Durability of gaming monitors (specifically Acer)?

[KeroZimerman]

My 27“ Acer Predator monitor went all white after two years; and that happened twice! Both times, the LCD panel failed. The first time, it was replaced under warranty. For the second replacement with a possibly used panel, just under € 200 is due. This comes with a six-month guarantee - but only for the LCD panel itself.

When I asked, Acer could not or would not tell me the normal service life of the LCD panel. Both of my LCD panels didn't survive for 5000 hours each. Acer has expressly confirmed that there are no material or manufacturing defects. From this I conclude that this short lifespan is normal. Acer didn't even claim that its LCD panels usually last much longer; on the contrary. Their repair service has consequently not accommodated me an inch in terms of goodwill. That confirms my suspicion.

I'm not a die-hard gamer who swaps his gaming monitor for a better model every 3-4 years. Acer gaming monitors are not for me (anymore); especially since a gaming monitor costs twice as much as an office monitor. So far I’ve been used to a lifespan of 10+ years for office monitors from other manufacturers; both privately and at work.

Incidentally, I will have my defective monitor returned to me by Acer free of charge and dispose of it myself in the electronic scrap or give it away. At least this way Acer cannot impose my processor board, power supply unit and backlight, which are presumably also about to die, on other customers. Acer expressly reserves the right to do this in its terms and conditions and its repair offer: Acer asserts that so-called "refurbished" used parts have the same life expectancy as brand-new parts. I doubt that.

Is my disappointment understandable or is a service life of two years for gaming monitors standard nowadays?

How long did your gaming monitor last (so far) without repair?

[Carlsberg]

I have had several Acer monitors over the years and I no longer buy them at all because I find they are not durable, life expectancy of an Acer monitor is very short. Out of 5 I have owned all developed faults within 18 months and needed to be replaced.

[CravenCoyote]

I've only ever had one monitor fail on me, and that monitor was made by Acer. Can't remember the exact model name.

After a faultless couple of years of use - at completely random times, the screen would just turn to static. Didn't matter what computer it was plugged into and it didn't seem to matter what was being done at the time. Sometimes it would last 10 seconds, sometimes it would last 10 hours - but eventually it would turn to static. The only way to resolve the issue was to turn it off and back on again.

A fair while ago (2006) I had an Acer laptop but the DVD drive was very... hit and miss. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. I sent it back to them for it to be fixed and they returned it saying they found a fault and fixed it. But the issue still persisted. I sent it back to them again, and, to their credit, they returned a newer model laptop with better specs.

[r.linder]

My ASUS ROG STRIX XG27VQ failed on me after only ~2 years. Still waiting on the retailer to contact me so I can use my extended 3 year warranty.

ASUS ROG STRIX is ASUS' top lineup of displays, so it doesn't really bode well for finding a monitor that won't fail; it's a lottery roll, and I lost.

[Carlsberg]

Originally posted by Escorve:

My ASUS ROG STRIX XG27VQ failed on me after only ~2 years. Still waiting on the retailer to contact me so I can use my extended 3 year warranty.

This really shouldn't happen imo. If you sell 1000 tv's inevitability some of them will fail and a complaint will result. I don't think that people will get upset over buying a faulty item but they will get upset if that complaint is not dealt with well, a response to the customer should be immediate and resolved quickly if the company wants to retain the future business from that customer.

[r.linder]

Originally posted by Carlsberg:

Originally posted by Escorve:

My ASUS ROG STRIX XG27VQ failed on me after only ~2 years. Still waiting on the retailer to contact me so I can use my extended 3 year warranty.

This really shouldn't happen imo. If you sell 1000 tv's inevitability some of them will fail and a complaint will result. I don't think that people will get upset over buying a faulty item but they will get upset if that complaint is not dealt with well, a response to the customer should be immediate and resolved quickly if the company wants to retain the future business from that customer.

I've been waiting for a response for over a week at this point

[Illusion of Progress]

I'd be momentarily upset if a new display lasted me only 2 years, but I'd also understand that failures happen. If it happened repeatedly with a given model, especially to the same part of it, even after servicing, I'd presume either really bad luck, or just a bad model, but in either case I'd probably look elsewhere (this is where good support comes in and may sway things; looking at you Logitech and EVGA for having good support in my experiences).

My current display is over 10 years old (Dell branded LG panel), and it was not new when I got it. It works just fine. It has a couple of issues but neither have warranted replacing it. It's not a "gaming" display either though, but was rather more of a professional level display at the time, but what are you terming as a "gaming monitor"; something with over 60 Hz?

[r.linder]

Originally posted by Illusion of Progress:

I'd be momentarily upset if a new display lasted me only 2 years, but I'd also understand that failures happen. If it happened repeatedly with a given model, especially to the same part of it, even after servicing, I'd presume either really bad luck, or just a bad model, but in either case I'd probably look elsewhere (this is where good support comes in and may sway things; looking at you Logitech and EVGA for having good support in my experiences).

My current display is over 10 years old (Dell branded LG panel), and it was not new when I got it. It works just fine. It has a couple of issues but neither have warranted replacing it. It's not a "gaming" display either though, but was rather more of a professional level display at the time, but what are you terming as a "gaming monitor"; something with over 60 Hz?

Regardless of it being a "gaming" monitor I'd just chalk it up to bad luck. My VG245H got dead pixels after only around 8 months of use, which my friend (who bought it from me before the pixels died) pointed out the other day. I've had my XG248Q for almost a year now and there hasn't been a single issue with it.

After ~2 years my XG27VQ (1080p 144Hz 27" curved VA) developed lines across the screen and the entire display flickers constantly just by being plugged in to power. I didn't do anything; it was off, and I turned it on and started doing it for no reason.

To make matters worse, Canada Computers' EPP may not even cover it if they decide to classify it as a dead/stuck pixel issue. They don't even cover accidental damage under the EPP, it's basically just for major defects out of anyone's control. Assuming they do decide to cover it, they can give me any 1080p 144Hz panel that's less than or equal to the value of the monitor as long as it matches the same general specs if they don't have another XG27VQ... which they don't. It's never in stock anywhere and I don't even think ASUS produces it anymore. It seems to me like they were only manufacturing them for about a year at most.

[Kasper_Knife_Knight]

+rep

[DeadPhoenix]

Using my BenQ Monitor since 2014. Still going strong.

[Talby]

I guess I got lucky, my ancient Acer H243H I got back in 2010 is still going strong on my linux workstation - only issue is the backlight is not as strong as it was

a bit worried about my cheap C24G1 now, got it back on black friday '18 so far so good and crossing fingers...

[iceman1980]

Originally posted by Carlsberg:

I have had several Acer monitors over the years and I no longer buy them at all because I find they are not durable, life expectancy of an Acer monitor is very short. Out of 5 I have owned all developed faults within 18 months and needed to be replaced.

A while back they were hot glue gunned together.

[[N]ebsun]

had all my monitors for 6+ years, no issues at all, and expect them to last 6 more years.

[Chimp Factory [M04]]

Had a basic monitor last me ~8 years until it borked; new one is lasting me 3 years so far with no issues. Both 60hz

I can imagine the higher refresh rate ones will break sooner because of how much more it works to display images.

[Yuki]

I forget the model but I've had an Asus 1080p 144hz monitor for I think 4 years now, still works fine.

[dOBER]

I think its all about luck and brand doesnt matter. My samsung 24b150bl is now near 9 years old and works without any issues or my 1440p 144hz asus pg278q is over 6 years old. Every monitor has at least 15000h behind and works like on first day. This doesnt mean they are good because i bet there are many people who had issues with them.