The Alienware AW3425DW is a QD-OLED dream for competitive gamers, content creators, and anyone who demands visual excellence. A good gaming monitor is a key part of any high-quality gaming setup. After all, what good is a powerful PC if you can’t fully experience its potential? Enter Alienware’s 34-inch QD-OLED gaming monitor, the AW3423DW.
Whether you’re playing fast-paced shooters or immersive RPGs, the AW3423DW delivers crisp visuals, deep contrast, and smooth performance with minimal input lag. Its wide colour gamut and HDR support further elevate the experience, making it a top-tier option for gamers who want their setup to look and feel truly next-gen. Surprisingly, the monitor is more affordable than expected, especially considering the wealth of features Alienware has packed into this monitor.
In the box, you’ll find the Alienware AW3423DW with a detached stand, a power cable, DisplayPort-to-DisplayPort cable, HDMI cable and USB-A to USB-B cable. The monitor is easy to set up, whether you’re using the included stand or mounting it on a monitor arm. It strikes a perfect balance between size and weight—at just 11.2 pounds, it’s manageable enough to set up solo.
“The Alienware AW3425DW is a QD-OLED dream for competitive gamers, content creators, and anyone who demands visual excellence.”
The AW3425DW features an 1800R curve and a 360-degree ventilation system for optimal airflow. Lighting is kept minimal, with only a subtle AlienFX logo on the back that doesn’t provide much in the way of ambient illumination. To protect against screen burn-in, the monitor uses an enhanced AI anti-burn-in algorithm and a graphite sheet layer. One thing it doesn’t include is built-in speakers, though for most users, that’s no loss, as monitor speakers rarely do justice to modern gaming or media experiences.
The stand is actually a major highlight for me. While most stands for larger curved monitors take up a significant amount of desk space—often making it difficult to position a Stream Deck or audio interface—the Alienware AW3425DW’s stand has a minimal footprint and lies flat, allowing plenty of room for other peripherals. It’s also thoughtfully designed for cable management, with an integrated conduit that lets you route cables cleanly and efficiently without creating clutter.
The Alienware AW3425DW offers a modest selection of I/O ports, including a DisplayPort, two HDMI ports, a 5 Gbps USB-B upstream port, a 5 Gbps USB-A downstream port, and a 5 Gbps USB-C port with 15W charging. Missing from the I/O is a USB-C display input, which, while not essential given the existing inputs, would have added welcome flexibility. Monitor controls are straightforward, with a single power button and a joystick used for navigation and feature selection, eliminating the need to fumble around for the correct button.
“HDR playback on the Alienware AW3425DW is excellent, offering impressive detail and clarity across the entire image.”
The AW3425DW is a 34.2-inch curved monitor with a 21:9 aspect ratio and a 3440×1440 resolution. It supports NVIDIA G-Sync, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and VESA AdaptiveSync. Not to bury the lede—it also features a 240Hz refresh rate and an ultra-fast 0.03ms response time, both of which are ideal for competitive gaming. While 1440p may seem modest for a monitor of this size, the reduced strain on your GPU allows for higher frame rates, taking full advantage of the display’s refresh capabilities.
Even in 2025, a 240Hz refresh rate remains something of a luxury in gaming monitors. But for those who demand peak performance—or anyone serious about competitive play—it can provide a real edge in securing victory or pushing your GPU to its limits. While not everyone has an RTX 5090 to fully max out a display like this, even titles like Fortnite, League of Legends, Counter-Strike 2, or Rainbow Six Siege showcase the AW3425DW’s ability to deliver silky-smooth visuals. It’s genuinely impressive to see a display this stunning offer such fluid gameplay—enough to make any setup feel next-level, and maybe even spark a little envy.
HDR playback on the Alienware AW3425DW is excellent, offering impressive detail and clarity across the entire image. Thanks to its QD-OLED panel, highlights appear vibrant without being overblown, while shadow details remain visible, even in the darkest scenes. The monitor’s VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 certification is well-earned, delivering deep blacks and a striking contrast ratio that enhances both gaming and cinematic content. During testing with a range of HDR-supported games and streaming platforms, the display’s HDR performance consistently impressed, making visuals feel more lifelike and immersive.
The display settings on the AW3425DW cater to a wide range of users, not just gamers. A dedicated preset section for creators focuses on colour accuracy, offering DCI-P3 and sRGB modes to suit specific workflows. It’s worth noting that these presets lock out basic adjustments like brightness and contrast to preserve colour integrity. On the gaming side, there’s also a robust selection of presets, allowing users to fine-tune the display to match their ideal setup.
Alienvision provides a number of targeting displays for all the FPS gamers out there. Two are fairly standard target reticles, while the third looks more like a nightvision-style display, which, while it obviously isn’t detecting heat signatures, is meant to make characters stand out more among their environment. I had a hard time adjusting to this display at first, but it may just be a matter of getting used to it.
At an MSRP of $799.99 USD, the AW3425DW is only a modest increase over its predecessor, especially considering the bump in refresh rate from 144Hz to 240Hz. As far as large, curved gaming monitors go, you’re getting a lot of value for that price. While it may lack expanded I/O or a higher resolution, it makes up for it with stellar HDR performance, gamer-focused specs, and thoughtful features that extend its appeal beyond just gaming. The Alienware AW3425DW is an excellent monitor at an excellent price.
