360Hz and 4K in one sub-$500 27-inch gaming monitor

The Alienware AW2725QF is a doubtlessly massively interesting gaming monitor, providing what might be the perfect steadiness of options for a lot of avid gamers. Its 27-inch display screen measurement packs in a pin-sharp 4K decision that the show can run at as much as 180Hz, for clean visuals in most video games. If you happen to then wish to transfer your gaming up a gear, although, you possibly can change this panel to a 1080p decision with as much as a 360Hz refresh fee, hich is in principle perfect for aggressive first particular person shooters.

With a surprisingly modest asking worth, this versatility is sufficient to earn this IPS LCD show a spot on our greatest gaming monitor information, but it surely’s not with out some key shortcomings, so learn on to seek out out why this Alienware show would possibly or won’t be for you.

Specs

Design

Regardless of Alienware’s storied historical past of untamed and wacky designs, the AW2725QF is a principally sensible and understated-looking show. Its matte black plastic end, slim bezels, and compact stand give it a reasonably unobtrusive look from the entrance, with simply the Alienware brand on the underside bezel standing out.

Around the again, although, are some pretty distinguished illuminated sections that present the quantity 27 and the Alienware alien head brand. These could be backlit with RGB lighting of your alternative, and you’ll set the brightness excessive sufficient to create a fairly seen wash of shade on any wall you may need behind the display screen.

The panel isn’t significantly skinny, however as an LCD quite than an OLED display screen, that is to be anticipated, because it requires sufficient depth to suit a backlight behind the panel. The bezels are good and slim, although.

Relating to practicalities, the AW2725QF is well-appointed. Its stand provides top, rotation, pivot, and tilt actions and could be eliminated to disclose a 100 x 100mm VESA mount to be used with monitor arms. The show additionally provides easy-to-access USB ports on the underside of the entrance bezel. These can be perfect for connecting your keyboard and mouse, besides having plugs hanging down out of your show isn’t essentially the most elegant look, so we’d reserve these for extra occasional use, reminiscent of plugging in USB thumb drives and charging cables.

Options

Persevering with with the ports on this panel, the show features a complete of 4 USB ports, all of which help USB 3.2 Gen 1 speeds, with three USB-A sockets and a USB-C connector. Two of the ports sit on the again of the panel, the place they’re all simple to entry, and so they sit alongside the show inputs and energy socket. The latter makes use of a mains IEC C13 socket with an influence provide contained in the panel, so there’s no awkward energy brick for which that you must discover a dwelling.

The video inputs are DisplayPort 1.4 and two HDMI 2.1, which suggests all of the inputs can attain the highest decision and refresh fee mixtures on supply by this show. Nonetheless, you don’t get a USB-C enter for video, so it’s not essentially the most handy choice for pairing with a laptop computer.

In the meantime, we’ve typically discovered that the IPS LCD tech used on this panel provides the very best steadiness of nice viewing angles, correct shade replica, and respectable response time, in comparison with TN and VA panels. TN-type panels have quicker response occasions however worse viewing angles, whereas VA panels have a deeper distinction however slower response time, typically. Yow will discover out extra in regards to the variations in our IPS vs VA information.

The mix of a 27-inch display screen and 4K decision additionally nets you an ultrasharp pixel density of 163 pixels per inch (ppi), which compares to 110ppi for a extra typical 1440p decision on a 27-inch display screen. Flip the monitor into its 1080p mode, although, and this drops to 81ppi, making for a a lot much less sharp picture, fairly clearly. Nonetheless, crucially, the 1080p mode right here is much sharper than working 1080p on a 32-inch panel, such because the LG Ultragear 32GS95UE – a show that additionally provides a dual-resolution mode.

In keeping with Dell/Alienware, this IPS panel can hit a distinction ratio of 1,000:1, obtain a response time of as much as 0.05ms, hit a full-screen most brightness of 450cd/m², and canopy 95% of the DCI-P3 shade house, all of that are typical figures for a contemporary IPS display screen.

The DCI-P3 shade house protection ensures the panel can supply the broader, extra vivid shade vary of HDR, however its 1,000:1 distinction ratio means you don’t get a very sturdy distinction between the brightest and darkest components of a picture. If you happen to’re after extra impactful HDR replica, you’ll wish to search out an OLED panel or an LCD panel with a number of backlight zones, quite than the uniform backlight used right here.

That top most brightness does at the very least imply that this panel can supply a fairly sturdy HDR picture by way of the distinction between its brightest full-screen moments and its darkest – the panel will modulate its general backlight brightness from body to border, to match the HDR content material.

Other than the video inputs, USB ports, and the show itself, the AW2725QF doesn’t supply an enormous quantity in the way in which of extras. Nonetheless, it does have a pop-out headphone stand, with an arm that’s truly lengthy sufficient to maintain the headphones from protecting a part of your display screen.

Nonetheless, you don’t get any significantly notable gaming options in its menus, and it omits not simply audio system however even a headphone output too, so that you’ll want a set of the very best pc audio system or probably the greatest gaming headsets to accompany this display screen.

Onscreen show menu

For a model identified for its sturdy designs, the onscreen menus on the Alienware AW2725QF are surprisingly monotone and utilitarian. You simply get a clear, easy number of choices for tweaking the picture high quality and gaming efficiency of the panel.

Faucet the only mini joystick on the again of the panel and also you’re greeted by an preliminary fast menu. You may scroll left and proper to enter fast menus for brightness management, altering shade modes, and switching inputs, or for those who simply faucet the joystick straightaway once more it’s going to provoke the display screen’s dual-mode decision switching trick.

The bigger 32-inch LG 32GS95UE has the choice to have its 1080p mode proven at full display screen, 27-inch, or 24-inch modes, however that’s not accessible right here. You simply get the one full-screen 1080p mode.

The primary menu settings to look out for are the overclock mode, which helps you to take the show from its default of 165Hz at 4K as much as 180Hz. The overdrive setting can be essential for getting the very best efficiency out of the panel, with the default Quick mode providing a barely slower common response time however with no shade overshoot, whereas the Tremendous Quick and Excessive overdrive settings supply barely quicker response occasions with the compromise of somewhat little bit of shade overshoot.

Picture high quality

The default picture high quality of the panel we examined was largely excellent, so far as IPS LCD panels go. The panel’s shade steadiness is good, so the show doesn’t look too blue or too yellow, as an example. In the meantime, its most brightness truly far exceeds its rated degree, registering 522cd/m², to make for a panel that holds up even in vivid sunlit rooms. The panel’s distinction additionally exceeded its ranking, hitting 1,212:1, making for a barely punchier picture general.

One slight flaw that holds again its picture high quality, although, is the noticeable IPS glow. That’s the place, although you possibly can nonetheless clearly see the show’s picture with accurate-looking colours when considered from an angle (in contrast to a TN panel the place colours can invert when considered from sure angles), the colours are washed out by the backlight glowing via the picture, as you possibly can see within the picture under.

It’s largely not an issue for watching brighter photographs, however for darker scenes – such because the opening nighttime setting of Stalker 2 or any film set within the darkness of house – the glow is usually a little bit of a distraction until you’re sitting completely straight on.

As you would possibly count on, this additionally impacts the influence of HDR, with the distinction between inky blacks and dazzling vivid colours being the principle level of HDR. Right here, whereas the panel delivers the extra vivid colours of HDR, it doesn’t actually have that contrasty wow issue that makes OLEDs and multi-zone backlight LCD screens so coveted.

The display screen’s matte quite than shiny coating additionally doesn’t assist whenever you’re viewing darkish content material in brighter environments. Matte coatings have typically been most well-liked for a few years, as they cut back the dazzle of reflections, however they will additionally make darkish colours look barely grey in brighter lighting, because the roughness of the floor catches ambient mild.

Matte coatings can even introduce a slight fuzziness that’s significantly noticeable on plain white backgrounds, and certain sufficient, that’s noticeable right here. Nonetheless, matte coatings are nonetheless typical for LCD panels and the one right here isn’t significantly unhealthy by any means, and it does take care of vivid mild dazzle effectively.

As for the decision choices accessible with this display screen, as you’d count on, the crispness of the picture with the panel in its 4K mode is excellent. Textual content seems pin-sharp, and 4K video games and video look beautiful. The one draw back, for those who can contemplate it that, is that 4K on a comparatively small display screen reminiscent of that is that it’s important to use Home windows scaling to make textual content and icons readable, and utilizing the default 150% scaling (above proper) choice in Home windows doesn’t provide you with a lot desktop house. You should use 125% or 100% scaling (above left), however for most folk this may make objects seem too small.

Switching to the 1080p mode and, understandably, sharpness just isn’t all that spectacular. You may see the distinction between 4K at 150% textual content high quality and 1080p textual content high quality within the picture above. Notably, textual content and picture high quality typically isn’t fairly as sharp right here as on a local 1080p 27-inch show, but it surely’s nonetheless okay. Furthermore, you’re not meant to be studying with the display screen on this mode. As an alternative, it’s meant for under these moments whenever you need peak 360Hz gaming efficiency, and it’s a lot sharp sufficient in these situations.

What’s extra, switching to 360Hz mode doesn’t influence the show’s picture high quality an excessive amount of in another manner. Distinction stays excessive and colours nonetheless look correct, so you possibly can confidently simply change forwards and backwards with out worrying about adjusting the colours for every mode.

Gaming efficiency

The Alienware AW2725QF’s gaming efficiency is generally pretty much as good as you’d count on from the refresh fee/decision mixtures it may possibly ship. Nonetheless, it’s not fairly pretty much as good as you would possibly hope in some areas.

Relating to 4K gaming, the sharp, contrasty, and color-accurate picture of this panel, mixed with its as much as 180Hz refresh fee, actually makes for a improbable expertise in a variety of video games. The overwhelming majority of recreation genres don’t want greater than 180Hz to really feel satisfyingly clean, so you possibly can bask in wonderful visuals however nonetheless hold that responsive really feel.

Utilizing the show’s default Quick overdrive setting, the response time of the panel in 4K 180Hz mode is an honest 5.2ms in keeping with our assessments utilizing an OSRTT device. This isn’t lightning fast for an IPS panel, but it surely’s quick sufficient to make sure that the display screen’s pixels can, on common, change shade rapidly sufficient to maintain up with the 5.5ms time for which every body is proven when working at 180Hz.

After we come to this show’s twin 1080p mode, although, this show’s gaming invoice of well being earns a number of purple marks of concern. For essentially the most half, the soar as much as 360Hz is clearly perceptible and the show offers a quick really feel that lends video games reminiscent of Counter-Strike or Apex Legends an additional sense of responsiveness.

Nonetheless, the precise response time of the panel’s pixels doesn’t enhance a lot on this mode. On the default Quick overdrive setting, the response time averages 4.8ms, which is significantly longer than the two.8ms at which every body is displayed when working at 360Hz. Meaning you get extra seen ghostly trails of still-changing pixels when the picture strikes rapidly. They’re removed from the worst trails, as 4.8ms continues to be an honest response time, but it surely’s a far cry from how the 480Hz of the LG Ultragear 32GS95UE feels with that OLED panel’s sub-0.1ms response time.

Up the overdrive of the panel to Excessive and the response time drops to 4.1ms, which is an honest common enchancment, although it nonetheless falls effectively wanting making certain the typical pixel shade change occurs inside the time of 1 body.

None of this outright condemns the AW2725QF to not being price consideration, however we’ve examined IPS LCD screens earlier than that ship significantly faster response occasions. The AOC AG274QG, as an example, hits 3.3ms at its 240Hz refresh fee, and that’s with a 1440p decision, so we all know it’s doable to get a faster panel.

Value

The Alienware AW2725QF worth is simply $549, making it a really tempting choice contemplating the whole lot it delivers. There may need been a substantial drop in worth for 27-inch, quick refresh fee LCD screens in recent times, however the mixture right here of a 4K decision and the twin 360Hz/1080p mode isn’t widespread, so it’s good to see Dell/Alienware not charging an enormous premium for it.

Alternate options

LG Ultragear 32GS95UE

If you happen to don’t thoughts upping your finances significantly, the LG Ultragear 32GS95UE provides the whole lot that appeals in regards to the Alienware AW2725QF, and an entire lot extra. Its display screen measurement is a bigger 32-inch format, whereas its panel tech switches to OLED for beautiful picture high quality and an ultra-fast gaming response time. You additionally get larger refresh charges of 240Hz at 4K and 480Hz at 1080p.

Verdict

Simply a few years in the past, earlier than OLED gaming screens disrupted the market, a 27-inch IPS gaming monitor that would do each 4K at 180Hz and 1080p at 360Hz would have been near the perfect gaming display screen for a lot of patrons. The mix doesn’t have fairly the identical caché lately but it surely nonetheless makes for a genuinely helpful general mixture.

One explicit enchantment can be that using LCD right here means there aren’t any considerations about OLED display screen burn-in. You should use this panel for eight hours of labor every single day, with the Home windows taskbar not shifting an inch, and it gained’t hurt the panel in any respect. Textual content high quality and common readability and picture high quality are additionally wonderful, making it a sensible display screen for every kind of labor and play.

All that and the value of this panel is actually aggressive. Sure, you may get 240Hz, 1440p, 27-inch IPS gaming screens for $200-$300 lately, however the further decision with the 360Hz/1080p choice provides you a number of versatility for not an enormous quantity extra.

There are a number of main caveats, although. The primary is that the mixture of IPS glow and “solely” a measured distinction ratio of 1,200:1 means this show merely can’t compete with OLED panels for HDR gaming and watching video. However most regarding of all is the comparatively sluggish response time of the panel.

Contemplating it may possibly run at as much as 360Hz, the bottom common response time of 4.1ms isn’t nice. So, for those who actually do want or need the actually tournament-grade responsive really feel, you’ll nonetheless be higher off with a separate TN LCD 1080p panel, if OLED isn’t an choice inside your finances.