Dell Alienware AW3423DW 34″ QD-OLED 175Hz (3440 x 1440)

Never had any lines on my unit, had it since the 8th of March now. That said, I've seen at least one other person talk about that, and a few LG OLED users have it crop up. Sometimes panel refresh helps, sometimes its RMA time.

Not a clue what the underlying cause is though.

From my experience with 5 different OLED TV panels, 2 out of 5 panels had these sharp vertical lines, but there are usually visible right out of the box. A manual panel refresh fixed it every time and they never came back. Otherwise there is no need after that to manually run the panel refresher more than recommend.
 
In the German forums almost 90% have scratches on the display due to poor packaging from Dell it seems.

How is the experience here?
 
In the German forums almost 90% have scratches on the display due to poor packaging from Dell it seems.

How is the experience here?
My first one had some marks from the packaging sheet that is attached out the box, I could not remove the marks fully so filed a support ticket for replacement. New one has no marks at all. First one also had some very thin hairline scratches, only like 3 I could see and they were only visible under a strong light like a torch like the other marks.

Edit*
My review on this is now up on Neowin: https://www.neowin.net/news/review-...-qd-oled-ultrawide-monitor-by-dell-alienware/
 
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Depends on how you define flicker free. That "flicker" is the brightness drop that coincides with the refresh rate like on LG OLEDs.
I'm getting mixed reports. Some say that the flicker only happens with g-sync / variable refresh enabled - unlike LG OLED where it's always present.
 
In the German forums almost 90% have scratches on the display due to poor packaging from Dell it seems.

How is the experience here?
If it's anything like mine, then they're being dramatic. The bubble wrap over the panel left some slightly annoying to remove residue on the display, some of which did indeed look like scratches. 5 minutes with a microfiber cloth and it's all good though.
 
If it's anything like mine, then they're being dramatic. The bubble wrap over the panel left some slightly annoying to remove residue on the display, some of which did indeed look like scratches. 5 minutes with a microfiber cloth and it's all good though.
Mine had the bubble wrap marks, too but there are some other marks that I can't get off. They look like small etchings/scuffs in the AR coating. I've also noticed a few hairline scratches. At this point I'm not going to bother RMA'ing it since I haven't noticed anything else wrong with the panel so far but I do hope Dell revises the packaging for future shipments to prevent this.
 
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In the German forums almost 90% have scratches on the display due to poor packaging from Dell it seems.

How is the experience here?
Mine has the bubble wrap thing (I think?), mostly along the edges. Not sure if they're scratches or not, but I couldn't get them out with my extremely diluted non-alcohol lens cleaner and a microfiber cloth and I don't want to risk scratching the coating trying to get them out again. I can't see it in normal usage. Not sure I want to deal with an RMA for it.

Also just a general note: I'm going to abuse the shit out of this thing, partially because I'm curious if there's truth to the improved burn-in reduction stuff, partially because I'm not going to adjust my habits because of my monitor. 10+ hours of static content every single day (web browser, work programs, etc).

Will try to remember to post a follow-up in three years (or earlier if I somehow get burn-in before then, or I upgrade). I'll be the guinea pig if no one else wants to be 😁
 
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Mine has the bubble wrap thing (I think?), mostly along the edges. Not sure if they're scratches or not, but I couldn't get them out with my extremely diluted non-alcohol lens cleaner and a microfiber cloth and I don't want to risk scratching the coating trying to get them out again. I can't see it in normal usage. Not sure I want to deal with an RMA for it.

Also just a general note: I'm going to abuse the shit out of this thing, partially because I'm curious if there's truth to the improved burn-in reduction stuff, partially because I'm not going to adjust my habits because of my monitor. 10+ hours of static content every single day (web browser, work programs, etc).

Will try to remember to post a follow-up in three years (or earlier if I somehow get burn-in before then, or I upgrade). I'll be the guinea pig if no one else wants to be 😁
You're not alone. I've been using this just like any other monitor since I got it on the 8th of March. HDR on, 65% SDR brightness in windows (pretty bright). Haven't even changed my monitor sleep setting, which is usually 5 minutes of inactivity, though to be fair that is probably low for many.

Thing is holding up well so far and I haven't seen even a hint of temporary image retention yet. Even after long days working from home. Not even the windows icon has gotten even temporarily retained. Stark contrast vs my LG OLED, which will retain any somewhat bright objects after they've been on the screen for more than a few seconds. Pretty impressed so far, but time will tell.
 
Good to see someone finally admit that sunlight hitting a matte panel has a more severe impact on readability than sunlight hitting a glossy panel. I don’t know where the myth that matte screens were better in an environment with strong lighting sources, like windows, originated.
gloss_vs_diffuse.jpg

Early and low-end glossy screens have bright reflections. Newer and high-end screens dim the reflections significantly using an optical coating (at the expense of colour accuracy).

With a diffuse surface, reflected objects are not recognizable, movements are more concealed, while contrast suffers. Dust and fingerprints are more concealed.
With a gloss surface, the sharp/clear reflections make all objects and movements visible, + for those with 2 eyes the reflection is a 3D image. Dust and fingerprints are very visible.

Preference is subjective and depends on the user. I personally find gloss reflections very distracting. My eyes tend to want to focus on my reflection and the objects / movements beyond. Also I find trying to clean them without streaks / marks a nightmare. I've actually bought/applied diffusing films to an older laptop for this reason. I think manufacturers, especially for higher-end products should offer buyers the option of screen finish.
 
I'm getting mixed reports. Some say that the flicker only happens with g-sync / variable refresh enabled - unlike LG OLED where it's always present.

It is also only present on LG OLEDs when VRR is enabled.
 
It is also only present on LG OLEDs when VRR is enabled.
On the Panasonic OLED that I tested which used an LG panel, flicker was always present regardless of settings - consistent with Rtings measurements of all the LG OLEDS which show a regular luminosity drop:
a8f-backlight-large.jpg
 
Good to see someone finally admit that sunlight hitting a matte panel has a more severe impact on readability than sunlight hitting a glossy panel. I don’t know where the myth that matte screens were better in an environment with strong lighting sources, like windows, originated.
I know right! Years ago I had a 24" glossy panel IPS LCD, a Hazro HZ24Wi and it was the dogs balls for quality and colour accuracy. But sadly because it had a CCFL backlight, after a few years that was shot and the screen was no longer usable.

Such a beautiful monitor as well with touch capacitive controls for the OSD and an all aluminium chassis.

I've only ever had matte coated IPS panels since then though and it was abundantly clear that matte finishes are just crap for reading stuff on screen when there's a strong light source coming onto your desk area or even a light source like one of those Ikea light balls behind in the room somewhere. With this QD-OLED I am now able to keep all those lights on without it being an issue any more.
 
View attachment 460301
Early and low-end glossy screens have bright reflections. Newer and high-end screens dim the reflections significantly using an optical coating (at the expense of colour accuracy).

With a diffuse surface, reflected objects are not recognizable, movements are more concealed, while contrast suffers. Dust and fingerprints are more concealed.
With a gloss surface, the sharp/clear reflections make all objects and movements visible, + for those with 2 eyes the reflection is a 3D image. Dust and fingerprints are very visible.

Preference is subjective and depends on the user. I personally find gloss reflections very distracting. My eyes tend to want to focus on my reflection and the objects / movements beyond. Also I find trying to clean them without streaks / marks a nightmare. I've actually bought/applied diffusing films to an older laptop for this reason. I think manufacturers, especially for higher-end products should offer buyers the option of screen finish.
That glossy example looks like one with no AG coating applied, it's basically straight up glossy so reflects everything. At least the QD-OLED has a proper quality AG coating that does a great job as removing the direct reflection and leaving a red hued variant that you can still see screen content under.

Colour accuracy does not appear to be affected either in this monitor's case.
 
That glossy example looks like one with no AG coating applied, it's basically straight up glossy so reflects everything. At least the QD-OLED has a proper quality AG coating that does a great job as removing the direct reflection and leaving a red hued variant that you can still see screen content under.

Colour accuracy does not appear to be affected either in this monitor's case.
Yes, these look like uncoated panels. The poster I was replying to was unaware of why glossy panels had a bad reputation for use in lit environments. Screens like that are the reason.

AR coating leaves a "red hued variant" of the reflections, as you've said - everything is tinted with that hue, so colour accuracy suffers in a lit room.
I tested out a first-gen LG OLED and the magenta tint was very pervasive. I also tested out a Panasonic OLED (FZ950) and the AR coating on it was excellent - hardly any colour tint.
Based on videos such as below, this Alienware monitor looks somewhere in between.

 
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Also just a general note: I'm going to abuse the shit out of this thing, partially because I'm curious if there's truth to the improved burn-in reduction stuff, partially because I'm not going to adjust my habits because of my monitor. 10+ hours of static content every single day (web browser, work programs, etc).

Will try to remember to post a follow-up in three years (or earlier if I somehow get burn-in before then, or I upgrade). I'll be the guinea pig if no one else wants to be 😁
Same here, thankfully here in Australia due to our consumer laws, manufacturer warranties don't actually mean anything so if it does end up burning in I could get a replacement 5-6 years down the line.

At this rate though I won't be keeping it because I can't find a buyer for my G9 Neo, and I'm not going to take a loss changing from that to the AW3423DW
 
On the Panasonic OLED that I tested which used an LG panel, flicker was always present regardless of settings - consistent with Rtings measurements of all the LG OLEDS which show a regular luminosity drop:
View attachment 460483

"This dip exists on every OLED we've tested, and unlike PWM, it's one line at a time instead of the entire backlight, so it's not noticeable at all."

Are you telling that you can actually see this?
 
Yes, these look like uncoated panels. The poster I was replying to was unaware of why glossy panels had a bad reputation for use in lit environments. Screens like that are the reason.

AR coating leaves a "red hued variant" of the reflections, as you've said - everything is tinted with that hue, so colour accuracy suffers in a lit room.
I tested out a first-gen LG OLED and the magenta tint was very pervasive. I also tested out a Panasonic OLED (FZ950) and the AR coating on it was excellent - hardly any colour tint.
Based on videos such as below, this Alienware monitor looks somewhere in between.


It's really not a problem in the flesh though. A camera will make it look much more red than it actually is. and in reality the hue is chosen for a reason, because the eye still discerns all colours just fine. I'm editing my own photographs day or night for example and have no issue with light hitting my desk area.
 
"This dip exists on every OLED we've tested, and unlike PWM, it's one line at a time instead of the entire backlight, so it's not noticeable at all."

Are you telling that you can actually see this?
Thanks I didn't see that quote from Rtings before. Confirms my observations... Nope, I can't see it directly, but after ~15 minutes of dark room viewing I get eyestrain / headache.

Here's a collage of the Pana OLED (right) at different luminance settings side by side with a CCFL LCD. Curving of the line is an artifact of the camera - rolling shutter effect.
The CCFL LCD also flickers with backlight below 100%, but does not cause me problems, probably because the fluorescent tube glows/decays after the discharge whereas LED activity is pretty much instant.
oled_flicker.jpg
 
Cant wait for summer to come (July!) so i can sit in a dark room and play stuff on this. :>
 
Very tempted on getting this monitor or equivalent, would work well with my other 34" 60hz Dell Monitor, two monitor setup. Resolution size that will allow higher FPS while still looking very good to excellent, I do like the 21:9 aspect ratio, especially in games that support it well, productivity wise I like this resolution as well. Now if the next high end graphics are as speculated, Nvidia 80% faster and AMD 100%+ faster -> that would make this monitor maybe somewhat limiting. A 38" 5K version would be my ideal wishlist monitor in that case.

My Samsung CHG70 27 inch now has startup issues after being shutdown/cooled down for awhile. It will on startup have corrupted lines and seems like the screen is frozen or very slow to update. 3090 or 5700XT with different cables have the same result on startup. After a few minutes it will clear up and act normal. If I set the refresh rate to 120hz, it will normally be corrupted on startup but clear once Windows load and sets frequency to 120hz. This condition has been going on for awhile and does not look like it is getting worst, weird.
 
Bear in mind that the new nv/amd cards being faster would mean that we get closer to the max framerate of this at 175Hz. I highly doubt any modern AAA game like Cyberpunk, Dying LIght 2 etc will run anywhere close to that at 3440x1440 when all the RTX features etc are maxed out. I cannot see Cyberpunk exceeding 120fps on an RTX 40 series card with Psycho RTX for example and DLSS on Quality. Hell on Balanced at the moment its runs around the 60fps mark on average, higher outside the city and that's on a 3080 Ti and DLSS on Balanced.
 
Bear in mind that the new nv/amd cards being faster would mean that we get closer to the max framerate of this at 175Hz. I highly doubt any modern AAA game like Cyberpunk, Dying LIght 2 etc will run anywhere close to that at 3440x1440 when all the RTX features etc are maxed out. I cannot see Cyberpunk exceeding 120fps on an RTX 40 series card with Psycho RTX for example and DLSS on Quality. Hell on Balanced at the moment its runs around the 60fps mark on average, higher outside the city and that's on a 3080 Ti and DLSS on Balanced.
Yes there will always be games that will be limiting no matter what one does, Flight Simulator 2020 for example. I normally keep monitors 5 years plus or til they break, if next generation of cards, relatively soon, can push the monitor at max FPS in most titles and beyond -> I just see the monitor will be limiting the full potential of future purchases or GPUs. Of course I could always sell it later which I've never seem to do. Just a consideration and could use the monitor now and for several years if not more.

The new 42" LG OLED maybe a contender, I have a 50" Sony QLED in bedroom which is also hooked up to a computer -> screen size for that is just too big to be useful for a computer monitor up close, gaming is fine. Will 42" work for me in this case? I don't know but do think that will still be more on too big for close work stuff. Anyways the Alienware 34" OLED would be 3 months out if purchased today, I have some time to see what else becomes available.
 
Attaining high refresh is of course preferred but with OLED and Gsync this baby is smooth. Only clarity is diminished when you start getting lower FPS of course.
 
Not really a big deal. Just because you can get more than 175fps, doesn't make the monitor obsolete at all. Is higher better? Sure. But this isn't an LCD, OLED's already handle motion better than LCD even at lower Hz.
 
Not really a big deal. Just because you can get more than 175fps, doesn't make the monitor obsolete at all. Is higher better? Sure. But this isn't an LCD, OLED's already handle motion better than LCD even at lower Hz.
ahhh, good point, didn't think of the clarity of motion (better sharper/detailed lines, textures in motion) that OLED gives, with less ghosting, higher FPS/Refresh Rates can become more useful.
 
It's not just about motion clarity. I definitely notice this monitor being less responsive than my G7, to the point that it feels like it's impacting my ability to aim.

Also motion clarity at these refresh rates is still limited by sample and hold blur. My G7 has noticeably less blur at 240 fps 240 Hz (in bright content) than the AW at 175 fps 175 Hz despite the G7's significantly slower pixel response times; 4.16 ms of sample and hold blur vs 5.7 ms on the AW.

You can't take advantage of the difference in response times at these refresh rates, they need to be much higher before OLED becomes better, or you need some kind of low persistence mode.
 
It's not just about motion clarity. I definitely notice this monitor being less responsive than my G7, to the point that it feels like it's impacting my ability to aim.

Also motion clarity at these refresh rates is still limited by sample and hold blur. My G7 has noticeably less blur at 240 fps 240 Hz (in bright content) than the AW at 175 fps 175 Hz despite the G7's significantly slower pixel response times; 4.16 ms of sample and hold blur vs 5.7 ms on the AW.

You can't take advantage of the difference in response times at these refresh rates, they need to be much higher before OLED becomes better, or you need some kind of low persistence mode.

With how powerful the next gen cards are rumored to be, I'm drooling for a 4k 240Hz OLED display.
 
Nothing too scientific but sharing some findings with my prior monitors recorded with N20U "Ultra Slow" capture. For MW19/Vanguard, between the G7 and AW I'd go with the AW.

x34 (2015) vs AW at native 3440x1440p resolution
G7 1440p vs AW at 2560x1080p resolution to keep both even(GPU Scaling). If anyone can actually figure out how to have the AW natively(Active Signal Resolution) output 2560x1440p, let me know so I can record again.

 
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Doesn't really answer the question.

16K 10-bit at 60 Hz is 286.65 Gb/s without DSC and is a confirmed supported spec.

4K 8-bit at 1152 Hz is also 286.65 Gb/s... 👀
It doesn't offer that high a bitrate. It caps out at 80Gbps raw (77.4Gbps after overhead) so a little less than twice HDMI 2.1 (48/42Gbps). It also should be noted that is the max rate, there are actually 3 new bitrates for 2.0: 40Gbps, 54Gbps, and 80Gbps so just because something supports 2.0 doesn't mean it'll support the highest data rate.

Anything that would require data rate beyond 77Gbps of effective throughput, is going to either use DSC, chroma subsampling, or both.
 
Tim missed that there's a SRGB clamp, but other than that it was a great review. After ABing this and the G9 Neo for the last week, I'm keeping the Neo, but I'm sure many will be happy with this one
 
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