Alienware AW3418DW is one of the few gaming monitors. These
monitors provide the immersion that only a 21:9 aspect ratio can provide, while
also providing a high refresh rate. This ultra-wide monitor has a dense
resolution of 3,440 x 1,440, an amazing 4ms response time and a fast refresh
rate of 120Hz, providing you with the best of both worlds. However, all of
these features are not cheap, so budget-conscious gamers may want to transfer
them to other places or start saving.
The Alienware AW3418DW gaming monitor is another ultra-wide
monitor that provides an immersive gaming experience by filling the player’s
peripheral vision with a 21:9 aspect ratio.
Although most modern monitors and widescreen TVs have an
aspect ratio of 16:9, an aspect ratio of 21:9 means that the screen is much
wider on a horizontal plane. This extra visual space is not only beneficial to
the game, because a wider screen can also improve work efficiency, allowing you
to have more open windows than usual.
However, for the Alienware brand, it is not surprising that
the AW3418DW is first a gaming monitor. It competes with similar products such
as AOC Agon AG352UCG and LG 34UC79G-B. These two outstanding monitors make it
our best Good gaming product monitoring list.
Therefore, in the fierce competition, let us take a look at
the performance of Alienware AW3418DW.
Price and availability
Alienware is a brand often associated with high prices, and
ultra-wide gaming monitors rarely become cheaper. Alienware AW3418DW is an
expensive monitor that costs $999 (£1,100, AU$2,099), which may not be
surprising.
Compared with the price of AOC Agon AG352UCG, which is
US$899 (£799, or about AU$1200), this is a much more expensive proposition. For
Alienware, this may be a problem because-on paper-AOC offers a slightly larger
screen size (35 inches), and many of the same features, such as G-Sync (a
higher refresh rate can achieve smoother Play). Gameplay) and 3,440 x 1,440
resolution.
Therefore, AW3418DW must prove that the extra money is
worthwhile in the performance department.
The Alienware AW3418DW has one thing that its competitors do
not have, that is, one thing that it can make high-priced tags worth
considering is that it has the ability to overclock to a 120Hz refresh rate,
making it faster than the competition.
Price and availability
Alienware is a brand often associated with high prices, and
ultra-wide gaming monitors rarely become cheaper. Alienware AW3418DW is an
expensive monitor that costs $999 (£1,100, AU$2,099), which may not be
surprising.
Compared with the price of AOC Agon AG352UCG, which is
US$899 (£799, or about AU$1200), this is a much more expensive proposition. For
Alienware, this may be a problem because-on paper-AOC offers a slightly larger
screen size (35 inches), and many of the same features, such as G-Sync (a
higher refresh rate can achieve smoother Play) gameplay) and 3,440 x 1,440
resolution.
Therefore, AW3418DW must prove that the extra money is
worthwhile in the performance department.
The Alienware AW3418DW has one thing that its competitors do
not have, that is, one thing that it can make high-priced tags worth
considering is that it has the ability to overclock to a 120Hz refresh rate,
making it faster than the competition.
Design Alienware AW3418DW
One of the main elements that Alienware products are famous
for (in addition to the high price) is the stylish and eye-catching design that
encompasses the aesthetics of gamers without being overly exaggerated and
exaggerated. Therefore, colored LEDs, metallic shadows and sharp angles are all
present and correct, but let's also say that the design has
"maturity", which means that it is a beautiful-looking gaming monitor
that will not offend anyone's taste.
Due to the size of the screen, Alienware AW3418DW is packed
in a very large box. Fortunately, once opened, it can be easily assembled
together without any tools. This makes setup easier, and the hardware still
feels good and sturdy. After setting, you can easily adjust the screen to make
it more comfortable to use..
The thin bezels around the screen, especially the top and
bottom, mean that the monitor will not take up wasted space, but remember that
this is a large monitor and it will take up almost all the desk space you place
on it. The stand is made of metal-coated plastic with Alienware logos in
various positions, and it does take up a considerable amount of space on the
table, which is larger than the stand we see on other ultra-wide monitors.
The back of the display is silver, with another Alienware's
"alien head" logo lit up, and more LED light bars. Overall, the
design here is very good, if you are not a fan of LED lighting, you can use the
on-screen menu to turn it off.
Back to the front, in the middle of the bottom border there
is a simple but fascinating line of text that says "Alienware". At
the bottom right of the screen are the buttons to control the on-screen menu,
as well as the power button (the power button is lit by an LED, and you can
change its color, just like other LED lights on the monitor).
There are no button icons or prompts on the bezel, which
makes the appearance look neat and tidy. However, this can cause confusion when
trying to use buttons to navigate through menu options. Fortunately, when the
on-screen menu appears (when any button is pressed, Alienware will display an
icon for the function of each button), which makes things easier.
In terms of connection, there is an audio input jack,
DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 1.4, a USB upstream port (for connecting to your PC) and
two USB 3.0 ports, which can use the monitor as a USB hub. There are two other
USB 3.0 ports and a headphone jack at the bottom of the screen. If you extend
the screen to the top of the stand, these ports are easier to use than the
ports on the back, so we recommend Alienware for clever placement.
Overall, the Alienware AW3418DW is a well-designed gaming
monitor that maintains close contact with the appearance and style of other
Alienware devices. For example, if you have an Alienware Aurora R6 desktop
gaming PC, then this monitor will give you incredible praise. Even if you don't
have other Alienware items, the design is subtle enough to work with PCs and
peripherals.
In terms of connection, there is an audio input jack,
DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 1.4, a USB upstream port (for connecting to your PC) and
two USB 3.0 ports, which can use the monitor as a USB hub. There are two other
USB 3.0 ports and a headphone jack at the bottom of the screen. If you extend
the screen to the top of the stand, these ports are easier to use than the
ports on the back, so we recommend Alienware for clever placement.
Overall, the Alienware AW3418DW is a well-designed gaming
monitor, closely related to the look and feel of other Alienware devices. For
example, if you have an Alienware Aurora R6 desktop gaming PC, then this
monitor will give you incredible praise. Even if you don't have other Alienware
items, the design is subtle enough to work with PCs and peripherals.
Performance Alienware AW3418DW
When you load the game and start playing on the Alienware
AW3418DW, the first thing you will notice is that the immersive aspect ratio
can meet your visual needs. What a glamorous and smooth gameplay. This is due
to the 100Hz refresh rate and G-Sync technology, which can provide high frame
rates without tearing the screen. The results are amazing.
For most gamers, returning to a monitor without G-Sync will
be a real struggle.
Although the 100Hz refresh rate is higher than many standard
monitors (usually the maximum is 60Hz), the refresh rate is not the highest for
G-Sync monitors (up to 240Hz). However, this is very standard for 21:9
displays. LG 34UC79G-B and AOC Agon AG352UCG both provide a refresh rate of
100Hz.
Alienware AW3418DW has a little bit on the sleeve, but
through overclocking settings, the refresh rate can be increased to 120Hz.
The jump from 100Hz to 120Hz is very obvious. After
overclocking, the motion on the screen will become abnormally smooth. In these
two games, the performance of Alienware AW3418DW is impressive when playing
"Wolfner Headquarters II" (the highest frequency is 100Hz) and
"Call of Duty: World War II" (100% and 120Hz).
The jump from 60Hz playback to 100Hz is really impressive,
this is something you really need to experience. Everything becomes more fluid
and responsive, especially the fast-paced movements. Falling back from 100Hz to
60Hz can be very harsh, almost like your character playing in quicksand.
Up to 120Hz is also obvious. If you have the hardware to
deal with-we used the Nvidia Titan Xp graphics card, which can make the most of
the graphics settings while maintaining a high refresh rate and frame rate-you
will really see the difference.
When we say that this is a game changer, we are not
exaggerating.
You can also use the on-screen menu (choose between
"Normal", "Fast" and "Super Fast") to enable
faster response time. The idea is that the faster the response time, the less
the lag. Therefore, the time between the actions you perform with the mouse and
keyboard and the actions of the character on the monitor is reduced.
Although this is a popular option, we found that setting the
response time to "super fast" will add ghosting elements on the
screen. This is manifested in the game, with a faint gray outline in the fast
action.
We have also noticed this outside of games and when, for
example, when browsing websites, when scrolling, there are outlines around
pictures and text. This is a minor complaint and can be resolved by setting the
response time to "normal" or even "fast". However, for us,
the benefits are not worth it. In any case, the response time (4 milliseconds)
of the Alienware AW3418DW should be low enough.
As we hope to see from the G-Sync panel, there will be no
screen tearing during playback. Overall, the game looks great on the screen,
and there are enough options for you to adjust the monitor to get the
performance you need.
Alienware AW3418DW also provides you with the option to
overlay frames per second (FPS) in the upper left corner of the screen, which
is very convenient if you want to see how the hardware is performing. For
gamers, such useful features as such can prove the high price of Alienware AW3418DW.
As far as standard image quality is concerned, the Alienware
AW3418DW's IPS (In-Plane Switching) panel does a good job, although some people
may find it a bit brighter by default. Fortunately, the on-screen menus are
very easy to use, there is no need to spend time adjusting settings, and there
are plenty of preset configurations to help.
The IPS panel also provides a very wide viewing angle, which
is essential for ultra-wide displays (especially curved displays), and its
color accuracy is guaranteed in every part of the display.
Overall, we found that the Alienware AW3418DW is an
excellent gaming monitor with excellent image quality. In addition, when
overclocked to 120Hz, this is currently the fastest ultra-wide monitor on the
market. Compared with competitors, this may be enough to justify its more
expensive price tag.
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