The Dell Alienware AW3425DW is a high-end, 34-inch ultrawide gaming monitor. It uses a curved Gen 2 QD-OLED panel with a 240Hz refresh rate, which is an upgrade over the previous Dell Alienware AW3423DWF and Dell Alienware AW3423DW models. It competes against other models that use the same QD-OLED panel, like the MSI MPG 341CQPX QD-OLED and the Gigabyte AORUS MO34WQC2. It has typical gaming features, like FreeSync Premium Pro, G-SYNC Compatibility, and VESA AdaptiveSync, and it supports HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, but it's limited to DisplayPort 1.4 bandwidth. It also comes with a small USB hub that includes one USB-A port and one USB-C port to connect your devices.
Our Verdict
The Dell AW3425DW is a fantastic PC gaming monitor. It has a fast 240Hz refresh rate that makes gaming feel smooth, and its low input lag at its max refresh rate ensures your inputs are responsive. Motion also looks crisp thanks to its near-instantaneous response time, but it lacks a black frame insertion feature to reduce persistence blur at low refresh rates. While it supports all common VRR formats, it has distracting VRR flicker with changing frame rates in dark scenes. On the plus side, it has remarkable picture quality with deep, inky blacks in dark rooms, vivid colors, and bright highlights that pop in HDR games.
Near-instantaneous response time at any refresh rate.
Smooth and responsive gaming experience.
Deep, inky blacks in dark rooms.
Small highlights pop in HDR.
Ultrawide screen for immersive feel.
Blacks look purple in bright rooms.
Distracting VRR flicker.
Lacks an audio jack.
The Dell AW3425DW is incredible for console gaming. It supports any signal from gaming consoles, including downscaled 4k signals, but because consoles don't support ultrawide signals, you'll see black bars on the sides. It doesn't have an audio jack either, which is disappointing if you want to connect speakers to the monitor. Motion looks sharp at any refresh rate, and it has low input lag for a responsive feel, but its input lag at 60Hz and 120Hz is a bit higher than other gaming monitors. Luckily, HDR games look fantastic thanks to the monitor's high contrast ratio in dark rooms, a wide range of vivid colors, and small highlights that pop against the rest of the image.
Near-instantaneous response time at any refresh rate.
Smooth and responsive gaming experience.
Deep, inky blacks in dark rooms.
Small highlights pop in HDR.
Supports any signal from consoles.
Blacks look purple in bright rooms.
Consoles don't support ultrawide signals.
The Dell AW3425DW is okay for office use. Its 34-inch screen offers enough space to put windows next to each other, but its text clarity is worse than LCD ultrawide displays because there's fringing around letters. Its curved screen helps bring the edges closer to you when you're sitting directly in front of it, but even though it has wide viewing angles and decent ergonomics, this curve makes it more difficult to share the screen with someone next to you. While it doesn't have distracting reflections, it doesn't get bright enough to fight glare in sunny rooms. The biggest downside is that OLEDs like this risk burn-in with constant exposure to the same static elements over time. This means this monitor isn't ideal to use for work only.
Enough screen space to multitask.
Minimal reflections coming off the screen.
Wide viewing angles.
Some fringing around letters.
Doesn't fight glare in well-lit rooms.
Risk of burn-in.
The Dell AW3425DW is superb for content editing. It comes with a very accurate sRGB mode that has minimal issues, so even calibrating it doesn't improve the accuracy much. It also displays a wide range of vivid colors in any common color space. Besides that, its high contrast ratio in dark rooms and bright highlights contributes to its fantastic picture quality, but blacks look purple in bright rooms. It doesn't get bright enough to fight glare in well-lit rooms, but there aren't many distracting reflections if you have a few lights around. Unfortunately, this monitor risks burn-in with constant exposure to the same static elements over time, which is disappointing if you always have the same editing program open.
Deep, inky blacks in dark rooms.
Enough screen space to multitask.
Minimal reflections coming off the screen.
Incredibly accurate sRGB mode.
Wide viewing angles.
Blacks look purple in bright rooms.
Doesn't fight glare in well-lit rooms.
Risk of burn-in.
The Dell AW3425DW has okay brightness. While small highlights pop in HDR, it doesn't get bright enough to fight intense glare.
Small highlights pop in HDR.
Doesn't fight glare in well-lit rooms.
The Dell AW3425DW has a near-instantaneous response time at any refresh rate for sharp motion.
Near-instantaneous response time at any refresh rate.
The Dell AW3425DW has superb HDR picture quality. It displays deep and inky blacks in dark rooms, but blacks look purple in bright rooms. On the plus side, it displays a wide range of vivid colors in HDR.
Deep, inky blacks in dark rooms.
Displays wide range of colors.
Blacks look purple in bright rooms.
The Dell AW3425DW has outstanding picture quality in dark rooms. Blacks are deep and inky in dark rooms, but the black levels rise in bright rooms, making them look purple. Fortunately, the monitor displays a wide range of colors.
Deep, inky blacks in dark rooms.
Displays wide range of colors.
Blacks look purple in bright rooms.
The Dell AW3425DW has remarkable accuracy. It comes with an incredibly accurate sRGB mode and calibrating it only slightly improves the accuracy.
Incredibly accurate sRGB mode.
Performance Usages
Changelog
- Updated Mar 17, 2026: We've converted this review to Test Bench 2.1.2. We added a new Panel Technology box, including the Spectral Power Distribution (SPD) graph.
- Updated Nov 10, 2025: We've converted this review to Test Bench 2.1.1. We removed the Vertical Viewing Angle test.
- Updated Aug 14, 2025: Review published.
- Updated Aug 07, 2025: Early access published.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We bought and tested the 34-inch Dell AW3425DW, which is the only size available. Although there are similarly named 34-inch ultrawide models in the Alienware lineup, which you can see below, the results are only valid for this model.
| Model | Panel Type | Refresh Rate | HDMI Version | USB Ports |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AW3425DW |
QD-OLED (Gen 2) |
240Hz | 2x HDMI 2.1 |
1x USB-A 1x USB-C |
| AW3423DWF | QD-OLED (Gen 1) |
165Hz | 1x HDMI 2.0 | 4x USB-A |
| AW3423DW | QD-OLED (Gen 1) |
175Hz | 2x HDMI 2.0 | 4x USB-A |
| AW3425DWM | VA | 180Hz | 2x HDMI 2.1 | 2x USB-A |
Our unit's label indicates it was manufactured in March 2025. We tested it with firmware M3B101.
Popular Monitor Comparisons
The Dell AW3425DW is a high-end ultrawide gaming monitor. It's an updated and upgraded version of the popular Dell Alienware AW3423DWF and Dell Alienware AW3423DW, offering a higher refresh rate and HDMI 2.1 ports. It's an ultrawide alternative to 27- and 32-inch QD-OLED monitors, providing more horizontal screen space for a more immersive gaming experience, great if you play atmospheric or sim racing games. It competes against similar models, like the MSI MPG 341CQPX QD-OLED, and even though it lacks some perks its competitors have, like DisplayPort Alt Mode support and KVM switches, it's still a fantastic option if you want an ultrawide QD-OLED gaming monitor. It has everything you'd want in a gaming display, like its sharp motion and incredible picture quality, so if you're in the market for a QD-OLED in this size class, you can't go wrong with it.
Also see our recommendations for the best OLED monitors, the best 34-49 inch monitors, and the best 240Hz monitors.
The Dell Alienware AW3425DW and the MSI MPG 341CQPX QD-OLED are competing ultrawide QD-OLED gaming monitors. They have the same specs and panel and perform similarly. The main differences come down to features, as the MSI has a USB-C port with DisplayPort Alt Mode to connect a laptop and a KVM switch, which the Dell doesn't have.
The LG 34GS95QE-B and the Dell Alienware AW3425DW are both ultrawide gaming monitors with different types of OLED panels. The Dell has a QD-OLED panel that allows it to get brighter with small highlights and display more vivid colors. The Dell also has a glossy coating that results in clearer images, but more mirror-like reflections than the matte coating of the LG. The main advantage of using the LG in a bright room is the fact that its black levels don't rise much, whereas blacks look purple in bright rooms on the Dell.
The Dell Alienware AW3425DW is newer than the Dell Alienware AW3423DWF and has upgrades in a few ways. The newer AW3425DW has a higher 240Hz refresh rate, and its HDMI 2.1 bandwidth allows you to reach that refresh rate without any signal compression. The AW3423DWF has a bigger USB hub, though, making it easier to connect different devices. It also has audio ports, which the AW3425DW doesn't have. Otherwise, both monitors are similar in performance and picture quality.
The Dell Alienware AW3425DW and the Samsung Odyssey OLED G85SB S34BG85 are both ultrawide QD-OLED monitors. The Dell has a higher refresh rate and comes with higher-bandwidth HDMI ports that allow the monitor to support more signals with gaming consoles. Another difference is that the Samsung comes with a smart OS built in, making it easy to stream content without a PC.
We buy and test more than 30 monitors each year, all of which we purchase ourselves, without cherry-picked units or samples. We put a lot into each unbiased, straight-to-the-point review, and there's a whole process from purchasing to publishing, involving multiple teams and people. We do more than just use the monitor for a week; we use specialized, custom tools to measure various aspects and deliver objective, data-driven results. We also consider multiple factors before making any recommendations, including the monitor's cost, its performance compared to the competition, and whether it's easy to find.
Test Results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for videos & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
