Whereas I really like Alienware’s retro look, it is admittedly not as refined as Apple’s Studio Show, which is a wonderful work of brushed steel artwork. Then once more, that display screen is barely 27 inches, prices $1,599 and would not assist excessive refresh charges for gaming, so the Alienware is a much better worth. Dell additionally offers you all of the ports you’d want: A DisplayPort reference to 240Hz assist; HDMI 2.1 for 4K/120Hz console gaming; HDMI eArc/Arc to hook up with soundbars and receivers; USB-C 3.2 with energy charging; three USB-A 3.2 downstream ports; and a USB-B upstream connection to your PC.
The Alienware’s QD-OLED panel has all the advantages of OLED — inky darkish blacks and excessive distinction — together with the ability of Quantum Dots, permitting for richer colours and doubtlessly higher brightness. Probably the most placing factor in regards to the 32-inch monitor is that video games and films appear like they’re virtually painted on. It is like a direct digital feed to your eyeballs. An anti-reflective coating retains distracting ambient mild out of sight, whereas its potential to cowl 99 p.c of the DCI-P3 gamut makes colours seem wealthy and vibrant.
There’s additionally assist for Dolby Imaginative and prescient and VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400, each of which imply you may count on deep black ranges in video games and films, whereas very brilliant parts in the identical scene are well-balanced. The monitor helps 1,000 nits of peak brightness, which is sufficient to make your eyes tear up whereas staring on the solar in Halo Infinite (Professional-tip: do not do that in actual life). Most LCD-based 4K TVs are far brighter, however these are better-suited to residing rooms the place you are sitting distant, somewhat than a display screen that is only a foot or two away out of your eyes.
As a gaming monitor, the 32-inch Alienware QD-OLED excelled at every little thing I threw at it. Halo Infinite, Cyberpunk 2077 and Helldivers 2 all regarded unbelievable, with eye-searingly brilliant highlights and bold-yet-realistic colours. Throughout some classes, it nearly felt like I used to be really seeing these video games for the primary time. I seen particulars in my Halo character’s armor I fully missed on different shows, and the neon glow of Cyberpunk‘s Evening Metropolis nearly leaped off the display screen. Principally, although, I simply felt fully immersed in no matter I used to be enjoying. It was as if the sides of the monitor bled away and their digital worlds have been being straight injected into my eyeballs. Or possibly I’ve simply been enjoying an excessive amount of Helldivers 2.
I knew from the beginning that I would not be reaching 240 fps in 4K with most titles (even whereas operating on an RTX 4080 Tremendous and Ryzen 7900X), however the 32-inch Alienware nonetheless delivered clean gameplay in Halo Infinite whereas I hovered round 130 fps. (You can too thank NVIDIA’s G-SYNC tech for that, because it locks within the refresh charge to keep away from display screen tearing and lag points.) 4K gaming turns into extra palatable if you’re upscaling titles utilizing NVIDIA’s DLSS or AMD’s FSR expertise, however even then it is nonetheless powerful to crack 150 fps or extra. I needed to play most video games in 1440p to transcend 200 fps. (For fast-paced shooters and racing video games, I might a lot somewhat have the next refresh charge than a minuscule 4K constancy bump.)
Whereas super-fast 4K gaming is a bit unrealistic in the mean time, it might develop into extra possible as GPUs get beefier and upscaling tech turns into much more environment friendly. The Alienware 32-inch QD-OLED is prepared for that future. The true query for avid gamers at the moment, although, is that if it is value shelling out $1,299 simply to be primed for what’s to return. It is nonetheless a unbelievable show, and appears nice whereas watching movies and putzing across the net. Textual content regarded crisp and clear, and that loopy excessive refresh charge makes scrolling by means of web sites silky clean. As with most displays although, it is value ready a bit to see the way it depreciates. The superb 34-inch Alienware QD-OLED ultrawide additionally launched at $1,299 two years in the past, however now you may nab it for $900.
Like Alienware’s QD-OLED ultrawide earlier than it, the corporate’s 32-inch 4K gaming monitor is a marvel, with wonderful brightness, distinction and wealthy colour depth. It’s so immersive that at instances it feels extra like a digital window than a mere display screen. It’s additionally fully overkill for many video games. However for the few that may justify the value, it’ll be a worthwhile gaming funding for years to return.