Alienware 34 QD-OLED evaluate: The overall frontier

Gaming displays are speedy sufficient. They’re sharp sufficient. And so they’re lots giant, too.

The place they’re missing, although, is symbol high quality. VA panels, single-zone backlighting, and lackluster HDR — it’s all taken a backseat to efficiency. However with the Alienware 34 QD-OLED (AW3423DW), it’s time to play some catch up.

The Alienware 34 QD-OLED interprets the newest and biggest show tech in some way that simply makes it the best-looking gaming track I’ve observed. We’ve reached the general frontier.

Specifications

Design

The design of the Alienware 34 QD-OLED doesn’t deviate too some distance from the corporate’s present lineup of gaming displays. The stark white colour blends well with the tints of blue gentle, whilst the title is carved towards the again in a method that resembles racing stripes. It gained’t are compatible into an place of business atmosphere, nevertheless it’s a blank, minimalist design. For the gamer, although, it’s a daring and distinctive glance that feels trendy with out being bland. Alienware nailed the steadiness, and it’s a cultured Samsung has attempted (and failed) to emulate with its gaming displays, such because the Odyssey Neo G9.

This 34-inch Alienware style strikes round a couple of parts in comparison to, let’s say, the 38-inch style. The sunshine-up Alienware head at the again has moved from the left facet to the correct. In the meantime, the sunshine ring has jumped from the again of the stand to the again of the track itself.

The total vibe of Alienware’s branding, although, stays intact.

Hanging the show in combination is so simple as might be. The stand plugs into the bottom with a unmarried thumb screw, whilst the display screen locks into the stand with a lovely click on. The track even comes with a VESA mountable backplate if you wish to connect it to a wall.

As soon as the 3 parts are hooked up, you’ll get right of entry to peak adjustment, tilt, and swivel — the whole lot you wish to have to get a at ease are compatible on your table and chair. Rotation is the one factor you’re lacking, however you’ll must spring for the Samsung Ark track for that.

The track weighs 15.3 kilos, which is 2 kilos lighter than the 38-inch style. And total, it appears like a extra manageable measurement. It’s reasonably simple to transport and regulate, and it doesn’t dominate your table like different displays. There’ll at all times be individuals who love the grandeur of a 38-inch and even 49-inch ultra-wide track, however the 34-inch measurement will are compatible the common table significantly better.

Finally, it has a 1800R curve, which isn’t reasonably as excessive as displays just like the Odyssey Neo G9 or BenQ Mobiuz EX3410R. The ones displays be offering a moderately extra immersive curve, however once more, that implies the Alienware 34 doesn’t absorb reasonably as a lot house to your table.

Controls and menu

In contrast to different Alienware shows, this style comprises only a unmarried, five-axis joystick to regulate the OSD (on-screen show). Maximum buttons and controls are situated at the proper facet, however with an ultrawide display screen, the middle is extra handy. The ability button, in the meantime, is situated at the some distance proper underneath the display screen.

The issue with simplest having a joystick as a substitute of buttons? It takes a few clicks greater than I’d like to get to brightness or quantity controls. It’s now not horrendous, however it may be irritating every now and then.

A pair clicks in, you’ll to find the six preset modes presented within the menu: Usual, Writer, FPS, MOBA/RTS, RPG, and Sports activities. You additionally get two gaming customizable presets. I attempted out FPS mode, which desaturates the colours and provides the picture a heat, orange tone. The MOBA/RTS mode takes it to the other excessive, oversaturating the colours. Either one of those had been some distance too excessive for my tastes. The Usual preset has a balanced glance, whilst RPG provides moderately extra saturated colours with out overdoing it.

The Writer mode has two choices, as neatly: sRGB and DCI-P3. In my trying out, the Usual preset had higher colours than both of those modes, although. You’ll be able to additionally tweak colours in both the RGB or CMYK colour machine — all inside within the menu.

The Alienware 34 additionally comprises Darkish Stabilizer, which lowers the distinction to steer clear of crushing blacks and darkish grays.

Ports

The ports at the Alienware 34 are most commonly situated on again and are downward-facing. That makes them discreet however very tough to succeed in — or even more difficult to plug in.

Thankfully, while you combat to get the whole lot plugged in, the track’s cable control helps to keep issues great and tidy. The ports are coated by means of a detachable plastic quilt, which sufficiently hides your mess. The cables can them be run again into the entrance of the stand and out the again.

The ports are situated at the proper facet, the place you’ll to find two HDMI 2.0 ports, DisplayPort 1.4b, and 3 USB 3.2 ports. It additionally has an audio line-out and a headphone jack. 

Like different Alienware displays, this one doesn’t come with audio system.

That implies, sure, it doesn’t have HDMI 2.1. Perhaps that’s now not an enormous deal for a track of this solution, nevertheless it nonetheless would had been great to peer right here. As Alienware explains, consoles don’t fortify 21:9, anyhow.

Like different Alienware displays, this one doesn’t come with audio system. That’s now not a dealbreaker for the general public — you’ll most probably be connecting your personal exterior audio system or the usage of a headset most often. Nevertheless it’s price mentioning since a lot of its competition do come with a suite of audio system, despite the fact that their audio high quality ceaselessly isn’t the most efficient.

Symbol high quality

The Alienware 34 is in a global of its personal relating to symbol high quality. QD-OLED is a brand spanking new generation, which mixes the brightness of conventional LCD with the deep blacks of OLED. PC players simply haven’t had get right of entry to to some of these shows previously, a minimum of now not within the shape elements that we’ve at all times sought after. You’ll be able to rely on one hand what number of OLED displays there are out on the earth — they usually’re all outrageously dear and manner too giant for the general public. The Alienware 34 adjustments all that.

Now, this isn’t going to be a deep dive on that generation itself, however to position it merely, QD-OLED brings in combination the most efficient portions of OLED monitors and Samsung’s QLED displays. Extra particularly, the Quantum Dot filter out. You find yourself with a product that has the implausible distinction of OLED and the brightness and colour accuracy of Quantum Dot. That’s precisely what I noticed whilst trying out the Alienware 34. 

The distinction appears to be like wonderful, clearly. Each and every pixel of an OLED display screen is personally lit, which means it could actually flip off totally and bring true black. Video games come alive in this show, particularly moodier, atmospheric video games like Cyberpunk 2077 or Death Gentle 2. Extra in this within the HDR segment under, however even in video games that don’t fortify HDR, the QD-OLED complements the black ranges and distinction.

The colour gamut at the Alienware 34 could also be reasonably just right, with 100% sRGB, 97% AdobeRGB, and 95% DCI-P3. Most effective the most efficient of the very best displays can hit those numbers, and that’s higher colour saturation than you’ll to find on even many writer or skilled shows. 

One of the most problems we bumped into was once colour accuracy. We spotted that some colours got here in with a Delta-E of over 5, which is thought of as neatly into visibly noticeable territory. I learn a median colour error of one.86 with my Spyder colorimeter, which I’d imagine the center of the street. That is nowhere with regards to the type of colour accuracy we noticed at the Sony A95K TV, for example.

The vegetables particularly at the Alienware 34 truly begin to shoot up because the brightness is cranked. Take into account: TVs have extremely subtle symbol processing on them to proper for that more or less factor, and displays don’t. It’s only a display screen. 

The colour accuracy isn’t egregious, although. This display screen remains reasonably correct proper as much as 600 nits. It’s simplest the brightest spaces above the place we (myself and our resident QD-OLED knowledgeable Caleb Denison) spotted some deviations from accuracy, and it’s conceivable which may be corrected with instrument down the street. 

The second one factor is brightness. Roughly unusually, the Alienware 34 simplest maxes out at 261 nits in SDR. That’s a bit of low for a top class track, despite the fact that as a rule I had it dialed again to 75% or so. For reference, contemporary gaming displays we’ve reviewed, such because the BenQ Mobiuz EX3410R and HP Omen 27c, are all sitting within the mid-400s, and that’s more or less the place I anticipated the Alienware 34 to be. That’s very true whilst you imagine the HDR functions of this factor.

HDR efficiency

Many will probably be interested in this track for QD-OLED, nevertheless it’s in HDR gaming the place the panel’s talents truly come to existence. The Alienware 34 is qualified with DisplayHDR 400 True Black, which calls for 400 nits of height luminance in HDR. That by myself doesn’t sound too spectacular, and it’s the commonest HDR certification for PC displays.

However the Alienware 34 some distance surpasses that. Alienware claims it could actually hit as much as 1,000 nits of height brightness — and loopy sufficient, it in reality does. Plus, it has an unbelievable impact on video games that may employ it.

Take Cyberpunk 2077, as an example. With out HDR, the sport has a tendency to blow out highlights that give it an overexposed glance. Activate HDR, and you’ll see the sunglasses of blue tones within the sky, comfortable clouds floating, and holographic photographs projected across the tops of structures. Darker inner places, in the meantime, are given a some distance moodier and ambient really feel. Discover a dingy hall, the place the flickering lighting and neon of this global glance sensible. It feels such as you’re seeing the sport how it’s intended to be observed.

And that’s only one instance. Future 2, Forza Horizon, Shadow of the Tomb Raider — all of them do wonderful issues with the HDR functions of this track. In fact, you’ll additionally experience movies, motion pictures, and displays that fortify HDR. The Alienware 34 doesn’t disappoint there both.

This Alienware track isn’t the one gaming track to do actual HDR. The 49-inch Odyssey G9 boasts a height brightness of two,000 nits and is verified for DisplayHDR 1000. 2,000 is clearly upper than 1,000, however what makes the QD-OLED’s distinction so visually shocking is its easiest black ranges. While you get started from natural black, your distinction ratios are upper. Muscling HDR the usage of natural brightness horsepower isn’t how one can pass, particularly on a track.

Excessive brightness can change into extra of a legal responsibility than a get advantages — however now not on this case.

But even so, whilst you sit down so with regards to a track, over the top brightness can change into extra of a legal responsibility than a get advantages. You don’t need to get blinded by means of your show. 1000 nits of height brightness and easiest black ranges give the Alienware 34 the type of implausible distinction that different displays simply can’t contact. 

The reason being that there are just a handful of OLED PC displays to have shipped, and just a couple are gaming displays. Alienware created the primary with its 55-inch OLED. It regarded so much like a tv, after all, and it additionally price an arm and a leg.

Let’s put it this fashion: If you need the type of HDR efficiency the Alienware 34 QD-OLED can output, you’ll want to plop an OLED TV proper to your table.

Gaming efficiency

Curved ultrawide displays have at all times been extra about immersion and symbol high quality than simply uncooked efficiency. Because of the 21:9 side ratio, you’ll’t scale all the way down to decrease resolutions for quicker body charges in lots of video games. This may sound glaring, however be sure to have a PC that may in reality maintain this many pixels if you wish to purchase this track. 

I used to be fortunately hitting neatly over 100 frames according to 2d in Halo Limitless on max settings with an RTX 3080 Ti, and I by no means felt bottlenecked by means of the refresh charge. Should you simplest intend to play Counter-Strike: Cross and aggressive Rocket League, you most likely weren’t on this show to start with. 

Greater than that, the Alienware 34 QD-OLED could also be qualified G-Sync Final, which means it has an “Complex G-Sync processor” for outstanding anti-screen tearing. Between the adaptive sync and the 175Hz refresh charge, video games are great and clean. Sure, there are quicker displays available in the market. Some esports-minded 1080p displays can pass as much as 360Hz, or even some new 4K displays just like the Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 can do 4K at 240Hz.

However the Alienware 34 QD-OLED has sufficient efficiency as a way to now not really feel bottlenecked by means of the refresh charge. That’s very true because you don’t have as a lot flexibility with decrease resolutions on a 21:9 track. You’ll want to play maximum video games at local 3440 x 1440 solution if you wish to play in fullscreen.

Pricing

Our take