Alienware AW2723DF gaming monitor review

This is a 27-inch 360Hz QD-OLED monitor. While the price warrants top-notch quality, Alienware has delivered quality beyond what we’ve seen in the LCD monitors from BenQ and ViewSonic around this price point. This is easily the best 27-inch gaming monitor we’ve tested, at least regarding colour.

Ghost of Tsushima on PC and Prince of Persia Rogue have vibrant colour palettes that pop on Alienware. In moments where the sunlight is pouring through the trees and foliage in Tsushima, the 1000nits peak brightness along with OLED’s inky blacks do more justice to the PS5-turned-PC title than any other gaming monitor. For PS5 games like Stellar Blade, there’s a single HDMI 2.1 port, and the monitor manages blacks and contrast well depending on the HDR Smart mode you select. You’ll need to tinker and fiddle around a bunch to find the right setting for the content but for the most part, the desktop mode works well. The colour and contrast are the most balanced in this setting.

It’s got infinite contrast and covers 99.3% of the DCI-P3 gamut on paper with 0.03ms gray-to-gray response time. That’s ridiculously fast for even a QD-OLED monitor. For competitive games and beefy PCs, this monitor is mesmerising and you’ll barely remember that you’ve polished your bank balance.

Depending on the content, the HDR brightness of 400 nits with support for VESA HDR TrueBlack 400 holds up well for content and gaming. However, we found Ghost of Tsushima on PC to be a better test for black and contrast compared to Stellar Blade on the PS5. There was a wee bit of ghosting as well on the PS5 which is rare and unusual for an OLED monitor.

Albeit, there were no such issues on the PC. Games were smooth at 2K resolution with 360Hz refresh rate and the Pixel Refresh in the OSD keeps the burn-in and dead pixels at a distance. Out of the box, the colour calibration of this monitor puts even the Samsung Odyssey G8 OLED to shame. Unless you’re a professional colour grader, you may never need to touch the colour settings in the OSD. Game modes, HDR modes and even a few Alienware-gaming modes are thrown in here to give you an edge over everyone else in an online lobby.

However, there’s an issue with the Alienware 27in 360Hz QD-OLED monitor firmware out of the box. You will have to update the firmware to M3B103 using the USB-B cable in the box. With the older firmware, the monitor would randomly get a static screen on DisplayPort connections. We fixed this issue during our testing by downloading the firmware by installing the Dell Display Manager Application first. Once you install it, the firmware update will show in the settings which is the more stable way to do it. You'll need to connect the USB-A to the USB-B cable which comes in the box to update the firmware. Here’s the link to the Dell driver page and the firmware update also fixes the issue where the Alienware monitor keeps going into pixel refresh mode. We haven't had a single issue with the monitor after the update so it works, and is necessary.

There’s  AMD FreeSync Premium Pro support but no Nvidia G-Sync. That’s available on the LCD model but according to us, G-Sync shouldn’t be the deciding factor. There’s also a bottom-facing Type-C port which will charge your smartphone. Considering that the monitor is selling under a lakh, most of the lighting gimmicks are also available. More importantly, the monitor doesn’t have a power adaptor so there’s less clutter on the desk and the internal fans keep things cool.

There’s an anti-reflection coating but it doesn’t do a better job than Samsung’s QD-OLED. Best thing? There’s a 3-year warranty which includes coverage for OLED burn-in.

With vibrant colours, inky blacks, and HDR that shines (especially on PC content), it delivers unmatched image quality. Competitive gamers and PC enthusiasts will be mesmerized by the smooth 2K resolution and buttery-fast refresh rate. However, a minor firmware gremlin out of the box can cause static screens on DisplayPort connections. Thankfully, a quick update using the included USB-B cable resolves this issue. 

Aside from the missing G-Sync compatibility (which shouldn't be a dealbreaker for most), this monitor offers a near-perfect package. Throw in a 3-year warranty with burn-in coverage, and you've got a king on your hands – just be sure to crown it with the latest firmware.