Tested: Alienware's AW2725D delivers OLED greatness at a budget price

Best Prices Today: Alienware AW2725D

$549.99

There’s no denying {that a} flood of OLED screens hit the market in 2025, and Dell (which owns Alienware) is among the many firms most accountable. It now has a complete of 5 OLED screens in its catalog of 14 present shows.

The Alienware AW2725D sits on the backside of the OLED ladder. It’s a 27-inch QD-OLED monitor with 1440p decision and a most refresh price of 280Hz, and it retails at an MSRP of simply $549.99. That makes it a simple alternative if you need an OLED gaming monitor at a mid-range value.

Read on to be taught extra, then see our roundup of the best gaming monitors for comparability.

Alienware AW2725D specs and options

The Alienware AW2725D’s specs are entry-level for a contemporary QD-OLED monitor, although which may shock you in case you don’t sustain with the newest shows. Though entry-level, the AW2725D nonetheless offers a good QD-OLED panel with 2560×1440 decision and a speedy 280Hz refresh price.

• Display measurement: 27-inch 16:9 side ratio
• Native decision: 2560×1440
• Panel kind: OLED
• Refresh price: Up to 280Hz
• Adaptive Sync: Yes, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, Nvidia G-Sync Compatible
• HDR: Yes, VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black Certified
• Ports: 2x HDMI 2.1, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x USB-B 5Gbps upstream, 1x USB-A 5Gbps downstream, 1x USB-C 5Gbps downstream with 15 watts charging
• Audio: None
• Price: $549.99 MSRP

It additionally helps Adaptive Sync, with official help for each AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync. HDR help, in the meantime, comes with VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black certification.

The value, although, is the actual purpose to purchase the AW2725D. Its retail MSRP of simply $549.99 is among the many lowest for any QD-OLED monitor. It matches or beats Amazon Prime Day offers on rivals just like the Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 and Gigabyte Aorus FO27Q2, that are older QD-OLED screens with a 240Hz refresh price.

Alienware AW2725D design

Alienware redesigned its complete monitor lineup for 2025, however not for the higher. The retro-futuristic look the model relied on for the previous 5 years is gone, changed by a curved, natural design. The plastics used don’t look or really feel as premium as earlier than and, surprisingly, all Alienware screens are available one colour: a darkish navy-blue hue.

It’s not all unhealthy information, although. The change in design comes with a brand new stand that’s extra compact than the dramatic wing-like stands that shipped with many older Alienware screens (and nonetheless ship with the Alienware AW3225QF which, regardless of the title, was launched in early 2024). Alienware’s complete 2025 monitor line-up takes up little area on a desktop.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

The stand offers a good vary of ergonomic adjustment, too. It adjusts 40 levels of swivel, 25 levels for tilt, and 110mm in top. It can rotate 90 levels into portrait orientation, too. This is typical for a 27-inch gaming monitor on this value bracket however nonetheless appreciated. A 100x100mm VESA mount is on the market to be used with third-party stands, as properly.

Alienware AW2725D connectivity

I’ve usually raged in opposition to gaming screens that fail to incorporate necessary ports, like USB-C with DisplayPort and Power Delivery. But this 12 months, Alienware known as my bluff. They determined to skip USB-C video enter and energy throughout the Alienware vary—and dropped their costs.

That means the Alienware AW2725D isn’t an important alternative to be used with a USB-C laptop computer or pill. You’ll have to stay to HDMI 2.1 or DisplayPort for video enter. The monitor does act as a USB hub with a pair downstream ports (one USB-A and one USB-C), but it surely solely offers one USB-B upstream port. So, you may solely join one gadget to the monitor’s USB hub at a time.

Whether that works for you relies on your wants. It’s not an issue for many gaming desktops, after all, as USB-C is never used for video enter. But in case you had been hoping to attach a thin-and-light laptop computer that’s simple to energy over USB-C, maybe since you use one alongside your gaming PC, you’ll seemingly need to look elsewhere.

On the opposite hand, this alternative appears to assist Alienware attain a particularly aggressive value. The AW2725D’s $549.99 MSRP is in league with older QD-OLED screens with 1440p decision and a 240Hz refresh price.

Alienware AW2725D menus and options

The Alienware AW2725D can also be mild on options. It has a joystick hidden underneath the middle of the decrease bezel that gives fast entry to the monitor’s menu system. Alternatively, house owners can use Alienware’s Command Center software program to tweak monitor settings inside Windows.

However, there’s not rather a lot to alter. The monitor doesn’t have colour temperature modes that focus on particular values. It does present gamma adjustment, however solely in a pair particular modes, corresponding to Creator. The most vital colour changes are restricted to Custom Color mode. Limitations like this are frequent for gaming screens. Still, content material creators who know what they need might discover the monitor a problem to tune and calibrate.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

It does present a number of gaming options. You’ll discover frequent options like an on-screen crosshair and timer, in addition to a darkish stabilizer that may elevate the brightness of darkish scenes (to make foes simpler to see). It additionally has Alienvision, which additional tweaks the picture to enhance distinction and readability on the expense of picture high quality.

The AW2725D doesn’t embrace audio system. Though a small disappointment, it’s to be anticipated given the worth. Most gaming screens don’t embrace audio system. Monitors which have good built-in audio, just like the LG Ultragear 32GS95UE-B, are way more costly.

Alienware AW2725D SDR picture high quality

The Alienware AW2725D is cheaper than most OLED screens however has a Samsung QD-OLED panel that’s at the very least pretty much as good because the 27-inch 1440p panels that had been in most flagship OLED gaming screens bought a 12 months or two in the past. As a consequence, the monitor’s SDR picture high quality doesn’t in any respect replicate its cheap value.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

The AW2725D begins off with a win in brightness. It achieved a most sustained SDR brightness of 272 nits which, because the graph exhibits, is among the many highest figures recorded from current OLED screens.

Brightness can nonetheless be a problem in shiny rooms. While 272 nits is rather a lot for an OLED monitor in SDR, it might probably look dim when pressured to compete with sunlit home windows. The AW2725D additionally has a extremely reflective show coat that amps up reflections.

Still, if you wish to go OLED and SDR brightness is a priority, the AW2725D is best than most.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

There’s not a lot to say about distinction, although solely as a result of it’s exactly as wonderful as anticipated. OLED screens obtain an successfully infinite distinction ratio because of their potential to succeed in a minimal luminance of zero nits. That’s why OLED screens look richer, deeper, and extra immersive than LCD screens with an LED backlight.

Once once more, value works within the AW2725D’s favor. All OLED screens are successfully an identical on this respect. Spending twice as a lot on a high-end competitor gained’t internet you any enchancment in distinction.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

Samsung’s QD-OLED panels are among the many most color-rich within the business, and the AW2725D is not any exception. It delivers a colour gamut that spans 100 % of sRGB, 98 % of DCI-P3, and 95 % of AdobeRGB. As the graph exhibits, that is top-notch efficiency for an OLED, and it’s near document efficiency general. The solely screens I’ve examined which have a wider gamut are uncommon QD-IPS shows with Mini-LED backlights, just like the Xiaomi G Pro 27i.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

I wasn’t fully shocked by the AW2725D’s excellent colour accuracy, as current Alienware OLED screens have proved uniformly wonderful on this take a look at. Still, it’s outstanding to see a $550 OLED monitor ship colour accuracy with a mean error beneath one, and to see it beat costlier rivals. This stage of colour accuracy means colour errors are usually unnoticeable. It’s not excellent, however the flaws come from different points of the show’s picture high quality, not colour accuracy.

One of these flaws is colour temperature. The AW2725D reached a default colour temperature of 6200Okay, which is a bit off the goal of 6500Okay and signifies a hotter picture than the goal. I don’t thoughts it, however you’ll want to regulate it to attain a extra impartial look. Also, as talked about, the AW2725D lacks exact colour temperature adjustment choices, so adjusting the colour temperature is a bit troublesome. Gamma, however, was spot-on the goal gamma worth of two.2.

Sharpness is mediocre, at the very least by the requirements of 2025. The AW2725D’s 27-inch (technically, 26.7-inch) 1440p panel squeezes in about 110 pixels per inch. By comparability, a 4K QD-OLED monitor just like the Alienware AW2725Q or Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27UCDM can ship round 166 pixels per inch.

That’s an enormous hole, and it’s made extra noticeable by the irregular sub-pixel structure of QD-OLED shows, which makes them look coarser than the specs recommend. I discover it arduous to note on a 4K QD-OLED, as a result of it’s so sharp to start with. With a 1440p show, although, QD-OLED does look a bit much less sharp than a 27-inch 1440p monitor with an IPS-LCD panel.

Still, I’ve no concern with the AW2725D’s general picture high quality. This monitor delivers efficiency that was flagship-caliber in early 2024, and it stays top-notch right now. The monitor’s picture high quality is right for gaming, because the anti-aliasing strategies obtainable in trendy video games could make up for a few of the sharpness hole between a 1440p and 4K monitor. Factor within the AW2725D’s nice SDR brightness, distinction, and colour efficiency, and also you’ve acquired a winner for all types of leisure.

Alienware AW2725D HDR picture high quality

The Alienware AW2725D doesn’t quit a lot in SDR picture high quality to attain its low value. But what about SDR? After all, monitor makers usually boast of their distinctive heatsinks and cooling options that increase most HDR brightness. Surely the budget-oriented AW2725 is worse. Right? …Right?

Matthew Smith / Foundry

Wrong. As the graph exhibits, the Alienware AW2725D ranks among the many strongest HDR gaming screens that PCWorld has ever examined.

To be clear, the margin between it and the alternate options is usually slim. I don’t assume most individuals will discover the distinction between a peak HDR brightness of 834 nits and a peak of 938 nits (I definitely can’t).

Still, the outcomes made it clear that the cheaper AW2725D performs simply in addition to costlier QD-OLED and LG WOLED panels, and it’s an important alternative for HDR video games.

Alienware AW2725D movement efficiency

The Alienware AW2725D’s refresh price is arguably amongst its much less enticing options and a key purpose for its low value, however on condition that it nonetheless offers a refresh price of 280Hz, that feels a bit absurd.

It’s slower than costlier 1440p QD-OLED screens, which usually hit at the very least 360Hz. But 280Hz continues to be greater than many individuals will want. Remember: You solely obtain the total advantage of an enhanced refresh price if the sport you’re taking part in can obtain that body price, or larger. Otherwise, the show will refresh at a decrease price to match the body price of the sport (when Adaptive Sync is turned on).

The AW2725D delivers buttery-smooth gameplay with nice movement readability. Fast-moving objects are simple to see and scrolling textual content is mostly readable, although low-contrast examples can nonetheless be arduous to make out. Don’t get me mistaken: the advantage of the next refresh price is noticeable. But 280Hz nonetheless appears to be like nice.

The AW2725D helps Adaptive Sync with official compatibility with AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Nvidia G-Sync Compatible. Most screens that listing compatibility with any of those requirements will work with all three, but it surely’s nonetheless preferable to see official help. It’s welcome added assurance that Adaptive Sync ought to work along with your video card, and that you would be able to complain to Alienware if it doesn’t.

Should you purchase the Alienware AW2725D?

The Alienware AW2725D reiterates a degree that I made earlier this 12 months: Tt doesn’t really matter what OLED you buy. All QD-OLED panels are sourced from Samsung, and whereas there’re minor variations in refresh charges and HDR brightness, they’re broadly way more comparable than they’re totally different.

That’s excellent news for the AW2725D. Priced at simply $549.99, it offers many of the advantages of costlier QD-OLED screens at an alluring value. The monitor’s solely critical draw back is its lack of USB-C and considerably restricted picture high quality adjustment choices, which make the AW2725D much less interesting if you need a gaming monitor that may additionally function a productiveness show. The AW2725D’s value helps to excuse that, although, which makes it a simple monitor to suggest.