Gaming Monitor Roundup 2014

Acer Predator GN246HLBbid Review

Manufacturer: Acer
UK price: £231.97 (inc VAT)

Specifications

• Screen size 24in
  
• Resolution 1,920 x 1,080
  
• Refresh rate 144Hz
  
• TFT-panel type TN
  
• 3D support Yes (active)
  
• Overdrive Yes (enabled by default)
  
• Inputs VGA, DVI, HDMI
  
• Audio HDMI audio out
  
• Extras None
  
• Dimensions (mm) 565 x 180 x 402 (W x D x H)
  
• Portrait mode No
  
• Weight 3.43kg
  
• Mount VESA 100mm

Acer is perhaps not the first name you’d associate with the demanding world of high-end gaming, but the brand has had a range of gaming desktops and peripherals for some years now. It has had some quite interesting screens too and this 24-inch Predator GN246HLBbid (henceforth GN246HL) certainly fits that tradition.

It is a bit more expensive in the UK than in continental Europe, where it’s one of the cheapest 120/144Hz screens money can buy. This is particularly interesting since it supports Nvidia’s 3D Vision hardware, though that’s a £150 extra. Here in the UK, it appears to be somewhat more expensive and that’s a pity because it’s clear that Acer cut some corners to save costs.

For example, the stand is not height-adjustable and a DisplayPort connector is absent, leaving you only dual-link DVI to enjoy the promised high frame rates. Of course VGA and HDMI are also present, but rather useless if you want to enjoy all that this screen has to offer.


The test results show some interesting strengths and weaknesses. Unsurprisingly, the colour temperature doesn’t begin to approach the desired 6,500K: it's over 1,000K too cool at 7,537K. However, the colour accuracy is surprisingly good, albeit grayscale tracking does leave something to be desired. At 821:1, the measured contrast is not the best, to put it mildly, and the overly high gamma values, which average at 2.61, do a bad job of hiding the poor saturation of deep blacks. However, out of the box, this is the fastest screen we tested, but that is also due to copious amounts of overdrive, which results in visible overshoot. Unfortunately, there is no way to adjust this setting in the GN246HL, which is a shame indeed. The power consumption is in line with most other models of the same size.

Were it priced below £200, and if it was possible to reduce the impact of the excessive overdrive, there would be something to be said for choosing Acer’s Predator GN246HL. At over £230 though, we can only recommend you look elsewhere.