The Dell Alienware AW2720HF is a good monitor with impressive gaming performance and a sleek, modern design. It features a 240Hz IPS panel to provide smooth gameplay, and it has native FreeSync support to reduce screen tearing. Unfortunately, its sub-par contrast ratio and awful black uniformity aren't ideal for dark rooms, and the lack of HDR support is disappointing. Overall, it's a good monitor for gamers who prioritize motion handling over a detailed, high-resolution image.
The Alienware AW2720HF is a good monitor for most uses. Its 27 inch screen is great for gaming, media consumption, and productivity; however, its 1080p resolution may be too low for some. Response time and input lag are superb, and its 240Hz refresh rate delivers images with fluid motion. Sadly, it doesn't perform well in dark rooms and it doesn't support any HDR format.
The Alienware AW2720HF is a good office monitor. Its ergonomics and viewing angles are great, and it's well-suited for bright rooms due to its impressive peak brightness and reflection handling. There's plenty of screen real estate for efficient multitasking, but text doesn't look as sharp with its 1080p resolution.
The Alienware AW2720HF is a great gaming monitor. It has a low input lag, a fast response time, and a high refresh rate to provide a smooth and responsive gaming experience. Its FreeSync support helps to minimize screen tearing and the 27 inch screen is great for immersion, but dark room performance is disappointing due to the monitor's sub-par contrast ratio and bad black uniformity.
The Alienware AW2720HF is a decent monitor for media consumption. Although the 27 inch screen is great, the picture won't look as sharp or detailed due to the lower 1080p resolution. The monitor handles reflections well and its wide viewing angles are great for sharing content, but its sub-par contrast ratio makes blacks look like gray when viewed in the dark.
The Alienware AW2720HF is a decent monitor for media creation. It has a large 27 inch screen that lets you have multiple windows opened at the same time, but its 1080p resolution may be a bit too low for some. With its wide viewing angles, you can easily share your work with colleagues, and the monitor's great ergonomics lets you adjust the monitor to your optimal viewing position effortlessly.
The Alienware AW2720HF doesn't support HDR.
The Dell Alienware AW2720HF has a gamer-oriented design that's identical to the Alienware AW3420DW, but in a smaller 16:9 form factor. The stand supports the monitor well and there's RGB lighting on the back and the stand.
The back of the monitor is plastic and the Alienware logo at the top right corner lights up. There's a small cutout in the stand that serves as cable management, and the stand has a quick release feature if you want to VESA-mount it.
The build quality is excellent and it's identical to the Alienware AW3420DW. It feels sturdy even though it's all plastic, and the stand supports the monitor well, with very little wobble.
The Alienware AW2720HF has a sub-par contrast ratio, though this is typical of IPS panels. This makes blacks look more like gray when viewed in the dark. If you want a VA panel monitor with a much better contrast ratio, check out the Samsung Odyssey G7.
The Alienware AW2720HF doesn't have a local dimming feature; the video above is provided for reference only.
SDR peak brightness is good. There's virtually no variation in brightness when displaying different content and it should be bright enough for most well-lit rooms. If you prefer something that gets brighter, look into the Dell Alienware AW2521H.
This monitor doesn't support HDR. For a monitor that supports HDR, check out the ViewSonic Elite XG270.
The Alienware AW2720HF has great horizontal viewing angles. Images should remain accurate even when viewed from the side, which is good for sharing content or co-op gaming.
Vertical viewing angles aren't bad. There's some black level rise and color shifting at moderate viewing angles, but it shouldn't be an issue unless you sit very close to the monitor.
Before calibration, the Alienware AW2720HF has decent color accuracy. There are inaccuracies with most colors and shades of gray. The color temperature is warmer than our 6500k target and the gamma doesn't follow the curve at all, causing most scenes to appear darker than intended.
After calibration, color accuracy is outstanding. Any remaining inaccuracies shouldn't be noticeable.
You can download our ICC profile calibration here. This is provided for reference only and should not be used, as the calibration values vary per individual unit even for the same model due to manufacturing tolerances.
The Alienware AW2720HF has an excellent SDR color gamut. It has almost full coverage of the sRGB color space used in most content, and good coverage of the Adobe RGB color space, which is used by professional photo editors.
This monitor doesn't support HDR.
This monitor doesn't support HDR.
Update 03/26/2020: Upon further comparisons, we found that the text clarity was more in line with other 1080p monitors of the same size. The scoring has been changed accordingly.
Decent text clarity. With ClearType enabled (top photo), diagonal lines look thicker and more fleshed out, such as on the R and N.
Mode | Response Time Chart | Motion Blur Photo | Response Time Table |
Fast | Chart | Photo | Table |
Super Fast | Chart | Photo | Table |
Extreme | Chart | Photo | Table |
The Alienware AW2720HF has an exceptional response time when playing at maximum refresh rate. The overdrive level can be adjusted on most monitors and we recommend the 'Fast' setting, which gives you the best performance. The 'Super Fast' and 'Extreme' settings caused a significant amount of overshoot, leading to the appearance of artifacts.
Mode | Response Time Chart | Motion Blur Photo | Response Time Table |
Fast | Chart | Photo | Table |
Super Fast | Chart | Photo | Table |
Extreme | Chart | Photo | Table |
Response time at 60Hz is good. It's slower than at maximum refresh rate, but it isn't noticeable. For the best performance with the least amount of overshoot, we recommend the 'Fast' overdrive setting.
This monitor doesn't have a black frame insertion feature.
Update 03/23/2020: Our review initially stated that this monitor wasn't G-SYNC Compatible. It is in fact officially certified as G-SYNC Compatible.
The Alienware AW2720HF has an outstanding refresh rate and unlike the Alienware AW3420DW, this is a monitor with native FreeSync support. It works over HDMI as well as DisplayPort, and it has a wide VRR range.
Input lag is exceptional. Although it's slightly higher when playing at 60Hz and when FreeSync is enabled, most people won't notice it.