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Title: Alienware AW2725Q review: An exceptional OLED gaming display

Date: Fri, 02 May 2025 12:00:46 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/alienware-...

In 2023, I tested my first OLED gaming monitor for Engadget, the LG 27GR95QE.
Coming from an IPS LCD, the LG screen was transformational. Its WOLED (White
OLED) panel produced inky blacks that made every game look incredible, and it
allowed me to experience HDR gaming on a PC for the first time. But as
amazing as that monitor was, it was a first generation product and it had a
couple of problems.

It produced text fringing that made it distracting to use for productivity
tasks, and it would flicker whenever I enabled NVIDIA's G-Sync smoothing. I
ended up recommending the LG 27GR95QE with a few caveats in my first gaming
monitor guide, but anytime in the last two years that I've considered buying
an OLED for myself I've held off. The panels have gotten better, but if I'm
going to spend $800 or more on a new monitor, it better be perfect or at
least close to it.

I think I've finally found the OLED monitor I would recommend without
reservation, and I'd even buy it for myself. As long as you own a GPU that
can drive it, Alienware's new AW2725Q is an exceptional gaming display. With
a 4K resolution and 240Hz refresh rate, it's fast, sharp and delivers nearly
flawless image quality across both SDR and HDR applications. Oh, and did I
mention it's substantially cheaper than the competition? If you're in the
market for a high-end gaming monitor, this is the one to buy.

Design Igor Bonifacic for Engadget

The AW2725Q marks the debut of Dell's new AW30 design language for Alienware
products. It's been a while since I've seen one of the company's devices in
person, and I was worried the monitor would look gaudy on my desk.
Thankfully, the AW2725Q is not that; in fact, it has one of the more
understated designs I've come across. Dell offers the AW2725Q in a single
color: Interstellar Indigo. ItΓÇÖs a subtle hue that's more interesting than
the usual black you see on so many competitors. The monitor also has minimal
Alienware branding. On the back of the display, there's the company's
trademark alien logo, while on the front you'll find its badge. The logo
lights up. You can change the color of the LED or turn it off from the on-
screen display (OSD) menu.

Like most Dell monitors, the AW2725Q offers plenty of ports. To start, it
comes with two HDMI 2.1 connections. One of them supports eARC, so you can
connect the monitor to a soundbar and a PS5 or Xbox Series X/S. It also has
three USB-A ports and a single USB-C connection capable of 15W power
delivery. The AW2725Q has the same flat Samsung-made QD-OLED panel as the
$1,200 ASUS PG27UCDM and the $1,100 MSI 272URX.

Dell cut a few features to get its monitor to $900. First, it's missing a
DisplayPort 2.1 output, meaning it's limited to the older 1.4 standard. As a
result, the AW2725Q needs to rely on Display Stream Compression (DSC) to
output a 4K signal at 240Hz. On paper and in practice, that's not much of a
reason to skip over Alienware's monitor. As the name suggests, DSC is a
compression algorithm. It's not technically lossless, but it is "visually
lossless," and unless you pixel peep, it's difficult to notice a difference
between a DSC signal and an uncompressed one over DisplayPort 2.1. Besides,
you'll need one of NVIDIA or AMDΓÇÖs latest GPUs to take advantage of the new
standard anyway.

The AW2725Q's other compromises are more notable. The MSI and ASUS models
offer faster 98W and 90W power delivery over their USB-C ports, making them
better for charging a laptop quickly. The ASUS monitor also comes with a KVM
switch, in case you want to use a single keyboard and mouse to control more
than one computer. Those are all nice to have, but not features I would pay
an extra $200 or $300 to get on a new monitor, especially one I plan to use
primarily for gaming.

Display Igor Bonifacic for Engadget

Although I've seen more than a few OLED monitors in the past, the AW2725Q was
immediately impressive. As I mentioned earlier, it features a QD-OLED panel
made by Samsung, and this specific model marks the first time that company
has offered a 4K resolution on a 27-inch panel. That might seem like
overkill, and in a way it is.

That said, there's one major benefit to the AW2725Q's 166ppi pixel density.
This is the first OLED monitor I've used that doesn't sacrifice text clarity.
With earlier generations of OLED panels from both Samsung and LG, I found the
text fringing really distracting, making them impractical for most
productivity tasks. With the AW2725Q, that problem is almost entirely solved,
making it not just a great gaming monitor, but a great monitor period.

The AW2725Q offers 99 percent DCI-P3 coverage. Out of the box, my unit needed
some calibration, as the green diodes were slightly overpowering everything
else. Once I ran the monitor through DisplayCal, the AW2725Q looked nearly
perfect. Colors were vibrant without being overbaked. If you want to use the
AW2725Q for design work, Dell includes an option to clamp down the display to
sRGB in the OSD. Speaking of the OSD, it's well laid out and easy to navigate
thanks to a joystick that's just big enough not to feel fiddly.

Igor Bonifacic for Engadget

The AW2725Q has a glossy coating that accentuates the panel's ability to
produce deep blacks and vibrant colors. In a dimly lit room, the Alienware
monitor outputs an image that's almost three-dimensional. When I went to
revisit older games, even ones that were mastered in SDR, I felt like I was
seeing artistic details I hadn't noticed before. Of course, the tradeoff with
a glossy coating is that reflections are far more pronounced. Additionally,
one of the quirks of QD-OLED panels is that their black pixels can look gray
in rooms with bright ambient light. At first I found this frustrating, but
once I got better about using my blinds to manage the light coming through
the window, the tradeoff was more than worth it. In that way, the AW2725Q is
like any OLED screen: it needs proper lighting to look its best.

Once I had the screen dialed in, the AW2725Q was equally great for both
immersive and competitive gaming, thanks in part to its 240Hz refresh rate.
Coming from a 165Hz monitor, I didn't think the faster refresh rate would
make games feel noticeably smoother, but I was wrong. Even when my NVIDIA RTX
3070 GPU wasn't able to saturate the display fully, in games like Cyberpunk
2077 and Space Marine 2 for example, I didn't see any blur or smearing. Much
of that is thanks to the 0.03ms pixel response time. One of the nice things
about OLED monitors, especially if you're running a less powerful GPU like I
am, is that you don't need to worry about overdrive modes. I saw VRR flicker
when I had G-SYNC enabled, but it seemed less pronounced than what I've seen
on older OLED monitors like the LG 27GR95QE.

Igor Bonifacic for Engadget

Everything I mentioned so far applies to SDR gaming, but the AW2725Q really
comes into its own when you enable HDR. It's a VESA True Black 400-certified
display. In dark, atmospheric games like Dead Space and Alan Wake, the
AW2725Q's ability to produce true blacks and a near-infinite contrast ratio
is transformational. The screen greatly enhances the ambience those games
strive to achieve, thanks to dark scenes that aren't washed out by the glow
you get on IPS displays.

Unfortunately, I don't have the equipment needed to measure peak brightness
and panel uniformity. The reviewers at Rtings and Monitors Unboxed do rate
the AW2725Q highly, though. They found the monitor can peak at 220 nits in
its SDR mode, and sustain around 260 nits of peak brightness across a full
screen during HDR operation. If you're coming from an LCD display, I imagine
the AW2725Q won't disappoint, even if it doesn't get as bright as some other
OLEDs on the market.

Burn-in protection

A few weeks is not long enough to stress the AW2725Q for burn-in, but from
what I've seen so far, with decent care, the panel should last for years.
First of all, the monitor comes with a suite of maintenance features. One of
those will refresh all the pixels on the panel so they don't get stuck. You
can start the process manually through the OSD. The AW2725Q will also
initiate the process on its own after you turn off your computer or it goes
to sleep. The entire procedure takes about five minutes. There are also self-
diagnostic tools for the panel and fan at the back of the display.

In the US, Dell offers a three-year warranty on the AW2725Q, with burn-in
protection included in the coverage. Not every manufacturer does this with
their OLED monitors, so the fact Dell does is nice and makes the AW2725Q a
smarter long-term purchase.

Wrap-up Igor Bonifacic for Engadget

Normally, when I review a product, I can't wait to get back to the device I
was using before. I try to be thoughtful about my buying habits, and only
purchase things I know will serve me well for years to come. So the best
thing I can say about the Alienware AW2725Q is that I'm not looking forward
to sending it back. It is an amazing display that has made one of my favorite
hobbies more enjoyable. The fact it costs $900 is icing on the cake.

Yes, it's still more expensive than your average IPS gaming monitor, but it's
cheaper than the competition without sacrificing visual quality. If you're in
the market for a 4K OLED, I would only skip the AW2725Q if you have the desk
space to accommodate a 32-inch screen and you prefer that size.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/alienware-...
oled-gaming-display-120046049.html?src=rss

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