Alienware AW2725DF review: OLED’s refresh rate cranked up to 360Hz

Price When Reviewed

$899

2023 was the 12 months that OLED screens went mainstream. While nonetheless costly, a buffet of latest selections in in style show sizes made it potential for a lot of who crave OLED to dive in. With that completed, Alienware’s AW2725DF turns its consideration to a brand new job: perfecting movement readability.

Further studying: See our roundups of the best monitors and best gaming monitors to find out about competing merchandise.

What are the Alienware AW2725DF’s specs and options?

The Alienware AW2725DF is in some ways much like prior 27-inch OLED screens that hit retailer cabinets in 2023. It has a 27-inch QD-OLED show panel with a decision of 2560×1440, and the monitor boasts VESA Display True Black 400 certification.

• Display dimension: 27-inch widescreen
• Native decision: 2560×1440
• Panel sort: QD-OLED
• Refresh fee: 360Hz
• Adaptive sync: AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, VRR
• HDR: VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400
• Ports: 1x HDMI 2.1, 2x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x USB-B upstream, 3x USB-A downstream, 1x USB-C downstream
• VESA mount: 100x100mm
• Speakers: None
• Price: $899

But there’s one specification that stands out from the gang, and that’s the refresh fee. The AW2725DF boasts a most refresh fee of 360Hz, a major improve over the 240Hz refresh fee discovered throughout most 27-inch OLED screens in 2023.

Surprisingly, this doesn’t bump the value, and the AW2725DF’s $899 MSRP is definitely $100 lower than the $999 MSRP typical of most 27-inch OLED screens from main manufacturers (although many have acquired reductions since).

How is the Alienware AW2725DF’s design?

The Alienware AW2725DF appears to be like like an Alienware monitor. That means enticing plastics paired with LED accents and ranging supplies that present an upscale, sci-fi look. This explicit monitor arrived with the black colorway, which is considerably extra delicate than the white colorway Alienware typically provides, however nonetheless appears to be like nice. It additionally advantages from OLED’s ultra-thin design, which lets the monitor obtain slim bezels on all sides and a skinny profile round again.

The commonplace LED accents might be adjusted by the monitor’s menu or coordinate with Dell’s AlienFX software program, which may management lighting on a number of suitable gadgets concurrently. I’m not typically a fan of LED accents, however they give the impression of being good on the AW2725DF, and so they’re straightforward to show off ought to they put on out their welcome.

An ergonomic stand is included and adjusts for top, tilt, and swivel. It additionally pivots 90 levels to be used in portrait orientation, if desired. The stand is sturdy and retains the monitor planted. It additionally has a small hexagonal base, which is vital when inserting the monitor on a small desk.

Cable administration is included within the type of a cable information by the neck of the stand and small plastic guides on the again of the monitor. A 100x100mm VESA mount is on the market, too, to be used with third-party monitor stands and arms.

How is the Alienware AW2725DF’s connectivity and menu?

Matt Smith

Connectivity isn’t a precedence for the Alienware AW2725DF, but it surely supplies a suitable vary of inputs for a high-refresh gaming monitor.

Video connectivity consists of two DIsplayPort 1.4 ports and a single HDMI 2.1. DisplayPort is required to benefit from the monitor at 1440p decision and its most refresh fee of 360Hz. The HDMI port can solely obtain 1440p at 144Hz. To be honest, that is much less of a problem than it might sound. The HDMI port is offered for recreation consoles and residential theater gadgets, which generally output a refresh fee of 60Hz to 120Hz.

The monitor additionally provides a number of USB-A downstream ports and a single USB-C downstream port. It isn’t, nevertheless, a USB-C hub, because the USB ports are as a substitute pushed by a USB-B upstream connection. I wish to see USB-C upstream alongside USB-B, given the AW2725DF’s value. Alienware is true to assume the monitor is finest paired with a desktop, and few desktops have a USB-C video output. Still, it might be good to have the choice to dock a laptop computer or pill over USB-C, too.

Matt Smith

Alienware’s menu system is accessed by a joystick situated on the show’s decrease lip. It’s quick, responsive, and intuitive, as menu choices are appropriately oriented in order that up is all the time up and down is all the time down (some screens nonetheless get this fallacious).

Image high quality customization features a lengthy record of preset modes and a customized shade mode that permits calibration for acquire, hue, saturation, and offset. There’s additionally a Warm and Cool shade temperature mode, however I couldn’t find a gamma adjustment.

Alienware additionally supplies varied options for gaming together with an on-screen timer and body fee counter, crosshairs, and a “black equalizer,” which elevates the brightness of darkish parts of the show to make shadowy foes straightforward to see. These options are typical for a gaming monitor, however they work nicely sufficient right here.

Just one function is absent: audio system. That’s widespread for a high-end gaming monitor, since many manufacturers assume gamers will use a headset or a sound system with audio high quality far past what a monitor can present.

How is the Alienware AW2725DF’s SDR picture high quality?

Image high quality is vital for a high-end gaming monitor just like the Alienware AW2725DF, and it delivers all these normal perks typical of QD-OLED screens. It’s a colourful, vibrant monitor, although not particularly brilliant.

Matt Smith

Speaking of which: Brightness is the primary take a look at, and right here the AW2725DF performs identically to different beforehand examined OLED screens, such because the AOC Agon Pro AG276QZD. The Alienware’s most SDR brightness of 245 nits will probably be superb in most conditions however, alongside the semi-gloss show, may result in points in brilliant rooms.

I wouldn’t suggest the AW2725DF for those who want a monitor for a desk in a room with out a lot mild management, like a lounge or a company bullpen. If your room has even modest mild management (like curtains or shades), although, you shouldn’t see a problem.

Matt Smith

Contrast is OLED’s conventional power, and the AW2725DF delivers. It has an successfully infinite distinction ratio, because it’s able to reaching a minimal brightness of zero nits in my checks. And, like different OLED screens, it may well do that on a per-pixel degree (or one thing very near it), which implies small, brilliant objects distinction completely in opposition to darkish backgrounds. The reverse can be true.

This is a key level that differentiates the AW2725DF from IPS LCD screens that may be thought-about, like Alienware’s 500Hz AW2524HF, or a Mini-LED show just like the Innocn 27M2V. Both of these screens carry out very nicely for the value, however buyers who care about deep, inky black ranges will favor the AW2725DF.

Matt Smith

The AW2725DF additionally delivers a wholesome shade gamut that spans 98 % of the DCI-P3 gamut and 94 % of AdobeRGB. Those are nice outcomes, and so they point out that the monitor can deal with almost any shade area an individual procuring would fairly throw at it. I don’t suggest the AW2725DF for those who plan to paint grade a Pixar movie, but it surely’s in any other case excellent for many picture enhancing and video enhancing duties.

With that stated, you may acquire comparable or higher efficiency from different shows, such because the Innocn 27M2V. The common shade gamut efficiency present in new screens has improved by leaps and bounds lately, so whereas the AW2725DF appears to be like excellent, its efficiency is merely what I anticipate to see from a high-end monitor in 2024.

Gamers particularly focused on excessive refresh charges ought to take a detailed have a look at how the AW2725DF compares to Alienware’s 500Hz monitor, the AW2524HF. It’s not a detailed competitors. The AW2725DF wins, and appears way more vibrant and saturated than the AW2524HF.

Matt Smith

Color accuracy can be robust, which is sweet to see, as not all OLED screens obtain comparable outcomes on this take a look at. The AW2725DF’s shade accuracy is in league with different high-end screens that use totally different show applied sciences, together with the Innocn 27M2V.

The Alienware did nicely in shade temperature and gamma checks, reaching a default shade temperature of 6300Okay (off a goal of 6500Okay) and gamma curve of two.2 (which is on-target). This helps the AW2725DF present a balanced, sensible picture. The monitor’s shade temperature and gamma adjustment is minimal, nevertheless, so homeowners who wish to considerably change the colour temperature or gamma from these targets will possible want to make use of software program calibration to realize their desired outcomes. This isn’t an issue for most individuals, although, and the AW2725DF appears to be like nice out of the field.

Sharpness stays a draw back. 1440p decision is generally not less than enough on a 27-inch show, however QD-OLED screens have a sub-pixel construction that tends to battle with Windows textual content rendering. This leads to a extra jagged and pixelated look to small textual content which, within the worst conditions, could cause small fonts to look to blur or mix collectively. It’s typically adequate, however 1440p screens with an IPS-LCD will look sharper, notably on the Windows desktop and in desktop apps.

The Alienware AW2725DF’s total picture high quality is superb, although unsurprising. It achieves leads to league with different OLED screens of comparable dimension, and its shade efficiency is a bit above-average. It’s a super monitor to be used in a room with good mild management, or for having fun with video games and flicks with a darkish presentation, as its excellent distinction ratio delivers nice element in these conditions.

How is the Alienware AW2725DF’s HDR picture high quality?

HDR is commonly a blended bag on OLED screens, and the AW2725DF isn’t an exception — although, in apply, it tends to carry out nicely sufficient.

Brightness is the difficulty. The AW2725DF is VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black licensed and features a peak brightness mode that claims as much as 1,000 nits of brightness. However, these figures can solely be achieved when small parts of the show are brightly lit. Using an HDR take a look at clip that ought to exceed 1,000 nits, I noticed a sustained brightness of 313 nits when 10 % of the show was lit, which was lowered to 207 nits with 100 % of the show lit.

Still, the brightness of small, sharp highlights is subjectively spectacular, and the result’s helped vastly by the monitor’s distinction ratio and broad shade gamut. I used to be impressed by the AW2725DF’s picture high quality whereas viewing the “Gargantua” scene from Interstellar. The brilliant accretion disk across the black gap skews in direction of a sheer, brilliant nothingness in SDR and on poor HDR shows, however the AW2725DF preserved good element.

The AW2725DF’s brightness limitation is extra evident when viewing a really brilliant scene, similar to a snow-capped mountain in Forza Horizon 5, or a touchdown strip lit by brilliant midday daylight in Microsoft Flight Simulator. The AW2725DF can look uninteresting and dusty in comparison with a Mini-LED show, though you may not discover this for those who don’t have a Mini-LED show readily available to match it with.

I are likely to suggest Mini-LED shows over OLED if HDR is your prime precedence, and the AW2725DF doesn’t change my place. Still, it’ll normally look enticing in HDR content material, and particularly in video games. It may even ship a large enchancment over any IPS LCD or VA LCD show that lacks a Mini-LED backlight.

How is the Alienware AW2725DF’s movement efficiency?

Matt Smith

Now we come to the AW2725DF’s headline function: the 360Hz refresh fee. The AW2725DF is a phenomenal show, however its efficiency is much like different OLED rivals, so the refresh fee is the true purpose to buy it over its alternate options (just a few simply announced-monitors from Samsung and LG additionally present a 360Hz refresh fee, or greater, however I’ve not but had probability to see them).

And the AW2725DF’s movement readability unquestionably delivers the profit I’d anticipate to see. A 240Hz OLED monitor is already extraordinarily crisp in movement, and upping the refresh fee to 360Hz additional refines the picture. Even the smallest particulars stay seen in fast-moving objects. Character names and particular person ticks in hitpoint bars stay seen in League of Legends and DOTA 2, whereas video games like Final Fantasy XIV protect even the best texture particulars whereas transferring the digital camera quickly from left to proper.

Objectively, I do know it’s not good. But it feels shut. I discover it onerous to think about even essentially the most skeptical gamer discovering a flaw with the movement readability of this monitor.

The AW2725DF additionally compares favorably to different screens with a 360Hz refresh fee. Most such screens have an IPS show panel with a better pixel response time (typically between 0.5 and 1 millisecond, gray-to-gray). The AW2725DF, like different OLED screens, quotes a pixel response time of simply 0.03 milliseconds. Because of this, the AW2725DF appears to be like a bit sharper in movement than 360Hz IPS shows.

What concerning the 500Hz Alienware AW2524HF? I now not had it readily available for a direct comparability, however I felt the AW2725DF’s movement readability was near, if not on par with, the AW2524HF. I’d nonetheless suggest the Alienware AW2524HF for essentially the most aggressive gamers, as its dimension and backbone is best fitted to that scene. But the AW2725DF’s movement readability is massively spectacular, and its dimension and backbone make it a greater match for gamers who take pleasure in quite a lot of genres.

Is the Alienware AW2725DF price it?

The Alienware AW2725DF is a wonderful OLED gaming monitor and an incredible buy for anybody seeking to purchase a 27-inch OLED widescreen. It scores nicely throughout almost all metrics together with shade gamut, shade accuracy, and distinction, and in addition delivers top-notch movement readability in fast-paced video games. I’d’ve appreciated to see a bit extra connectivity and some extra choices within the monitor’s menu system, however these are minor points that almost all homeowners will discover straightforward to dwell with. The monitor’s affordable $899 MSRP, which has similarities to the MSRP of rivals with a 240Hz refresh fee, provides icing to an already candy cake.