The Acer Predator Z35P is the most ostentatious-looking screen in this Labs test. It sits on wide, angled legs, and the rear has a huge Predator logo, deep orange slats and lots of brushed metal.
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The stand, all slats and angled metal, looks like an extra from a Transformers film, and its 12.5kg weight makes it the heaviest monitor on test. Get beyond the loud looks, though, and you’ll find a specification that matches the similarly priced panels from HP and AOC.
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The Acer’s curved screen uses VA technology, and its 35in diagonal has a 3,440 x 1,440 resolution – the same as the HP and AOC screens. It supports Nvidia G-Sync too, which peaks at 120Hz thanks to an overclock option included in the OSD. It worked well, and the more conventional 100 Hz setting was flawless too.
Meanwhile, the screen tilts easily through 39 degrees, which is more than the HP and AOC monitors, and it swivels smoothly from left to right. There’s 110mm of height adjustment too, which is normal, but moving the panel up and down requires more force than the other adjustment options.
The Predator also matches its rivals with single HDMI and Display Port connections, and it goes beyond those products by offering four USB 3 ports. That’s handy, although they would be more helpfully positioned on the side of the chunky bezels, rather than around the back.
The OSD is controlled by five buttons located underneath the right-hand edge of the bottom bezel. On most monitors that’s fine, but here even tapping them causes the screen to wobble.
Get beyond that niggle, though, and the Acer has the best OSD on test, with neat quick-select options and a fast, responsive main menu that’s packed with options.
Out of the box, the Predator’s image quality was decent. Its brightness level of 252cd/m2 is good, even if it lags behind the H P and AOC panels. The black level of 0.12cd/m2 is better than both of those screens, though, and the contrast measurement of 2,100:1 is on a par with the competition. That brightness level might prove restrictive if you want to play under strong lights, but the contrast is better and arguably more important for gaming.
The colour temperature of 6.189K is chillier than the HP and AOC screens, though, which leaves some of the Predator’s colours looking a little washed out.
Nvidia G-Sync peaks at 120Hz thanks to an overclock option
And, while the delta E of 1.89 is good, it’s marginally behind the AOC. Meanwhile, the Acer’s sRGB coverage level of 99.3 per cent is solid, but doesn’t pull ahead of rivals.
The Predator returned solid uniformity results, however. The backlight deviated by 15 per cent in a couple of segments on the left and right-hand sides, but in most areas the panel lost less than 10 per cent of its backlight strength. That’s better than the AOC, which lost uniformity on both sides – and the HP, which had worse results along its right-hand edge.
We had no input lag issues either. The Predator” s average lag figure of 14.3ms is fine, and less than half a millisecond behind the AOC. The Acer also has two 9W speakers, giving it more audio power than any other screen on test. They’re certainly the loudest here, but quality is lacking: the top-end is tinny and there’s too much flat, bassy output. The AOC’s speakers are noticeably better.
Conclusion
Acer’s Predator Z35P is large, imposing and makes an impact, with the heaviest design and the beefiest speakers. Its image quality is good too, with better uniformity than the AOC. It also has more ports than any other screen on test, and good adjustment options.
The Acer Predator Z35P lags behind the AOC AGON AG352UCG6 in several key tests, though, which is why it slips into a close second place in this Labs test. If you like the PredatorZ35P’s feature set and looks, though, it still makes a fantastic alternative for a still reasonable price.
VERDICT
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SPECIFICATIONS
Panel type VA
Native resolution 3,440 x 1,440 Diagonal 35in
Maximum refresh rate 120Hz
Active sync Nvidia G-Sync
Display inputs 1 x HDMI 1.4, 1 x DisplayPort 1.2
Extras 2 x 9W speakers, 4 x USB 3 ports