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The brand new Dell Alienware AW3425DW arrives with a transparent mission: enhance on some of the widespread ultrawide gaming screens of the previous few 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 worth many avid gamers might justify.
Living proof, the 25DW is the successor to the gaming monitor I’ve personally been utilizing for the final three years. Dell constantly affords nice efficiency at an incredible worth, but know-how strikes rapidly, and the PC large is hoping this yr’s replace will hold the road aggressive.
At first look, not a lot has modified. The AW3425DW nonetheless depends on a well-known 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 in keeping 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 components.
Dell additionally appears to have discovered from the errors of its rivals. Competing screens with this similar 240Hz panel launched final yr at steep costs – $1,100 in some instances – making them robust to suggest 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 all the way down to $770. That is a bit of costlier than the lowest-ever worth for its predecessor, however nonetheless fairly affordable for a brand-new show.
Design and Ports
Most elements of the design are utterly completely different on this new Dell Alienware QD-OLED 2025 model in comparison with the unique. The panel itself on the entrance is similar, as is the 1800R curve, however almost every little thing else has modified. The most important 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 yr. We predict this colour seems to be nice; nonetheless, in case you had 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 an alternative 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 wonderful, persevering with to be a energy of Alienware screens.
The port choice is easy: 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 location of those USB ports is superb, as they’re alongside the underside edge and simply accessible, reasonably than tucked away with the opposite ports on the rear. The Sort-C port solely helps information and 15W of energy supply; it may well’t be used as a show enter. There is no KVM change included.
The OSD is sort of equivalent to that of the DWF mannequin. It is managed by way of a directional toggle alongside the underside edge, just under the Alienware brand. Inside, you will discover a good vary of options, together with all the same old colour controls, a timer and body price show, shadow boosting choices, and “AlienVision,” which gives crosshairs and different picture manipulation modes.
Our most important criticism is that there aren’t any customizable OLED care choices, suggesting that every one burn-in mitigation options are all the time enabled. That is a bit disappointing, as manufacturers like MSI supply extra consumer customization. If a selected characteristic is annoying, you may disable it (with some danger) or make sure settings extra aggressive to assist prolong the panel’s lifespan. On the AW3425DW, the one OLED care possibility is a guide run of the pixel refresher.
Display Coating, Subpixel Structure and Burn In
Textual content readability is equivalent 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 structure. Whereas it is a newer monitor with the next refresh price, the panel itself essentially makes use of the identical know-how, and in areas like textual content readability, it affords 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 could be some pink-green fringing alongside the higher and decrease edges of textual content that you just would not see with equivalent-resolution LCDs. That stated, the textual content readability of this 34-inch QD-OLED panel remains to be usually higher than that of competing WOLED panels.
The display screen 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 impression obvious distinction.
The downsides are mirror-like reflections, that are properly 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 an alternative of black when displaying black, as ambient gentle displays by way of 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 could be mitigated by conserving your room dimly lit, with gentle sources positioned behind the show. Whether or not QD-OLED’s shiny end is best for you will depend on your private preferences and utilization setting.
OLED panels of all varieties are additionally inclined 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 screen for prolonged intervals – and you may take a look at our ongoing OLED burn-in series to see how real-world productiveness use impacts longevity.
Occasional static app use is ok, so don’t fret about doing a little internet searching between gaming periods; we simply would not suggest 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 superb on this WOLED monitor, as it’s for different OLED shows we have examined to date. OLED affords 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 avid gamers. This ends in a single overdrive mode expertise the place you needn’t regulate settings relying on the refresh price you are utilizing.
Response time efficiency is superb on this QD-OLED monitor, as it’s for different OLED shows we have examined to date. OLED affords 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 avid gamers. This ends in a single overdrive mode expertise the place you needn’t regulate 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 sooner than even the quickest LCDs we have examined, and that is true whether or not we have a look at the most effective efficiency or common efficiency throughout the refresh price vary. Not solely are OLEDs quick, additionally they haven’t any overshoot artefacts, which could be a difficulty with some LCD fashions.
When viewing cumulative deviation outcomes, we will see that OLEDs get a lot nearer to supreme response time behaviour and, typically, supply efficiency an order of magnitude higher on this metric than LCDs. In follow, this results in round a 1.5x benefit in readability at a given refresh price, so 240Hz QD-OLEDs supply an analogous expertise to 360Hz LCDs.
Apart from 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 immediately tied to refresh price. On the similar refresh price, two completely 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. In the event you examine 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’ll look the identical and provides the identical expertise.
The place greater refresh price OLEDs change into a profit is whenever you use the best refresh price capabilities. Working 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 whenever 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 under 165 FPS, there will likely be no distinction, so hold this in thoughts when purchasing between OLED ultrawides.
We predict nowadays 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 turning into extra widespread in trendy video games, having the next show refresh price means that you can 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 superb, providing a sub-1 ms processing delay in each SDR and HDR modes. Mixed with quick response occasions and an honest 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 now 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 Shade Efficiency
Shade Area: Dell Alienware AW3425DW – D65-P3
All QD-OLEDs that we have examined to date supply an analogous colour house. Within the case of the 25DW, we’re 99.4% DCI-P3 protection, in addition to 98% Adobe RGB protection, sturdy outcomes for viewing HDR content material or working in these colour areas. In complete, we noticed 81.6% protection of Rec. 2020, which is an efficient outcome for a QD-OLED monitor and gaming screens usually.
Default Shade Efficiency
The 25DW has nice manufacturing unit calibration. Default greyscale efficiency is sort of correct with an honest colour temperature, flat gamma and low deltaE ITP common. Out of the field, colours are oversaturated, and that is particularly noticeable because of the broad colour gamut of QD-OLED panels; nonetheless, that is no completely different from different QD-OLEDs.
In comparison with different merchandise, the 25DW really manages to outperform the already excellent 23DWF in greyscale, making it some of the correct merchandise available on the market on this space. ColorChecker efficiency is common.
Default ACM Shade Efficiency
There are a few methods to enhance SDR sRGB / Rec. 709 efficiency. One is utilizing Home windows 11 Auto Shade Administration, which improves deltaE ITP averages to under 4 throughout the board, in order that’s a really stable possibility. Dell has achieved job of reporting colour primaries, so on this configuration you get 99.8% protection of sRGB.
sRGB Mode Shade Efficiency
The opposite manner is utilizing the sRGB mode, which could be very correct. Shade temperature and gamma are each higher on this configuration than the default configuration, pushing the greyscale dEITP common under 3. Saturation and ColorChecker outcomes are wonderful as properly, 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 superb, coming in among the many high group of shows. Whereas the sRGB mode does lock some choices like white steadiness, this is not too huge of a deal because the included calibration is so sturdy you might as properly use this mode and neglect about it.
Calibrated Shade Efficiency
It’s attainable to barely enhance efficiency by way of a full calibration, however in our opinion with this monitor it actually is not that mandatory within the SDR mode. We’d both use ACM or the sRGB mode and know that efficiency is superb.
Brightness, Distinction, Uniformity
Most SDR brightness is unchanged in comparison with different QD-OLED ultrawides, at 246 nits full display screen. Dell continues to make use of a uniform brightness configuration within the SDR mode, so brightness doesn’t change with completely 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 wonderful, making this panel straightforward to view. The one actual limiting issue right here is the 1800R curve, which primarily forces you to view it from the middle for the most effective expertise. Uniformity is robust with no soiled display screen 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 properly suited to HDR from a {hardware} perspective. OLED panels, together with QD-OLED, immediately emit gentle and have particular person pixel management, which makes them supreme for displaying HDR content material. This characteristic permits every pixel to independently differ from absolutely switching off to displaying vibrant 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 vibrant 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 aren’t any zone transitions as vibrant objects transfer across the show.
With per-pixel management as its most important benefit, OLEDs are greatest at displaying excessive distinction scenes with wealthy shadow element, which is a key facet of HDR presentation. Darker content material interspersed with dazzling vibrant highlights brings out the most effective in OLED shows, as does HDR content material with quick movement. For avid gamers 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 could be excessive in the most effective instances, full display screen brightness is low, and this limits the punch in vibrant daytime scenes. LCDs could not have per-pixel management, however zoned backlights can merely get considerably brighter in vibrant scenes. Relying on what you need out of an HDR monitor, your desire might swing extra in the direction of LCDs or extra in the direction of OLEDs, however sometimes talking, OLEDs are an incredible alternative that ship a incredible HDR presentation.
Dell affords a spread 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 comparable modes. There are a number of different choices like “Desktop” and “Recreation HDR,” however these are simply minor variations with small modifications 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 equivalent 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. Apart from a small bump in brightness within the sub-1 nit vary, EOTF monitoring on this configuration is superb in all situations, so that you get the proper stage of brightness in each darkish and vibrant scenes – no panel dimming to be seen right here. Nonetheless, peak brightness is capped at simply 450 nits, so in darker scenes with vibrant parts you do not get as a lot punch and a few objects lack element in vibrant 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 all the display screen regardless of the panel in any other case being able to this stage of brightness. This impacts EOTF monitoring and isn’t correct.
This situation 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 the most effective expertise, you will want to vary HDR modes relying on whether or not you might be enjoying largely brighter or largely darker content material. Alternatively, you may set and neglect the mode you are most fascinated about optimizing for.
HDR Brightness
HDR brightness is equivalent to different QD-OLED screens. In these charts, different screens are listed utilizing their brightest configuration that preserves accuracy, and you will see principally no distinction at varied window sizes. This confirms there isn’t any 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 normally see. The True Black mode has no panel dimming; the Peak 1000 mode does. The True Black mode has greater 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 vibrant in greater APL scenes. There is no substantial distinction between the DWF and 25DW fashions.
In HDR calibration, the AW3425DW is among the higher screens because of good EOTF monitoring and powerful greyscale efficiency. That is additionally true in ColorChecker. Shade quantity is excessive as properly, although essentially unchanged from different QD-OLED panels.
HUB Necessities Guidelines
The ultimate part of this overview is the HUB Necessities Guidelines. Dell does job of promoting this monitor with a comparatively detailed spec sheet that features correct numbers for essentially the most half. Within the characteristic assist matrix, the AW3425DW additionally scores properly, particularly in areas regarding distinction and movement. The primary misses listed below are RGB stripe stage textual content readability, superior USB-C performance, Dolby Imaginative and prescient, a KVM change, and passive cooling. There’s a small fan inside this show which is successfully inaudible throughout regular operation.
What We Discovered
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 almost all of the options and efficiency of the earlier model, and is available in at an analogous worth level. To us, that appears fairly stable.
Since that is largely a refreshed model of an present monitor that makes use of a QD-OLED panel we first noticed over a yr in the past, there aren’t 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 incredible gaming expertise. It is very quick – now even sooner 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 measurement remains to be a stable alternative, and the decision is completely acceptable. There aren’t any actual efficiency regressions right here; the truth is, 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 primarily 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 shortage of main enhancements, that is nonetheless the most effective 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 screen coating, and worse textual content readability. WOLED alternate options are additionally sometimes costlier, which makes them more durable to justify.
Talking of worth, the AW3425DW debuting at $800 places it in place. It is across the similar worth as its predecessor, perhaps as much as $100 extra within the worst instances, for the next refresh price model. Given the AW3423DWF was beforehand accessible at worth, we predict it is a stable step in the fitting course to get an excellent higher monitor in 2025 for the same worth. It is also a really aggressive worth whenever you have a look at different 240Hz OLED ultrawides, most of that are priced at $850 or greater.
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 worth this yr from $800 to as little as $660. This makes the Alienware a tad costlier, however for that you just obtain a greater design and construct high quality, higher HDR efficiency, higher tuning, and a extra correct SDR mode. So we might pay the additional cash to get the brand new 25DW, and we predict Dell has achieved sufficient right here to retain the crown of greatest 34-inch OLED ultrawide.
