We've been waiting patiently for a 4K resolution monitor with a 144Hz refresh rate and HDR support, and G-Sync would just be icing on the cake. Acer and Asus were both set to release displays that ticked all of those boxes, and even trotted out prototypes at the Consumer Electronics Show...in 2017. Sadly, they ended up being delayed for some unknown reason and still elude us. However, they may finally end up on store shelves next month.
So says Anandtech, which heard from Nvidia at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) this week that it expects HDR-compatible displays with G-Sync support to finally materialize in Q1 of its fiscal year 2019. That works out to April of this year, as Nvidia's Q1 2019 ends on April 29, 2018. (Nvidia's fiscal year is one year ahead, and Q1 ends at the end of April, as opposed to the calendar year, which would end in March.)
The models from Acer and Asus are similar to one another in that both were originally to feature an AU Optronics M270QAN02.2 AHVA panel, the only one at the time to offer a tantalizing combination of a 3840x2160 resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, 1,000 nits brightness, 384 zones of direct LED backlighting, and a quantum dot film for HDR10 and coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut. Apparently that is where Nvidia set the bar for G-Sync displays with HDR, and it's hard to argue with that feature-set.
It's not clear if monitor makers have more panel options to choose from now, or if the upcoming displays will be based the same AU Optronics screen as before. We also don't know if the delay was ultimately caused by AU Optronics running into a manufacturing snag, or if Nvidia altered its reference design. Assuming the monitors do in fact start shipping next month, however, we'll find out soon enough. We can hardly wait.
