What do you get should you mix two cutting-edge show applied sciences into one? You get one thing just like the Alienware AW3423DW, a 34-inch curved show that features each Quantum Dots and an Organic LED show panel. The thought is that this combines the colour and brightness of Quantum Dots (tiny dots that glow at particular colours when excited) with the deep, wealthy colours of Organic Light-Emitting Diode shows. The outcome? A shocking show that makes video games pop with unbelievable readability and realism. It isn’t an amazing decide for skilled use or watching strikes, however it’s, no doubt, one of many finest gaming screens we’ve seen.
It sits on the prime of the lineup of Alienware branded screens, with the identical worth as their earlier flagship, the 38-inch AW3821D. That makes it a pricy decide for anybody, however it stood as much as our battery of checks utilizing a number of fashionable video games, a spectrophotometer, and a crucial eye. You’ll want a strong gaming PC to drive this monitor, however the outcomes are wonderful.
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(Image credit score: Richard Baguley)
Alienware AW3423DW 34-inch curved gaming monitor overview: worth and availability
The Alienware 34 Curved QD-OLED gaming monitor AW3423DW is on the market now, priced at £1099/$1299/AU$2299. Make certain you test our Dell low cost codes to see should you can decrease the price.
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Alienware AW3423DW 34-inch curved gaming monitor overview: design and construct high quality
When the Alienware AW3423DW was first delivered to my door, my spouse commented that it was “vulgarly massive”. I instructed that she had a degree, however that a minimum of it wasn’t the 38-inch version (opens in new tab). She, as normal, is correct, although. At over 32 inches broad, this factor will dominate any desk or desk you plonk it on. Is {that a} good factor? From a gaming viewpoint, sure. The big 21:9 side ratio 34-inch display screen with an 1800R curve creates a extra immersive view, as a result of the perimeters of the monitor keep in focus. With a big flat display screen, your eye has to refocus on the perimeters of the display screen, which breaks the immersive feeling and might trigger eye pressure over a protracted gaming session. With an appropriately curved display screen, the entire display screen is in focus on the identical time. If you look over to the sting of the display screen, your eyes don’t should refocus.
Well, for the individual sitting proper in entrance of it, a minimum of. Others sitting round don’t get the impact. Sit multiple individual in entrance of this and certainly one of them will in all probability complain that it appears flawed. So, this isn’t a monitor that may double as a household film display screen. It is designed for one individual to make use of. The reasonably excessive 1800R curve of the display screen (which means that it’s curved alongside a circle with a radius of 1800 millimeters, or 1.8 meters) implies that the person must be sitting fairly near get the total impact – lower than 1.8 meters, or six toes. So, it’s for video games, however not films.
It is price digging into the main points of what’s contained in the monitor. According to Dell, the show itself has 4 layers: an oxide backplate that conducts warmth away from the opposite layers, a blue light-emitting OLED layer, then the Quantum Dot layer, which absorbs the blue gentle and releases it as completely different colours of sunshine, creating the ultimate picture. A protecting layer sits on prime of those fragile elements, bending the monitor into its attribute curve. The level of all of this know-how is that the monitor provides one of the best of each OLED and Quantum Dots. Each pixel of the OLED solely releases gentle whether it is triggered, so there is no such thing as a constantly-on backlight that makes for muddy blacks. The Quantum Dot layer of the monitor creates very shiny, clear colours from the blue of the OLED layer, so that you get wonderful brightness from the display screen.
The display screen additionally has a really excessive refresh charge. Quantum Dots reply shortly to modifications, so it may change the picture on the display screen as much as 175 instances per second, or a 175Hz refresh charge. Support can also be provided for NVidia’s G-Synch Ultimate characteristic, the place the graphics card and monitor co-operate to range the refresh charge because the picture modifications shortly or slowly. There isn’t any help for AMD’s equal FreeSynch know-how, although I used to be nonetheless capable of drive this monitor at 175Hz from an AMD graphics card. You simply don’t get the flowery on-the-fly refresh charge adjustment that FreeSynch provides.
The AW3223DW additionally helps High Dynamic Range (HDR) video modes, in addition to masking 99 % of the DCI-P3 colour gamut utilized by skilled filmmakers. There are two HDR modes, HDR 400 True Black and HDR Peak 1000. The latter makes the picture brighter, however at the price of a bit lack of element within the black elements of the picture, and a few points with shiny elements of the picture dimming when they’re bigger.
(Image credit score: Richard Baguley)
You get loads of inputs for this monitor, with one DisplayPort and two HDMI 2.0 inputs. There isn’t any help for the newest HDMI 2.1 normal, although. Dell claims that, as a result of consoles just like the XBox One and PS5 don’t help the 21:9 side ratio, there is no such thing as a want. There can be no benefit in supporting HDMI 2.1 as no present console may output a sign that may use it.
Remember, this isn’t a 4K monitor, so an Xbox Series X will step all the way down to a QHD (2560×1440) picture, whereas a PS5 will go to a Full HD (1920 by 1080 pixels) picture. So, this isn’t an amazing decide as a main monitor for console gaming. You’ll get a great-looking picture, however it gained’t use the total decision or scree of this uncommon monitor. It’s primarily for PC gaming, however you should use it for console gaming if the children are hogging your 4K TV.
One USB 3.2 enter can also be accessible, as are two USB 3.2 outputs. There isn’t any USB-C, although, and you’ll’t drive this monitor over the USB connection – it’s purely for peripherals. In nowadays of USB-C in every single place, this looks like an odd omission, however it speaks to the gaming function of this show, which will probably be pushed from a graphics card with a DisplayPort output on a PC or laptop computer.
The cables are routed throughout the engaging stand to maintain them out of the way in which, and the entire setup appears clear {and professional}. The stand can also be very adjustable, permitting you to decrease the monitor to inside 3 inches of your desk, or as much as 7.25 inches above. It can even tilt the monitor again as much as 20 levels, or ahead as much as 5 levels and 20 inches left or proper.
(Image credit score: Richard Baguley)
Alienware AW3423DW 34-inch curved gaming monitor overview: specs and efficiency
So, what does all of this techno-babble imply? The Alienware AW3423DW appears bloody superior. Images have deep blacks and shiny clear whites and colours on display screen on the identical time in a means that makes most traditional LCD shows seem like poorly developed images. The consultants name this dynamic vary, and this monitor has it. I examined the AW3223DW with a number of fashionable video games, together with Doom Eternal and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2022, they usually all regarded uniformly wonderful, with the intense, vivid colours including to the gory expertise of Doom Eternal. Microsoft Flight Simulator regarded very practical, with the excessive dynamic vary exhibiting up in issues just like the solar glancing off the metalwork of the airplane subsequent to deep, darkish shadows on the bottom. That will increase the immersive really feel that video games like Flight Simulator purpose for – it appears extra like the true world.
There are a few caveats, although. Some video games (comparable to Elden Ring) don’t help the weird 21:9 side ratio of the monitor, so you find yourself with black bars on the left and proper. While you may suppose {that a} widescreen monitor like this might be good for video enhancing, it lacks help for 4K video; the 3440 by 1440 pixel decision of the display screen implies that it has lower than 4K decision on the vertical. This implies that 4K video is scaled down to suit, so that you gained’t get a full preview of 4K films and movies.
I additionally observed that the brightness of the display screen was reasonably variable when utilizing the show for issues aside from gaming. In the usual HDR 400 mode, I measured the brightness of a small space of white at about 212 Cd/m2 (Candelas per meter squared). That’s an honest outcome, however after I measured it once more with a bigger space of white, the brightness fell to 135 Cd/M2. Switching to the HDR Peak 1000 mode, the small space elevated to 294 Cd/m2, however dropped to 185 Cd/m2 with a bigger space of white on the display screen. That’s as a result of when it’s exhibiting massive areas of shiny white, the show notches the brightness down to stop the OLED layer from overheating. You may recall that older plasma shows had the same drawback. That’s not a giant deal for gaming, however it’s a ache for different duties: do some writing in Word on this show (which exhibits black textual content on a white web page) or edit images shot in opposition to a white background in Photoshop, and the general brightness dims visibly.
To be honest, most video games don’t present massive quantities of white: they have an inclination extra to go for a darkish, gloomy look with splashes of colour, which this show excels at. But it could possibly be an issue if you’re seeking to do issues aside from gaming with this monitor.
When the monitor has been on for some time, it additionally asks you if it may use a particular refresh mode whenever you flip it on or off. If you agree, the monitor goes principally black and the facility gentle pulses because the display screen resets the pixels to stop any pixels from getting caught should you show a static picture for a very long time. The course of takes about 5 minutes.
You’ll additionally want a reasonably beefy gaming PC to drive this massive monitor. I examined it with the Alienware x17 R2 gaming laptop computer, which features a speedy NVidia RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU chip. I will probably be reviewing this laptop computer individually quickly. This managed a formidable (and splendidly fluid and smooth-looking) 110 frames per second in Doom Eternal in Ultra Nightmaregraphics mode. But a non-gaming laptop computer choked. I attempted connecting a Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio, which runs an NVidia GeForce 3060 GPU, and managed solely an unplayable 10 frames per second. Bottom line: if you wish to drive this massive, costly monitor, you have to a giant and doubtless costly gaming PC or laptop computer.
(Image credit score: Richard Baguley)
Alienware AW3423DW 34-inch curved gaming monitor overview: verdict
The AW3423DW is a wonderful monitor that gives unbelievable picture high quality whenever you drive it from a quick gaming PC. Run a first-person-shooter recreation and also you’ll be immersed within the recreation with shiny, vivid colours and deep, detailed shadows. Is it well worth the cash? If you’re a critical gamer who desires that immersion, sure. For extra informal players, a less expensive choice could also be higher suited.
Where it doesn’t work fairly so effectively was in non-gaming apps. The brightness dips when many of the display screen is white, comparable to writing in a phrase processing doc. The vertical decision can also be lower than 4K, so that you don’t get a full preview of 4K content material.
(Image credit score: Dell)
Alienware AW3423DW 34-inch curved gaming monitor overview: additionally think about
There are loads of opponents for the highest canine within the pack of finest premium gaming screens. The closest competitor to this monitor can be the LG Ultragear 34GN850, which has comparable styling, decision and options, however with out the eye-popping colour of the Quantum Dot/OLED combo on the Alienware. It is considerably cheaper, although, and is presently accessible for about £750/$800. If you don’t thoughts dropping just a few inches, the Monoprice Dark Matter 27-inch prices lower than 300 bucks and provides wonderful efficiency (although is just accessible within the US). Heck, you possibly can purchase three of those and a triple monitor stand for the final word massive monitor and nonetheless have cash left over.