Should you invest in a smart monitor in 2025? This Acer makes that decision easy for me

Acer Nitro 27-inch astute show GA271U

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Acer's Nitro GA271U P astute show is disposable present for $299.
• It's a coagulated fund astute show with a matte, 27-inch IPS WQHD show and 180Hz refresh rate.
• However, the speakers permission overmuch to beryllium desired.

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When Acer entered the astute show marketplace with the Nitro GA271U P astute display, it took purpose astatine competitors similar Samsung, LG, and Asus with a comparable but much affordable enactment starting astatine $299. Available successful achromatic oregon achromatic colorways, the Nitro GA271U P is simply a coagulated fund astute show for students, gamers, oregon anyone with constricted space.

The much accessible terms couldn't beryllium much applicable present -- successful the look of marketplace uncertainty and the menace of accrued prices connected user goods. I precocious went hands-on with it by mounting it up successful my location bureau and utilizing it for some enactment and amusement implicit the people of a fewer weeks, and it's grown connected maine arsenic a susceptible fund enactment -- with a fewer important notes. Let's dive in. 

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A bully astute show should beryllium capable to spell backmost and distant betwixt enactment and play: swapping seamlessly betwixt your laptop oregon desktop, and past Netflix aft hours. By design, they consolidate aggregate screens into 1 instrumentality and are perfect for tiny spaces similar apartments oregon dorms, oregon successful dens, location offices, oregon impermanent rooms. 

In that sense, Acer's Nitro GA271U P understands the assignment, swapping easy betwixt modes and looking bully portion doing it. Featuring a matte, 27-inch IPS WQHD show with a adaptable 180Hz refresh complaint that's compatible with some AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync, it caps retired astatine 250nit brightness truthful it's not the brightest connected the market, but this is simply a show geared toward mundane use. 

In different words, it works arsenic good for some productivity and gaming oregon entertainment, but it's evidently not the best in either arena. For work, connecting your laptop oregon desktop is arsenic casual arsenic hooking the HDMI (which caps retired astatine 144Hz refresh rate) oregon DisplayPort (the aforementioned 180Hz) and utilizing the distant to swap modes. 

The WQHD show (also known arsenic QHD) offers a pixel solution of 2560 x 1440 and a 16:9 facet ratio, providing the widescreen effect that looks large connected TVs. This solution is little demanding connected hardware than 4K, truthful older laptops oregon devices with lower-end graphics capabilities volition inactive nutrient a bully ocular experience, albeit with a somewhat antithetic one. 

It works good arsenic a enactment monitor, but there's a glitch present that makes it problematic. If you link a laptop via the HDMI port, past fto the laptop spell to sleep, the show volition repeatedly effort to reconnect, momentarily turning connected the surface (even erstwhile it's switched off) to show "Can't link to HDMI" earlier going dark, and past popping backmost connected minutes later. 

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This transportation effort rhythm results successful the idiosyncratic having to physically disconnect the HDMI cablegram from the laptop to halt it, which whitethorn not beryllium a occupation for users who usage it successful azygous sessions, but the show seemingly does not similar being connected to devices that are turned disconnected oregon hibernating.  

Other than that, determination are different ways to link your device, namely via DisplayPort oregon Bluetooth, which is large for further devices similar keyboards, mice, oregon speakers (more connected that successful a minute) truthful you tin enactment the mode you want. 

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

As with astir astute monitors, the Nitro GA271U P has immoderate productivity apps, including a portal to entree Microsoft Office programs similar Word and Outlook – ace adjuvant if you privation to bash immoderate enactment oregon cheque email but don't person your laptop with you. You'll conscionable request to link a rodent and/or keyboard via Bluetooth. 

But this is simply a 27-inch monitor, let's not walk each time successful Excel. The previously-mentioned 144Hz refresh complaint and QHD solution marque for a bully show for gaming and entertainment, though there's 1 happening that holds it back: the built-in speakers permission overmuch to beryllium desired. 

The dual 5-watt speakers dependable comparable to a laptop's speakers, and though it gets loud, the audio is tinny and shallow, adjacent for voice-only audio. 

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After connecting the Nitro to my soundbar successful the room, however, the bump successful audio prime made a monolithic quality to the experience, making it consciousness overmuch much similar a due TV. In that consciousness I highly urge users link an outer talker – adjacent a portable 1 similar the JBL Charge 6 volition spell a agelong mode toward making this instrumentality consciousness much premium. 

Other utile features see surface mirroring – a accelerated and reliable mode to stock contented from your smartphone oregon different instrumentality – and the Multiview function, a staple for astute monitors that let you to disagreement up the screen's existent property with antithetic applications, doubling down connected its work/play duality. 

Regarding the monitor's carnal form: it's sturdy and errs connected the gaming/entertainment aesthetic broadside with Acer's signature V-shaped show legs. The surface itself is easy adjusted by sliding up oregon down connected the Y-axis, and further rotates connected the X-axis for the optimal viewing angle. 

ZDNET's buying advice

I'd urge Acer's Nitro GA271U P astute display for anyone looking for a multipurpose show but wants to support things affordable. On its own, it's a bully monitor, but adhd the information that it's besides a 27-inch TV with each your favourite streaming services -- and it rapidly justifies its price. 

You'll astir apt privation to get an outer talker of immoderate kind, though, since the speakers connected the instrumentality aren't the best. The visuals, however, look large for the terms and it's sturdy, casual to adjust, and plays good with peripherals and some Android and iOS smartphones.