Gaming monitors are getting ludicrous. Alienware has just announced the AW3926QW, which is a 39-inch OLED display with a massive 5K resolution and a refresh rate of 165Hz. Not only that, but it can also run at 330Hz in a reduced-resolution mode, and its RGB-stripe OLED tech pushes image quality to a new level. It might not be the best choice for every PC gamer, but the Alienware AW3926QW is likely to be one of the most desirable when it lands.
Announced at the Computex tech trade show currently taking place in Taiwan, Alienware unveiled the new display alongside three other 30-inch+ displays, noting that the launch coincides with the company’s 30th anniversary. As excuses go for justifying a gaming monitor upgrade, a 30th birthday seems as good as any. Anyone qualify?
The Alienware AW3926QW leads the quartet of new displays and is clearly going to be the most coveted. The massive 39-inch 5K ultrawide panel size is equivalent to a 32-inch, 4K display with another vertical half of the display tacked on the side. This gets you a 5,120 x 2,160 resolution that is going to need one of the best graphics cards around to make the most of it when playing games.
This is such a large panel that it effectively needs to be curved to maintain a reasonable viewing angle for the far-flung edges of the display. And, sure enough, Alienware has bestowed it with a 1,500-inch radius (1500R) curve.
At its full native resolution, the panel is limited to a relatively modest – by modern standards – 165Hz refresh rate. That’s still absolutely fine for basically any single-player game – even faster-paced titles like Doom: The Dark Ages, and not just controller-focused games like 007 First Light.
For faster multiplayer titles where reaction time is everything, the display can also switch to a 330Hz mode at a resolution of 2,560 x 1,080. These sorts of dual-mode gaming monitors are becoming more common these days, with the likes of the LG 32GS95UE and Alienware AW2725QF using the tech. In this instance, such a modest resolution on such a large display will look a bit stretched, but it technically does get you that extra speed.
As for the RGB stripe tech used in the OLED panel here, this is basically the ultimate incarnation of OLED technology that we’ve seen so far. Many previous OLEDs use pixels made up of red, green, and blue subpixels arranged in a strange pattern, but these new RGB stripe panels have the subpixels arranged in a uniform trio of stripes. This produces a sharper image and stops the tendency for OLED displays to produce fuzzy multicolored fringes around high contrast edges, such as black text on a white background.
All this and the AW3926QW even includes a KVM, so you can plug your keyboard and mouse into the display and it’ll switch them between the devices you have plugged into the panel’s video inputs. The company is yet to announce an Alienware AW3926QW price, but expect it to hover around the $1,500 mark.
For a more affordable option – though pricing is again not confirmed yet – Alienware also announced its latest addition to the long-running 34-inch OLED gaming monitor lineup. The new AW3426DW follows in the footsteps of the AW3425DW and ups its refresh rate from 240Hz to 280Hz, adds RGB stripe OLED tech, and has a massive peak brightness of 1,300nits.
Meanwhile, completing the new monitor stack are the AW3426DWM and AW3226DWM. These are both 240Hz LCD monitors, with the former being a 34-inch ultrawide (3,440 x 1,440) and the latter being a 1440p display. Crucially, these are priced at just $399 and $319, respectively. All these displays will be available this summer.
