The brand new Dell Alienware AW3425DW arrives with a transparent mission: enhance on probably the most well-liked ultrawide gaming screens of the previous couple of years with out reinventing the wheel. For a very long time, the AW3423DW and its lower-cost sibling, the AW3423DWF, have been standout picks – providing premium efficiency at a value many players might justify.
Living proof, the 25DW is the successor to the gaming monitor I’ve personally been utilizing for the final three years. Dell persistently gives nice efficiency at an amazing value, but know-how strikes shortly, and the PC big is hoping this 12 months’s replace will preserve the road aggressive.
At first look, not a lot has modified. The AW3425DW nonetheless depends on a well-recognized 34-inch, 3440 x 1440 QD-OLED panel – the identical technology of Samsung Show tech that powered the sooner fashions.
The headline upgrades are a bump in refresh price from 165Hz to 240Hz and a refreshed design that brings it consistent with the remainder of Alienware’s 2025 lineup. This is not a next-gen leap in OLED tech, however it’s a good refinement of a confirmed method.
Dell additionally appears to have discovered from the errors of its rivals. Competing screens with this similar 240Hz panel launched final 12 months at steep costs – $1,100 in some circumstances – making them robust to advocate over the older AW3423DWF, which regularly dipped to $700 or $800. Now Dell’s personal replace hits the market at just $800, with reductions already bringing it right down to $770. That is a little bit dearer than the lowest-ever value for its predecessor, however nonetheless fairly affordable for a brand-new show.
Design and Ports
Most facets of the design are fully totally different on this new Dell Alienware QD-OLED 2025 model in comparison with the unique. The panel itself on the entrance is identical, as is the 1800R curve, however practically every part else has modified. The largest shift is to Dell’s new “AW30” industrial design, celebrating the model’s thirtieth anniversary.
This features a new deep blue end that the corporate calls “interstellar indigo.” It is the identical color and style we noticed on the AW2725Q earlier this 12 months. We expect this colour seems to be nice; nonetheless, should you have been anticipating a impartial black to match a largely black setup, that is extra of a blue-tinted black.
The rear of the show has been simplified right into a single, sleeker plastic panel that’s each thinner and extra spectacular than the unique. The stand pillar is extra rounded, and the bottom is now a small sq. as a substitute of a medium-sized V. This makes it extra compact for desk setups and extra usable, as you may place objects on high of it. This new stand design is not as sturdy however retains peak, tilt, and swivel adjustability – and it is barely taller. The general construct high quality stays glorious, persevering with to be a power of Alienware screens.
The port choice is straightforward: one DisplayPort 1.4 with DSC, two HDMI 2.1 48 Gbps ports, and a two-port USB 5 Gbps hub with each a Sort-A and a Sort-C connector. The position of those USB ports is great, as they’re alongside the underside edge and simply accessible, slightly than tucked away with the opposite ports on the rear. The Sort-C port solely helps information and 15W of energy supply; it could’t be used as a show enter. There isn’t any KVM swap included.
The OSD is almost similar to that of the DWF mannequin. It is managed by a directional toggle alongside the underside edge, slightly below the Alienware brand. Inside, you will discover a good vary of options, together with all the standard colour controls, a timer and body price show, shadow boosting choices, and “AlienVision,” which gives crosshairs and different picture manipulation modes.
Our principal criticism is that there are not any customizable OLED care choices, suggesting that each one burn-in mitigation options are at all times enabled. That is a bit disappointing, as manufacturers like MSI provide extra consumer customization. If a specific function is annoying, you may disable it (with some threat) or make sure settings extra aggressive to assist lengthen the panel’s lifespan. On the AW3425DW, the one OLED care choice is a guide run of the pixel refresher.
Display Coating, Subpixel Structure and Burn In
Textual content readability is similar to different 34-inch 3440 x 1440 QD-OLED shows, as this panel nonetheless makes use of first-generation QD-OLED know-how with the unique triangle RGB subpixel format. Whereas it is a newer monitor with the next refresh price, the panel itself basically makes use of the identical know-how, and in areas like textual content readability, it gives the identical expertise.
In comparison with different OLEDs, this panel ranks decrease for textual content high quality, because it lacks the subpixel upgrades seen in newer 27-inch 1440p and 4K fashions. There will be some pink-green fringing alongside the higher and decrease edges of textual content that you simply would not see with equivalent-resolution LCDs. That mentioned, the textual content readability of this 34-inch QD-OLED panel remains to be typically higher than that of competing WOLED panels.
The display composition and coating stay unchanged from different 34-inch QD-OLED ultrawides: it’s nonetheless shiny, which is a double-edged sword. The primary profit is elevated sharpness and readability in comparison with matte coatings, with out coating grain or gentle diffusion that may influence obvious distinction.
The downsides are mirror-like reflections, that are effectively managed on this panel in comparison with another shiny finishes, and QD-OLED ambient gentle reflection. In brighter environments, QD-OLED panels can seem grey as a substitute of black when displaying black, as ambient gentle displays by the panel and prompts the quantum dot layer.
This reduces black depth in well-lit rooms and diminishes the black-level benefit you anticipate from OLED. The problem will be mitigated by preserving your room dimly lit, with gentle sources positioned behind the show. Whether or not QD-OLED’s shiny end is best for you relies on your private preferences and utilization setting.
OLED panels of all varieties are additionally vulnerable to everlasting burn-in. You will not get burn-in from gaming or watching movies, however the panel can burn in over time when displaying static content material for lengthy intervals. This makes OLED much less appropriate for productiveness duties the place static desktop apps stay on display for prolonged intervals – and you may try our ongoing OLED burn-in series to see how real-world productiveness use impacts longevity.
Occasional static app use is ok, so don’t be concerned about performing some net shopping between gaming classes; we simply would not advocate OLED as a monitor for lengthy hours of labor. Dell gives an industry-standard three-year guarantee that covers burn-in.
Response Time Efficiency
Response time efficiency is great on this WOLED monitor, as it’s for different OLED shows we have examined up to now. OLED gives lightning-fast response occasions, across the 0.3ms mark in any respect refresh charges, and efficiency would not change at decrease refresh charges – one of many many advantages of OLED for variable refresh price players. This leads to a single overdrive mode expertise the place you need not alter settings relying on the refresh price you are utilizing.
Response time efficiency is great on this QD-OLED monitor, as it’s for different OLED shows we have examined up to now. OLED gives lightning quick response occasions, across the 0.3 ms mark in any respect refresh charges, and efficiency would not change at decrease refresh charges, one of many many advantages of OLED for variable refresh price players. This leads to a single overdrive mode expertise the place you need not alter settings relying on the refresh price you are utilizing.
There may be successfully no distinction in response time efficiency between this QD-OLED and different OLED screens, together with WOLED variants. OLEDs are a lot quicker than even the quickest LCDs we have examined, and that is true whether or not we take a look at one of the best efficiency or common efficiency throughout the refresh price vary. Not solely are OLEDs quick, additionally they haven’t any overshoot artefacts, which will be a problem with some LCD fashions.
When viewing cumulative deviation outcomes, we will see that OLEDs get a lot nearer to supreme response time behaviour and, normally, provide efficiency an order of magnitude higher on this metric than LCDs. In apply, this results in round a 1.5x benefit in readability at a given refresh price, so 240Hz QD-OLEDs provide an analogous expertise to 360Hz LCDs.
Other than comparisons to LCDs, the primary factor you want to pay attention to when shopping for an OLED for movement is that readability on these panels is straight tied to refresh price. On the similar refresh price, two totally different OLED screens will look principally the identical, so the precise refresh price you will be utilizing is extra vital than the utmost refresh price of the monitor. For those who evaluate two OLEDs, one with a 165Hz max refresh, and one with a 240Hz max refresh, however each are enjoying video games at 120 FPS with a 120Hz refresh price, they are going to look the identical and provides the identical expertise.
The place larger refresh price OLEDs turn out to be a profit is once you use the best refresh price capabilities. Operating an OLED at 240Hz produces a clearer picture than at 165Hz, with higher smoothness and responsiveness. That is the important thing profit this new Alienware monitor brings. This has benefits when gaming at excessive body charges, for instance multiplayer video games or video games with body technology enabled. However the next refresh OLED solely has a bonus once you exceed the refresh price of a decrease refresh mannequin: on this instance, the 240Hz AW3425DW will likely be higher than the 165Hz AW3423DWF when gaming at anyplace between 166 and 240 FPS with variable refresh enabled. Something at or beneath 165 FPS, there will likely be no distinction, so preserve this in thoughts when procuring between OLED ultrawides.
We expect as of late having the additional headroom of 240Hz is welcome on this form of panel, as a result of 3440 x 1440 is getting simpler to run as GPU {hardware} improves. Additionally, with applied sciences like body technology changing into extra widespread in fashionable video games, having the next show refresh price permits you to profit extra from body gen. On a 165Hz panel with 2X body gen, the utmost render price you may obtain is 82 FPS with out exceeding your monitor’s refresh and introducing tearing. On a 240Hz panel, that render price jumps to 120 FPS, which is a greater and extra responsive expertise.
Enter latency is great, providing a sub-1 ms processing delay in each SDR and HDR modes. Mixed with quick response occasions and a good refresh price, this OLED feels very snappy to make use of, solely crushed by absolutely the highest refresh price fashions available on the market.
Energy consumption is considerably decrease on the brand new AW3425DW in comparison with earlier fashions, dropping to 75 watts to show a full white picture, in comparison with 86 watts on the AW3423DWF and 101 watts for the AW3423DW, although the unique DW mannequin did use a power-hungry G-Sync module which is not getting used on the brand new mannequin. Energy consumption on this check was round 5 watts decrease than the Corsair mannequin that makes use of the identical panel.
SDR Colour Efficiency
Colour House: Dell Alienware AW3425DW – D65-P3
All QD-OLEDs that we have examined up to now provide an analogous colour area. Within the case of the 25DW, we’re taking a look at 99.4% DCI-P3 protection, in addition to 98% Adobe RGB protection, robust outcomes for viewing HDR content material or working in these colour areas. In whole, we noticed 81.6% protection of Rec. 2020, which is an efficient end result for a QD-OLED monitor and gaming screens usually.
Default Colour Efficiency
The 25DW has nice manufacturing unit calibration. Default greyscale efficiency is sort of correct with a good colour temperature, flat gamma and low deltaE ITP common. Out of the field, colours are oversaturated, and that is particularly noticeable because of the vast colour gamut of QD-OLED panels; nonetheless, that is no totally different from different QD-OLEDs.
In comparison with different merchandise, the 25DW really manages to outperform the already excellent 23DWF in greyscale, making it probably the most correct merchandise available on the market on this space. ColorChecker efficiency is common.
Default ACM Colour Efficiency
There are a few methods to enhance SDR sRGB / Rec. 709 efficiency. One is utilizing Home windows 11 Auto Colour Administration, which improves deltaE ITP averages to beneath 4 throughout the board, in order that’s a really strong choice. Dell has completed a great job of reporting colour primaries, so on this configuration you get 99.8% protection of sRGB.
sRGB Mode Colour Efficiency
The opposite manner is utilizing the sRGB mode, which could be very correct. Colour temperature and gamma are each higher on this configuration than the default configuration, pushing the greyscale dEITP common beneath 3. Saturation and ColorChecker outcomes are glorious as effectively, making this mode extra correct than utilizing ACM.
In comparison with different screens, the 25DW retains its spot in the direction of the highest of our grayscale accuracy chart within the sRGB mode, although the 23DWF was ever so barely superior. Each of those fashions are an improve over the unique 23DW. In ColorChecker, the brand new 2025 mannequin is great, coming in among the many high group of shows. Whereas the sRGB mode does lock some choices like white steadiness, this is not too massive of a deal because the included calibration is so robust you could as effectively use this mode and neglect about it.
Calibrated Colour Efficiency
It’s attainable to barely enhance efficiency by a full calibration, however in our opinion with this monitor it actually is not that crucial within the SDR mode. We might both use ACM or the sRGB mode and know that efficiency is excellent.
Brightness, Distinction, Uniformity
Most SDR brightness is unchanged in comparison with different QD-OLED ultrawides, at 246 nits full display. Dell continues to make use of a uniform brightness configuration within the SDR mode, so brightness doesn’t change with totally different window sizes. Minimal brightness of 20 nits is nice, although once more unchanged from earlier fashions.
Viewing angles are additionally principally the identical as different QD-OLED panels, so they’re glorious, making this panel simple to view. The one actual limiting issue right here is the 1800R curve, which basically forces you to view it from the middle for one of the best expertise. Uniformity is robust with no soiled display impact when viewing darkish greys, and good central uniformity with solely a negligible quantity of falloff alongside the left and proper edges.
HDR {Hardware} Efficiency
The AW3425DW is effectively suited to HDR from a {hardware} perspective. OLED panels, together with QD-OLED, straight emit gentle and have particular person pixel management, which makes them supreme for displaying HDR content material. This function permits every pixel to independently differ from absolutely switching off to displaying shiny highlights, giving us deep zero-level blacks and per-pixel native dimming. The extent of management OLEDs present minimizes blooming in excessive distinction situations and permits for clear distinction between shiny and darkish areas which can be shut collectively. In comparison with LCDs with a multi-zone backlight, OLEDs have far fewer ugly illumination artefacts, that are most noticeable when displaying tough situations like starfields or subtitles, and there are not any zone transitions as shiny objects transfer across the show.
With per-pixel management as its principal benefit, OLEDs are finest at displaying excessive distinction scenes with wealthy shadow element, which is a key facet of a great HDR presentation. Darker content material interspersed with dazzling shiny highlights brings out one of the best in OLED shows, as does HDR content material with quick movement. For players particularly, enter latency on most OLEDs is low within the HDR mode.
The weak spot to the HDR presentation on an OLED is general brightness. Whereas peak brightness will be excessive in one of the best circumstances, full display brightness is low, and this limits the punch in shiny daytime scenes. LCDs might not have per-pixel management, however zoned backlights can merely get considerably brighter in shiny scenes. Relying on what you need out of an HDR monitor, your choice might swing extra in the direction of LCDs or extra in the direction of OLEDs, however usually talking, OLEDs are an amazing selection that ship a improbable HDR presentation.
Dell gives a variety of various HDR configurations, however the two of most curiosity are the DisplayHDR True Black mode and the HDR Peak 1000 mode – these function in the identical manner as different QD-OLED shows with related modes. There are a number of different choices like “Desktop” and “Recreation HDR,” however these are simply minor variations with small adjustments to brightness rolloff. What additionally impacts rolloff is the Console Mode and particularly the setting Supply Tone Mapping – with this enabled, EOTF monitoring is extra correct; with it disabled, rolloff is extra light. This setting is greyed out when utilizing the monitor with a PC, producing conduct that is similar to having the Console Mode enabled with Supply Tone Mapping on.
HDR Configurations and Accuracy
Of the primary modes, the True Black mode is essentially the most correct. Other than a small bump in brightness within the sub-1 nit vary, EOTF monitoring on this configuration is excellent in all situations, so that you get the right degree of brightness in each darkish and shiny scenes – no panel dimming to be seen right here. Nevertheless, peak brightness is capped at simply 450 nits, so in darker scenes with shiny parts you do not get as a lot punch and a few objects lack element in shiny areas.
The Peak 1000 mode removes the brightness cap, and peak brightness now hits 1,000 nits in darker scenes, so there’s much more punch in parts like fires and lights. EOTF monitoring accuracy is robust for smaller home windows and decrease scene APL, once more with the small bump in sub-1 nit brightness. However in brighter scenes, this mode has panel dimming, which drops brightness throughout your complete display regardless of the panel in any other case being able to this degree of brightness. This impacts EOTF monitoring and isn’t correct.
This challenge with panel dimming within the Peak 1000 mode can also be discovered on different QD-OLED gaming screens, so it isn’t distinctive to this Alienware. We’re nonetheless able the place you may’t obtain the best peak brightness in darker scenes with out bizarrely dimming brighter scenes. For one of the best expertise, you will want to vary HDR modes relying on whether or not you might be enjoying principally brighter or principally darker content material. Alternatively, you may set and neglect the mode you are most interested by optimizing for.
HDR Brightness
HDR brightness is similar to different QD-OLED screens. In these charts, different screens are listed utilizing their brightest configuration that preserves accuracy, and you may see principally no distinction at varied window sizes. This confirms there is no such thing as a actual improve in QD-OLED panel brightness between the older 165Hz fashions and this new 240Hz mannequin.
In actual scene brightness, the outcomes are near what we often see. The True Black mode has no panel dimming; the Peak 1000 mode does. The True Black mode has larger brightness in mid to excessive APL content material however is capped to 450 nits. The Peak 1000 mode can attain over 900 nits in real-world scenes however is not as shiny in larger APL scenes. There isn’t any substantial distinction between the DWF and 25DW fashions.
In HDR calibration, the AW3425DW is among the higher screens because of good EOTF monitoring and robust greyscale efficiency. That is additionally true in ColorChecker. Colour quantity is excessive as effectively, although basically unchanged from different QD-OLED panels.
HUB Necessities Guidelines
The ultimate part of this evaluate is the HUB Necessities Guidelines. Dell does a great job of promoting this monitor with a comparatively detailed spec sheet that features correct numbers for essentially the most half. Within the function assist matrix, the AW3425DW additionally scores effectively, particularly in areas regarding distinction and movement. The primary misses listed below are RGB stripe degree textual content readability, superior USB-C performance, Dolby Imaginative and prescient, a KVM swap, and passive cooling. There’s a small fan inside this show which is successfully inaudible throughout regular operation.
What We Realized
The Dell Alienware AW3425DW is a comparatively easy replace to the favored AW3423DWF. It bumps the refresh price from 165Hz to 240Hz, updates the design to match different 2025 Alienware merchandise, retains practically all of the options and efficiency of the earlier model, and is available in at an analogous value level. To us, that appears fairly strong.
Since that is largely a refreshed model of an present monitor that makes use of a QD-OLED panel we first noticed over a 12 months in the past, there are not any surprises, but additionally no groundbreaking developments.
Brightness, for instance, is strictly the identical as different QD-OLED gaming screens, for higher or worse. HDR traits and configurations are additionally principally unchanged from what we have seen from QD-OLED for a while now.
That also means the AW3425DW delivers an amazing gaming expertise. It’s totally quick – now even quicker because of the 240Hz refresh price – with extra headroom for aggressive gaming, body technology, and future GPU upgrades. It has nice distinction, deep blacks, per-pixel dimming, and low enter lag. HDR scenes look nice on this show, and it is also very usable for different duties.
The 34-inch ultrawide dimension remains to be a strong selection, and the decision is completely acceptable. There are not any actual efficiency regressions right here; in actual fact, if something, this new model is extra colour correct than the final, which already set a excessive bar.
We do assume this new Alienware QD-OLED ultrawide is clearly higher than the earlier model; nonetheless, it hasn’t superior issues all that a lot, three years after the debut of the unique. That is nonetheless a first-gen QD-OLED panel by way of panel composition, ambient gentle reflectivity, brightness traits, panel dimming, subpixel construction, and ensuing textual content readability. It is basically the identical mannequin with the identical weaknesses – now working at 240Hz. For any actual enhancements, we’ll want the newer panel from Samsung Show.
Proper now although, in our opinion, and regardless of the dearth of main enhancements, that is nonetheless one of the best 34-inch ultrawide OLED panel you will get. The primary competitor is the 34-inch 3440 x 1440 WOLED, which has a much less interesting 800R curve, matte display coating, and worse textual content readability. WOLED alternate options are additionally usually dearer, which makes them more durable to justify.
Talking of value, the AW3425DW debuting at $800 places it in a great place. It is across the similar value as its predecessor, possibly as much as $100 extra within the worst circumstances, for the next refresh price model. Given the AW3423DWF was beforehand obtainable at a great value, we expect it is a strong step in the precise path to get a fair higher monitor in 2025 for the same value. It is also a really aggressive value once you take a look at different 240Hz OLED ultrawides, most of that are priced at $850 or larger.
The primary competitors to the Dell AW3425DW is the Gigabyte MO34WQC2, which makes use of the identical 240Hz QD-OLED panel and has steadily dropped in value this 12 months from $800 to as little as $660. This makes the Alienware a tad dearer, however for that you simply obtain a greater design and construct high quality, higher HDR efficiency, higher tuning, and a extra correct SDR mode. So we’d pay the additional cash to get the brand new 25DW, and we expect Dell has completed sufficient right here to retain the crown of finest 34-inch OLED ultrawide.
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