This new gaming monitor can 'overdrive' its response time to a crazy-low 0.4ms

Acer on Tuesday announced a new 24.5-inch gaming monitor, the Predator XN253Q X, with one of the fastest response times yet. That is provided you flip the switch for what Acer is calling "overdrive mode." If you do, the native 1ms GTG (gray-to-gray) response time can go as low as 0.4ms.

How exactly is that possible? That's a good question, and I've reached out to Acer for clarification. An earlier version of the company's press release referenced something called "VRB" (visual response boost), but I've been told that in overdrive mode, the 0.4ms measurement is still representative of an actual GTG rating. No funny business, in other words.

A few other monitor makers have touted sub-1ms response times before this new Predator monitor debuted. LG, for example, recently rolled out an IPS display with a sub-1ms response time, but that is an MPRT (motion picture response time) measurement.

There's not a ton of information about all this out there, but according to DisplayLag, MPRT entails flickering the backlight on and off at a rapid rate to reduce the perception of motion blur. This has its pros and cons. It's possible that Acer's overdrive mode achieves its "up to 0.4ms" response time in a similar fashion, though that is not entirely clear at the moment.

Regardless, the Predator XN253Q X is a fast monitor no matter how you slice it. Even at 1ms, motion blur should not rear its unwanted head. On top of that, Acer's new display has a 240Hz refresh rate. That seemingly makes it a good option for esports gaming, if you have the hardware to push ultra-high framerates at 1080p (this monitor's native resolution).

G-Sync support is part of the package as well. And it has a 400 nits brightness rating, which is respectable. That said, this is using a TN panel, so color accuracy is likely to be inferior to most IPS monitors. Viewing angles also take a comparative hit—in this case, they check in at 170 degrees horizontal and 160 degrees vertical.

Connectivity options include HDMI 1.4 and DisplayPort 1.2. There's also a built-in 4-port USB 3.0 hub, and a pair of integrated 2W speakers.

If you're interested in this monitor, you can grab it on Amazon for $499.99, though it's essentially a preorder—shipping is quoted as being "within one to two months."

Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).