GoKawiilThe Alienware AW2726DM doesn’t have USB ports or internal speakers, but it does have premium-level gaming performance and an image that goes toe-to-toe with any premium OLED, for a significantly lower admission price.
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To start this off as clearly and plainly as possible, this review is of a $350, 27-inch OLED gaming monitor with Quantum Dot color, 240 Hz, Adaptive-Sync, HDR10 and QHD 2560x1440 resolution. If you’ve been paying attention to the gaming monitor market, you might want to stop reading right here and go buy one on those specs and pricing alone. The Alienware AW2726DM is far more than an incremental price drop for the category; the $500 barrier hasn’t been smashed, it’s been erased.
But please read on, because below you’ll find my full battery of test results, with comparisons to more expensive monitors with higher refresh rates. Let’s take a look.
Alienware AW2726DM Specs
Swipe to scroll horizontally Panel Type / Backlight Quantum Dot Light Emitting Diode (QD-OLED) Screen Size / Aspect Ratio 27 inches / 16:9
Max Resolution and Refresh Rate 2560x1440 @ 240 Hz FreeSync and G-Sync Compatible Native Color Depth and Gamut 10-bit / DCI-P3+ HDR10 Response Time (mfr) 0.03ms Brightness (mfr) 200 nits SDR 400 nits HDR Contrast Unmeasurable Speakers None Video Inputs 1x DisplayPort 1.4 w/DSC 2x HDMI 2.1 Audio 3.5mm headphone output USB None Power Consumption 21.6w, brightness @ 200 nits Panel Dimensions WxHxD w/base 24 x 15.5-20.7 x 9.2 inches (610 x 394-526 x 234mm) Panel Thickness 0.12-1.65 inches (3-42mm) Bezel Width Top: 0.31 inch (8mm) Sides: 0.44 inch (11mm) Bottom: 0.65 inch (17mm) Weight 13 pounds (5.9kg) Warranty 3 years Row 17 - Cell 0 Row 17 - Cell 1
For this price, you’d expect the AW2726DM to be stripped down to bare essentials. But while it isn’t festooned with features, this display isn’t a barebones proposition, either. You get a 27-inch QHD OLED panel with Quantum Dot color that fills over 111% of the DCI-P3 gamut, which is a tick higher than average. Accuracy is decent out of the box, with even better image fidelity after a quick calibration. The only thing missing on the color front is an sRGB mode, which isn’t a big deal for gaming.
There are plenty of other picture modes though, 11 for SDR and another three for HDR10 content. Brightness is one thing that is sacrificed on the altar of value. While I measured 400-nit peaks in HDR mode, SDR topped out at around 200 nits. You still get OLED’s perfect blacks, though. Like all its more expensive competitors, contrast is so good that it can’t be measured.
There are no sacrifices when it comes to gaming performance here. You get a 240 Hz refresh rate with Adaptive-Sync. That’s more than enough to eliminate motion blur, and coupled with the QHD resolution, speedy frame rates are easy enough to achieve. There’s no black frame insertion, AKA ELMB/ULMB, but it’s not needed unless you pair the AW2726DM with a slower gaming rig.
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