As the road to a 1,000Hz(Opens in a new window) refresh rate in a gaming monitor unrolls on its inevitable trajectory, we’ve now got a new contender for the top spot in raw-refresh speed: the $499.99 Acer Nitro XV252Q F. (The new Hertz-to-beat number is 390Hz.) Coming on the heels of the Acer Predator X25 (a $799.99 360Hz panel), this less expensive, faster model throws all the fancy chairs and curtains overboard, saving weight and cost in service of nothing but blisteringly quick gaming goodness. With low input lag, minimal ghosting, higher-than-average picture quality and that 390Hz overclocking limit onboard, the Nitro XV252Q F sacrifices just a bit on color coverage and build quality to focus on what matters to gamers most of all: serious performance at a great price.

Mild-Looking on the Outside, Beast Within

The Nitro XV252Q F is a 25-inch display running at 1,920 by 1,080 pixels at a 360Hz native refresh rate, with the option to overclock to 390Hz. It follows in the footsteps of most other models in Acer’s Nitro line, shedding the RGB cabinet lights of Acer’s Predator models in favor of cost savings.

Also missing? The Predator line’s dedication to strong, sturdy build quality. It’s a member of Acer’s budget-oriented Nitro gaming-monitor line, so I don’t expect the Nitro XV252Q F to be a leading-edge looker. But given it’s a 390Hz-capable gaming monitor, some kind of flair around the sides seems warranted. This model is as plain as gaming panels come, with just a modest red ring around the stand to suggest it’s meant for gamers at all.

That stand is also circular, rather than the square or V-shaped design you’ll see in many other gaming monitors at this level. Personally, I prefer models with the former style, as it allows for more creatively angled keyboard placements, which many players (self included) prefer to set up when playing shooter games. In aesthetics, build quality, and stand style, there’s little on offer here that speaks to what gamers want or need.

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Still, the stand allows for a good range of adjustments. The base has a full swivel option, which takes care of the side-to-side adjustment, while the screen itself slides up and down by just over seven inches, and tilts forward and back (from -5 to 25 degrees). The whole unit weighs just 7.7 pounds put together. That might sound like a good thing, but gamers who pound hard on their keyboards during intense gaming sessions may prefer a heavier, sturdier monitor with a wider base. VESA-mounters should be happy with the lightweight design, though.

The monitor also pivots 90 degrees between landscape and portrait mode, which is a nice but unexpected perk. Using all those 390Hz just for programming or coding? You’ll find better options for that.

Going through Acer’s onscreen display (OSD) menu, which is controlled by a five-way joystick on the back, we saw a number of customization options that give you an array of options on how to use the monitor. These include built-in display profiles (such as Racing, FPS, and Cinema), as well as the option to customize the color profile via a six-way hue and saturation configuration panel.

The monitor’s ports are lined up along the middle of the unit, under a lip on the back. They include just the essentials for gamers: two HDMI 2.0 ports, a DisplayPort 1.4b input, and a 3.5mm headphone jack for audio passthrough via HDMI. Plus, the AC power connector is back here.

Testing the Acer Nitro XV252Q F: Fast, Faster, and Fastest

The 1080p display is built on what Acer is calling an “Agile-Splendor IPS” panel with a native refresh rate of 360Hz, and the option to overclock to a whopping 390Hz. The monitor is rated for HDR400, and it supports AMD’s FreeSync Premium anti-screen-tearing technology.

We put it through our standard gaming-monitor testing regimen. We test gaming monitors with a Datacolor SpyderX Elite(Opens in a new window) colorimeter, a Murideo SIX-G(Opens in a new window) signal generator, and Portrait Displays’ CalMAN 5(Opens in a new window) software. Here is what we saw…

In the default picture mode, we tested out of the box with an SDR signal. The Nitro showed a slightly higher-than-rated peak brightness of 410.9 nits (the display is rated for 400 nits), and a black level of 0.42 nit, working out to a contrast ratio of 980:1, just below its rated 1,000:1. (See more about how we test monitors.)

Given that this is an HDR400 monitor, we didn’t expect to get our retinas blown out once we turned the HDR feature on, and when recording peak brightness in that mode, we hit a max of 419.1 nits.

Moving along to the color results, the Nitro came in a bit lower than many gaming monitors around this price tier, at just 95% of the sRGB gamut and 79% DCI-P3 coverage…

At 76% coverage of the AdobeRGB gamut, the returns there were also lower than several other displays we’ve tested over the past year based on one of the various IPS technologies in today’s gaming panels (Fast IPS, Rapid IPS, Nano IPS, take your pick). That includes the Editors’ Choice-award-winning Alienware 27 (AW2721D).

All was not lost though, as the Acer Nitro XV252Q put up a respectable Delta E result of just 0.94…

Nice color calibration out of the box, Acer!

Media and Gaming Performance

Now, on to the media and gaming benchmarks. This is an area where display technologies like Agile-Splendor IPS are meant to marry the best of both worlds: screamingly quick gaming performance and stellar picture quality in both games and content.

In HDR, our 4K Costa Rica test footage(Opens in a new window) (output at 1080p to match the monitor’s native resolution) actually looked quite good to the naked eye. That was a pleasant surprise given what we were expecting after looking at the so-so color results in CalMAN. Then it came time to see how the monitor performed in (apparently) the one thing it was made for: gaming.

To start off, I booted up Red Dead Redemption 2 with HDR turned on, and then off, to see how the monitor handled it. Just like the Costa Rica footage, it looked quite good, with the “IPS” part of the Agile-Splendor IPS really shining through during darker scenes.

Given that the panel has just a 980:1 contrast ratio and an HDR400 implementation, I wouldn’t recommend this display for those who solely play AAA games, though. Alternative options like the Razer Raptor 27 provide a more cinematic and color-rich experience.

As for testing traditional input lag (the amount of time between when a monitor receives a signal and the screen updates), we test that with an HDFury 4K Diva HDMI matrix(Opens in a new window). With a 60Hz test signal, the Nitro put up an input lag score of just 1.09ms, the second-lowest we’ve recorded to date. This makes it about 25% faster than the 1.4ms result of the third-place record holder of the moment, the MSI Optix MPG341CQR.

Speaking of gaming performance, with FreeSync Premium on board, it was time for a critical test: Do 360Hz monitors need G-Sync Ultimate to prevent screen tearing at those extreme refresh speeds, or not? The 360Hz-“only” predecessor to this 390Hz model, the Acer Predator X25, retails for $300 more than the Nitro, and while much of that extra cost can be felt in the better build quality, that price increase is also due to the inclusion of a G-Sync Ultimate chip onboard.

So, with “just” FreeSync Premium to fall back on, does the Nitro XV252Q F hold its own? We put this monitor through its paces, booting up several of the most commonly played esports titles: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Valorant, Overwatch, and League of Legends. Throughout all the testing, the Nitro performed above and beyond the requirements of duty, feeling both extremely fast and responsive during each test.

Because we still have it here in the lab, I even set up the Acer Predator X25 next to the Nitro XV252Q F to see if I could feel the $300 difference between the two. The cabinets, no contest: The Predator wins. But during those play tests, for me at least, the performance gap was next to unnoticeable. If that price gulf makes or breaks your next monitor purchase, and esports performance is your aim, the Nitro XV252Q F is the only way to go.

A Pit Stop on the Road to 1,000Hz?

While it may be a number of years before we start seeing new gaming monitors hit shelves with anything close to a 1,000Hz refresh rate, for now, options like the Nitro XV252Q F 390Hz display will just have to do. Sigh!

Kidding aside, a 390Hz monitor at $499, especially with an IPS-based panel, is a pretty great deal no matter how you look at it. The IPS panel may not deliver the best color-gamut coverage, but Acer still found a way to tune the monitor to look good in content-playback and gaming scenarios alike, right out of the box.

Are you strictly here to find out if that extra 30Hz over 360Hz models made us better gamers? Answer: No, probably not, given that at least one of our benchmarkers is well past the age where even the jump from 165Hz to 240Hz doesn’t compensate for reflexes lost to the ravages of time. However, if you’re still on your game and competing at the highest levels of an esports-friendly title like Valorant or Overwatch (two of the few games that can reliably run as fast as 390fps, let alone 360fps), then there’s a chance that that 30Hz advantage could mean the difference between victory and defeat in your hands.

If you’re buying this monitor for anything other than fragging at the very fastest refresh rates possible, though, we recommend going with a more rounded-out high-refresh 1080p IPS monitor. A good pick in that vein would be the Editors’ Choice-winning ViewSonic Elite XG270. Just remember, though, kids: Even the fastest refresh rate can’t beat Father Time in the long run.