GoKawiilThis may be a bit unfair to the new 34-inch QD-OLED ultrawide, but when I first unboxed it, I was surprised that it seemed so much smaller than the 32-inch Alienware I've been gaming on for the past year. I could instantly feel the difference in the ultrawide monitor's shorter height — it was like stepping into the comically small office floor from Being John Malkovich. It's just funny that the exact same screen size I marveled at four years ago seems a bit less impressive now. (This is the unfortunate side effect of being surrounded by large screens. It's just hard to go smaller.)
If you're stepping up from a single 27-inch 1440p (2,560 x 1,440 pixels) or 1080p screen, though, the 34-inch ultrawide should feel far more roomy. Its 21:9 aspect ratio and 3,440 x 1,440 resolution gives you significantly more horizontal space, allowing you to place multiple windows side-by-side. Games like Overwatch 2 that support ultrawide resolutions are also far more immersive, since the edges of the screen extend into your peripheral vision. Competitive games used to crop down from 16:9 to support 21:9, but now Overwatch 2 and many other titles natively support ultrawide, so you actually have an advantage with a wider field of view. The tradeoff, of course, is that it's tougher to see enemies in the distance with a shorter screen height.
Despite my initial surprise over the AW3426DW's size, it still looked spectacular the moment I turned it on. My eyes immediately noticed that it was a bit brighter than my Alienware 32-inch monitor, and the added color depth made my Windows 11 background and images on our own site pop a bit more. Small text also looked a tad crisper, though I had to lean in closer to truly notice it. I was never too bothered by the slight green text color fringing from earlier QD-OLED panels, but if that issue really bugged you, it seems like Alienware (and Samsung) has finally gotten it in check.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget.
If you're buying this monitor, though, you'll probably spend more time gaming than reading, and that's where it truly shines. Marathon's neon-colored stages looked so bright and beautiful, they made my eyes water. The wider view also gave me more peace of mind, as that game makes it feel like there's always someone hiding around a corner waiting to murder you. The monitor successfully made Marathon's night maps seem completely dark, but it was also able to quickly ramp up its brightness for flashes of gun fire. I've never seen a PC screen that so easily managed darkness and extreme brightness at the same time.
The AW3426DW also made Overwatch 2 look incredibly smooth when playing at 280 fps to max out its refresh rate. I'll admit, though, it was tough to see a difference from my current 240Hz monitor. If you're coming from a slower 120Hz or 144Hz screen, the refresh rate jump would be far more noticeable. High fps gaming doesn't mean much for slower single-player games and small indie titles, but for something like Overwatch 2 or Call of Duty, it could make it easier to nail a sniper head shot, or make everything seem clearer during fast-paced firefights.
As for video, Alienware's new ultrawide deftly handled HDR trailers on YouTube, and it looked spectacular whenever I played something that actually filled its full 21:9 aspect ratio. It's just too bad that it's tough to find genuine HDR content for Windows outside of Netflix. The AW3426DW also supports Dolby Vision, but you'll have to figure out how to download Dolby Vision encoded files to view them properly. Microsoft ended support for media rentals and purchases on its own storefronts last year, leaving few legitimate ways to watch video on Windows and Xbox.