel and most importantly, screen size seem to be identical between the models at 23.6″ VIS.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009222&cm_re=acer_23-_-24-009-222-_-Product
Also, nice job with the pics, the RGB ghosting and TN pixel shifting is really quite unacceptable imo. Thanks again.
37 Bloody // Feb 2, 2010 at 00:34
Yes, it is the same product with a different name for different regions…
38 park // Feb 3, 2010 at 04:51
what is Contrast ratio of pannel (not Dynamic)
samsung 2233rz is 1000
this model is ?
39 Bloody // Feb 3, 2010 at 10:37
Acer does not say it anywhere, only the dynamic value, but the colorimeter did measure around 900:1 real contrast ratio. So Most likely the official value should also be 1000:1.
40 MattM // Feb 4, 2010 at 21:54
Thanks for the review. I was wondering about image scaling. How does this monitor handle a 720p over HDMI input? Some PS3/X360 games don’t output at 1080P and I was considering the monitor as a tv/monitor replacement.
41 Eynahsint // Feb 5, 2010 at 03:19
Just got an alert from New Egg that this monitor is now in-stock. No word yet from Amazon about when they’ll get it.
42 Swifta // Feb 5, 2010 at 07:22
Just ordered mine earlier today… can’t wait to get this thing tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The ghosting seems to be almost gone! gotta love it!
43 Bloody // Feb 5, 2010 at 12:04
The Acer handles 720p over HDMI pretty well with good image quality and sharpness, so it should be Ok to be used with a console too. Still it is not the same as on the displays native resolution…
44 Marco // Feb 5, 2010 at 16:50
Any idea when this monitor is going to available in the UK? Cant wait to finally replace my 6 year old CRT
45 Bloody // Feb 5, 2010 at 17:05
Marco, it should start appearing any moment now… probably by the end of February should be widely available if the UK distributors ordered it on time. Overclockers.co.uk has it listed for quite some time now, but still on pre-order only…
46 Eynahsint // Feb 6, 2010 at 06:49
New Egg is out of these already. Still waiting on Amazon. I love Amazon’s no-questions-asked return policy whereas New Egg only accepts monitor returns if there are 8+ dead pixels, which I think is pretty ridiculous. I have to say though that I’m glad I stumbled upon this site when I did. I was literally a click away from ordering a Samsung 2233RZ (was at the Amazon payment page ready to click confirm order) when I found the 3d-vision blog, only to learn that the GD245HQ was coming out soon. Saved me a lot of a buyer’s remorse right there.
47 Eynahsint // Feb 6, 2010 at 17:58
Amazon’s status has changed to “Usually ships in 1 to 2 months”. Not sure if this means they got some in-stock but the demand exceeded the supply, or if they still haven’t gotten any in. I’ve noticed in the past on pre-orders if the item was due in on a certain day and it didn’t arrive that they’d change the status to something similar.
I’m just hoping it comes in stock next week, especially with New Egg already sold out of them.
48 Bloody // Feb 6, 2010 at 18:20
It seems that the demand for the Acer is too high and they probably did not anticipate that, although they should’ve been prepared.
49 Amiral Benson // Feb 9, 2010 at 22:15
Thanks Bloody for this great review, but can you tell me if the GD245HQ has an option to display without any upscalling (pixel for pixel with black borders arround) other lower resolution than 1920×1080p ?
My Samsung 2233RZ has this option, but it has never worked.
I’m asking this because I’m a weird guy who don’t like to see the BIOS and Windows boot screen with crappy LCD upscalling :P
I will buy it anyway, but I’d like to know.
50 Bloody // Feb 10, 2010 at 02:33
No, I don’t think the monitor has such option… but after booting up you should be able to control the scaling from the video drivers anyway.
51 Rhialto // Feb 10, 2010 at 22:57
Will you review the Alienware AW2310 also?
The Viewsonic V3D241WM-LED will also be interesting since it will be the 1st one with LEB backlighting.
@Amiral Benson: you,re not alone, I hate completly up/down scaling. That’s why I still use a CRT. I must admit I begin to be tempted to those 3D monitors now that they are Full HD. Or should I say now that those Full HD monitors are now 3D.
52 Amiral Benson // Feb 10, 2010 at 23:25
Thanks Bloody for the answer, and like Rhialto, I’d like to know if you have planned to test and write a review of the Alienware (strangely more expensive than the Acer), and also the new Viewsonic with its LED backlighting, but I think this one will be released only in late may or even june like the Asus 27″…
53 Hedges // Feb 12, 2010 at 02:53
I would like to see an input lag test with the Acer at native resolution, otherwise it’s near useless. You can’t make a conclusion about the input lag of a monitor when it’s scaling a non-native input…
54 Hedges // Feb 12, 2010 at 02:57
I forgot to add that I also found it rather odd that in your test, nearly all captures have the Acer behind by approx 16ms – which would indicate it’s either:
A) lagging a perfect 2 frames, albeit at non-native resolution
B) you are testing at 60hz… (60hz = frames are up for 16.6ms)
Please clarify, thanks.
55 Bloody // Feb 13, 2010 at 23:42
I probably won’t be able to test the Alienware as it is not available where I live, but for the new monitors from ViewSonic and the Acer I hope to be able to tray them when they become available in my region too.
The test was done with both displays running at 120Hz refresh rate with 1680×1050 resolution trough a DVI splitter cable. The Viewsonic was actually able to handle 1920×1080 at 120Hz with some visual artifacts and compressed image along with the Acer again with the DVI splitter cable. In terms of input lag the results shown were very similar, but then again this time the ViewSonic was not at its native resolution.
56 Jack // Feb 17, 2010 at 22:48
That input delay comparison is quite deceiving considering that you aren’t running the Acer in it’s native resolution, thus having it scale the image which requires time. Couldn’t you run them both at 1920×1080? (forced resolution on the Viewsonic, the picture wouldn’t be completely displayed but just move it into the viewable area to solve that.)
57 Jack // Feb 17, 2010 at 22:50
Please make a comparison to a 1920×1080 CRT if available
58 Bloody // Feb 17, 2010 at 23:27
Jack, I’ve done that with the non-native resolution for the ViewSonic and the results are pretty much the same as on the video above, but still both are not in their native resolution again… that is the best I can do at the moment as I also do not have a suitable CRT to compare with.
59 Paulie // Feb 22, 2010 at 20:10
I’m searching for a glossy screen…
Does this have a glossy screen ??
Thx
60 Hexagonal // Feb 25, 2010 at 18:36
Bloody, so with non-native resolution for the ViewSonic, the results are the same?
This means ViewSonic is faster even in its non-native resultion?
Does ViewSonic display higher time values when it is in non-native and Acer is in native resolution?
61 Bloody // Feb 25, 2010 at 19:09
Paulie, no it is not glossy for Acer or any of the other 120Hz monitors.
Yes, it seems that the Viewsonic is the faster even in nonnative resolution… I’ve head that the Alienware is with less input lag, but haven’t had the chance to confirm that.
62 Ritorix // Feb 26, 2010 at 22:01
Bloody,
Great tests. In comment 55 you said “In terms of input lag the results shown were very similar, but then again this time the ViewSonic was not at its native resolution.”
By very similar, do you mean at 1080p 120hz, the Viewsonic shows 0-16ms of lag compared to the Acer? Or that the Acer still lagged behind a now non-native Viewsonic?
63 Ritorix // Feb 26, 2010 at 22:05
Ah nevermind, just saw the above comment. Interesting results, they dont make much sense though. I wonder if running above spec causes the Viewsonic to not attempt to process back to 1680×1050, giving the same speeds as it does at native res but the visual artifacts too.
64 Dmitry // Mar 14, 2010 at 00:45
I bought GD245HQ – is amaizing!
VERY GOOD colors and angles!
I’m very satisfied, much better then expected.
65 Marco // Mar 18, 2010 at 13:27
This monitor is taking so long to come out in the UK its ridiculous :/
66 Pani // Mar 26, 2010 at 15:33
Does anyone know the difference between this screen and the Acer GD245HQbid? I couldn’t find anything on the net ;-(
67 saradhi // Apr 5, 2010 at 07:13
Does any one know about this Acer GD245HQ is compatible to UK’s SKY 3D TV? by connecting from Sky+HD box to this monitor through HDMI or DVI port?
68 Bloody // Apr 5, 2010 at 14:02
I suppose it is not compatible since Sky uses HDMI 1.4 spec for stereo 3D output over HDMI and the Acer does not recognize these formats neither over HDMI, nor or DVI…
69 saradhi // Apr 6, 2010 at 08:04
I found the info – The current NVIDIA 3D Vision-compatible cards pump out the necessary pixels over DisplayPort or dual DVI plugs, while the official spec for 3D TVs is an HDMI 1.4 plug that accepts data from both frames at once. We were in doubt there for a moment, but it turns out NVIDIA’s cards upgrade to 1.4 just fine, and all 3D Vision customers will be getting this as a free upgrade later this spring. NVIDIA will also be offering this 3DTV Play software in a standalone version for $40 to folks who don’t want to bother with NVIDIA’s 3D Vision stuff at all (with HDMI 1.4 you can just use the stereoscopic glasses that come with your fancy new 3D TV, no need for NVIDIA’s setup). NVIDIA is naturally hitting all the high points of the 1.4 spec, with 1080p24, 720p60 (the official gaming spec), and 720p50. The cards will also support 3D Blu-ray. So, just about time to splurge big on that home theater PC? We don’t know..
70 Saradhi // Apr 12, 2010 at 13:34
Guys,
I already check with Sky Customer services reg. Acer GD245HQ, this 120HZ monitor not compatible to Sky 3D. So problem solved. I hope Nvidia may come up with some solution or Acer to view Sky 3D.
Initially i thought i can use this 120HZ Acer GD245HQ to connect with Sky HD+ box to watch 3D, but it seems to be this Monitor is only Nvidia 3D ready.
Not sure what else they want?
These Electronic and Media manufacturer’s un-necessarily wasting resources by making each diff. format and customers are ending up with no option, they’ve to go for whenever new model arrived, why don’t they make standards and any 3D Ready should compatible to 3D?
71 Thomasjn // Apr 18, 2010 at 16:44
Hey guys.
I have a few questions about the whole “3D vision thing” that i really would like some help with.
First – Will the Acer GD235HZ be able to show the 3D effect while using its 1900×1080 resolution?
Second – Which cables is needed to transfere the data from the computer to the screen? (any diffrent options?)
Third – At the moment is seems as its only possible to view the 3D effect if you have the nVidia 3D vision pack, and one of nVidias graphics cards for your PC.
Would it be realistic to see AMD/ATI releasing a similar pack? or maybe get a pack from nVidia that can be used with a ATI graphics card?
And Fourth – how good craphics card do you need to be able to use the screen, with both 1900×1080 resolution and 3D vision?
At the moment i am using Ati’s “Radeon 5670 HD 1gb” graphics card.
72 Bloody // Apr 18, 2010 at 23:37
Thomasjn, the Acer works just fine with its native resolution of 1920×1080 (Full HD) and displays can display stereo 3D content in it without problems.
You need to use the Dual-Link DVI cable that comes with the monitor, unfortunately you cannot use the DSUB15 or HDMI to send stereo 3D content to the monitor with 3D Vision.
ATI has been working for some time with DDD and iZ3D (bot also supporting Nvidia hardware) and with Bit Cauldron for the shutter glasses. and combining these with a 120Hz displays like the Acer you should be able to enjoy stereo 3D on your ATI-based PC in a near future (probably). We are currently awaiting for a summer release, but there could as well be some additional delays in the availability of the complete ecosystem needed to provide the support for ATI.
In general for stereo 3D gaming, no matter what is the solution you go for, you need a powerful video cards so the middle-end GPUs are the minimum especially of you want to play in higher resolution and with higher details. For Full HD and maximum level of details however you should go for a high-end GPU… the 5670 you currently have for example is a bit slow for that.
73 Apothix // Apr 21, 2010 at 01:05
I am interested in going the 3D route. I currently have an ATI 4890 video card. I know I would have to upgrade my current videocard, I was planning on changing to a GTX470, buying a 3D monitor, and buying the glasses. Overall, its going to be a very expensive investment. Is it worth it ? Should I just wait and see what ATI’s got in store ? or will I most likely have to buy a new ATI card anyway when they finally jump onboard. Any advice you can give would really help. I was planning on video card shopping in the next day or so if it was a good to go investment.
74 Bloody // Apr 21, 2010 at 03:03
Well, if you still haven’t tried 3D Vision it would be best to go and see a demo somewhere where they have running, it is hard to describe you have to see it… but yes, the whole thing is worth it ;)
In theory with the iZ3D and the DDD software solutions you may be able to play games in stereo 3D even with the 4890 with the new shutter glasses. The only problem is when will ATI have all their partners ready with the required products to actually have a working solution. There are still quite a few things that are not very clear, so you better go for a working and already available solution than wait for the unknown.
75 Thomasjn // Apr 22, 2010 at 16:23
Thanks for the helpful answers Bloody =)
Seems like now its all about waiting for ATI, to release something simalir to nVidia’s 3D vision. = )
76 Apothix // Apr 23, 2010 at 13:47
Just waiting for the new GTX 470’s to become available and I’ll be buying my components.
77 crtfan // Apr 25, 2010 at 17:35
Thanks for the review, I’m looking for a 3d LCD screen but I’m afraid of the backlight bleed (my current lcd monitor is just awful)
I wanted to tell you that borderlands does have a “ghosting effect” in the game engine itself, I’m 100% sure it’s not screen related because I play fpses on a good old Sony G420 CRT monitor.
If you go talk to shep when he has nothing to say to you you’ll see him mov
78 Thomasjn // Apr 26, 2010 at 13:15
Hey guys.
Ive got one more question to ask.
The Acer Gd245Hq only got a single dvi port, but i was told the 3D vision required a dual DVI connection, how can you connect the monitor to the computer then?
79 Bloody // Apr 26, 2010 at 13:27
3D Vision requires Dual-Link DVI connection, not Dual DVI connectors. So on the Acer the DVI is a Dual-Link one and the cable you get with the monitor is too and that actually means that you have a cable and a connector that can utilize the full bandwidth of the DVI connection in order to drive Full HD content at 120Hz. With a Single-Link DVI connection you can get Full HD resolution, but only up to 60Hz…
80 Thomasjn // Apr 26, 2010 at 16:49
ah, okay
I understand it better now.
Thanks once again :)
81 aspire // May 8, 2010 at 10:10
It’s important to know the price range for these models.
82 Manuel // May 23, 2010 at 17:57
I go this monitor. If you want to use in 2d you need to turn off the overdrive. Why? just look the comparison pictures here:
http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=160941&st=80
the problem: if i turn off the overdrive, the automatic contrast will enable itself (even if the osd show it as disabled) everytime you turn off/on the monitor.
That means i need to enter the menu everytime, to go back to my contrast/brightness preset.
83 Troels Toft // May 23, 2010 at 22:31
Which monitor is better viewsonic or acer?
84 Zero123 // May 27, 2010 at 15:19
I have an LG FLATRON L1953HM. Is ACER GD245HQ better in every way, or do i lose something when i buy it?
85 Bloody // May 27, 2010 at 15:27
Troels Toft, it is hard to say… the both have their advantages and disadvantages, but if you want Full HD resolution then you should go for the Acer.
Zero123, should be better than the LG you have, but can’t say 100% sure as I haven’t tested that LG monitor…
86 Seph // May 30, 2010 at 10:05
I bought ACER GD24HQ but when I install the NVidia 3D driver it says my monitor is not 3D ready, what happened?
87 Bloody // May 30, 2010 at 13:15
Are you using the Dual Link DVI cable that came with the monitor?
88 myself11 // Jun 8, 2010 at 12:29
Hi!
First of all, congratulations for your blog and reviews.
FlatpanelsHD released yesterday a review on Alienware AW2310. In their forum, I asked about the input lag value.
Rasmus Larsen answered: “”We measured between 0-8 ms on Alienware AW2310 in our tests, so yes it is a bit faster.
Also, there’s a setting called response time (overdrive) in the menu. If you experience problems with input lag for some reason you can deactivate overdrive to reduce input lag even further. Our measuremnts were made with overdrive activated, however.”
Bloody, when you tested the Acer’s input lag, did you tryed with overdrive activated/desactivated?
Considering your results (Acer had 32 ms of input lag), the Alienware, IMO, is the best 120hz monitor available so far.
89 Bloody // Jun 8, 2010 at 13:25
I’ve tested with the Overdrive on, because in stereo 3D mode with the Overdrive disabled there is much more ghosting. Disabling Overdrive increases significantly the response time of the pixels, although it might lead to some decrease in the input lag… So there is another trade off even if you don’t play in stereo 3D, but prefer to use the monitor with 120Hz in 2D mode. I suppose that the Alienware also has significantly more ghosting with the OD disabled. I’ll try to measure the Input lag of the Acer with and without overdrive enabled, I’ll just need to get two monitors ;)
90 myself11 // Jun 8, 2010 at 13:34
Thank you for the quick answer. Alienware’s input lag was also measured with overdrive on, so no need to bother you more :)
I was going to buy the Acer, but its input lag is a big drawback. Your measures point to 32 ms…
The issue is Alienware BIG price and the fact that I have to buy it from Alienware.co.uk and than ask a friend to Portugal (from where I’m from).
91 Bloody // Jun 8, 2010 at 13:50
Alienware is also not available where I live, so that is why I haven’t been able to test it yet. BTW the average input lag on the Acer is about 15-16 milliseconds, not 32 ms and of course it varies from 0 to about 16 milliseconds, so it is not that much worse than on the Alienware it seems (can’t say for sure as I haven’t tested it personally and with my testing methodology).
92 myself11 // Jun 8, 2010 at 14:11
In you review, it had 16ms more than the Viewsonic, that’s why I figured out that it had 32ms.
93 myself11 // Jun 8, 2010 at 14:23
I’ve re-read your comparison between the Viewsonic and a CRT and you said that the Viewsonic had only 1 or 2 ms of delay in comparison to the CRT. So you’re right: Acer has0-16 ms of input lag.
I came to 32ms because in other reviews, Samsung 2233rz had 10-16 ms of input lag (16+16=32).
94 Bloody // Jun 8, 2010 at 14:33
It actually depends on how you compare the input lag, at first I did some tests with the two outputs of the video card in Clone mode, but after I got a DVI Splitter cable I confirmed that testing in Clone mode is not the most accurate way, so with DVI Splitter the results are more accurate…
95 Am0 // Jun 14, 2010 at 18:59
will a GTX275 be able to run 3D with the acer monitor?
96 Bloody // Jun 14, 2010 at 19:30
Yes, it will be able to run 3D, but you might have some trouble playing comfortable in stereo 3D with the more demanding games in high detail levels…
97 ClaesKent // Jun 14, 2010 at 20:36
Hello, Great review! I have read though all the comment and noticed that none ever asked about the 2d experiance, that other reviewers point out as a problem. When in windows there appears to be a halo around text, I show u to a link:
http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=160941&st=0
Is this anything your have experianced? Seems that all that got the screen has this, and it appears on the left side of the screen.
Thx for a very nice blog! Keep it up!
regards,
98 Manuel // Jun 20, 2010 at 11:54
to ClaesKent
2d esperience is horrible because oversharpness due of overdrive. Characters and icons have both white halo that makes hard working on 2d.
You can see a better picture that shows such problem in the same forum at page 5:
http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=160941&st=80
You can disable the overdrive via sevice menu and the halo disappears BUT then you get another problem: the monitor restart everytime with default brightness setting that is very bright! So everytime i turn on the monitor i have to go inside the menu and confirm my custom settings!
99 myself11 // Jun 24, 2010 at 13:43
I bought an Alienware AW2310. I’ve always had a 19″CRT, so I notice some minor blur, but the extra size, image sharpness and crispper colors make me glad that I took this step.
Regarding input lag, I’ve tested with clone mode and I was disappointed with the Alienware results. Then, remembering what Bloody said about the flaws of this method, I switched the dvi outputs in which each monitor was pluged in, and the Alienware had lesser input lag than the CRT. I guess this proves that clone mode is not a valid method.
100 arnoldschwartz // Jul 23, 2010 at 17:46
here’s an experiment to show that OVERDRIVE does not cause the DISPLAY SHARPNESS
enter service menu
switch OD to OFF
go to Reset, hit the 3rd button
the sharpness should go away, and brightness should increase
switch OD to ON
go to Reset, hit the 3rd button
the brightness should decrease, sharpness doesnt come back
exit service menu (but dont restart the monitor)
go to http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/sharpness.php
notice that there’s no oversharpening (the image is uniform gray when looked from distance, no blocks)
play a 3d game
notice that there’s no ghosting (OVERDRIVE IS ACTIVE)
101 Alan Kennedy // Jul 31, 2010 at 18:01
I came across this article whilst looking for reviews of the Acer 3D ready screen. I already have the Samsung 2233RZ in a 3D set up. BUT there is one big problem with these 120Hz monitors and Cyberlink dvd10 Ultra. They will not play back Blu- ray unless reset to 60 Hz. Samsung are aware of this but Cyberlink do not want to know albeit their Mark II patch was supposed to be the answer. I don’t suppose this monitor is HDCP compliant at 120Hz is it?
102 Bloody // Jul 31, 2010 at 22:08
You can play Blu-ray 3D movies on it fine, and for the Samsung you just need to use AnyDVD to avoid the issue… ;)
103 Alex // Aug 22, 2010 at 00:17
im curious to know how this would perform in comparison to my current moniter. I know my current moniter is a cheap piece of tat… its a CIBOX LE2262, will i see huge improvements over my current screen if i purchase this acer?
104 Bloody // Aug 22, 2010 at 14:56
Yes Alex, it should be better than your current LCD monitor and most likely not only because of the 120Hz mode and the option to use it for 3D content.
105 Alex // Aug 22, 2010 at 16:11
Thanks for the response bloody.
106 Alan Kennedy // Sep 2, 2010 at 17:33
I wrote previously on 31st July that the Samsung 2233RZ was not compatible in Blu-Ray with Cyberlink Power DVD 10 Ultra Mark II. You can get over this by using ‘anydvd’ software but the problem lies with the Samsung which is only Blu-Ray compliant at 6oHZ.
However the 2nd generation Acer 245HD which I am about to purchase is HDCP capable at 120Hz, the first of its kind as far as I know, and should resolve the Cyberlink Blu Ray play back. Cyberlink are keeping very quiet about this matter and refuse to acknowledge that the Samsung and Viewsonic models set at 120 Hz will not play Blu-Ray on 10 Ultra as neither monitor is HDCP compliant at that setting. Not helped by retail outlets who are only just beginning to realise that HDCP at 120 HZ is desirable as well as essential in some cases
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