OLED gaming monitors continue to get ever more affordable, and this Alienware AW3423DWF deal is a great example. This 34-inch ultrawide display gets you a 3,440 x 1,440 resolution panel that can rip along at 165Hz while delivering the ultra-fast response time and effectively infinite contrast of OLED, all for under $500.
Our previous choice for the best ultrawide on our best gaming monitor guide, the AW3423DWF has been superseded by the Alienware AW3425DW, but it still has so much to offer.
You can get the full lowdown on what we like and don’t like about this display in our Alienware AW3423DWF review, but the short version is that there’s not a lot we don’t like. For a start, it’s physically an aesthetically-pleasing monitor, with a distinctive, smooth, rounded look to its stand and the rear of the display. Plus, it’s finished in a smart-looking but not drab silvery gray and black color scheme. RGB is present too, with the Alienware logo and number 34 on the back able to light up the color you choose.
As for the main event, the display, it’s a 1st-gen Samsung QD-OLED panel, so it uses quantum dots to deliver the red, green, and blue colors that make up each pixel, which helps boost color vividness and brightness, compared to WOLED panels.
More importantly, it’s an OLED, which means each individual pixel emits its own light, rather than relying on a backlight, as with LCDs. This means that when a pixel is off, it’s truly off, creating effectively infinite contrast: black is black. OLED pixels also respond incredibly fast – 100x faster than an LCD – so there’s no ghosting to the image during fast motion.
With a 165Hz refresh rate, this panel isn’t at the very cutting edge of gaming monitor speed, so it isn’t the very most ideal choice for those simply seeking the ultimate display for CS2, Fortnite, or Valorant. However, it’s still fast enough for more casual rounds of those games, and is fantastic for basically any other type of game. The slightly curved, ultrawide panel also creates an incredibly immersive view that’s ideal for watching movies and playing cinematic games.
Where I’d advise caution for those interested in this display is if you’re thinking of using it for work as well as gaming. If you plan to sit all day at this display, reading emails, checking spreadsheets, writing code, etc, this display isn’t such a good option. The way the red, green, and blue subpixels are arranged for each pixel means text and sharp lines (i.e. spreadsheet lines) can often look a little fuzzy, with visible colored fringes.
This absolutely doesn’t matter for games, video, and general desktop use, but I’d recommend either a more modern OLED technology (like the 2nd-gen QD-OLED panel in the Alienware AW3425DW) or a higher resolution panel, such as the LG Ultragear 32GS95UE, for work.
Normally priced at $699.99, the Alienware AW3423DWF can currently be had on Amazon for just $499.99, which is a 28% saving on its original price and $150 cheaper than the newer AW3425DW. That’s the cheapest this display has ever been on Amazon.
