Alienware AW2725D QD-OLED Monitor Review - Bringing Quality and Value Together
Alienware has long been known as a premium brand. The type of brand that you pay for, but in return expect high quality and great engineering. That reputation is well earned, with a long history of releasing high-quality, but high-priced products. But what people may not realise is that Alienware, especially in comparison with the current market, is now representing a much more value-for-money proposition with a lot of their products. That has never been more evident than with the AW2725D QD-OLED 27′ Gaming Monitor, a beast of a monitor at a very reasonable, if not cheap, price.
The AW275D is something of a middle ground between the two Alienware monitors I have reviewed recently. It is more expensive and feature-packed than the 25″ 320Hz esports-focused model, but cheaper than the extremely premium 27″ 4K OLED, and this middle ground seems to be the exact goal of this impressive bit of tech. This is the monitor for the everyman, the gamer that wants good quality and nice features, but doesn’t feel the need (or have the budget) to stretch out for the absolute best. This is a goal that Alienware have reached and then some, making the AW2725D a monitor that should be seriously considered by anyone looking to upgrade their setup.
Let’s start with the features. This is a 2K monitor, which, quite frankly, is perfect for something that is 27″. 4K is absolute overkill for a monitor this size, and the improvements do not justify the price increase. We have a QD-OLED panel that absolutely sings when it comes to gaming. Combined with the 280Hz refresh rate, games appear smoother than a James Brown impersonator’s convention. From fast-paced FPS titles like Doom: The Dark Ages, to 2D sidescrollers like Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, the monitor never once let me down. I honestly believe that the most important aspect for anyone looking to take their monitor to the next level is an OLED panel, and this is absolutely evident here. Colours are rich, blacks are bloody black, and there was minimal glare or reflection even in an unevenly lit room.
Console performance was fantastic, too. The Xbox Series X, PS5 and Switch 2 all performed admirably. The Switch 2’s slightly iffy HDR implementation was especially evident on this monitor, but I hardly feel it is fair to blame Alienware for that one. The other two systems looked great. Once again, though, Alienware didn’t include a 3.5mm audio jack on the monitor, which means if people want to use this with both their computer and consoles, HDMI ARC is the only option for audio to speakers. A slight pain, and it does reduce some of the usability. The AW275D also features a picture-in-picture mode, which can be used to show a secondary input on the screen, a handy feature if you are recording gameplay from a console and don’t have a second monitor.
As for the physical monitor itself, this is a sturdy unit with a great range of movement and adjustability. I had no trouble finding an ideal position, and the monitor can be used in portrait mode, so if you are using it for work purposes, your spreadsheets will never look better. Speaking of everyday use, what really impressed me here is the HDR implementation. Somehow, Alienware has seemed to have cracked the ordinary HDR implementation of Windows and created a monitor that makes it work. Some impressive lighting on show here, in both Windows and gaming scenarios. I have to say, that is no small feat. The monitor also features a host of presets that adjust the monitor’s lighting, brightness and contrast based on the type of game you are playing. I found these presets, especially the “sport” and “racing” ones, to be particularly useful in improving the look and feel of games. Of course, all these settings can be manually adjusted, and there are three custom presets that can be saved and switched between.
Further on the physical design, the size of the monitor itself has been clearly taken into consideration. The actual footprint on my desk is quite small, yet despite that, it never feels like it is in danger of tipping over. The monitor has an extremely thin border, giving a sleek, modern look and the LEDs on the back, while customisable, are minimal and non-intrusive. The only thing I don’t like about the design is the centre button control scheme, which leads me to clicking on the wrong option all the time. That is purely a personal thing, though, and I am sure others with less sausage-like fingers don’t hate it nearly as much.
This is undoubtedly a high-performing 2K monitor, but what is just as impressive is the price. Coming in at $549 for this model, it isn’t cheap, but it is certainly fairly valued. There is also the option on the Alienware website to adjust the features you need and reduce the price even further, so it really is worth a look. I can’t remember seeing another monitor on the market that offers such well-implemented and impressive features at such a fair price. This makes the AW275D the best of Alienware’s monitor offerings, at least for the average user. It perfectly strikes the balance between quality, features and price in a way that very few monitors have. Add to the fact that it is backed by Dell’s excellent tech support and a fast-replacement policy, and this monitor becomes almost the perfect fit for just about every PC gamer looking for a quality 27″ display.
