Alienware 32 AW3225QF review

All caller technologies travel pinch a learning curve. And pinch nan cataclysmically desirable caller Alienware 32 AW3225QF, we're decidedly learning immoderate lessons astir OLED arsenic a show solution for PC gaming. 

This is not, successful fact, nan first of nan brave caller 4K OLED procreation we've sampled. A fewer weeks back, I formed my beady, desiccated peepers crossed nan Asus ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM. That's different 32-inch 4K sheet moving Samsung's latest QD-OLED tech, albeit pinch nan level action wherever Alienware has chosen curved. And what a stunner it was.

But arsenic we timepiece up nan hours pinch this caller format, nan sheer wow facet is progressively accompanied by familiarity. And pinch that comes, well, a somewhat much grounded consciousness of what these monitors connection gamers. This is an unthinkable display. But for illustration its Asus competitor, this Alienware is an elusive angstrom aliases 3 distant from perfection. Living pinch these 4K OLED panels is conscionable a mini spot complicated.

However, let's footwear disconnected pinch nan basal speeds and feeds. Again, we're talking 32 inches of 4K QD-OLED glory. That matters because, until these caller panels arrived, you couldn't person some OLED visuals and nice, tight pixel density. Previous OLED monitors were derived from comparatively low-DPI TV panels.

For this 4K option, Samsung has invoked a caller ink-jet printing method to battalion 4K into a 32-inch panel. LG has its ain 32-inch 4K offering incoming, but unit readiness of monitors utilizing that sheet are a fewer months down nan Samsung QD-OLED. Watch this abstraction for sum of nan LG alternative.

Anyway, contempt nan caller manufacturing technique, nan specs look familiar. Response is rated astatine 0.03 ms, highest HDR brightness astatine 1,000 nits, afloat surface brightness astatine 250 nits and colour sum comes successful astatine 99 percent sum of nan DCI-P3 gamut. That's each beautiful overmuch identical to existing QD-OLED monitors based connected nan earlier low-DPI sheet stock, for illustration nan 34-inch ultrawide Alienware AW3423DWF.

The subpixel building besides remains nan same. In different words, it's still not a accepted RGB stripe, but a triangular RGB arrangement. That mattered successful nan past for sharpness and font rendering, because Windows addresses monitors nether nan presumption of nan RGB stripe. 

But pinch nan accrued 140 DPI density of this caller 32-inch 4K people of OLEDs, it's nary longer an issue. Yes, if you look very, very intimately you tin conscionable spot immoderate matter fringing. But successful normal usage it vanishes. Fonts look bully and crisp.

The different header characteristic is nan 240Hz refresh, of course. Obviously you'll request 1 heck of a GPU to provender each those pixels astatine 240Hz. It's worthy noting that LG is promising a 1080p 480Hz mode for its 32-inch 4K sheet utilizing integer doubling to execute supposedly native-quality 1080p pixel meaning connected a 4K panel. It'll beryllium absorbing to spot really that pans out, though each erstwhile attempts astatine integer doubling to execute little resolutions person yet not delivered connected nan claimed "native" experience.

Other features of statement see DisplayPort 1.4 positive 2 HDMI 2.1 connections and a USB hub. What you don't get is USB upstream for video input aliases laptop charging. Nor is location an audio retired for connecting headphones aliases speakers, which is simply a somewhat overseas omission. It likewise lacks nan KVM move of nan Asus competition.

Rounding things retired are a dash of nan accustomed AlienFX RGB lighting and Alienware's signature aesthetic, pinch nan acquainted Storm Trooper-style achromatic cladding connected nan rear of nan chassis. I'm not a immense instrumentality of nan look. But it's nicely slapped together and a spot much resolved than nan hard-edge, dated and teen Asus alternative.

If that covers nan look of nan hardware, what astir nan image value itself? No surprises, it's a stunner. The triple whammy of cleanable per-pixel OLED lighting pinch 4K pixel density and a glossy sheet coating is to dice for.

Notably, successful SDR mode there's nary brightness variability astatine all. You tin jiggle astir aliases resize windows arsenic overmuch arsenic you want, nan brightness stays pegged astatine nan aforesaid 250-nit level. That's bully because nan variability connected immoderate OLED panels tin beryllium very distracting. Early LG OLED monitors suffered really badly, pinch brightness nose-diving if you dared to maximise, say, a mostly achromatic browser window.

That said, nan Alienware 32 AW3225QF has moreover much popular successful HDR mode. And that applies to SDR content, too. To execute nan brightest SDR results, you really person to alteration HDR, and past max retired SDR brightness successful nan Windows show settings tool. 

That achieved, you will past announcement immoderate sheet brightness variability erstwhile resizing windows and nan like. But it's only flimsy and you really person to look for it to notice. Whatever, that's not nan only small foible you request to beryllium alert of.

The Alienware 32 AW3225QF gives very, very different results depending connected which of nan nary less than 9 HDR modes you choose. There are six of what you mightiness telephone accepted HDR modes, positive 3 Dolby Vision HDR modes.

It's each a spot baffling, to beryllium frank. Making matters worse, erstwhile switching betwixt some, but not all, of nan HDR modes, nan show whitethorn resync pinch your PC. For starters, that takes clip which makes it harder to make a comparison and take betwixt modes. It besides kicks you backmost to nan desktop if you're successful game, which tin origin immoderate titles to crash. What a palaver.

Then there's nan fact, for instance, that nan HDR 400 mode looks champion for outdoor scenes, but crushes specifications for darker indoor and nightime crippled scenes, while HDR 1000 looks utterly spectacular for nan latter, but alternatively dull for brighter images.

In different words, there's not a azygous optimal mounting for HDR. It depends connected nan crippled you're playing and moreover nan segment successful question. That's arguably existent for immoderate display. It's conscionable that overmuch much acute here.

All that said, this sheet still positively rocks. If anything, nan calibration feels moreover punchier present than nan aforesaid QD-OLED 4K tech does successful nan Asus ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM. I don't moreover mind nan flimsy sheet curve, thing that usually feels a but redundant connected a 16:9 arsenic opposed to an ultrawide monitor.

As if each that wasn't enough, you besides person to contend pinch nan full OLED burn-in thing. Alienware covers nan sheet for burn-in for 3 years. So, that's a decent chunk of reassurance. But you still person to put up pinch burn-in mitigation measurement prompts popping up now and past and mostly accent complete whether you should beryllium toggling nan "Pixel Refresh" aliases "Panel Refresh" protection algorithms.

Put it this way, life was a full batch simpler pinch an SDR LCD monitor, that's for sure. The upside, of course, are visuals that nary LCD show tin match, not moreover nan latest and top IPS models pinch full-array section dimming.

The opposition this Alienware delivers is conscionable awesome. There's a segment successful Cyberpunk 2077 pinch an underground barroom that's plastered pinch neon portion lights and signage. On this monitor, it really does look for illustration those neon lights are real. They perfectly popular retired of nan panel, while nan pixels astir them stay inkily, effortlessly black.

Then there's nan bonkers-fast pixel response. There's a clarity to activity connected these OLED screens that LCD panels tin only get adjacent to pinch backlight strobing. And backlight strobing does horrible things to brightness and colours.

So, this is undoubtedly a seminal gaming experience. It's arsenic bully arsenic 16:9 gaming presently gets. The accrued pixel density besides intends this, on pinch its Asus nemesis, is nan first OLED gaming action that besides makes for a awesome all-round PC monitor. The pixel density is yet there, arsenic is nan full-screen brightness.

Of course, if you for illustration nan ultrawide gaming experience, and we're pinch you if you do, past nan 16:9 facet whitethorn consciousness conscionable a spot dowdy. For instance, you tin really get Samsung's epic 49-inch ultrawide OLED G9 sheet for little money. It's not arsenic bully an each rounder, but it feels for illustration a batch much show for nan money.

In an perfect world, location would beryllium a 5K2K ultrawide OLED option. At which point, you could arguably put nan full gaming show point to bed. The latest roadmaps connote that is so coming. But successful nan present and now, and contempt nan flimsy complications, this is arsenic bully arsenic OLED gaming gets.