The Dell Alienware AW3420DW is an impressive ultrawide gaming monitor with a stylish design and native G-SYNC support. It has a curved 34 inch screen to provide incredible immersion when gaming, and its 1440p resolution is great for productivity. However, there are some downsides to its IPS panel, mainly with its low contrast ratio and sub-par black uniformity. As expected of most gaming monitors, it has a high refresh rate, low response time, and low input lag, but its list of extra features is rather short.
The Dell Alienware AW3420DW is a good monitor for most uses. Its large 21:9 screen provides an immersive gaming experience, and it allows you to have multiple windows opened at the same time for better multitasking. It's decent for media consumption as well, but the monitor's low contrast ratio isn't suitable for dark room viewing, and it doesn't support HDR. While the monitor has a decent out-of-the-box color accuracy, it may need a calibration for any professional photo or video editing.
The Dell Alienware AW3420DW is a good office monitor. Multitasking is easy due to the large 34 inch screen real estate, and the 1440p resolution keeps text sharp and legible. Viewing angles are decent if you need to share your work with colleagues, though its mediocre reflection handling and peak brightness may struggle a bit in very bright rooms. Its ergonomics are decent, allowing you to adjust the monitor easily, but it can't rotate into portrait mode.
The Dell Alienware AW3420DW is an impressive gaming monitor. Gaming feels smooth and responsive thanks to its fast response time, low input lag, and G-SYNC support. Its large 21:9 screen gives great immersion in RPGs or atmospheric games, but it doesn't support HDR. In addition, it's not recommended for dark room gaming, as it has a rather poor contrast ratio and sub-par black uniformity.
The Dell Alienware AW3420DW is a decent monitor for media consumption. Its 21:9 aspect ratio is great for watching movies, as most modern movies can fill up the whole screen with no presence of black bars. With a 1440p resolution, images are delivered with great detail, but the monitor's low contrast ratio and sub-par black uniformity makes it hard to recommend for dark room viewing, as blacks tend to look like gray when viewed in the dark.
The Dell Alienware AW3420DW is decent for media creation. Its resolution and size allow you to work with multiple windows opened simultaneously, and it has excellent gray uniformity and gradient performance. However, if you need to share your work, its viewing angles are only decent, and the monitor's peak brightness may be an issue in very bright rooms.
The Dell Alienware AW3420DW is disappointing for gaming in HDR. Although this monitor has a fast response time, low input lag, and G-SYNC support to make it a great gaming monitor, it doesn't support any HDR format. Furthermore, it can't produce dark or saturated colors due to its low contrast ratio.
The Dell Alienware AW3420DW has a gamer-centric, modern design. It's mostly made out of plastic and it has RGB lighting on the back, the stand, and at the bottom of the screen. The screen is curved and the bezels are thin on all sides. The stand has wide-set feet and supports the monitor well.
The back of the monitor is covered with plain off-white plastic, and there's an Alienware logo that lights up at the top right corner. The stand also has an LED strip, and cable management is built-in. The stand has a quick release feature if you choose to VESA-mount it.
Like most IPS monitors, the Dell Alienware AW3420DW has a poor contrast ratio, resulting in blacks looking like gray. Our measurements were done after calibration, and the calibration process caused a decrease in the overall brightness of the monitor, which also impacts its native contrast. Prior to calibration, it was measured at 800:1.
The Dell Alienware AW3420DW doesn't have a local dimming feature; the video above is provided for reference only.
SDR peak brightness is okay. There's no variation in brightness when displaying different content, and it should be bright enough for a well-lit room, but it may struggle a bit in direct sunlight.
Do note that the peak brightness was measured after calibration and with the backlight set to maximum. Before calibration, the monitor was able to achieve the advertised 350 nits in the 10% window. In other words, you can achieve higher peak brightness, but at the expense of color accuracy.
This monitor doesn't support HDR. If you're looking for an ultrawide monitor that has HDR support, check out the LG 34GN850-B.
The Dell Alienware 3420DW has decent viewing angles. Images remain fairly accurate when viewed from the side, but black levels rise quickly when you move off-center. This is important if you like to share content or play co-op games.
Vertical viewing angles are decent. Images should remain accurate at the top and bottom of the screen even if you sit up close.
The Dell Alienware AW3420DW has excellent gray uniformity. The top left corner and the right side of the screen are darker, but there's virtually no sign of dirty screen effect. In near-dark scenes, the uniformity is near perfect.
Out of the box, the Dell Alienware 3420DW has an acceptable color accuracy. There are inaccuracies with several colors and with shades of gray; however, gamma follows the target curve well, so most scenes appear at the correct brightness. The color temperature is slightly warmer than our target of 6500K.
After calibration, color accuracy is outstanding. There's still some inaccuracy with the color blue, but it shouldn't be noticeable for most people.
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 Dell Alienware AW3420DW has an exceptional SDR color gamut. It covers nearly all of the sRGB color space used in most content, and it has excellent coverage of the Adobe RGB color space, which is great for professional photo editing.
This monitor doesn't support HDR.
This monitor doesn't support HDR.
The Dell Alienware AW3420DW has mediocre reflection handling. It has a matte coating that diffuses light across the screen, though you may still need to raise the brightness if you're in a very bright room.
Mode | Response Time Chart | Motion Blur Photo | Response Time Table |
Fast | Chart | Photo | Table |
Super Fast | Chart | Photo | Table |
Extreme | Chart | Photo | Table |
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. You may still see some artifacts, but it's significantly better than the 'Super Fast' and 'Extreme' settings, which caused visible inverse ghosting. If you want a similar monitor with faster response time, check out the LG 34GP83A-B.
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 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.
This monitor doesn't have a black frame insertion feature.
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.
Input lag is superb. It's slightly higher when playing at 60Hz or when G-SYNC is enabled, but it shouldn't be noticeable for most people.