The new Dell Alienware AW3425DW arrives with a clear mission: improve on one of the most popular ultrawide gaming monitors of the last few years without reinventing the wheel. For a long time, the AW3423DW and its lower-cost sibling, the AW3423DWF, have been standout picks – offering premium performance at a price many gamers could justify.
Case in point, the 25DW is the successor to the gaming monitor I've personally been using for the last three years. Dell consistently offers great performance at a great price, but technology moves quickly, and the PC giant is hoping this year's update will keep the line competitive.
At first glance, not much has changed. The AW3425DW still relies on a familiar 34-inch, 3440 x 1440 QD-OLED panel – the same generation of Samsung Display tech that powered the earlier models.
The headline upgrades are a bump in refresh rate from 165Hz to 240Hz and a refreshed design that brings it in line with the rest of Alienware's 2025 lineup. This isn't a next-gen leap in OLED tech, but it is a smart refinement of a proven formula.
Dell also seems to have learned from the mistakes of its rivals. Competing monitors with this same 240Hz panel launched last year at steep prices – $1,100 in some cases – making them tough to recommend over the older AW3423DWF, which often dipped to $700 or $800. Now Dell's own update hits the market at just $800, with discounts already bringing it down to $770. That's a little more expensive than the lowest-ever price for its predecessor, but still quite reasonable for a brand-new display.
Design and Ports
Most aspects of the design are completely different in this new Dell Alienware QD-OLED 2025 version compared to the original. The panel itself on the front is the same, as is the 1800R curve, but nearly everything else has changed. The biggest shift is to Dell's new "AW30" industrial design, celebrating the brand's 30th anniversary.
This includes a new deep blue finish that the company calls "interstellar indigo." It's the same style and color we saw on the AW2725Q earlier this year. We think this color looks great; however, if you were expecting a neutral black to match a largely black setup, this is more of a blue-tinted black.
The rear of the display has been simplified into a single, sleeker plastic panel that is both thinner and more impressive than the original. The stand pillar is more rounded, and the base is now a small square instead of a medium-sized V. This makes it more compact for desk setups and more usable, as you can place objects on top of it. This new stand design isn't as sturdy but retains height, tilt, and swivel adjustability – and it's slightly taller. The overall build quality remains excellent, continuing to be a strength of Alienware monitors.
The port selection is simple: one DisplayPort 1.4 with DSC, two HDMI 2.1 48 Gbps ports, and a two-port USB 5 Gbps hub with both a Type-A and a Type-C connector. The placement of these USB ports is excellent, as they're along the bottom edge and easily accessible, rather than tucked away with the other ports on the rear. The Type-C port only supports data and 15W of power delivery; it can't be used as a display input. There's no KVM switch included.
... continue reading