Acer has announced two incoming budget-yet-premium gaming monitors to power AMD's FreeSync-supporting graphics cards. The new XZ1 series will come in 27" (XZ271U) and 31.5" (XZ321QU), thus appealing to two different market segments. The new monitors both sport a 144 Hz, 1 ms, 16:9 VA panel with WQHD (2560 x 1440) resolution. Both are curved affairs; contrast stands at 3000:1; color coverage is at 85% of the NTSC color-space; and we're saying they are HDR10 ready because with their maximum brightness of 250 and 300 cd/m², respectively, they'll never be able to showcase the tiniest amount of HDR10 detail. Like the initial HD ready TVs which only supported 720p resolution but could process higher-density images, so does this HDR10 badge not mean there's an actual ability to properly display HDR10 content as it was meant to be.

Connectivity stands at 1x DisplayPort 1.2, 1x mini DisplayPort 1.2, and 2x HDMI 2.0 headers. There are two 7 W stereo speakers and a headphone jack in each monitor, as well as a quad-port USB 3.0 Type-A hub. The stands can tilt between -5 to 25 degrees, swivel +/- 25 degrees, and provide height adjustments of up to 120 mm. Both panels can now be purchased at Amazon.com, with pricing set at $527 and $550 respectively (not final retail pricing for the Americas).

Today EPI, the brand license partner for Philips monitors and leading technology company, announces the availability of the Philips E Series. The E Series includes three monitors - a 27-inch (276E9QDSB), 24-inch (246E9QDSB) and 22-inch (226E9QDSB). This family of professional monitors provides vivid color in a stylish, minimal design. With an IPS panel with wide viewing angles and incredibly narrow side bezels, the E series is especially suited for a multi-display or tiling setup for graphic design or professional applications. The E line is available at Newegg starting at $109.99.

The Philips E Line features stylish design with extraordinary picture performance. The display is a Full HD IPS panel with a wide range of colors that provides better viewing angles and high color accuracy for color-intensive tasks like photo editing or graphic design. Users can expect to see more realistic colors and a true-to-life picture.

LG unveiled their new UltraGear lineup of desktop, gaming-oriented monitors, which bring top of the line features for gamers. The monitors both feature a 34" diagonal and a 3440x1440 resolution. They both feature a 21:9 aspect ratio; brightness is left at a relatively sparse 400 nits (with VESA's DisplayHDR standard compliance) and static contrast only reaches 1000:1. The G-Sync panel (UltraGear 34GK950G-B) offers up to 120 Hz refresh rates with 4 ms GtG response times (via overclocking, only 100 Hz out-of-the-box), while the FreeSync 2 monitor (34GK950F-B) brings that up a notch to 144 Hz with 5 ms GtG response times.

The usage of nanoparticles applied to the screen's LED backlighting serves to absorb excess light wavelengths and improve intensity, purity, and accuracy of the on-screen colors - LG claims that both LCDs can display 1.07 billion colors while covering 98% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. There's ULMB support for the NVIDIA monitor and a similar technology for the FreeSync 2 display; LG's proprietary DAS (Dynamic Action Sync) which follows TV's Game Mode to cut post-processing of images to reduce lag; and there are brightness presets according to game types (FPS, RTS) for the G-Sync panel, while the FreeSync 2 features a black stabilizer tech.

AOC, a worldwide leader in monitor display technology, today announces the new G1 Series of curved gaming monitors. This affordable line of gaming monitors packs powerful gaming specifications in an understated design with incredibly thin bezels, making them a perfect fit for the ultimate battle station. The G1 series is made up of four monitors - a 32-inch QHD (CQ32G1), 32-inch (C32G1), 27-inch (C27G1) and 24-inch (C24G1). The G1 series is available now starting at $229.99.

The G1 series provides an immersive gaming experience with its Full HD (QHD for the CQ32G1) resolution and 1800R (1500R for the C24G1) curved design. Additionally, it provides smooth and fluid gameplay with a 144Hz refresh rate, AMD FreeSync and a 1ms MPRT response time. With a 144Hz frame rate, every frame is rendered sharply and in smooth succession, so users can line up their shots accurately and can appreciate high-speed races in all their glory.

Intel's Chris Hook (there's something strange there) said in a conversation with r/Hardware's moderator dylan522p that the company is still planning on adding support for VESA's Adaptive Sync (also known as AMD's own FreeSync branding) in Intel GPUs. To put this in perspective, Intel is the single largest player in the overall graphics market; their integrated solutions mean they have the highest graphics accelerator share in the market, even against AMD and NVIDIA - and Intel hasn't even entered the discrete graphics market - yet.

It makes sense that the blue giant would be pursuing this option - royalty-free frame syncing beats developing a proprietary alternative. A quick thought-exercise could point towards NVIDIA's G-Sync being rendered irrelevant with such strong support from the industry.

Acer at IFA 2018 today announced new monitors catering to both NVIDIA and AMD users - those who want to take advantage of either G-Sync or FreeSync capabilities in gamer-centric monitors, that is. As it stands, Acer has been using the Predator branding for its G-Sync enabled monitors, while the Nitro lineup stands on AMD's side. For NVIDIA, Acer is sticking its guns on the single XB273K - a $1,299 with G-Sync, 144 Hz refresh rates, and an IPS panel, running at 4K resolution. The Predator XB273K covers 90 percent of the DCI-P3 gamut, and is VESA DisplayHDR 400-certified. It also offers Acer's exclusive VisionCare technology to help your eyes manage long gaming sessions with technologies including flicker-free, low-dimming and blue light emission reduction. Oh - and it includes a shroud to protect your gaming feats from prying eyes.

Today, gamers around the world will face off against an ancient, forgotten evil power in the highly anticipated Strange Brigade. AMD and Rebellion have worked closely to ensure smooth, immersive gameplay on Radeon RX Graphics in Strange Brigade.

• FreeSync 2 HDR: Brings low-latency, high-brightness pixels and a wide color gamut to High Dynamic Range (HDR) content for PC displays, enabling Strange Brigade to preserve details in scenes that may otherwise be lost due to limited contrast ratios. Ultimately, it lets bright scenes to appear much brighter and dark scenes to be truly dark - all while keeping details visible.
• Asnychronous Compute: Strange Brigade by default has asynchronous compute enabled improving GPU utilization, input latency, efficiency and performance by tapping into GPU resources that would otherwise be underutilized. For example, running various screen space effects during the shadow map rendering.

Newer generations of NVIDIA GPUs such as "Pascal" and "Maxwell" meet or exceed the hardware requirements of AMD FreeSync, as they feature DisplayPort 1.4 connectors that include the features of DisplayPort 1.2a, required for VESA adaptive sync. In a bid to promote its own G-SYNC technology, NVIDIA doesn't expose this feature to monitors or software that support FreeSync. Redditor "bryf50" may have found a way around this. The trick is deceptively simple, however, you'll need games that support on-the-fly switching of rendering GPUs, and an AMD Radeon graphics card at hand.

When poking around with system settings in "Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth," bryf50 discovered that you can switch the "rendering GPU" on the fly, without having to physically connect your display to that newly selected GPU. You can start the game with your display connected to VGA1 (an AMD Radeon GPU), and switch the renderer in-game to VGA2 (an NVIDIA GPU). FreeSync should continue to work, while you enjoy the performance of that NVIDIA GPU. In theory, this should allow you to pair your high-end GTX 1080 Ti with a $50 RX 550 that supports FreeSync, instead of paying the $200+ G-SYNC tax.

Samsung Electronics has expanded its ground-breaking curved display line-up upon the global launch of the new CJ79 (Model name: C34J791) monitor. The CJ79 34-inch curved monitor is the first of its kind to feature Intel's Thunderbolt 3 connectivity.

Compatible with Macs and PCs, the CJ79 features two Thunderbolt 3 ports that transmit display, data and power at a superhero processing speed of up to 40 Gigabits per second (Gpbs), eight times faster than USB 3.0, and simultaneously charges devices up to 85 watts(W), all through a single cable.

ASUS today introduced the VP248QGL-P, a cost-effective 24-inch gaming-grade monitor with AMD FreeSync technology support. If you can get past the TN-film panel with 1080p resolution, you'll also find that it features response times as low as 1 ms, and up to 75 Hz refresh-rates. Viewing angles are 170°/160° (H/V). Among its feature-set is ASUS Splendid display management software, blue light filtering, and ASUS GamePlus, which is a collection of game genre-specific display presets. Display inputs include one each of DisplayPort 1.2a, HDMI 1.4a, and D-Sub. Stereo speakers and 3.5 mm-jack make for the rest of it. Expect a sub-$175 price.

Display specialist AOC announces the Q3279VWFD8, a sibling to the 31.5" Q3279VWF, a superb allrounder from the well-received 79 series, which debuted last autumn and received huge appraisal for its extraordinary price/performance ratio. The new monitor, Q3279VWFD8 uses a different panel type - IPS - rather than the VA panel used in its older brother and boasts a wider colour gamut for increased colour accuracy and therefore more vivid, natural and eye-catching imagery. The Q3279VWFD8's 31.5" IPS panel offers a highly detailed QHD resolution (2560x1440 pixels), 5 ms GtG response time, AMD FreeSync support and 75 Hz refresh rate. Aimed at particularly budget conscious home power users, internet cafés and everyone who is after jaw-dropping specs without breaking the bank are going to be well-served with the Q3279VWFD8.

MMD, the leading technology company and brand license partner for Philips monitors, is releasing the 278E9, the latest addition to the E9 line of consumer displays. Featuring the stylish design and high-quality image performance for which the E9 line is known, the 278E9 offers a curved 27-inch narrow-border Ultra-Wide Color Full HD display for realistic visuals and extra wide viewing angles in addition to features such as AMD FreeSync for a smooth and more fully immersive user experience.

Display specialist AOC announces brand-new monitor series, V2, debuting with three monitors in 21.5", 23.8" and 27" displays sizes. These elegant, super-slim monitors are equipped with 3-sides frameless IPS panels in Full HD (1920x1080 pixels) resolution, offering wide viewing angles (178°/178°) and accurate colors (72% NTSC gamut coverage). The new and innovative frameless "edge" design hides the display frame behind the panel for an ultra clear look. The sleek appearance continues with an extra slim side profile (7.7 mm for 21.5" and 23.6", 7.9 mm for 27"), and finishes off with a pure, flat back cover without any bumps or bulges. An equally elegant and sturdy metal stand holds the monitor in its optimum position and provides over 20° of tilt adjustment, whilst housing power, headphones jack and video signal connections. These new V2 series monitors are also equipped with quick 5 ms response time, 75 Hz refresh rate and AMD FreeSync.

Thin, sleek, elegant - AOC's new V2 series come in three sizes: 21.5", 23.8" and 27"
The new V2 Series introduces AOC's innovative approach to monitor design combined with excellent visuals. The series debuts with monitors in three different sizes, the 21.5" 22V2Q, 23.8" 24V2Q and the 27" 27V2Q. All of these models are equipped with 3-sides frameless IPS panels, which deliver excellent viewing angle performance (178°/178°) as well as good color accuracy. 250 cd/m² brightness ensures good visibility in bright or sunlit rooms. The innovative design of the V2 series looks compact and elegant. These displays feel like a floating image in the air, unobstructed by thick bezels or a bulky back. The slim profile of the V2 series is as thin as a smartphone (7.7 mm for 21.5" and 23.8", 7.9 mm for 27").

Remember that awe-inspiring 4K monitor from Philips - the one with Ambiglow and that earned the world's first HDR 1000 monitor certification? It's up for grabs as we speak in multiple markets, and pricing is somewhat lower than predicted - a rare, momentous occasion (see that?). The Momentum 436M6VBPAB monitor packs an 8 bit + FRC 43" MVA panel affair that supports 4K resolution, features true Display HDR with 1000 maximum nits brightness, and also features AMD's FreeSync specification up to 80 Hz (overclocked) from its 60 Hz base frequency (minimum refresh rate is unknown, as is unclear whether it supports LFC). Additionally, the monitor features Quantum Dot technology to increase its color range (97.6% of the DCI-P3 color gamut as well as 100% of the sRGB color range)

What's more impressive though, is that Philips' Momentum monitor doesn't seem to be using local dimming to achieve its 1000 nits flash maximum brightness (required for HDR 1000 certification, with a baseline full-screen 600 nits for continuous content). Instead, Philips is apparently employing a 32-zone edge-lit solution. This is without a doubt one of the reasons this panel manages to undercut NVIDIA's 144 Hz, 4K panels, which use a 384-zone local dimming panel (besides the added G-Sync module royalties, of course). The Philips Momentum is available mostly through Amazon, and carries a €799 MSRP, which translates to around $1000 in the US.

AMD earlier this month announced that it is simply renaming its new FreeSync 2 standard as FreeSync 2 HDR, since it already incorporates hardware HDR, even though HDR is but one among many new features introduced with FreeSync 2. This caused some controversy as some FreeSync 2-certified monitors, which could now be plastered with FreeSync 2 HDR stickers, barely meet VESA's DisplayHDR 400 standards. AMD released a detailed statement to TechPowerUp, in which it clarified that FreeSync 2 HDR in no way lowers the bar for HDR, and that its certification program is both separate from and predates VESA DisplayHDR standards.

Essentially, AMD claims that all FreeSync 2 HDR-certified displays exceed DisplayHDR 400 requirements, but not all meet the DisplayHDR 600 minimums. In such cases, monitor manufacturers may stick both DisplayHDR 400 and AMD FreeSync 2 HDR logos in their specs-sheets or the product itself, but that doesn't mean that their monitors can only put out 400 nits brightness. The statement follows.

AMD and Samsung today announced support for Radeon FreeSync technology in the new Samsung QLED 55" to 82" TV range, bringing the ultimate, ultrawide 4K gaming experience to an entirely new format - big screen TVs. Samsung is the first company to utilize industry-leading Radeon FreeSync adaptive refresh technology for stutter-free gaming inside a consumer television set. With High Dynamic Range (HDR) support up to 1000nits and stunning picture quality, Samsung's QLED displays allow gamers to experience strikingly high refresh rates and low latency on TVs at a variety of price points and screen sizes ranging from 55" to 82" creating a single display for all their home entertainment needs.

Over the past three years, Radeon FreeSync technology has driven widespread adoption and become the industry's most selected solution for smooth gaming. Earlier this year, AMD expanded the ecosystem by propelling tear-free gameplay beyond the PC with the launch of support for FreeSync technology in Microsoft's Xbox One S and Xbox One X consoles in early March. With more than 250 compatible displays offered by more than 20 partners, this is more than double the availability of competing technology.

AMD today rolled out Radeon Software Adrenalin 18.5.2 Beta drivers. This includes drivers for 32-bit Windows 10 and Windows 7. While the drivers don't coincide with any AAA game launches; they pack a number of bug fixes. To begin with, they fix a system hang noticed on "Sea of Thieves" after the splash-screen. A "white screen" that was noticed in "The Crew" in daylight maps, is now fixed. Shader Cache failing to enable on some games, has now been fixed. Certain FreeSync displays putting out a blank screen when FreeSync is enabled in the middle of a game, is fixed. Texture issues with zombie models in "Arizona Sunshine" is fixed. "Warhammer: Vermintide 2" experiencing an application hang upon changing resolution, has also been fixed.DOWNLOAD: AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 18.5.2 Beta

AOC today announced availability of their budget-conscious G2590FX, their latest addition to the G90 series of monitors (and an improvement to their 6-month old G2590VXQ). The G2590FX has been developed with the budget-conscious gamer in mind. The usage of a TN panel keeps costs lower than other panel options would allow. At the same time, AOC looked towards offering high-quality gaming specs - such as the 1 ms response time, and the 144 Hz panel refresh rate with AMD Freesync support - to allow twitch-players to stay competitive. The 1080p resolution can almost be seen as a bonus, as it ensures the likelihood of users' graphics processing hardware to deliver those 144 Hz.

AOC is touting this monitor as having a 3-side-frameless structure, which does look that way in the media photos - though those usually have to be taken with a grain of salt. Display output connectors include 1x VGA, 1x DisplayPort 1.2, and 2x HDMI 1.4. The AOC G2590FX monitor is now available worldwide at an MSRP of £219.99 (direct conversion puts it at some €252 or $290, but US pricing will likely be lower.

Acer today unveiled new Nitro Series gaming desktop PCs and monitors that expand its Nitro product family, designed for outstanding casual gameplay at affordable prices. The new Acer Nitro 50 Series desktops and Nitro VG0 and RG0 Series monitors easily handle demanding processing and graphics requirements for both content creation and consumption.

• Powered by up to 8th Gen Intel Core i7 processors and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 GPUs, Acer Nitro 50 Series desktops offer performance that exceeds the needs of casual gamers and can easily handle graphic-intensive tasks.
• Sleek and stylish, the new Acer Nitro VG0 and RG0 series monitors both earned 2018 Red Dot Design Awards.
• They feature AMD Radeon FreeSync and up to a 1 ms Visual Response Boost to deliver smooth and tear-free gameplay.

To celebrate the introduction of three new G-Master monitors and the new G-Master logo, iiyama launches a pan European competition where fans can win one of 10 brand new Black Hawk and Red Eagle monitors, or one of the hundred other prizes.

"We are extremely proud and thankful for the recognition the G-master #monitors4gamers have received since their first launch in autumn 2014. Just last year, over hundred thousand G-Master monitors have been chosen by gamers all over Europe. With the introduction of two new Black Hawk monitors and one Red Eagle - the first ones to carry the new G-Master logo - we want to invite G-master fans to take part in a special 'crack-the-code' competition and show how G-Master fans celebrate victory." - says Jeffry Pettinga, Sales Director Europe.

ASRock has finally launched one of their more interesting X470 solutions, the X470 Fatal1ty Gaming ITX/ac motherboard. The specs for this board are already well known to us, but I'd like to point out the graphical DisplayPort output, a feature seldom seen in other products, which is there to facilitate users some FreeSync shennanigans on their Zen APU.

This motherboard crams all of the essentials for a great system (and great looking in its all black color scheme) as it is, though of course, some expandability options are absent due to PCB real-estate limitations. But user looking for a no-frills, ITX motherboard with built-in AC wi-fi support may not need to look anywhere else. No pricing announcement yet, but allowing ourselves to speculate based on past ASRock products and ASUS' own ROG Strix X470-I Gaming, probably places this motherboard in the $200 range. These should start creeping in on store inventories soon - though a warning on ASRock's website saying this model may not be available worldwide sets a feeling of unease.

So "console-optimized monitors" are a thing. Apparently eSports players on consoles can't lug their big TVs around to BYOD events (local LAN parties), and so BenQ has come up with the Zowie RL2755T, which has been certified by Sony as an officially-licensed product for the PlayStation 4. The 27-inch monitor features a TN-film panel, with Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) resolution, 1 ms (GTG) response time, and up to 75 Hz refresh rate.

BenQ makes up for these specs otherwise brushed aside by PC gamers, with a narrow bezel design, low response-time, Black eQualizer (a feature that enhances dark areas of the screen to help you spot enemies), flicker-free brightness adjustments, and dynamic color vibrance that helps you spot distant enemies. The stand offers height and tilt adjustments. Display inputs include two HDMI inputs, and DVI. The company didn't reveal pricing.

The new MSI Optix AG32CQ probably sparks déjà vu because a monitor with a near-identical name and design was launched last October. That is, until you pay close attention to the "Q" in its name. The new Optix AG32CQ has a similar feature-set to the AG32C, but with increased resolution to 2560 x 1440 pixels, hence the "Q," denoting quad-HD. The 32-inch monitor with 1800R curvature still offers the goodness of a VA panel with 178°/178° viewing angles, 144 Hz refresh-rate (slightly lower than the 165 Hz of its Full HD predecessor), 1 ms (GTG) response-time, 3000:1 static contrast ratio, and support for AMD FreeSync technology. The company didn't reveal pricing.

Display specialist AOC is proud to announce the new addition to its AGON premium gaming monitor family, the AOC AGON AG322QC4 that offers stunning gaming visuals with its HDR400-compliant 3-sided frameless 31.5" VA panel, a razor-sharp Quad HD (2560x1440 px) resolution in 16:9 aspect ratio, deep and inky 2000:1 static contrast ratio and an aggressive 1800R curvature. The 144 Hz refresh rate, 4 ms GtG response time combined with FreeSync 2 support ensure a smooth gameplay experience at the utmost competitive level.

The AG322QC4 comes with recent display technologies for lifelike visuals and the smoothest gameplay experience, VESA DisplayHDR 400 and Radeon FreeSync 2. The VESA HDR400 specification ensures 400 cd/m² peak brightness, improved black levels, higher color gamut and more bit depth (color depth) to display High Dynamic Range (HDR) visuals.

BenQ announced availability of their EW3270U desktop PC monitor, which features some well-known quantity in terms of features. The panel itself is a 31.5" affair built upon VA technology, and features 4K resolution (3840 x 2160). There's a 3000:1 contrast ratio, a measly 300 cd/m² brightness (so no, this monitor can't really display HDR content, it can only receive HDR input), a 9 ms response time (with 4 ms gray-to-gray).

There's a somewhat interesting technology at play here though, which BenQ calls Brightness Intelligence Plus Technology (B.I.+ Tech). This tech should somewhat have the unintended effect of wreaking havoc with content: it automatically darkens bright areas so as to reduce contrast with the dark ones. FreeSync was thrown into the display as well, though that should do little to improve its gaming monitor chops. Connectivity-wise, we're looking at a pretty standard 1xDisplayPort 1.2 x, 2x HDMI 2.0, 1x USB-C, and a 3.5 mm audio jack.