Alienware 34” curved gaming monitor Review

 

Alienware 34” aw3418dw curved gaming monitor (Review, Specs and Price)

The Alienware AW34n18DW is the fastest gaming monitor with a 21:9 ultra-wide aspect ratio with an overclocked refresh rate of 120Hz. It provides smooth, high-frame-rate games with an immersive vision-filling aspect ratio, and plenty of game-specific features.

While most modern monitors and widescreen TVs have an aspect ratio of 16:9, a 21:9 aspect ratio means the screen is a lot wider on the horizontal plane, benefitting games and helping productivity as well, allowing you to have far more open windows than usual.

In this alienware 34 curved gaming monitor - aw3418dw review, we’ll examine deeply its specifications, price, availability, and performance, we shall also be considering its beautiful design and make-up. Let’s start this important review right away.

Alienware 34” aw3418dw features and specs list

Brand	Dell
Display Size	34.14 Inches
Resolution	QHD Ultra Wide 1440p
Hardware Interface	Mini-DisplayPort, DisplayPort, USB 3.0
Response Time	4ms
Aspect Ratio	21:9
Warranty	1 Year
Price	$1,799

 

 

 

Alienware 34” aw3418dw gaming monitor Design

In this alienware 34 curved gaming monitor - aw3418dw review, we shall start by looking at its elegant design. A specially-built and highly attractive gaming monitor, the Alienware AW3418DW has a highly sophisticated appearance with its premium, polished silver finish and ultramodern design which makes this gaming monitor have a sleek and eye-catching make-up that embrace gamer aesthetics without being too over-the-top and gaudy, and making it one of the best in the market, today.

The thin bezels around the screen, especially the top and bottom, means the monitor isn’t taking up wasted space, though a large monitor, and it will dominate pretty much any desk you put it on. The stand, made from metallic-coated plastic and featuring the Alienware logo in various places, does take up quite a bit of space on the desk as well, more so than the stands we’ve seen on other ultra-wide monitors.

The back of the monitor is silver, with another Alienware ‘alien head’ logo that lights up, and a few more LED strips. Overall, the design here is quite nice and, if you’re not a fan of the LED lighting, you can turn it off using the on-screen menu.

Connection-wise, there is an audio-in jack, DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 1.4, a USB upstream port (for connecting to your PC), and two USB 3.0 ports, allowing the monitor to be used as a USB hub. There are another two USB 3.0 ports on the bottom of the screen, along with a headphone jack. If you extend the screen to the top of the stand, these ports are much easier to access than the ones on the back, so we commend Alienware for the clever placement.

Alienware 34” aw3418dw gaming monitor Performance

In this alienware 34 curved gaming monitor - aw3418dw review, we will also consider deeply its performance. Thanks to its 100Hz refresh rate and G-Sync technology, which offer high frame rates without screen tearing, a noticeable feature when loading up a game on the Alienware AW3418DW, apart from the immersive aspect ratio that fills your vision, is just how magnificently smooth gameplay is.

Worthy of note is the fact that, while 100Hz is a higher refresh rate than many standard monitors, it is not quite the highest refresh rate possible for G-Sync monitors, which are capable of up to 240Hz. Interestingly, the Alienware AW3418DW has an ace up its sleeve, with an overclock setting that increases the refresh rate to 120Hz.

This incredible jump from 100Hz to 120Hz is pretty obvious. When overclocked, the action onscreen becomes remarkably smoother. This jump from playing at 60Hz to 100Hz really is impressive, and it’s something that you really need to experience yourself. Everything feels much more smooth and receptive, especially with fast-paced action.

You can also enable a faster response time using the on-screen menu, choosing between ‘Normal’, ‘Fast’ and ‘Super-Fast.' The idea is that the faster the response time, the less lag there is. So, there is less time between the movements you make with your mouse and keyboard and how your character moves on the monitor.

Also worthy of note is its performance outside of gaming, for example, while browsing websites, the outlines may appear around pictures and text when scrolling. It’s a minor issue though, and it can be alleviated by setting the responsive time to ‘Normal’, or even ‘Fast’.

As you would expect from a G-Sync panel, there are no instances of screen tearing when playing. Overall, games look wonderful and amazing on the screen, and there are enough options for you to tweak the monitor to get your desired best performance.

This gaming monitor also gives you the option of overlaying the frames per second (FPS) count in the top-left hand corner of the screen, which is accessible if you want to see how well your hardware is performing. There are enough useful features like this for gamers that help justify the Alienware AW3418DW’s high price tag.

As far as standard image quality goes, the IPS (in-plane switching) panel of the Alienware AW3418DW does an excellent job, though some people may find it a bit bright at its default setting. The IPS panel also offers very wide viewing angles, which is pretty essential for an ultra-wide monitor, especially a curved one, with color accuracy holding up in every part of the monitor.

All the same, the Alienware AW3418DW is a superb and gaming monitor when it comes to performance, with superb image quality. Also, when overclocked to 120Hz, this is the fastest ultra-wide monitor currently on the market. That may just be enough to justify its more expensive price tag compared to its competitors.

Price and Availability

This alienware 34 curved gaming monitor - aw3418dw review will not be complete if we do not examine its price and availability. A pricey gaming monitor, the Alienware AW3418DW is available on Amazon and sold at $1,799. You might be concerned with the price but it’s worth it because of its great and highly impressive performance.

Interestingly, one thing that the Alienware AW3418DW has that its competitors lack, and which may make the high price tag worthwhile, is its ability to be overclocked to a 120Hz refresh rate, making it faster than its rivals in the market.