Alienware 34 Curved QD-OLED Gaming Monitor (AW3423DWF)

The age of the 1440p OLED gaming monitor is upon us. Last year, we saw one of the first OLED panels with Quantum Dot technology, the Alienware 34 QD-OLED (AW3423DW). It was one of our favorite monitors of the year, complete with an excellent refresh rate, a wide color gamut, and Nvidia G-Sync Ultimate. The latest refresh is not much different, swapping G-Sync for AMD’s FreeSync Premium Pro along with a slight reduction in refresh rate, and a slight drop in price (down to $1,099). Aside from these changes, it’s much the same monitor as its still-available predecessor, but that remains a very good thing almost a year later. It garners an Editors' Choice pick, as did its predecessor, plus a higher Editors' Rating for its cheaper price. (Plus, we've even seen it for sale as low as $999.)

This UFO's Ahead of the Curve

Curved monitors have finally found their footing in the gaming monitor space, and for good reason. A good curved monitor doesn’t detract from the game; it adds to it, lending itself to a more immersive experience that's especially useful for shooters and simulation games. The tighter the curve, the more enveloping the screen experience. In recent years, panels have been able to reach tighter curves without loss in fidelity, coming in as low as 800R (the “R” stands for radius).

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

This panel has a curvature of 1,800mm, or 1800R. (If you were to place enough AW3423DWF monitors edge to edge to form a circle, it would have a radius of 1,800mm, or 1.8 meters.) The curvature makes the screen look bigger, reducing glare while delivering deeper perceived blacks. It's a less pronounced curve than we’ve seen from some recent gaming monitors (like the Corsair Xeneon Flex’s 800R curve), but it doesn’t stop the screen from looking dazzling while in use, as was the case with the previous version.

Standing at 16.4 by 32.1 by 12 inches, the monitor’s 34-inch screen is put to good use, with a rated brightness peak of 1,000 nits (which we’ll put to the test below), an effectively infinite contrast ratio (due to the nature of OLED), and a 21:9 screen ratio, putting it squarely in ultrawide territory. Surprisingly, it weighs slightly less than the earlier model, shaving off about 3 pounds and bringing the total weight to around 32 pounds. We’ve seen lighter, like the MSI Optix MPG341CQR, but the weight is fairly comparable across the board for the panel size.

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

Taking a look at the monitor's design, it features an ultrathin bezel around its screen that rests on a very sturdy V-shaped stand. Turning it around, you’ll see the ventilation wrapping around the back of the monitor and some Alienware RGB lighting, the same as the older model. A quick-release monitor-stand button quickly pops the monitor off for VESA mounting, and the gap at the bottom of the stand helps hide cables in plain sight.

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

Popping the back panel off reveals an I/O hub with one USB-A port, one USB-B port, two DisplayPort connectors, and one HDMI port. Outside of the panel’s area, you’ll find two additional USB-A ports and a headphone jack. The OSD control sits in the middle. There's no HDMI 2.1 port, so Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5 users will miss out on higher frame rates, but considering how few console games support refresh rates higher than the 2.1 interface is capable of delivering, the exclusion isn't a deal-breaker.

Like its predecessor, the display also features Alienvision, which lets you switch among four different features meant to improve your gameplay by giving you a visual advantage. Night Vision, Clear Vision, Chroma Vision, and a giant Crosshair are available to you if you need them, but if you’re like me, you’ll probably never touch the settings.

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

The panel itself is a Quantum Dot OLED, which, on paper, enables a slim-panel design like the AW3423DWF to deliver a superior color performance with a higher peak luminance and greater color-gamut range compared with a typical white OLED. Alienware also promises cinema-grade color coverage of 99.3% DCI-P3 and accurate colors out of the box with a factory calibration of Delta E less than 2. (We'll take a closer look at these claims in the next section.)

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

The main difference that the AW3423DWF offers versus its predecessor is AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, while the older model supports Nvidia G-Sync Ultimate. Fundamentally, the two provide the same function: providing maximum performance, minimal latency, and no tearing. They both sync the monitor to the graphics card and let that component control the refresh rate. True, the older G-Sync version of the monitor is slightly more expensive, at $1,199. But you don’t need a specific GPU to run one over the other (though AMD GPUs may provide better results with FreeSync; the same goes for Nvidia and G-Sync).

Testing the Alienware 34 (AW3423DWF): Nice Numbers All Around

OLED screens are almost guaranteed to improve your gaming experience, but by how much? Well, using the CalMAN monitor calibration software, a Murideo Six-G signal generator, and a Klein K-80 colorimeter, we run a few benchmark tests in hopes of quantifying the results and comparing them to displays of similar size and resolution. We leave monitors on their factory settings unless otherwise stated.

First, we test the monitor in its default picture mode with an SDR signal. The AW3423DWF hit a brightness of 329 nits with a black level of 0. OLED is noted for its "true blacks," wherein the pixel actually shuts off entirely, creating a zero-light zone and greater picture contrast versus IPS, VA, or TN panels. In HDR, we saw the brightness almost double to around 611 nits. (You will likely get higher effective brightness than that in spots and details, by the nature of HDR and the panel.)

Our next test measures a monitor's color coverage, where we saw some very impressive results. The AW3423DWF covered 100% of the sRGB color gamut, 98.4% of Adobe RGB, and 99% of DCI-P3—amazing results for a curved display in this price range. The previous AW3423DW model also did exceptionally well in our testing, so excellent color coverage seems to run in the family.

With that wide color range, color accuracy is just as important. Fortunately, the Alienware delivers. With an uncalibrated Delta E reading of 1.4, it’s about the same reading as we got when we tested the G-Sync version last year. When trying to understand Delta E numbers, keep in mind that the higher the number, the further common colors tend to stray from their purest forms; content creators look for a value under 1, and most mainstream monitor shoppers a value under 2. With some tweaking of the color settings, you can get that number even lower.

Gaming Performance

Our input-lag measure is highly competitive at 1.4 milliseconds (ms), putting it right in the mix with other leading panels.

Putting the Alienware through its paces in some actual use, we ran Counter-Strike: Global Assault and Cyberpunk 2077 on it, in an effort to see how well the monitor managed both high and fluctuating frame rates, and the results were positive. We noted no ghosting while playing either game and no notable quality differences between this and the older model.

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

One small caveat to consider here is that the peak refresh rate has been dropped by 10Hz, but I don’t think it’ll affect many players outside of the hardcore crowd. Overall, movies, games, photos, and the like just looked great on the curved screen.

Verdict: A Top OLED Contender Cements Its Screen Cred

All in all, not much has changed since we last reviewed Alienware's 34-inch QD-OLED, but that's by no means a bad thing. The ultrawide monitor still impresses, and for the price, it's a mighty fine deal for those looking to see what OLEDs are all about. A few minor demerits still linger, but it's hard to stay mad at an OLED for being so appealing in just about every other area.

We're bound to see plenty of OLED models this year, but we'd wager that this Alienware screen has more than enough strength to hold its own against stiff competition. Like its predecessor, the Alienware 34 QD-OLED (AW3423DWF) earns our Editors' Choice award.