The Alienware AW3225QF has been one of the most-hyped monitors I have seen in a long time, even with plenty of competitors using the same panel. A big part of the hype is thanks to that panel—the new 4K 240-hertz Samsung QD-OLED. These third-generation OLEDs replace Samsung’s first-generation QD-OLED panels, which found their way into Alienware’s much-loved first-generation QD-OLED 34-inch. That monitor came in both 175-hertz Nvidia G-Sync and 165-hertz AMD FreeSync flavors; it started at $1,200 before coming down to $699 for the AMD FreeSync model. This new 32-inch 4K model started out similarly priced at $1,200, but has since come down to $1,000, which is quite a deal for a QD-OLED display of this size and quality.
AW3225QF Specs
The AW3225QF’s 31.5-inch panel has 99.9% DCI-P3 color accuracy and a blistering 0.03 ms response time, which is yet another significant improvement over the last generation’s already impressive 0.1 ms time. Soon, we’ll have to start measuring monitor response times in microseconds or nanoseconds.
The panel also has a 1700R curve, which is a very minor curve that’s not as drastic as some of the curves on ultrawide monitors like my old standby, the 49-inch Odyssey G9, which has a 1000R curve. Here’s a breakdown of what the different monitor curvatures look like. While I do prefer curved monitors, I like the milder 1700R over the more aggressive 1000R curvature. The last-generation QD-OLED monitor from Alienware had a similar 1800R curvature, so this feels familiar.
Design And Inputs
The 32-inch QD-OLED is the latest in a long line of stylized, feature-packed monitors from Alienware, and this one continues to embrace the Legend 2.0 design, as well as support for AlienFX controls for RGB lighting. As someone who hasn’t used Alienware desktops much until recently, I didn’t fully appreciate the continuity that having RGB syncing across your keyboard, mouse, monitor and desktop can provide. I enjoy how easy it is to manage the monitor’s RGB controls from the Alienware Control Center along with all my other components. (I do wish Dell Display Manager were included alongside AWCC or offered as a module.) Also, I think we’re in a happy place when it comes to display bezels; while it could always benefit from being smaller, the bezel around the panel on this monitor is a good size.
I also like the two-tone design, which allows for matching with both white and black desktop tower designs even if you aren’t using an Alienware desktop. Although I’m a sample size of one power user, all my desktops are either black or white. I also had no issues mounting the monitor to a Fully Jarvis Dual Monitor Arm, which also holds my 34-inch Alienware QD-OLED monitor. Mounting the monitor to an arm was a more enjoyable experience for me than using the supplied monitor stand, plus it was easy and took only a few minutes. (I find monitor feet to be a waste of desk space and an arbitrary limitation on the monitor’s placement.) These two monitors replace my Odyssey G9 with OLED displays and take up less space while offering much better resolution.
Getting to inputs, this monitor is stacked—with a single DisplayPort 1.4, dual HDMI 2.1, a USB Type-B 3.2 (5 Gbps) upstream and two USB 3.2 (5 Gbps) Type-A downstream. There are also two bottom-mounted USB ports for easy access with USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) support, one being a Type-A port and the other being Type-B. I think these bottom USB ports might be more useful if they popped out of the monitor like they do on Dell’s UltraSharp series; as it is, many people might not even know they exist.
Overall, this is excellent connectivity for PC and console gamers and can enable someone to experience both types of games from a single high-quality display. That said, I do think these ports could be upgraded to at least 10 Gbps to match the standard nowadays, though I’m not expecting this to be built like a dock with Thunderbolt 4 or 5 support. (I believe HP’s Transcend 32-inch is trying to do that, but that model isn’t out yet.)
User Experience
My overall experience with this monitor has been positive. I am mostly gaming on it, with some content consumption, but not doing much photo or video editing where the color gamut would come in handy. That said, I have mostly stayed away from HDR because of how broken it is in Windows, which is a shame. This monitor has reinvigorated my love of gaming to a certain degree, bringing out the best in every game I play, especially with G-Sync enabled on an Nvidia RTX 4090. I recently played Black Myth: Wukong on this monitor with ray tracing enabled, and it was like a work of art. I’ve also played frame-rate-intensive games like Counter-Strike 2, which plays super smoothly and allows my skill, or lack thereof, to shine.
In terms of improvements, I would like to see the monitor not need to do panel refresh to prevent things like burn-in, but I would rather deal with panel refresh than have burn-in issues. I also don’t understand the purpose of AlienVision’s crosshairs, given that every game has different crosshairs, and having them based in the monitor seems odd to me. I don’t know who’s asking for this feature, but I accidentally enabled it a few times and regretted it immediately.
Ultimately, for me, this monitor was worthy to replace the Odyssey G9 because it has a higher resolution than that 5K panel, not to mention better color depth, pixel density and considerably better response time. Yes, I did downsize the panel, but I think it was worth it for the overall improvement in every other measurable metric.
The Competition
This is the first generation of monitors for which I believe Alienware has real competition, thanks to the broad availability of the Samsung 32-inch 4K 240-hertz panel. However, not all of the monitors with this panel are necessarily the same. For example, the ASUS ROG Swift OLED sells for $1,300, while the Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 sells for $1,200 today (after initially retailing for $1,300). MSI offers a lower cost, cut-down option with the MAG at $800, and Gigabyte has the Aorus for $1,100 to $1,300, depending on the retailer. AOC’s Agon and HP’s Transcend 32 monitors are still unavailable, but I expect they will still fall into the $800 to $1,200 price range. These brands follow Alienware and Dell’s lead, with three-year warranties on all of these monitors.
What I’ve mentioned above is just the competition with the same QD-OLED panel. There is also an LG W-OLED panel that operates at 4K at 240 hertz that is capable of switching to 1080P at 480 hertz, which is another interesting concept. ASUS, LG and Acer each sell a monitor with this panel for $1,200 to $1,400.
What’s Next For High-End Gaming Monitors?
While the upcoming W-OLED displays do have some exciting potential, I think that the current offering of 32-inch 4K 240-hertz monitors will likely become the standard for high-end gaming monitors. I also believe that with monitors like the Alienware AW3225QF blazing a trail, we could see more affordable versions coming out with the same panels, potentially thanks to the new Nvidia and MediaTek partnership recently announced at Gamescom (which I covered here).
Right now, most of these monitors—including the Alienware—are around $1,000, which is a steep price to pay; I think the big innovation will be making monitors like this more accessible and affordable for more gamers to enjoy. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Alienware 32-inch QD-OLED monitor. It was good enough to convince me to swap out my Odyssey G9 49-inch for better resolution and color accuracy, and I haven’t regretted that decision.
