Alienware AW2725D evaluate: OLED gaming greatness at a funds value

Greatest Costs Right now: Alienware AW2725D

There’s no denying {that a} flood of OLED displays hit the market in 2025, and Dell (which owns Alienware) is among the many firms most accountable. It now has a complete of 5 OLED displays in its catalog of 14 present shows.

The Alienware AW2725D sits on the backside of the OLED ladder. It’s a 27-inch QD-OLED monitor with 1440p decision and a most refresh fee of 280Hz, and it retails at an MSRP of simply $549.99. That makes it a simple alternative if you need an OLED gaming monitor at a mid-range value.

Learn on to be taught extra, then see our roundup of the most effective gaming displays for comparability.

Alienware AW2725D specs and options

The Alienware AW2725D’s specs are entry-level for a contemporary QD-OLED monitor, although which may shock you if you happen to don’t sustain with the most recent shows. Although entry-level, the AW2725D nonetheless supplies a decent QD-OLED panel with 2560×1440 decision and a speedy 280Hz refresh fee.

• Show dimension: 27-inch 16:9 facet ratio
• Native decision: 2560×1440
• Panel kind: OLED
• Refresh fee: As much as 280Hz
• Adaptive Sync: Sure, AMD FreeSync Premium Professional, Nvidia G-Sync Appropriate
• HDR: Sure, VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black Licensed
• Ports: 2x HDMI 2.1, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x USB-B 5Gbps upstream, 1x USB-A 5Gbps downstream, 1x USB-C 5Gbps downstream with 15 watts charging
• Audio: None
• Worth: $549.99 MSRP

It additionally helps Adaptive Sync, with official help for each AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync. HDR help, in the meantime, comes with VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black certification.

The value, although, is the true cause to purchase the AW2725D. Its retail MSRP of simply $549.99 is among the many lowest for any QD-OLED monitor. It matches or beats Amazon Prime Day offers on rivals just like the Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 and Gigabyte Aorus FO27Q2, that are older QD-OLED displays with a 240Hz refresh fee.

Alienware AW2725D design

Alienware redesigned its whole monitor lineup for 2025, however not for the higher. The retro-futuristic look the model relied on for the previous 5 years is gone, changed by a curved, natural design. The plastics used don’t look or really feel as premium as earlier than and, surprisingly, all Alienware displays are available one coloration: a darkish navy-blue hue.

It’s not all unhealthy information, although. The change in design comes with a brand new stand that’s extra compact than the dramatic wing-like stands that shipped with many older Alienware displays (and nonetheless ship with the Alienware AW3225QF which, regardless of the identify, was launched in early 2024). Alienware’s whole 2025 monitor line-up takes up little area on a desktop.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

The stand supplies a good vary of ergonomic adjustment, too. It adjusts 40 levels of swivel, 25 levels for tilt, and 110mm in peak. It could actually rotate 90 levels into portrait orientation, too. That is typical for a 27-inch gaming monitor on this value bracket however nonetheless appreciated. A 100x100mm VESA mount is on the market to be used with third-party stands, as nicely.

Alienware AW2725D connectivity

I’ve usually raged in opposition to gaming displays that fail to incorporate necessary ports, like USB-C with DisplayPort and Energy Supply. However this yr, Alienware known as my bluff. They determined to skip USB-C video enter and energy throughout the Alienware vary—and dropped their costs.

Which means the Alienware AW2725D isn’t an ideal alternative to be used with a USB-C laptop computer or pill. You’ll have to stay to HDMI 2.1 or DisplayPort for video enter. The monitor does act as a USB hub with a pair downstream ports (one USB-A and one USB-C), but it surely solely supplies one USB-B upstream port. So, you may solely join one machine to the monitor’s USB hub at a time.

Whether or not that works for you will depend on your wants. It’s not an issue for many gaming desktops, in fact, as USB-C is never used for video enter. However if you happen to have been hoping to attach a thin-and-light laptop computer that’s straightforward to energy over USB-C, maybe since you use one alongside your gaming PC, you’ll possible wish to look elsewhere.

However, this alternative appears to assist Alienware attain an especially aggressive value. The AW2725D’s $549.99 MSRP is in league with older QD-OLED displays with 1440p decision and a 240Hz refresh fee.

Alienware AW2725D menus and options

The Alienware AW2725D can also be gentle on options. It has a joystick hidden underneath the middle of the decrease bezel that gives fast entry to the monitor’s menu system. Alternatively, homeowners can use Alienware’s Command Middle software program to tweak monitor settings inside Home windows.

Nevertheless, there’s not loads to alter. The monitor doesn’t have coloration temperature modes that focus on particular values. It does present gamma adjustment, however solely in a pair particular modes, akin to Creator. Essentially the most important coloration changes are restricted to Customized Shade mode. Limitations like this are widespread for gaming displays. Nonetheless, content material creators who know what they need might discover the monitor a problem to tune and calibrate.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

It does present just a few gaming options. You’ll discover widespread options like an on-screen crosshair and timer, in addition to a darkish stabilizer that may elevate the brightness of darkish scenes (to make foes simpler to see). It additionally has Alienvision, which additional tweaks the picture to enhance distinction and readability on the expense of picture high quality.

The AW2725D doesn’t embrace audio system. Although a small disappointment, it’s to be anticipated given the worth. Most gaming displays don’t embrace audio system. Displays which have good built-in audio, just like the LG Ultragear 32GS95UE-B, are far more costly.

Alienware AW2725D SDR picture high quality

The Alienware AW2725D is cheaper than most OLED displays however has a Samsung QD-OLED panel that’s no less than nearly as good because the 27-inch 1440p panels that have been in most flagship OLED gaming displays offered a yr or two in the past. Consequently, the monitor’s SDR picture high quality doesn’t in any respect mirror its cheap value.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

The AW2725D begins off with a win in brightness. It achieved a most sustained SDR brightness of 272 nits which, because the graph reveals, is among the many highest figures recorded from latest OLED displays.

Brightness can nonetheless be a difficulty in shiny rooms. Whereas 272 nits is loads for an OLED monitor in SDR, it could actually look dim when compelled to compete with sunlit home windows. The AW2725D additionally has a extremely reflective show coat that amps up reflections.

Nonetheless, if you wish to go OLED and SDR brightness is a priority, the AW2725D is best than most.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

There’s not a lot to say about distinction, although solely as a result of it’s exactly as wonderful as anticipated. OLED displays obtain an successfully infinite distinction ratio due to their capability to achieve a minimal luminance of zero nits. That’s why OLED displays look richer, deeper, and extra immersive than LCD displays with an LED backlight.

As soon as once more, value works within the AW2725D’s favor. All OLED displays are successfully an identical on this respect. Spending twice as a lot on a high-end competitor received’t web you any enchancment in distinction.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

Samsung’s QD-OLED panels are among the many most color-rich within the business, and the AW2725D is not any exception. It delivers a coloration gamut that spans one hundred pc of sRGB, 98 p.c of DCI-P3, and 95 p.c of AdobeRGB. Because the graph reveals, that is top-notch efficiency for an OLED, and it’s near report efficiency total. The one displays I’ve examined which have a wider gamut are uncommon QD-IPS shows with Mini-LED backlights, just like the Xiaomi G Professional 27i.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

I wasn’t utterly shocked by the AW2725D’s excellent coloration accuracy, as latest Alienware OLED displays have proved uniformly wonderful on this check. Nonetheless, it’s exceptional to see a $550 OLED monitor ship coloration accuracy with a mean error beneath one, and to see it beat costlier rivals. This degree of coloration accuracy means coloration errors are usually unnoticeable. It’s not excellent, however the flaws come from different points of the show’s picture high quality, not coloration accuracy.

A kind of flaws is coloration temperature. The AW2725D reached a default coloration temperature of 6200K, which is a bit off the goal of 6500K and signifies a hotter picture than the goal. I don’t thoughts it, however you’ll want to regulate it to attain a extra impartial look. Additionally, as talked about, the AW2725D lacks exact coloration temperature adjustment choices, so adjusting the colour temperature is a bit tough. Gamma, then again, was spot-on the goal gamma worth of two.2.

Sharpness is mediocre, no less than by the requirements of 2025. The AW2725D’s 27-inch (technically, 26.7-inch) 1440p panel squeezes in about 110 pixels per inch. By comparability, a 4K QD-OLED monitor just like the Alienware AW2725Q or Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27UCDM can ship round 166 pixels per inch.

That’s an enormous hole, and it’s made extra noticeable by the irregular sub-pixel format of QD-OLED shows, which makes them look coarser than the specs counsel. I discover it laborious to note on a 4K QD-OLED, as a result of it’s so sharp to start with. With a 1440p show, although, QD-OLED does look a bit much less sharp than a 27-inch 1440p monitor with an IPS-LCD panel.

Nonetheless, I’ve no problem with the AW2725D’s total picture high quality. This monitor delivers efficiency that was flagship-caliber in early 2024, and it stays top-notch at present. The monitor’s picture high quality is right for gaming, because the anti-aliasing methods out there in fashionable video games could make up for a few of the sharpness hole between a 1440p and 4K monitor. Issue within the AW2725D’s nice SDR brightness, distinction, and coloration efficiency, and also you’ve obtained a winner for all types of leisure.

Alienware AW2725D HDR picture high quality

The Alienware AW2725D doesn’t quit a lot in SDR picture high quality to attain its low value. However what about SDR? In spite of everything, monitor makers usually boast of their distinctive heatsinks and cooling options that enhance most HDR brightness. Certainly the budget-oriented AW2725 is worse. Proper? …Proper?

Matthew Smith / Foundry

Improper. Because the graph reveals, the Alienware AW2725D ranks among the many strongest HDR gaming displays that PCWorld has ever examined.

To be clear, the margin between it and the options is usually slim. I don’t assume most individuals will discover the distinction between a peak HDR brightness of 834 nits and a peak of 938 nits (I actually can’t).

Nonetheless, the outcomes made it clear that the cheaper AW2725D performs simply in addition to costlier QD-OLED and LG WOLED panels, and it’s an ideal alternative for HDR video games.

Alienware AW2725D movement efficiency

The Alienware AW2725D’s refresh fee is arguably amongst its much less engaging options and a key cause for its low value, however on condition that it nonetheless supplies a refresh fee of 280Hz, that feels a bit absurd.

It’s slower than costlier 1440p QD-OLED displays, which generally hit no less than 360Hz. However 280Hz remains to be greater than many individuals will want. Keep in mind: You solely obtain the total good thing about an enhanced refresh fee if the sport you’re enjoying can obtain that body fee, or larger. In any other case, the show will refresh at a decrease fee to match the body fee of the sport (when Adaptive Sync is turned on).

The AW2725D delivers buttery-smooth gameplay with nice movement readability. Quick-moving objects are straightforward to see and scrolling textual content is mostly readable, although low-contrast examples can nonetheless be laborious to make out. Don’t get me unsuitable: the good thing about the next refresh fee is noticeable. However 280Hz nonetheless seems to be nice.

The AW2725D helps Adaptive Sync with official compatibility with AMD FreeSync Premium Professional and Nvidia G-Sync Appropriate. Most displays that listing compatibility with any of those requirements will work with all three, but it surely’s nonetheless preferable to see official help. It’s welcome added assurance that Adaptive Sync ought to work along with your video card, and that you could complain to Alienware if it doesn’t.

Must you purchase the Alienware AW2725D?

The Alienware AW2725D reiterates some extent that I made earlier this yr: Tt doesn’t actually matter what OLED you purchase. All QD-OLED panels are sourced from Samsung, and whereas there’re minor variations in refresh charges and HDR brightness, they’re broadly far more related than they’re totally different.

That’s excellent news for the AW2725D. Priced at simply $549.99, it supplies a lot of the advantages of costlier QD-OLED displays at an alluring value. The monitor’s solely critical draw back is its lack of USB-C and considerably restricted picture high quality adjustment choices, which make the AW2725D much less interesting if you need a gaming monitor that may additionally function a productiveness show. The AW2725D’s value helps to excuse that, although, which makes it a simple monitor to suggest.