Alienware AW3420DW curved 34-inch review & best price

This gaming monitor Alienware AW3420DW curved 34 inch provides incredible accuracy and color depth so that the game’s colors are experienced as it was designed to be seen. Adopting IPS Nano color technology, it exceeds the sRGB color spectrum and is now described by DCI-P3, a cinematic, professional standard. The 120Hz refresh rate is important to gamers, allowing them to-see faster, and react to quick events sooner. Screen Coating Antiglare with 3H hardness. Get details in Alienware AW3420DW curved 34-inch review.

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In the box

DisplayPort cable
DisplayPort to Mini-DisplayPort cable
USB to USB-B upstream cable
Power cable
User guide

Pros & Cons

PROS

Native support for Nvidia G-Sync
Programmable RGB lighting on cabinet and stand
Strong color performance
Low input lag for an IPS panel

CONS

No HDR support
Very slight choppiness for fast motion
A bit pricey
Not overly bright at peak luminance setting

Alienware AW3420DW curved 34 inch Specs

Panel Size (Corner-to-Corner) 34 inches
Native Resolution 3,440 by 1,440
Dimensions (HWD) 32 by 10.7 by 22.1 inches
Weight 34.5 lbs
Height-Adjustable Stand? Yes
Tilting Stand? Yes
Swiveling Stand? Yes
Landscape/Portrait Pivot No
Aspect Ratio 21:9
Screen Technology IPS
Adaptive Sync Nvidia G-Sync
Video Inputs DisplayPort, HDMI
USB Ports (Excluding Upstream) 4
VESA DisplayHDR Level NA
Rated Screen Luminance 350 cd/m^2
Rated Contrast Ratio 1,000:1
Pixel Refresh Rate 120 Hz
Warranty (Parts/Labor) 3 years

Best price

What is the Alienware AW3420DW new curved 34 inch best price? This gaming monitor does cost $1,499 (about £1,160, AU$2,200), which is a pretty massive bump over the last generation, which would ‘only’ set you back $999 / £1,014 / AU$2,198. There are some slight improvements generation over generation, but it’s probably not worth upgrading if you already have the 2017 model.

Compare Alienware AW3420DW curved 34-inch vs ASUS TUF Gaming monitor

	Alienware AW3420DW NEW Curved 34 Inch WQHD 3440 X 1440 120Hz, Monitor	ASUS TUF Gaming VG34VQL1B 34” Curved HDR Monitor	LG 34GP83A-B 34 Inch 21: 9 UltraGear Curved Gaming Monitor
Aspect Ratio	21:9	21:9	21:9
Display Resolution Maximum	3440 x 1440 pixels	3440 X 1440 pixels	3440 x 1440 pixels
Screen Size	34 inches	34 inches	34 inches
Display Type	LED-backlit LCD monitor	LED	LED
Item Dimensions	22 x 32 x 10.8 inches	31.85 x 16.38 x 10.79 inches	32.3 x 12.3 x 18.3 inches
Item Weight	23.59 lbs	19.86 lbs	—
Mounting Type	Wall Mount	—	Wall Mount
Refresh Rate	120 hertz	165 hertz	144 hertz

Alienware AW3420DW curved 34-inch review

Design

The curved 34-inch screen features only a thin black band running around its perimeter, and hardly any bezel save for a narrow strip on the bottom edge holding the Alienware logo. The body is white with black inserts, evoking the design of Alienware’s recent Aurora desktop PCs and the Sony PlayStation 5. (Alienware dubs this its “Lunar Light” color scheme.)

Curvature rating

The screen itself has a 1900R curve, more pronounced than the much more common 1800R curvature rating of most curved ultrawide monitors. This means the picture wraps around you a bit more when you’re sitting directly in front of it, if not by a great amount. It’s a comfortable degree of curve that can cover your field of vision without feeling overwhelming.

LED bias lighting

RGB lighting on the back of the monitor, the stand, and below the monitor. It can be customized through the AlienFX software, and also through the monitor’s OSD, though the latter has limited customization options.

Stand or mounting

The monitor sits on a white-and-black stand with a wide, V-shaped foot. The mount supports adjustments for vertical and horizontal tilt, and moving the screen up and down. It does not pivot to portrait orientation like the Alienware 25 does. (It’s far too wide to do that, anyway.)

Adjustability – Alienware AW3420DW curved 34-inch

As far as functionality goes, you have plenty of adjustability to play with. Below are the exact specifications as far as adjustments go:

Forward Tilt – 5 degrees
Backward Tilt – 21 degrees
Left Swivel – 20 degrees
Right Swivel – 20 degrees
Pivot – 5 degrees
Height – 130mm

For a monitor of this size, that’s more than enough “wiggle room” when it comes to finding the perfect viewing position.

Connectors

A three-prong PC power cable connector, a 3.5mm audio output, an HDMI input, and a DisplayPort input can be found on the back of the monitor to the left of the stand, facing down. A USB connector for your computer and two USB downstream ports (for using the monitor as a hub) sit to the right of the stand, also facing down.

In addition, outside the recess are two more USB ports and a 3.5mm headphone jack, hidden on the bottom edge of the monitor just behind the Alienware logo.

Ergonomic

The Dell Alienware SW3420DW has decent ergonomics. It has a wide range for height, swivel, and tilt adjustments, but it can’t rotate to portrait orientation.

Color

Dell has promised the highest level of color recreation with this panel, equipping it with Nano IPS color which offers a huge 98% DCI-P3 and 135% (as marketed) sRGB gamut coverage. That makes this an extremely accurate monitor when it comes to photo/video editing in the DCI-P3 color gamut – not to mention sRGB and Adobe RGB as well.

Refresh rate – Alienware AW3420DW curved 34-inch

Response time when playing at 60Hz is great, just slightly slower than at maximum refresh rate, though most people won’t be able to notice it. Again, the ‘Fast’ setting gives the best performance with minimal overshoot.

The Dell Alienware AW3420DW has an excellent response time when playing at maximum refresh rate. Most monitors’ overdrive level can be adjusted and we recommend the ‘Fast’ setting, which provides the best performance with the least amount of overshoot.

Is it good for gaming?

For input lag, the Alienware 34 performs like a proper gaming monitor, with plenty of speed. Using an HDFury Diva HDMI matrix, we measured input lag at 5 milliseconds (ms) with a 60Hz signal. Converted to the monitor’s native 120Hz refresh rate, that’s an input-lag measure of 2.5ms. That’s pretty good for a gaming monitor, if not bowl-you-over impressive against the slate of competitors that offer sub-2ms input lag, including its own little sibling, the Alienware 25 (1ms at 240Hz, the lowest we’ve recorded so far).

G-Sync

The Dell Alienware AW3420DW supports G-SYNC natively. The VRR range is outstanding and it only works through the DisplayPort connection. Unusually, it also supports Adaptive Sync, allowing for a variable refresh rate when connected to a FreeSync source, but only over DisplayPort. If you want a similar monitor with a higher refresh rate, check out the Acer Nitro XV340CK.

Alienware AW3420DW new curved 34 inch performance review

The wide color reach of the Alienware 34 comes through in non-gaming content, like our 4K Costa Rica test video. The greens of leaves and lizards, as well as the reds of flower petals and birds, both look rich and vivid without appearing oversaturated. Details are crisp, and colors look natural across the board. It’s an excellent monitor for watching videos, even without formal HDR signal processing.

Playing Resident Evil 2 remake is exciting, as the monitor makes zombies – the slow, shambling, groaning type – incredible again. You are easily immersed in the shuffling lumps of bloody meat battering down, and the tumble through broken windows and lunge from the shadows is brought to life than before. And in a game that’s certainly opposite in terms of tone and color palate, Scavenger looks amazing, with all its blue them and fluid movement. Simply put, no matter what game you throw at this monitor, it looks amazing.

The amazing gaming performance is not only due to the 120Hz refresh rate

The Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition graphical benchmark looks very good on the Alienware 34, with natural, well-saturated colors. The picture could be a little brighter, but plenty of detail appears in both highlights and shadows, showing strong contrast. The action is also nice and smooth on the monitor, with no noticeable motion artifacts.

In Standard mode, the monitor shows a black level of 0.225cd/m2 and a peak brightness of 181cd/m2. That brightness can be massaged up to 306cd/m2 by manually boosting the monitor’s brightness to full, but that’s still a bit below Dell’s stated typical brightness of 350cd/m2. The effective contrast ratio of 800:1 is also lower than, if fairly close to, the stated contrast ratio of 1,000:1. The smaller Alienware 25 monitor we tested alongside this model gets much brighter than this larger, curved specimen, hitting 245cd/m2 out of the box, with a maximum brightness of 436cd/m2.

We test gaming monitors with a Klein K-80 colorimeter, a Murideo SIX-G signal generator connected over HDMI, and Portrait Displays’ Calman software. Out of the box, the Alienware 34 didn’t particularly impress us with its luminance, but its color performance is excellent.