Acer announced their Orion X last week alongside a few new gaming laptops. The Orion X is a gaming desktop tower that weighs 9kg though. That also means that unlike a gaming laptop, if you buy a Predator Orion X, you only get the tower without any other peripherals. For you to start gaming with the Orion X, you still need a keyboard, a mouse, and probably speakers or headphones. The most important thing to get with a gaming desktop is a big ol’ gaming monitor, and Acer has announced some of them too.
Acer Nitro XZ452CU V
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
This is a little bit of a curious thing for us. We have always known Acer’s Nitro brand as the sort of entry-level gaming brand for gamers looking for the best value in gaming gear without spending a fortune. They do not need the best of the best, just something they can work with the money they are willing to spend.
This one feel more premium than it should though. It does not offer Full HD resolution. Instead, it offers a rather premium QHD resolution. It is not just QHD 1440p either, it is a 44.5-inch ultrawide 1440p resolution display. You get 5,120 by 1,440 resolution at 32:9 aspect ratio for more real estate on your monitor. That means you get to see more in your game world. You are not getting some cheap display panel that runs slower than snail too. You are getting 165Hz from this monitor with AMD FreeSync Premium Pro for a fast, smooth gameplay that is free of screen tearing. Then there are the colours this thing offers. You get 90% in DCI-P3 of colour gamut coverage, meaning it offers a rather accurate and rich projection in terms of colours. It offers VESA certified DisplayHDR 400 rating meaning it offers up to 400 nits in brightness. That is not exactly bright, but in your gaming den, it still looks good. To keep your eyes from falling off, there is BlueLightShield Pro, Flickerless, Low-Dimming, and ComfyView technologies from Acer. It also has a KVM USB hub with a USB Type-C input for display, data, and even device charging all at the same time. It even has an RJ45 port if you want to hide your network cable.
All of these means you are getting a premium gaming experience. It is an Acer Nitro gaming device; therefore, we are expecting a rather small price tag as well. We think that the Nitro XZ452CU V could be the best valued premium gaming monitor you can buy when it is available. If you are looking for something more premium though, you can get your hands on something else, a Predator.
Predator X34 V
Source: Acer
As its name suggests, it is a smaller display at 34-inch compared to the 44.5-inch from the newly launched Nitro. It is still an ultra-wide panel, but just a little shorter than the Nitro. But it is a much nicer panel you get over the Nitro too.
Instead of a regular IPS, or run-of-the-mill VA panel, you get a brilliant looking OLED panel. The OLED panel offers 3,440 and 1,440 pixels to you at VESA DisplayHDR TrueBlack 400, thanks to the OLED technology. It also offers 99% coverage in DCI-P3 colour gamut for the most vivid colours and image you can get currently.
It is a Predator gaming monitor; you can expect it to be fast. The 1800R curved panel offers 175Hz in refresh rate and Grey-to-Grey response time is brought down to 0.1ms for the most responsive and smoothest gaming experience you can get from a monitor. It comes with AMD’s FreeSynch Premium and Variable Refresh Rate technology for not only a tear-free gaming experience, but a reduced power consumption to save on your electricity bill (not a lot, but savings are still savings). It also offers Acer’s suite of eye protection technology like BlueLightShield Pro, Flickerless, Low-Dimming, ComfyView, and EyeSafe 2.0.
Price and Availability
The Predator X34 V and Nitro XZ452CU V will both be available in the North American markets in the fourth quarter of 2023. We are expecting that Malaysia would get the new monitors just a little later than the North American markets. The larger Nitro XZ452CU V, to no one’s surprise, will start at US$ 999.99 (MYR 4,438*), cheaper than the Predator X34 V. The Predator X34 V starts at US$ 300 more than the Nitro at US$ 1,299.99 (MYR 5,769*). There are no official prices for Malaysia just yet. More on Acer’s new Nitro XZ452CU V and Predator X34 V can be found on their website.
*approximately based on the exchange rate of US$ 1 = MYR 4.44 as of 24/04/2023 on xe.com
Gaming is not cheap, that is a known fact. To own a decent smartphone that games well will cost you at least MYR 1,500 onward and up to MYR 7,000. Modern gaming consoles will set you back around MYR 2,500 these days too. Then you have gaming PCs; a decent gaming PC that can run games nicely at Full HD resolution will still set you back MYR 2,500 onward if you do not mind working with older hardware. You have not even factored in the price of games today.
You want to spend the bulk of your money on the hardware. You can save money on the games you play if you are patient. You can save up on peripherals too. Still, you want to make sure you get a decent gaming display, because they might make or break your gaming experience.
For gaming, you need a low response time, preferably anything below 5ms. You also want a fast refresh rate so that you can take advantage of the processing power of newer gaming set ups; you want at least 75Hz. But you also want excellent colours for that immersive quality; you want an IPS panel on the display at least. The reality is that displays that fit all the bill will usually set you back North of MYR 1,000.
What if we tell you that you do not need to spend that much for a gaming display that offers you everything we listed above? For MYR 549, you can get an Acer Nitro VG270 E gaming display.
It fits the bill for a basic gaming monitor. You get 1ms response time and it offers 100Hz refresh rate, fast enough. You also get an IPS panel pushing more than 16 million colours to you.
At that price though, what are you giving up? What is the caveat? Is this worth your hard-earned money? We dive in and find out.
Design
The Acer Nitro VG270 E looks like those generic displays you can find in the stores. It is slightly thicker than most displays of its size but not unreasonably thick. The thickness is necessary for some cooling solutions, we think.
It also features ultra-thin bezels. There is also a 75 x 75 VESA mounting out the back. That means you can ditch the small monitor stand that comes with the display. Oh yes, the tiny monitor stand that it comes with can be assembled and disassembled without tools. The small stand has some red and gloss black highlights that indicates “gaming”.
There are no RGB modules or attachments here. It does not come with an RGB outlet too. It is a basic gaming monitor after all, a cost-efficient one at that. Even the stand it comes with is a standard monitor stand without height adjustments, and limited tilt adjustment. There is a hole that we think could be used for some cable management on the stand, but only if you do not mind sticking the base out the back of your desk.
There is a large Acer logo on the top left right of the monitor’s backplate just above the cooling vents. There is another Acer logo on the bottom lip of the display up front to let you know that it is not a Predator product. Out the back, in the middle of the backplate framed by the VESA mounting points is a kind of logo in the shape of a ‘V’. We presume that it is a sort of ‘V’ for VG0 series or something like that. That logo gets covered if you use a VESA mounting, yes.
Hardware
As mentioned, you get an IPS panel for this display. The IPS panel only offers Full HD resolution. Full HD is quite enough for most games and means you do not need top-of-the-line hardware to get it running.
TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light Acer Eyecare (blue light filter)
Miscellaneous
1x HDMI 1.4 1x DP 1.2 AMD Freesync VESA compatible
Features
At MYR 549, you may want to also adjust your expectations with the monitor. If you read through the spec sheet too, the monitor is pretty bare. Still, that does not mean that there are no good qualities to the Acer VG270 E.
AUX Out? Nope. Speakers then? Nope. No Problem
One of the sacrifices comes in the form of your audio. The monitor does not feature built-in speakers. There is no audio passthrough as well to get your audio out from the monitor. That means that you do not get an AUX output port on the monitor.
That is not such a bad thing though. You might as well spend the extra money you saved on the monitor on better quality headphones or Bluetooth speakers. An external speaker or headphones will always produce better sound than most built-in speakers even on modern displays.
HDMI in, DP in
HDMI input should always be expected on modern displays. It is not an HDMI 2.1 port, but it does not matter. HDMI 2.1 ports are usualy required for resolutions above 4K or even to drive higher framerates on 4K displays. In this case, you are only getting Full HD resolution at 100Hz. An HDMI 1.4 port is way more than enough to handle the demands of the display panel.
What could be more significant is the fact that the Nitro VG270 E packs a DisplayPort 1.2 (DP1.2) inlet. Most modern GPUs come with one HDMI port and multiple DP out ports. That is because DP chords allow for a higher data transmission between two hardware. On this display, it is really made just so that newer GPUs with less HDMI ports can take advantage of the Nitro monitor.
AMD FreeSync
AMD’s FreeSync is like NVIDIA’s G-SYNC technology in preventing screen tearing in high fps situations. While NVIDIA’s G-SYNC technology has some exclusive technologies behind it, you may not notice too much difference in its final implementation. You are still getting a sort of tear-free gaming experience with AMD’s FreeSync.
For us, we tested the display with F1 2022 to really push the frame rates of the display. We hardly notice any tearing on the display with V-Sync off. At the same time, screen-tearing on Full HD is mostly an issue of the past. Most hardware made in the last five years or so can easily handle gaming at Full HD resolution at 144Hz without too much of a tearing issue.
Look at Those Colours on This IPS Panel
A 27-inch IPS panel at this price point is quite unheard of. In fact, we thought it would be impossible to fit an IPS display on displays at less than MYR 800 price point. Acer has proved us wrong this time with the VG270 E.
This means that the VG270 E offers a much better experience compared to any displays in its price range. IPS panel also means that you get a fast, smooth display with excellent contrasts and colour depth. It is not the most premium IPS display, since you can only push about 300nits out of it. When you game though, the 300 nits brightness should not matter much. The sRGB colour calibrated display offers vivid and rich colours on your images.
This feature alone makes the display feel more expensive than it is. At the same time, when you look at the display, you know that your money is spent in all the right places. You really are better off spending the money you saved on much better audio gear.
Performance
Like we said, your MYR 549 is spent on features that matter. The bulk of it goes to the panel itself. Better panel means you get better gaming and display experience.
100Hz + 1ms – Fast Enough
To be fair, the sweet spot for refresh rates on gaming displays these days is in the region of 144Hz. You see high-end eSports displays too going at up to 360Hz. 240Hz displays are also becoming more popular these days.
In most cases, 100Hz is more than enough for casual gamers. You still get a smooth gaming experience if your hardware can drive it. If you are playing AAA titles you might not even be getting anything beyond 90fps unless you push the graphics settings down.
There are faster responding displays too. You can get a Predator gaming monitor that responds at 0.1ms (grey-to-grey), if you really want. 1ms is still plenty fast enough for even competitive titles like Counterstrike: Global Offensive (CS: GO), F1 2022, and even Assetto Corsa. There is a small caveat here, you only get 1ms response time if you activate the display’s Visual Response Boost. For that, you want to access the monitor’s OSD settings and put the display in extreme overdrive. It makes the display dimmer, but the display is not that bright in the first place at 300nits.
Gaming with IPS at Full HD
Gaming in Full HD at 27-inch is not as bad as it sounds. We tested the monitor with games like F1 2022, Hot Wheels Unleashed, and Red Dead Redemption. Only Hot Wheels Unleashed hit 100 fps in our test with a 2022 Predator Helios 300 packing an Intel Core i7-12700H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060. F1 2022 averages about 35-40fps while Red Dead Redemption was nicely running at 60fps. All in all, all the titles play well with the monitor and are within the monitor’s capabilities. All the games look excellent on the display, the images look sharp and immersive enough to work with. Most of them are also running High to Ultra graphics settings, which is good news to those who has budget set-ups with entry-level GPUs.
The colours reproduction from the Nitro monitor is better than we expected. F1 2022 looks vibrant and alive with the IPS panel. Hot Wheels Unleached looks colourful and rich even when you get racy. Red Dead Redemption, at 60fps, Red Dead Redemption feels immersive and beautiful.
We chose these games instead of the usual CS:GO and DOTA 2 because we also wanted to show that even budget set-ups can run AAA games at Ultra or High graphics smoothly. It is one of the biggest benefits of choosing Full HD resolution over 2K. Of course, Full HD resolution only works up to a certain size, anything bigger than 27-inch might warrant 2K resolution to fully enjoy.
If you prefer console gaming owning a PlayStation 4 or the PlayStation 4 Pro is more than enough with the Nitro monitor. You will be able to enjoy all your games at Full HD at up to 60fps in this case without a fuss.
For the Movie Buffs
Thanks to the richness and accuracy of the IPS panel, videos look great too. Netflix and Amazon Prime app will natively support the Full HD resolution and stream at Full HD. Full HD videos require less data to stream. That also means that you get a smoother stream even at lower internet speeds. Drive to Survive on Netflix still looks detailed, immersive, and rich on the Nitro display.
There is a small trade off with the price tag though. The Nitro VG270 E does not with speakers. While your PC might recognize the HDMI device and try to push audio through the monitor, you might want to get into your audio settings and push the audio back through your laptop’s speakers, your external speakers, or even headphones.
For Your Work
We must stress that the display is not meant for colour grading. Even with the IPS panel, the Nitro is not calibrated enough for colour grading work. You can spend your own money and time to get it closer to sRGB standards though. Still, 27-inch is great for video workflows. While you may not be able to get colour grading works done, there is still plenty of real estate to scrub through your videos and work with other tools on your video editing app.
We work with a lot of Microsoft Word documents since we do a lot of write ups. In that sense, the monitor can offer some good eye protection, since you might be staring at the display a lot. The display itself offers a hardware coded blue-light filter that you can access from the OSD settings. In some sense, it is a better blue-light filter than what Windows can offer you natively, but that also means that your display turns more yellow. It works though, we feel like we can effectively look at the display for hours without feeling strained.
The Nitro VG270 E – That All-in-One, All-You-Want Monitor at a Budget
It does not have 144Hz refresh rate. It does not even come in the ideal 2K QHD resolution at that. It does not even have built-in speakers. There is no audio processor or passthrough as well on the monitor, you only get three old format ports on the monitor – a power inlet, HDMI 1.4 inlet, and a DisplayPort 1.2 inlet.
100Hz is better than 60Hz and 75Hz and is enough for competitive gaming. At Full HD, you require less power from your hardware. That also means you can save even more money on your gaming set-up. The money you saved buying this monitor can also be better spent for a better audio solution for more immersive gaming or even entertainment purposes. You do not need DP 1.4 or HDMI 2.0 as well, you are only projecting at Full HD and up to 100Hz. A DP cable is also included with the purchase, so your modern GPUs still can work with the monitor.
At its price point of MYR 549, you get everything you need. You get an IPS panel too at that. In that sense, there is almost no competition to the gaming monitor that is the Nitro VG270 E at this price point.
It is not a perfect gaming monitor. For that, you want to look at Acer’s own Predator gaming monitor line-up. If you have even more money to spend, you also might look at what other brands like ASUS ROG, Samsung, and even LG is offering in that space. At the same time, if budget is not an issue and you have a set-up with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 at the very least, this should not even land in your radar. It will still make a rather nifty and cheap secondary monitor for your chats and other windows.
For a budget set-up, with a mid-range gaming PC set-up with something like an older NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970, and Intel’s 8th Generation Processors, this is a perfect set-up. Even for more modern set-up with at least the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20 series GPU and Intel’s 19th Generation processor, this is right up your field in terms of modern gaming. Like we said, the money you saved on your monitor can be spent on a decent headphones. You can buy something like a Sony WH-CH720N headphones that we are reviewing for your set-up, for example. Trust us, you are going to be more than happy with this kind of set-up.
realme is bringing the realme 10 Pro+ 5G to Malaysian shores starting the 8th of December 2022. The device promises flagship-level features at an affordable price and a new 120Hz curved display.
The 120Hz curved display is a highlight of the realme 10+ Pro 5G
120Hz curved display that’s easy on the eyes
Announced on November 17th, the realme 10 Pro+ 5G embodies the “dare to leap” spirit with its innovative curved display. On top of the 120Hz refresh rate, the curved OLED display is Malaysia’s first to come with the Rheinland Flicker Free Certificate. It is capable of 2,160Hz PWM dimming for industry-leading eye protection. This is almost two times better than the IEEE International Lighting Standard of 1,250Hz.
realme has introduced Hypervision mode to further elevate the visuals on display. It provides video quality enhancement to allow better contrast, colour reproduction and dynamic range. To accentuate the display, the device also has the narrowest bottom bezel of any curved smartphones.
Pre-order the realme 10 Pro+ 5G now to enjoy promotions
In preparation for the upcoming Malaysian launch, pre-orders are now open with special promotions. By pre-ordering at realme Malaysia’s Official Brand Stores and Authorised Dealers, win prizes worth up to RM2,999 with a Scratch and Win card. Every pre-order also includes a realme Band 2 and Extended warranty up to 2 years.
Whenever manufacturers shout about their new monitor products recently, it is always about gaming and their new monitors are made for them. Products made for the creative professionals and productivity are not hard to find. They just rarely get attention these days. Manufacturers tend to quietly add new monitors to their line-up because of that.
LG’s new monitor deserves attention though. Not it is not some breakthrough thoroughbred with some exclusive display tuning that makes it the brightest most clear display on the market. Technically, there is nothing new about the monitor. The display panel is the same type as most displays out in the market currently. There is something different about this monitor though; it is shaped rather differently from other monitors you can find in the market.
No, it is not a round display, nor is it a pentagonal shaped monitor. There are still four sides to make it a rectangle, just not the regular display rectangle. It boasts an aspect ratio of 16:18, which also means that it is a tall display, and it is almost square-ish in shape.
Source: LG
If you think about it, the display size is really a combination of two 16:9 displays stacked on top of each other. This form factor also eliminates the bottom bezel of the top display when you stack it up. The design is not without its reasons though.
The expansive LG DualUp Monitor Ergo display comes with LG’s Nano IPS panel that should offer vibrant colours and excellent contrast ratio. Important when you are going to be using it most of the day for work. The panel boasts dual QHD resolution (2,560 x 2,880) for good measure too. In that sense, movies should look excellent on it, save for the two very large black bars you will get when you watch movies on the display the size of two 21.5-inch displays stacked on top of one another.
Source: LG
The design of the DualUp Monitor Ergo is such to save as much desk real estate as possible. It is also the most ergonomic way of working with two displays, since you do not really have to turn your neck or body around to read through your documents or scroll through emails. At the same time, you get more real estate for your documents, which is always nice. On top of that, to reduce the strain on your neck even more, the LG DualUp Monitor Ergo comes with LG’s Ergo Stand that mounts and clamps directly on the table for not just more desk real estate. It also allows you to swivel and position your display in any configuration you prefer or can think of.
The LG DualUp Monitor Ergo comes with HDMI and DisplayPort inputs. It also packs USB Type-C thunderbolt and display port for an added versatility for the modern thin-and-light laptops. There is also USB 3.0 ports for you to work with. You can even rely on its two 7W built-in speakers with WavesMaxxAudio to enjoy music.
To protect your eyes, the LG DualUp Monitor Ergo comes with built-in ambient LightSensor to automatically adjust the display’s brightness accordingly. Live Color Low Blue Light also ensures that blue light emissions are reduced. To allow for a more flexible working environment, the monitor also packs a Picture-by-Picture mode to divide your area of work on the display real estate.
Source: LG
Source: LG
Source: LG
Source: LG
The LG DualUp Monitor Ergo is now available via LG’ authorized retailers nationwide or their online stores on Shopee and Lazada. It will set you back MYR 2,948, which is still considered rather premium. You are getting LG’s Ergo Stand though, and you are investing in an ergonomic set up for long term use case. For more information on the LG DualUp Monitor Ergo display, you can check out LG’s website.
Choosing the right display for your set-up is rather important. You do not want to be spending a lot of money on your tower and forget buying other peripherals. While you can cheap out a little on audio peripherals in most cases, you do not really want to cheap out on your display. Your display is technically the window to your PC, and it is the thing that meets your eye every time you turn on your PC.
The MOBIUZ EX2710U and EX3210U 4K Gaming Monitors with HDRi and Eye Care Technology
Source: BenQ
Source: BenQ
Source: BenQ
Source: BenQ
Source: BenQ
Source: BenQ
Source: BenQ
If you want to get the best of the bets gaming displays, you want something with 4K resolution. At that, you also want a rather fast display. The new MOBIUZ EX series for 2022 are two 4K gaming monitors with up to 144Hz in refresh rate. The IPS panel used on the displays also boast up to 98% in DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage.
Both displays come with HDMI 2.1 support, you want that especially when you want to push 4K 144Hz to your display. As per the title, the MOBIOUS EX2710U and EX3210U also features BenQ’s patented HDRi technology for better colour reproduction and contrasts. At the same time, there is the Brightness Intelligence technology that adjusts the screen’s brightness according to ambient lighting conditions to protect your eyes, especially in low-light gaming conditions.
On top of all of that though the MOBIUZ EX monitors also feature 2.1 channel audio system they call the TreVolo Speaker system. This also means that you might not need to buy a secondary speaker at all to get decent audio. To really differentiate itself from other older models, it even comes in white colour. The only difference between the two models is their screen sizes at 27-inch and 32-inch respectively. Of course, price differs too.
BenQ Eye Care GW2485TC and GWS2785TC Productivity Monitors
Source: BenQ
Source: BenQ
Source: BenQ
Source: BenQ
Source: BenQ
Source: BenQ
Source: BenQ
Source: BenQ
You might already have a home office with a proper work-from-home corner. Since the pandemic hit early in 2020, most of us had to shift our work patterns and get used to working from home. We must have a proper work from home set-up going. But that was nearly two years ago now. You would have to grab whatever you can get your hands on and put together a working set-up. It is 2022 and you might be due for an upgrade.
In that case you need something that can ultimately protect your eyes in extended working condition. The BenQ GW2485TC and GW2785TC monitors do not boast 4K resolutions. They boast a rather humble Full HD 1080p resolution. Full HD 1080p is still more than enough to enjoy the likes of Netflix though.
What makes these monitors perfect for your work-from-home set-up though is BenQ’s clever Brightness Intelligence technology. The technology uses an ambient light sensor to adjust what you see on the monitor. It does not only detect the brightness level of your room or work area. It also detects the contrast levels of the images to be displayed on the display. The display will automatically and cleverly reduce or increase overall brightness and even optimise dark parts so that you can see enough details on it without compromising the brightness levels of the entire display.
The clever display also has a flicker-free technology that reduces or eliminates flicker across all brightness levels available to the display. Of course, to ensure that you can keep working on the displays in extended periods, the displays are made with lower than regular blue light emissions. The downside to that is the slight warm tinge you might find on the display.
Other features that should boost your productivity levels is the Daisy Chain feature that allows you to create a multi-screen set-up with just a single USB Type-C connection from your PC. Once you plug in the USB Type-C cable too, your thin-and-light notebook can also simultaneously be charged at 60W PD from the monitors. It is also designed with ease of use and flexibility in mind, so you can tilt the display into any orientation for your convenience. There is also a built-in mic paired with two 2W speakers on both the display models for you to work with in a video call environment.
Of course, as per their name, they come in different sizes. The GW2485TC comes with a 24-inch IPS panel with 75Hz refresh rate. The GW2785TC also comes in an IPS panel that measures in at 27-inch instead of a measly 24-inch. It also refreshes at 75Hz.
Price and Availability
The BenQ MOBIUZ EX2710U will be available a little later in the year. There is no official pricing for the 27-incher currently too. The BenQ MOBIUZ EX3210U is now available on BenQ’s official Shoppe or Lazada stores at MYR 4,868. The new BenQ GW2485TC is now available also on their official store on Shopee and Lazada at MYR 1,149. For another MYR 100, you can get your hands on the larger GW2785TC monitor at MYR 1,249 on both Shopee and Lazada. For more information on the recently launched BenQ monitors, you can go to their website.
When you start with a PC build, there are a few essential things you need. You usually think of the spec of your build first, what hardware you want in your PC. How much CPU and GPU power you need also determines the kind of power supply you get for your PC.
Building a PC though is not just about getting the best CPU and GPU in your build. You need to think about your entire set-up from the ground up. Sometimes its better to start at what you can afford or the sort of performance you aim for. That usually starts from the things that you put on your table, your monitor and speakers.
People tend to forget that the display is a big part of their set up. Your display can sometimes dictate an entire build. If you are working with a budget, it realistically determines how much you have left to spend on your desktop tower PC and other peripherals. If you are going for a high-end build, your display determines how much you want to spend for your desktop PC.
How do you choose the right displays for yourself? That is a tough question. That question is made even tougher with Acer’s new offerings to the market.
Acer’s no compromise gaming set-up always has one name attached to their device – Predator. You know it gets serious when you see the Predator branding on any device. In this case, you cannot get any more serious than the Predator X28.
As its name suggests, it is a 28-inch display. What its name did not suggest was the power contained within the 28-inch IPS panel. It packs 4K UHD resolution to take full advantage of NVIDIA’s new GeForce RTX 3090 Ti GPU. If you already have the RTX 3090, you can still benefit from it.
It even refreshes at up to 152Hz (overclocked) with ultra-low response times at 0.2ms (G-to-G), important for esports titles and even racing simulators. With NVIDIA’s G-Sync compatibility, screen tearing is a thing that you have only heard of. For the most realistic and immersive experience, the display offers up to 90% of DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage with Delta E <2. While DisplayHDR 400 does not sound like much, it should still mean that gamers still get a stellar graphics experience from the display.
The “Do Everything” QHD Build – Acer Nitro EI322QURP
It is a 31.5-inch curved display, larger than the Predator X28. The curved VA panel offers QHD 1440p in resolution with up to 165Hz in refresh rate, for fast gaming response. This will be perfect for builds with NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3070 or anything equivalent.
It is not a compromised gaming build still though with 1ms of response time on offer. With AMD’s Radeon FreeSync 2 technology on offer, you still can game tear-free too. There is also one thing that it does better compared to the high-end Predator display: its colour accuracy. At 93% coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut and DisplayHDR 400 rating, games are more immersive than ever on this large-format display.
The Budget Gamer Full HD Build – Acer Nitro XZ306CX
What if you only have the money to work with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 or equivalent builds? To take full advantage of it, you might want to prioritise higher frame rates than resolution. In that case, Full HD will be more than enough to work with.
The Acer Nitro XZ306CX offers up to 200Hz in refresh rate for ultra-smooth gaming experience, 1ms response time for ultra-quick reaction times; important in esports titles like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO). At 29.5-inch as well, you get to immerse yourself into the world that is the game in front of you. It is an Ultrawide display too, so you get to see a little more than your usual display.
Like its higher resolution Nitro brother, it also offers up to 93% in DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage. DisplayHDR 400 ensures that you get all the details from dark to light. It also offers AMD Radeon FreeSync 2 for a tear-free gaming experience you can expect from any good gaming monitors.
Gaming might not be your thing. You might not even be considering getting a gaming PC for your build. You just want a versatile laptop that you can rely on and bring anywhere you need it to work. You just want a simple PC that you can use for all sorts of things other than gaming. In that case, you just want a bigger display at a reasonable price you can plug into at home.
For that, the Acer CB292CU is perfect. It is an ultra-wide Full HD display that offers up to 2,560 by 1,080 in resolution. The extra display real estate allows you to have more windows on display as well without making the display feel cramped and small. At 29-inch, you will not feel as if you have a small display too.
The 21:9 aspect ratio is quite perfect for most films eliminating the top and bottom black bars in most cinematic formats. Sure, YouTube videos might suffer a little with 16:9 aspect ratio, but it just means you can have a little bit of a multitasking set up with a wider display. You can be sure to also enjoy your films or just lightly edit videos on the display with up to 99% sRGB colour gamut coverage, if you need to. Accurate colours is always an enjoyable feature on any display.
Price and Availability
All the products mentioned are now available for purchase from all authorized Acer stores and retailers. Of course, you can get them from Acer’s official online stores as well, including their own online store, Shopee, and Lazada. The Predator X28 will set you back MYR 3,699. The Acer Nitro EI322QURP and Nitro XZ306CX with set you back MYR 1,299 each. The more budget option Acer CB292CU will set you back MYR 899.
The
PC that we know today has evolved leaps and bounds from the old days.
These days, while PC towers are still around, and you can buy a decent
one for less than MYR 2,000, portable PCs are kings. They offer
unrivalled portability and yet still offer you the power to work like
you have never left the office, or your desk. Powerful enough notebook
PCs are even able to allow you to not only work on graphic heavy
applications, they allow you to play games at a level of immersion that
has never been seen before. They are as powerful as your desktop tower
PC at home.
Still, there are some limitations to a notebook PC. The keyboard for one, you cannot change that, and most will never get the benefit of mechanical keyboards, thanks to the bulk in most mechanical keyboard designs. So you end up with less-than-stellar keyboard most of the time. Then there is cooling. A notebook PC will always have the same cooling issues because you try to fit powerful, aluminium melting processors into a space that is not even big enough for your pinky to fit into. Of course, there are going to be heat management problems. Of course, technology have negated those issues and caught the notebook PCs up to the traditional desktop towers.
There
is however, one problem that can hardly be solved when it comes to
notebook PCs – display, or should I say; displays. There is only one
display on a notebook PC, and you cannot upgrade it once you get one. On
a desktop tower, you can choose to get one large display, or two, or
three, or four; depending on your budget and set up requirements. On a
notebook PC you only can have one, thanks to the size. Or is it?
Not according to ASUS though. This is the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo, a dual-display wieldinng
piece of hunk that you call a notebook PC. It has two displays and
still folds the same way any notebook PC does. No this is not some kind
of an e-ink display paired to a normal display like the Lenovo YogaBook
C930. This is a proper coloured LCD display that you get alongside a 4K
resolution OLED display. It is not a concept like the Razer that we saw
a few years ago too. It is real, and it is in our hands. Is it any good
though? Should you spend your money on this? Oh wait, we have not told
you how much it is just yet.
Design
On
the outside, it looks just like any other notebook PC. It is none of
those super slim, super light notebook PC though. It is a properly heavy
notebook PC packing some metal in its sculpted body. Well, then again,
its body is made up of metal as well.
There
is plenty aluminium everywhere, not a lot of plastic; very unlike any
other ASUS notebook PCs that we are used to. While using plastic sounds
cheap, the ones on most ASUS notebook PCs I know are quite high in
quality. The benefit of weight is also a good encouragement for the use
of plastics.
Of course, aluminium and other metal materials are more premium. That is exactly the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo, premium in both feel and build. The downside to that is weight, but you are going to want this to sit on your desk most of the time anyway, it weighs 2.5kg; reminds you of the old days of notebook PCs no?
Still, the ZenBook Pro Duo looks unique. In line with ASUS Anniversary design language, the ZenBook Pro Duo looks sharp, with acute angles and powerful lines. You have the iconic brushed aluminium on the top clam, and multiple grilles on the sides and the edges to cool the rig. It looks, cool in that its metallic blue finish. It looks like a spaceship; otherworldly. It looks cool.
To
be fair though, this is a hate it or love it design. At first, I was
struggling to like the look of the odd notebook PC. It is aggressive in
looks, and if I am being honest, I like more flowy designs with softer
lines. Still, it grew on me.
Open
it up and you see the dual displays. The regular display is a beautiful
OLED, glossing in your eyes. Look down and you see another LCD display
that is put right above the keyboard, a familiar layout (ehem Zephyrus ehem). Oh, and there is an LED outlet too at the bottom part of the clam, under the keyboard. That is strangely cool.
Because typing on this kind of layout can be awkward, there is a palm rest included in the box of the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo, which extends the bottom part of the notebook PC a little bit. No, it is not aluminium just like the rest of the PC, it is plastic constructed with some faux leather top and rubberised strips for better grip on the table and comfortable typing. There is a prism thing going on in the palm rest too reflecting the LED below the keyboard. It glows green when the PC is fully charged, and red while charging. Pretty cool if you ask me.
Unlike the ASUS notebook PCs of the previous generation, you do not get an indented display hinge. It is now a completely seamless hinge that goes from one end to the other end. It does make the notebook PC look cleaner than before. But there is another reason for this completely streamlined hinge. The display part of the notebook PC also acts like the stand to angle the notebook the PC’s bottom part. The benefit of that is the better ergonomics on your keyboard. The downside is cooling because the vents at the back is now pointing to the display. The ZenBook Pro Duo’s cooling though is on the sides, so your main display is not going to be overheated.
Hardware
The premium ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo is built with aluminium mostly, not as cold and heavy as steel but still very sturdy and high quality. That aluminium build, that we may not be very used to on an ASUS notebook PC, while makes it 2.5kg heavy, makes it a little more special. Yes, it has two displays.
To power two displays though you need some real processing ang GPU power. That is the 9th
Generation Intel Core i7 you find under the hood. That processor is
also paired to a NVIDIA GeForce RTX2060 for good measure. Yes, they
could have gone for an RTX 2080, but that would bring the cost up and
complicate the whole heat management issue. Remember, they have to deal
with dissipating heat from the other display too.
Specifications
ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo UX581GV
As Tested
Processor (clock)
9th Generation Intel Core i7-9750H (2.6GHz ~ up to 4.5GHz)
GPU
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (6GB DDR6 VRAM)
Display(s)
Primary 15.6-inch OLED 4K (3840 x 2160) touch sensitive 100% DCI-P3 Secondary (ScreenPad+) 14-inch 4K (3840 x 1100) touch sensitive
Memory
1TB NVME M.2 SSD 32GB 2666MHz DDR4 RAM
Networking and Connections
1 x Thunderbolt™ 3 USB-C™ (up to 40Gbps and DisplayPort) 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A (up to 10Gbps) 1 x Standard HDMI 2.0 1 x Audio combo jack Intel Wi-Fi 6 with Gig+ performance (802.11ax) Bluetooth 5.0
Battery
71Wh 8-cell Li-Polymer
Operating System
Windows 10 Home
Miscellaneous
ASUS SonicMaster Audio with Harman Kardon Certification Detachable Palm Rest Detachable Laptop Stand ASUS Pen
Features
Its good looks are not all show, no go. This thing packs plenty of tasteful goodies. For starters you see the dual displays.
Doubling Down
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo, true to its name, packs two displays. One is a full 15.6-inch display with 4K resolution on board. The other is also 4K in resolution, in width anyway. In height, it is half the size of the 15.6-inch display. It is not the same OLED panel as the main 15-incher display too. It is an LCD panel amd we are guessing that the decision to go LCD was also because of cost. An OLED panel would have made sense though with its minimal heat production and accurate colour reproduction. It would have added quite a little bit to the cost, yes.
Still,
dual displays built into a notebook PC; not the first time we see it
but it is the first that is commercially available. The first we saw of
this was a prototype that came from Razer a few years ago. While that
was an interesting concept, it was not viable mainly because of its
massive weight and estimated cost. It was stolen as well, a day or two
after it was displayed on the biggest electronics show floor.
So,
this the first commercially available and viable dual display notebook
PC for the market. It will still set you back more than MYR10,000 and
that is still a lot of money to be fair. But hey, where eles can you find a notebook with two displays built into it.
The
LCD display on top of the keyboard is mostly used as a control panel
for whatever applications you might think of. Things like Adobe’s
Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and what not can support a
multi-window workflow and the dual display surely benefits users from
that. For example, you can control your timelines and what not on Adobe
Premiere Pro on your secondary display. That way, your preview panel can
be bigger and fuller. I would still be recommending anyone to downscale the preview to half the resolution if they are planning to edit 4K videos though for smoother workflow.
For
gaming, we hardly see the point. But other form of entertainment like
movies, or Spotify, or YouTube, maybe. For Spotify especially, you can
just leave the Spotify window to open on the secondary display and
control music on the secondary display via touch. Yes, both displays are
touch sensitive, so there is that. Of course, you may not extend your
movie watching to go all the way into the secondary display, but you can
pull out your controls and use it on the secondary display.
The
secondary display can also act as your alternative web browser just in
case you need to refer to anything for other things on your main
display. If you do use the pen that comes in the box (we did not have
ours) you can even use the secondary panel as a drawing pad. There is
one thing about the PadScreen (as they call it) though that is a little annoying; its placement.
While
the secondary display is functional, its placement can be a little bit
of a literal pain in the neck. You are craning down on the secondary
display most of the time when you are looking at it. If you are not
using any palm rest for it the keyboard, you are going to have to
prepare yourself for carpal tunnel syndrome too, your wrist is going to
get injured in that kind of prolonged usage. Yes, they have included a
stand out of the box which you can use to raise the keyboard and ScreenPad panel a little bit, which helps; not a lot.
Still, there is definitely use for the ScreenPad. While we do think that you will not miss out that much if you do not have a ScreenPad,
it is a nice thing to have on the go. Still, we would recommend you to
pack the palm rest as well in your bag when you want to work offsite.
Still, it is a heavy piece of kit to be carrying around so you might
want to leave it behind and pack something lighter.
OLED Forever
The
15.6-inch main display is a 4K OLED unit, which also means
ultra-accurate colours with ultra-high contrasts. The numbers speak for
itself though; 100% DCI-P3. You get HDR with this display too for even
better contrasts. Well, it is an OLED panel after all.
Still,
the OLED display is not just important when you want to sit back, kick
back, and enjoy a good movie, or play a video game. It is important for
you as a creator as well. You need highly accurate colours to do colour
correction and editing. You need HDR to correctly tell where your
content is. You need OLED for everything. Yes, we really like OLED
technology.
Still,
beyond your creator and editing duties, you would like to be able to
enjoy contents too. In that case as well the OLED on the ZenBook
Pro Duo does not disappoint. Playing Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon:
Breakpoint definitely highlights the super accurate and vivid colours
that the OLED boasts. Even the slightest in light changes can be noted
on the display thanks to HDR on OLED. Watching Netflix with HDR and 4K
enabled shows is breathtaking and immersive, especially with a good pair of headphones.
Harman Kardon
While it is not the loudest speakers you can find on a notebook PC, it is actually quite good. Thanks to some magic from Harman Kardon, the speakers fires very balanced audio with very clear highs and mids.
The bass needs a little working but it is quite normal for notebook PCs
with no built-in woofers. Then again, not many notebook PCs come with
subwoofers.
Still,
it is loud enough if you are not sharing the speakers with a room full
of people. It is good enough for personal listening and entertainment
purposes. Spotify on the speakers sounds plenty than good enough.
Watching movies with it though is awesome.
Gaming with the Harman Kardon
speakers is a little weak though, mostly because the lows are not that
great here. Still, it is not that you cannot use it for gaming; you can.
Maybe play games that does not include a lot of explosions?
Performance
Power Power Power
The weighty ASUS ZenBook
Pro Duo is bound to be a powerful notebook PC. Especially its packing
of an Intel Core i7 paired to at least 16GB of RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce
RTX 2060 GPU. You can spec this with a Core i9 by the way if you really
wanted, of course you have to pay more for it if you do. The maximum
that they will do for GPU is the RTX2060 though, as we previously
mentioned and as per specified by ASUS; cooling issues.
That
is not to say that the Intel Core i9 produces the same heat as the Core
i7. The more powerful CPU obviously runs hotter than the less powerful
Core i7. Still, the Core i9 does not produce a significantly larger
amount of heat that the fans within the ASUS ZenBook
Pro Duo cannot manage. It is a different story with the GPU though.
While the heat produced from an NVIDIA GeForce RTX2070 is not that much
bigger than an RTX2060 too, it is about choosing between using a lesser
CPU or a more powerful one. In the case of ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo – it is the matter of pure processing power.
The
result, at least on our unit (Intel Core i7), is a fast machine, very
fast with the SSD installed in the machine. While you can expect a
bigger performance to come from the Core i9, we do think that the Core
i7 is plenty capable enough and you may not need to fork out an extra
MYR3,000 price tag that the Core i9 comes with. Yes, the Intel Core i9
option sets you back MYR3,000 more than the regular Core i7 option. You
only need that kind of power in certain situations.
Still,
our Core i7 can cope with plenty that we can throw at it. It handles
video editing without major issue, we pushed 4K videos on it mind you
and downscales it to 1080p. It renders the preview with no more issue or
render time than usual.
Gaming
We seldom push games to extend all the way to the secondary display. Why? What for?
Most
of the time, if you do want a multi-screen gaming experience, you want
to extend the displays horizontally; not vertically like the ZenBook Pro Duo’s dislpay arrangement. In this case, I cannot really think of any use case for the secondary display.
Still, you can game with it and as I have mentioned, the 4K OLED display will not disappoint you. Any games will look gorgeous on the 4K OLED display with great contrast and vivid colours.
Of
course, the powerful Intel Core i7 helped with the generously adequate
NVIDIA GeForce RTX2060 helps with the extra smooth gaming performance
when we play Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: BreakPoint
and The Shadow of the Tomb Raider. While we may not be able to push the
graphics all the way to ultra, we are still able to render them at high
settings at the minimum. We did not try Call of Duty: Modern Warfare on
it yet, but we are pretty sure it will look good.
Would we like to see better GPUs in the ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo? An RTX2070 perhaps? Yes. Would it make sense if we spec it at a mere Core i7? Maybe? Would it make sense cost wise? Maybe not. On its own, we think that the MYR 12,999 asking price is already quite steep if you are just looking to game. We admit that games look really good though.
Still,
if you wish to go all the way to the RTX2080, just remember that the
behemoth of a thing called the Acer Predator Helios 700 with their slide
down keyboard just for more airflow to keep the big GPU from
overheating or melting your hands.
Bringing in the Heat
With any PC build, especially a notebook PC, there is always the consideration of heat management. This is always true when you are trying to have a powerful build. In the case of the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo, there is the problem of powerful internals. Imagine the thought of fitting in an ultra-powerful Intel Core i9 to pair it to a powerful NVIDIA GeForce RTX2060.
While that may not be that much of a scary thought; you have to also think about the extra display that the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo packs. Not only that, ASUS is stacking the display on top of the CPU and GPU placements. That adds a whole slew of cooling problems in itself.
Still,
ASUS manages the heat with their new designed fans to dissipate the
heat mostly from the sides. That is why you see large grilles on the
side of the notebook PC, instead of the usual exhaust toward the back of
the device. In this case, if you aim all the heat to the back of the
device, it will heat up the 4K OLED display instead; not ideal.
Firing
the heat to the sides then is the most ideal way to dissipate the heat
generated by the internals and the additional LCD display; both the left
and right side for the ASUS. You will not believe the heat that is
produced by this thing though. I left a glass of chilled Coke with some
ice in it about 1 meter away from the left side of the notebook PC and
the ice melted within the 10 minutes I left it there. The drink got warm
a little later after that; so, I was left to drink a warm Coca-Cola
after that. To be fair, I was on Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint at
the time.
On normal operations though, you still feel a little bit of the heat coming down to your hands when you use a mouse right next to the notebook PC. While the fan may not be running at full chat, you can still feel the gush of air come out the side exhaust ports when the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo is on. If you have anything that is taxing on the GPU and CPU, you will hear the fan spooling faster and feel more heat on your hand; your mouse hand.
The Workhorse
The main function of the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo though is mostly for an added productivity. Thanks to the dual displays, at least, it should be quite something at that. Of course, with an included stylus, it should be even more intuitive and productive. We did not get to test it with the stylus though, sadly.
Still,
the dual displays do help a little with our video workflow. We use
Adobe’s Premiere Pro quite a lot in our video work process. As we have
mentioned we used the main AMOLED display for previews. The secondary
display is where all our timelines sits. You can put all the assets
there too and use that to enhance your workflow that way; we did
anyway.
Thanks to the colour accuracy of the main AMOLED display and 4K too, colour correcting is much easier to do with the ASUS ZenBook
Pro Duo. Of course, all the controls are pushed to the secondary
display to give more real estate for the preview screen. Larger display
real estate also means you can see more.
It is not all sunshine with the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo though. We do not like the keyboard
too much, we feel that the keyboard travel was a little too short;
uncomfortable to type on. The discomfort is pushed even further with the
keyboard placement; especially when you do not use the palm rest
provided in the box with the notebook PC.
The kind of keyboard layout the ZenBook Pro Duo has does not give us the possibility to use the notebook PC comfortably on our laps too. That, and the heat produced from the Zenbook Pro Duo just makes it uncomfortable after a while. The 2.5kg does not help too, it makes it feel like you are using your legs as ironing boards. You could toast a sandwich there too.
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo – Unportable Productivity Machine
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo will set you back MYR 12,999. If I am being completely hoinest,
I would tell you not to buy this notebook PC for that kind of money.
For that kind of money, you might get a better deal if you look
elsewhere even in ASUS’ extensive stables. For that kind of money, you
could easily get a large sized gaming notebook with a fast 17-inch
display that is powered by the same sort of CPU and an even more
powerful GPU to work with.
You
lose the AMOLED display, sure. But you get bigger display, lighter
build, and more power. You might not get 4K resolution, but the trade-off is still quite big.
You do not get the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo for gaming though. You get it for the productivity appeal of it. You get it for the dual displays; not because it is practical to bring around. You are most likely to just leave it on your work desk, or home desk, and go to a meeting with a piece of print out or thumb drive you can work with. You really do not want to carry it much, you might break your back with it.
You
get it for work mostly; creative work. You get it because you need
extra flexibility that you get with the dual display. You get it for the
beautiful 4K AMOLED display that you would use to watch movies and make
films out of it. You get it for the touch screens that you would use to
draw something with. You buy it as a creator, you buy it as a creative
professional. Except, you might still not.
If
you are a creative professional and have MYR 12,999 to spend on a
powerful work notebook PC that you will not carry around, why not spend
on a PC tower that you will not even move from your work place? What
about getting two other full-sized monitors with highly accurate colours
as well?
So, who, in their right mind would get this? We still do think that this ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo is made for professionals and those are the guys that would get their hands on this device. Most likely though they might not get it on their own account. The most probable scenario for this is that the companies that they work for get one for them out of whatever necessity they have out of it. Hey, that is still one way to get a notebook PC.
The foldable smartphones craze has not died down just yet. The shown concept of the Samsung Galaxy Fold that was launched late in 2019 last year gave birth to a lot more foldable smartphone concepts out there. One of the most coveted and anticipated one after the big Galaxy Fold announcement was the HUAWEI Mate X foldable smartphone which approached the folding smartphone concept differently.
So far though, there is only two known circulated foldable smartphones in the market; the Samsung Galaxy Fold and the Motorola Razr. The HUAWEI Mate X has not been seen in the market since its announcement very early in 2019. It is understandable though that they might be facing some issues with productions due to the complications on the folding mechanism.
Still, every other person out there is hailing foldable smartphones as the next big thing in smartphones in the coming years. Instead of foldable smartphones though, there is another, more sensible way of approaching smartphone designs, having the displays in front and behind the smartphone. That dual display stuff has been done by Vivo last year too, with little sales success.
Source: Xiaomi Global
What about a wraparound design then? A smartphone with a display so big and wide that it wraps around the hardware, an actual all display smartphone. Xiaomi did that with the announcement of the Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha. They even announced that the device should be available some time in December 2019.
Unfortunately we have not seen any sign of the smartphone anywhere in the market. According to the latest report, it seems that the Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha is now delayed indefinitely. Understandably though, making a smartphone with a wraparound display is no easy feat.
Source: Xiaomi Global
Source: Xiaomi Global
Source: Xiaomi Global
Source: Xiaomi Global
Source: Xiaomi Global
Source: Xiaomi Global
Xiaomi has been known to make great smartphones though. The Xiaomi Mi 9T and the Mi 9T Pro that came out last year was some of the best valued smartphones you can find in the market. They Mi Note 10 was also the first smartphone with a penta-lens set-up boasting more than 100MP in resolution. 2019 was a great year for Xiaomi.
We think we will see the Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha in 2020 alongside Xiaomi’s very own foldable smartphone as well (might). There is no specific dates just yet on the official availability of the Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha. We are hopeful though.
