In 2023, I tested my first OLED gaming monitor for Engadget, LG 27GR95QE. An IPS is coming from LCD, LG screen was transformative. Its wold (White OLED) panel produced their blacks, which made every game incredible, and it allowed me to experience HDR gaming on a PC for the first time. But as amazing the monitor was, it was the first generation product and had some problems.
This produced text fringing, which distracts to use for productivity tasks, and whenever I enable G-Sync smoothing of Nvidia, it would be flicker. I recommended LG 27GR95QE with some cavet in my first gaming monitor guide, but in the last two years I have considering buying an OLED for myself anytime that I have closed. The panels have become better, but if I am going to spend $ 800 or more on a new monitor, it is better or at least close to it.
I think I have finally found OLED monitor which I will suggest without reservation, and I will buy it for myself. As long as you are the owner of a GPU that can run it, the new AW2725Q of the alienware is an extraordinary gaming display. With 4K resolution and 240Hz refresh rate, it is sharp, faster and provides almost innocent image quality in both SDR and HDR applications. Oh, and what I mentioned that it is much cheaper than the competition? If you are in the market for a high-end gaming monitor, it is going to buy.
design
Igor Bonifesic for Engadget
Dell’s new AW30 design for AW2725Q alienware products is at the beginning of the language. Ever since I have seen one of the company’s equipment personally, it’s been some time since, and I was worried that the monitor would look flarened on my desk. Thankfully, AW2725Q is not like this; In fact, this is one of the more understood designs made by me. Dale offers AW2725Q in a single color: Interstater IndiGo. It is a subtle color that is more interesting than normal black that you see on so many competitors. The monitor also has a minimum alienware branding. Behind the display, the company has a trademark alien logo, while you will get its badge from the front. People light up. You can change the color of LED or close it from the on-screen display (OSD) menu.
Like most Dell Monitor, AW2725Q provides lots of ports. To start, it comes with two HDMI 2.1 connection. One of them supports EARC, so you can connect the monitor to the soundbar and PS5 or Xbox Series X/S. It also has three USB-A ports and a single USB-C connection capable of 15W power delivery. The AW2725Q has the same flat Samsung-built QD-AlEd panel, which is $ 1,200 asus PG27UCDM and $ 1,100 MSI 272urx.
Dale cut off some features to bring his monitor to $ 900. First, it is recalling a displayport 2.1 output, which means that it is limited to the old 1.4 standard. As a result, AW2725Q needs to rely on the display stream compression (DSC) to output 4K signals at 240Hz. On paper and in behavior, this is not the reason for the alienware to leave on the monitor. As the name suggests, DSC is a compression algorithm. It is not technically blameless, but it is “visually defective”, and until you pixel pipes, it is difficult to notice a DSC signal and the difference between an uncomprised one on the display 2.1. In addition, you will need one of the latest GPUs of NVidia or AMD to take advantage of the new standard.
Other agreements of AW2725Q are more notable. The MSI and Asus models provide 98W and 90W power delivery on their USB-C ports, making them better to charge the laptop quickly. Asus monitor also comes with a KVM switch, if you want to use a single keyboard and mouse to control more than one computers. They are all good, but do not have features that I will pay an additional $ 200 or $ 300 to receive on a new monitor, especially one I plan to use for gaming.
Display
Igor Bonifesic for Engadget
Although I have seen more than some OLED monitor in the past, AW2725Q was immediately effective. As I mentioned earlier, it has a QD-Olade panel created by Samsung, and this specific model is the first time the company offers 4K resolution on a 27-inch panel. It may look like an overcast, and in a way it is.
He said, AW2725Q has a major advantage for 166ppi pixel density. This is the first OLED monitor I have used that does not renounce the text clarity. With the earlier generations of OLED panels from both Samsung and LG, I found that the text is really distracted, making them impractical to most productivity functions. With AW2725Q, this problem is almost completely solved, which is not only a great gaming monitor, but a great monitor period.
AW2725Q provides 99 percent DCI-P3 coverage. Outside the box, my unit required some calibration, as green diodes dominated everything else. Once I drove the monitor through the displaycl, the AW2725Q looked almost right. The color was alive without overback. If you want to use AW2725Q for design task, the Dale contains the option to drop the SRGB down in the OSD. Talking about OSD, it is well placed and thanks to a joystick is easy to navigate, which is very large, which does not feel very big.
Igor Bonifesic for Engadget
AW2725Q has a bright coating that increases the ability of the panel to produce deep blacks and vibrant colors. In a dim light room, the alienware monitor outputs an image that is about three dimensions. When I went to resume the old games, even the mastery in the SDR, I felt as if I was watching artistic details that I had not seen before. Of course, the tradeoffs with a bright coating are that the reflections are far more pronounced. Additionally, one of the quirks of qd-Ald panels is that their black pixels may look gray in rooms with bright ambient lights. At first I was disappointed, but once I got better about using my blind to manage the light coming through the window, the tradeoff was worth it. In this way, the AW2725Q is like any OLED screen: it requires proper lighting to see the best.
Once I dial the screen, the AW2725Q was equally great for both immersive and competitive gaming, thanks to its 240Hz refresh rate. After coming from 165Hz monitor, I did not think the faster fresh rate would make the games feel quite smooth, but I was wrong. Even when my NVIDIA RTX was not able to fully saturate the 3070 GPU display, such as in sports Cyberpank 2077 And Space sea 2 For example, I was not seen any smear or smeering. Most of this is thanks to the 0.03MS pixel reaction time. One of the good things about OLED monitor, especially if you’re running a low powerful GPU like I am, is that you do not need to worry about overdrive mode. When I enabled G-Sink, I saw VRR Flicker, but it looked less clear than what has been seen on the old OLED monitor like LG 27gr95QE.
Igor Bonifesic for Engadget
Whatever I have mentioned so far applies to SDR gaming, but when you enable HDR then AW2725Q actually comes in itself. It is a Vesa True Black 400-Primate display. Like dark, atmospheric games dead Space And Allen wakeAW2725Q’s ability to produce true blacks and near-infinite ratio is transformative. The screen greatly enhances sports that try to achieve sports that are thanks to dark scenes that are washed with the glow on the IPS display.
Unfortunately, I do not have the necessary tools to measure the peak shine and panel uniformity. On critics Rtings And Unboxed monitor However, give high rate to AW2725Q. They found that the monitor could reach its peak at 220 NITs in its SDR mode, and maintain about 260 notes peak brightness on a full screen during the HDR operation. If you are coming from an LCD display, I think AW2725Q will not be disappointed, even if it is not bright as some other OLEDs on the market.
Burn-in protection
For a few weeks burn-in is not enough to emphasize the AW2725Q, but whatever I have seen so far, with decent care, the panel should last for years. First, the monitor comes with a suit of maintenance features. One of them will refresh all the pixels on the panel so that they do not get stuck. You can start the process manually through OSD. AW2725Q will start the process on its own even after turning off your computer or it falls asleep. The entire process takes about five minutes. There are also self-diagnosed tools for panels and fans behind the display.
In the US, Dell AW2725Q offers a three-year warranty, including burn-in security in coverage. Each manufacturer does not do this with its OLED monitor, so the fact is that the del is good and makes AW2725Q a long -term purchasing.
Wrap
Igor Bonifesic for Engadget
Generally, when I review a product, I could not wait to return to the device I was using before. I try to be thoughtful about my shopping habits, and only buy things that I know will serve me well for the coming years. So I can say the best thing about alienware AW2725Q that I am not eager to send it back. This is a wonderful performance that has made one of my favorite hobbies more enjoyable. The fact is that its cost is ising on $ 900 cake.
Yes, it is still more expensive than your average IPS gaming monitor, but it is cheaper than the competition without renouncing visual quality. If you are in the market for 4K OLED, I will only leave AW2725Q if you have a desk location to adjust a 32 -inch screen and you like that size.
This article originally appeared on Engadget
