The glossy OLED panel really rips
Silly-fast pixel response
Good full-screen brightness
Privacy for a 34-inch ultrawide
Not terribly high res
Non-standard subpixel structure
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When 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Alienware rolled out the world's first OLED gaming monitor, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Alienware 34 AW3423DW, we were wowed. Now there's a new model, the Alienware 34 AW3423DWF, that ജaddresses some of the slight reservations we had. Does that added "F" on the end make for a better monitor?
For sure, Alienware has fixed a few things. As good as the old Alienware 34 AW3423DW was, it was painfully pricey for starters. Partly, that was down to full Nvidia G-Sync Ultimate certification, a feature that doesn't necessarily add a huge amount to the viewing experience, but costs plenty thanks to🎐 the need to integrate an Nvidia G-Sync chip into the display.
The or🍌iginal non-F model also had a matte anti-glare screen coating that slightly 🎃compromises the vibrancy and perceived black levels of the 34-inch QD-OLED panel. The good news is that Alienware has tweaked the first issue and entirely fixed the second.
The new Alienware 34 AW3423DWF is a fair bit cheaper than the original model, which we deem one of the very 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming monitors going. At $1,099 / £929, you're paying $200 less here. One aspect that hasn't changed is the native resolution. It remains at 3,440 by 1,440 pixels. That's a good compromise for pure gaming, less so if you're looking for a display to both game ▨and get some general computing work done.
The new Alienware 34 AW3423DWF is built around exactly the same Samsung-supp💧lied QD-OLED panel as the original model. In most regards, the specs are identical. But there are a few detai🍌l changes.
Along with the change from matte to glossy panel coating, the most obvious change is the drop in refresh rate from 175Hz to 165Hz. That's a tiny dif🎀ference in experiential terms and one that's probably more about justifying the older model's price premium than any technical limitations. You're never going to be able to feel the difference between 165Hz and 175Hz in-game, that's for sure.
Regardless, the aforementioned deletion of G-Sync Ultimate support isn't a total drawback. Tagging in is AMD's Freesync Premium Pro as an alternative, making it ideal if you're looking for the best 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:G-Sync compatible FreeSync monitors. So there's adaptive refresh support for not only AMD♈ and Nvidia GPUs but also the latest Sony and Microsoft consoles.
Just remember that the 3,440 by 1,440 ultrawide resolution and 21:9 aspect ratio can be problematic for console gaming. As a screen to share bet⛎ween console and PC gaming, this monitor can make sense. But for pure console gaming, it's too compromised.
The physical design is familiar, too. Essentially, this cheaper model trades some of the original's white plastics for black. It's still a good-looking monitor, but a lit🦄tle of the premium "Stormtrooper" style has been lost in the process.
Connectivity-wise, you get a pair of DisplayPort 1.4 interfaces and a single HDMI 2.1, the latter ensuring you can hit 120Hz for console gaming, with the 165Hz action l🔯imited to PCs. There's no USB-C connectivity, which isn't a major issue for gaming but does limit this monitor's multi-purpose appeal a little. Rounding outꦑ the main speeds and feeds is a USB hub, a height, tilt and swivel adjustable stand, and a dash of Alienware's FX RGB lighting tackle.
Given th♔e original Alienware 34 AW3423DW is a corker, you'd expect the new AW3423DWF to be a stunner, too. And you'd be right. You get all the same OLED goodness as before.
First up, that means ultra-quick pixel response that's more than worthy of a place on our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best high refresh rate monitor power ༺rankings. OK, LCD monitors have gotten a lot quicker in recent years. But they still can't compete with the blur-free experience that OLED panel tech delivers. It's pretty special.
The same applies to HDR performance. OLED panels effectively offer a perfect per-pixel lighting experience. Again, even the greatest LCD m🌳onitors with mini-LE🔯D local dimming are nowhere near as precise.
If anything, however, the HDR experienc⛄e is even better now thanks to a new glossy screen coating. It ramps up the perceived contrast and lets the QD-OLED panel reꦿally sing.
Seeing 🌄something like Cyberpunk 2077 running with both HDR and ray-tracing set to full reheat on this monitor is pretty much the definitive gaming experience right nowও, at least in terms of pure visual spectacle. It's really something, the contrast is just outrageous.
The 21:9 ultrawide aspect ratio and gentle 1800R panel curve help a little, too. It's definitely a more immersive form factor than a conventional 16:9 screen. The combination of relatively mo🎃dest resolution and 165Hz refresh doesn't hurt, either.
Sure, you're not getting quite the same razor-sharp in-game image detail as you do with, say, one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best 4K monitors for gaming. But then with this slightly lower resolution, you've got half a chance of hitting those buttery-smooth triple-digit frame rates. Even with the latest GPUs, 4K really slows thingᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚs down in the latest games with all the eye candy switched on.
Another strong point, at least by OLED standards, i⛄s full-screen brightness. Firstly, this monitor looks fairly punchy regardless of how muc🥂h of the screen is displaying bright objects. You definitely can't always say about all OLED screens.
OK, this Alienware's peak output does dim very slightly when, roughly, three-quarters or more of the panel is rendering something bright. But it's barely noticeable and nothing as bad as monitors with OLED panels from LG rather than Samsღung, the former suffering from notably poor full-screen brightness.
What th𒊎is Samsung-powered display doesn't do all that well, is general computing. Partly that's because, at this price point, you can have your pick of sizes, form factors, and resolution. A 34-inch panel with 3,440 by 1,440 pixels doesn't make for terribly good pixel density, unfortunately.
Making matters worse, Samsung's QD-OLED tech uses a triangular RGB subpixel rather than vertically striped RGB. That doesn't help with font rendering in Windows, which relies on a convention🍎al subpixel structure for really ♉nice, crisp text.
To be clear, fonts do🉐n't look terrible. They're just a little softer than you would expect. That's irrelevant to gaming, but it does compro🌜mise this display a touch as an all-rounder.
Oh, and if you are wondering about the age-old concer♓n of burn-in on an OLED monitor, the truth is that these early OLED pane🤪ls are too new for final conclusions to be drawn. There is some evidence that Samsung's QD-OLED panels may be more prone than the LG alternative. But it's not definitive. Either way, you do get a full three-year warranty from Alienware which covers burn-in. So that's reassuring.
If there was one thing we wanted to cha♑nge about the OG Alienware OLED monitor, it was that matte anti-glare coating. It prevented the OLED tech from really doing its thing.
Alienware has fixed that with thiไs revised "F" model thanks to a glossy coati🦄ng. The results are stunning. This is now exactly the kind of OLED experience we've been hoping for. The HDR visuals are fantastic and the speed is outrageous. For PC gaming, it's simply fabulous.
That's particularly impressive given you're actually paying less for this model thanks, in ꧑part, to the deletion of Nvidia G-Sync Ultimate support. We also prefer the Samsung QD-OLED panel tech to the alternative LG option. It's brighter and more consistent in a PC gaming context.
That said, this is still a very pricey panel and it does suffer some limitations. The aspect ratio and resolution aren't the best fit for console gaming. And the pixel density and subpixel structure slightly compromise thಞe image quality for computing.
OLED monitors are still very new in a gaming monitor context and that makes for a novel set of foibles and testing challenges. For instance, full-screen brightness and brightness variability in response to the image being displayed need to be carefully observed, something that simply doesn't apply to a backlit LCD monitor. We als🌠o test for pixel response, latency, and color accuracy, along with assessing HDR performance, ergonomics, connectivity, OSD features, and more.
If you want to learn more about the ways we test the latest gaming monitors here at GamesRadar, take a look at our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:hardware policy.
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A serious dissertation on the finer points of input lag and overshoot followed by a forensic examination of AI-accelerated temporal upscaling. Such is a routine day in the working life of long-time tech wordsmith, Jeremy Laird. Along 🤡with GamesRadar, Jeremy’s 15-year back catalogue includes a host of tech and gaming outlets, including TechRadar and PC Gamer, not to mention contributions to mainstream media from the Independent to the Evening Standard. Complimenting Jeremy’s debilitating addiction to all kinds of digital hardware, he is also afflicted by an 💧obsession with and a significant occupational sideline in cars and automotive technology.
