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The Alienware AW3418DW is an exclusive ultrawide behemoth that offers a G-Sync module mated to a 120Hz IPS screen for low latency high-end gaming. Boosted ultrawides gained traction in the last few years with favorite products like the Asus PG348Q and the Acer X34 as prime samples which have 100Hz refreshes, but the market is now headed into higher thresholds like this model. The Alienware AW3418DW and its fantastic design plus features represent the next significant steps for the “ultrawide master race” and immersive gaming.
Alienware AW3418DW Specifications
- Screen Size: 35 Inches
- Resolution: 3440 x 1440 UW-QHD
- Aspect Ratio: 21:9
- Panel Technology: In-Plane Switching (IPS)
- Refresh Rate: 120Hz
- Response Time: 4ms
- Contrast Ratio: 1000:1 (Static)
- Brightness: 300 cd/m²
- Built-in Speakers: No
- Stand: Height – Yes (5.12 Inches)
- Stand: Tilt – Yes (-4°/+35°)
- Stand: Swivel – Yes
- Stand: Pivot – No
- VESA Compatibility: Yes
- Connectivity: DisplayPort 1.2 x 1, HDMI 1.4 x 1, USB 3.0 x 4, 3.5mm Audio Jacks
- Dimensions (WxHxD): 32.03″ x 22.08″ x 12.56”
Design and Features
The Alienware AW3418DW sports a futuristic and minimalist design composed of angular lines and metallic finish which made the brand’s gaming offerings iconic in the gaming scene. This model, when compared to its aggressively designed competition, looks less tacky or gaudy so more users may find it appealing. The massive display area employs Dell’s Infinity Edge design for a bezel-free view, although there still are panel edges which are 11mm wide.
The rear of the cabinet is divided into three distinct lines with the two going to the bottom having LED strips which users can control for synchronized lighting schemes. The metallic finish on this surface feels pleasant to the touch while adding a hint of luxury to an already expensive device. On the upper corner, the signature extraterrestrial head logo can be seen.
One of our favorite features on the Alienware AW3418DW is its articulated stand that despite the display’s weight, stands firm and upright. Users get six inches of height adjustment, swivel, and tilt for convenient and comfortable usage. At the apex of the obelisk-shaped upright is another RGB LED strip, but the standout design consideration here is the hollow center for cable pass through.
While playing around with the Alienware AW3418DW, we did not notice any flexing or wobbling thanks to the durability of the aluminum used in the build. The footing provides a broad base to support the heft of the product, but some users might have issues with the depth of over a foot. Those that use keyboards with wrist pads or narrow desks might need to adjust to accommodate this beast comfortably or choose VESA mounting instead.
Connectivity on the Alienware AW3418DW is limited due to the proprietary G-Sync module installed inside. You will only get Display Port 1.2, HDMI 1.4, and three USB 3.0 slots at the rear panel, while the hub at the bottom has two USB 3.0 receptacles, 3.5mm audio jack and another RGB LED strip for convenience. There are no integrated speakers which are a shame considering the price, although we know that prospective owners already have a booming sound setup ready to complement this device.
Display and Performance
The Alienware AW3418DW boasts a 34-inch IPS panel with a 3440 x 1440 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and 4ms response time. This panel is a newer version of the LG module used in the Asus PG348Q and the Acer X34 which was a 60Hz native overclocked to 100Hz while this one is a 100Hz native overclocked to 120Hz. This new formula produces advantages by eliminating issues such as lower response times and missing the advertised speeds.
The light AG-coated screen can produce 108% sRGB and 80% DCI-P3 coverage quickly thanks to a true 8-bit interface. Out of the box, the Alienware AW3418DW is set too bright at around 210cd/m2, and accuracy is a bit off at Delta E 3.2, which is relatively average, but not ideal for color critical work. Gamma is also a bit off at Delta E 2.6 which is too dark for most uses, although some might like the noire effect it provides.
But when calibrated, the Alienware AW3418DW seems like a different gaming monitor altogether, since the scores above improve drastically. With the help of a colorimeter, you can achieve a color Delta E of 0.5 and a perfectly balanced gamma of 2.2 for the best imaging performance. So far, only contrast doesn’t do supremely well at an average of 850:1 across various brightness levels.
Panel uniformity for the Alienware AW3418DW is reasonable, and we did not notice any colossal backlight bleeding save for minuscule peeks from the corners. The ideal D65 color temp is centered through the width of the panel, although deviances of 10% to 15% radiated outward. We can always expect curved screens to have some backlighting escape from the corners and minor skewing, although, on this model, we did not find it disturbing nor detrimental to gaming.
Despite the lower response time, we did not notice any interlacing or ghosting on the Alienware AW3418DW when its Overdrive is set at normal setting. We tried using its maximum level but it did introduce overshoot in some situations, so we recommend leaving it at its default for all conditions unless for some reason users opt for 60Hz or 100Hz. 120Hz is readily achievable, but if in case you only wish to run at 60Hz or 100Hz, the Fast setting is better suited to keep ghosting at bay.
The G-Sync functionality in the Alienware AW3418DW reduced tearing to nothingness during our Destiny 2 test with an EVGA GTX 1080 Ti FTW3. At the highest setting, the framerate struggled to stay above 100FPS, but we didn’t run into stuttering in the explosive sequences of the game. The screen’s qualities, G-Sync, and the 1900r curve all made the experience more engrossing, justifying this monitor’s hefty price tag.
For the KDR conscious, extra sensitive, and the hardcore, the Alienware AW3418DW only clocks in at 3.8ms which indicates that is virtually no delay. The input to screen transfer felt seamless making this monitor suitable for E-Sports applications although its form factor might hold it back. This result puts the Alienware AW3418DW ahead of its competition, although you will have to pay more for that advantage.
Thoughts on the Alienware AW3418DW
The Alienware AW3418DW is currently the fastest WQHD ultrawide out in the market regarding responsiveness and input lag, making it a top pick for serious gamers. The screen’s calibrated setting is top-notch, and the design speaks for the product’s premium appeal. Using an overclocked 100Hz native panel got rid of the known issues of previous versions so that buyers can opt for this model with confidence.
If there were ever one thing we could complain about, it would be the Alienware AW3418DW’s whopping price tag. We know hardware from the brand doesn’t come cheap, but it would be difficult to justify the value of the product to the masses. But that statement doesn’t mean that the Alienware AW3418DW isn’t worth your cash since paying for the premium buys you the best ultrawide gaming monitor the market has to offer at the time of this writing.
Lars Sorensen says
Who doesnt want to be a part of the “ultrawide master race” and endulge in immersive gaming?
This monitor is currently on my #1 spot for monitorupgrading in the very near future.
So…
– Is there any reason to wait?
– Is there any other monitor that has come out reasently that matches it?
I have seen the rumours of ROG SWIFT PG35VQ, but it seems the ETA is constantly slipping and the pricetag is probably in the pro-gamer range (like >$2000) which is out of reach for me.
Paolo Reva says
Hi, Lars! We can’t say if it’s worth waiting for the 200Hz variants to come out. The only improved model that comes to mind right away is the LG 34GK950F due to its 144Hz maximum refresh rate, but that’s a FreeSync model with no guarantees towards G-Sync compatibility. But if you are set on buying the AW3418DW, you can’t go wrong like the rest of our readers who already bought the monitor and loved every bit of it.
KarmazynNewLordofUltraWide says
I purchased Alienware to replace my 4 years old 1080p 144Mhz monitor. I was originally planning on getting 35inch Asus HDR but lack of solid release date and unknown price made me change my mind. I have also found out that Asus will be on VA panel so viewing angles might be an issue and for such a big monitor with curve this potentially could be a problem.
This is my first IPS panel so coming of TN panel I was little worried about infamous IPS glow. This is first time I experience IPS glow so have nothing to compare Alienware glow against but honestly I think that I have very little IPS glow. I have some at the left and right bottom corner. Left side has some glow.(about 0.7mm), right side is affected by 0.4mm are of IPS bleed.
Please bear in mind that monitor’s is not calibrated well out of the box. I really encourage everyone to download and install ICC profile from TFT central. Please also reduce the brightness. I noticed that reducing brightness to 37 reduced IPS glow on the right side to about 0.25mm and I achieved similar reduction on the left side corner. TFT ICC profile and recommended calibration improved viewing experience and helped to bring this 1440p gorgeous screen to its full glory. Panel’s colour reproduction is amazing and panel’s uniformity is great. No dead pixels etc.
Monitor’s OSD is very intuitive and packed with features. It is easy to navigate and offers quick & easy access to monitor’s presets. You can customize brightness and contrast for each preset which is really helpful as I found brightness to be too high on all pre sets. Your adjustments to the profiles are saved.
OSD also lets you to configure LED lighting effects. LED lights are very subtle but add to the beautifully striking design of this monitor.
Monitor’s native refresh rate is 100Mhz and can easily be overclocked to 120Mhz. I am running this monitor in full OC mode and have not come across any major issues. Screen flickered once or twice (due to panel being OCd) but it happened to me only few times.
Refresh rate wise I cant really notice the difference between 144Mhz 1080p panel and 100-120 Mhz 1440p panel. If anything I find GSYNC to be great piece of technology and having to experience it for the first time I am truly amazed how much it helps to improve overall gaming experience. I feel that even if games runs slower they feel smoother than they did on 144 Mhz monitor. It is truly amazing.
Contrast ratio is lower than advertised but blacks are really good anyway so I do not find this to be an issue really. I believe that unless you work with lots of dark content this will not be a problem for you. Games look superb, the colours are beatiful and level of details is astonishing. I tested monitor’s performance in few games and just WOW. I could see individual rain drops on Adam Jensen’s armour. Particle effects, textures and colours never looked so good in SW Battlefront II. Battlefield 1 looks stunning. IPS colour reproduction rules !
What I like about this monitor:
Aggressive, amazing curve which is very immersive and pulls you more into the game
Gorgeous 1440p screen
Design and build quality of this monitor
GSYNC technology and refresh rate
What I do not like:
lower than expected contrast ratio
price
Paolo Reva says
Thank you, Karmazyn for sharing your valuable feedback for the Alienware AW3418DW!
Daniel Natter says
First, I love this monitor so thank you for the great product. I bought this under false pretenses from the Micro-Center representative. I have a GTX 1050 built into a gaming laptop and it only has an HDMI port. I was unaware that HDMI only support 50hz refresh rate and the sales rep assured me that I would get at least 100 with this monitor. I’ve come to peace with the whole issue as I plan to get a better setup with a display cable. ANYWAY my question is – can you recommend ANYTHING to help me get a better gaming experience while using a HDMI cable with this monitor? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Cheers
Paolo Reva says
We’re glad you like the Alienware AW3418DW. Unfortunately, the only way to enjoy 60Hz on this monitor via your laptop’s HDMI is to drop the resolution to 2560 x 1440 which is 16:9, as opposed to the 21:9 aspect ratio of the monitor. The G-Sync module inside the AW3418DW is most probably the limiting factor since it only has HDMI 1.4 which is only good for 1440p at 60Hz.
Brian says
Ok all this talk about calibration. Help me out with the proper contrast and brightness settings. I got this monitor and the blacks are completely washed out, even the desktop is dark and dreary, and from the side, objects are extremely stretched in game (Far Cry 3, Crysis 3, Ryse Son of Rome, Destiny 2, and Shadow Warrior 2.).
Actually Dell is sending me a new one right now so hopefully I just got a dud but it sounds like another commenter above has the same issue.
So. What am I supposed to set the contrast and brightness to for this to look good?
Thanks!
Paolo Reva says
Hello, Brian! Try to lower the brightness to around 30-38 and contrast to 75. That should do the trick! Good luck!
Nick says
I’ve had this monitor for a few weeks now and I agree with everything stated. The one main problem I have is the blacks seem completely washed out. I’m not sure if this is mine or not but I think I’ve been picky with blacks on my previous monitors and obviously spoiled with my OLED TV I spend the most time staring at. I’ve actually also started to notice some issue with tearing in Destiny but I’m not sure if that’s the game or not because I didn’t use to have that problem. I’m actually wondering if it’s even working at times but I need to figure a way to verify it’s on to be sure.
I was considering maybe waiting around for the newer ultrawides coming out in 2018 with HDR but I have a feeling those early models will have their share of problems with newer technology. Unfortunately, there just isn’t anything better right now with good refresh rate and input lag with a good size so this is it right now.
Paolo Reva says
Hello, Nick! Wow! Congrats on having a beastly gaming setup. We didn’t notice any washing out with the blacks on the Alienware AW3418DW, and we think its unfair if you are comparing it to an OLED monitor! Regarding the tearing issue, please check your maximum FPS and try to observe when the FPS dips. You might be exceeding G-Sync’s cap and the monitor could be reverting to V-Sync.
ddferrari says
Nick, you can verify that G-Sync is working by going into the Nvidia control panel, select Change resolution, then at the top click on Display. Then click on G-Sync indicator. The drop down menu will then close, so click on Display again to reopen it and there should be a check mark.
Fire up a game and there will be an on-screen message saying “G-Sync on” if it’s working. Then go back and turn off the indicator so you’re not staring at it while gaming.
Mine has a bit more IPS glow than I would like, but my colors seem uniform. I don’t think the black levels are great but it still provides an awesome gaming experience. I could exchange it with Dell’s fantastic cross-shipping program, but a different panel may not be better and could be worse. I’ll stick with it for now and see what the next few years bring. The upcoming technologies may have problems of their own.
Paolo Reva says
Thank you for sharing feedback, ddferrari!
musikos says
here´s my comment to the product.
First of all I have to say that i have had an Acer x34A, and after trying 5 of them I have kept the fifth.
This one I kept was the cheapest from a warehouse deal with very little BLB and perfect panel uniformity, white was white all over the whole surface. The other ones I sent back had too much BLB and especially the white presentation was terrible, more yellow and grey than white (garbage).
I went for the Alienware with native 100 Hz, because I noticed flickering whith the x34a when overclocked.
And beside that I just liked to have an 100Hz native toy, which is a bit more curved like the asus and the acer competitors.
I have ordered the AW from Dell germany.
No dead pixels, no dust, some BLB in left and right corners, not disturbing at all.
After calibrating with an x rite colorimeter and displayCal software, the panel looks fine, but the white is not uniform. The right area is slightly darker than the left, Thats something which is unacceptable for that price. Also the contrast ratio could be better (measured 838:1) Funnily enough I got 900:1 with the x rite software, but i rely more on displayCal.
People who buy this monster don´t just play games with it, maybe working on photographs and video stuff too, because this is an ips panel, which is perfect for those applications.
Also it is a bit disturbing when you visit a website with white backround, for instance computerbase.de, the right edge ist grey 🙁
100 Hz and even 120 Hz are working fine, I am a casual gamer playing games like assassins creed, COD, BF1, or Project Cars2 and I have not noticesd scanlines (because of gsync) or microstuttering. Some folks told about that.
So far, this panel is fast enough to play any game as long as you are not a very sensitive pro.
The lack of gamma control is a big minus, especially for folks who don´t have a colorimeter, this is a big NO GO !!
My opinion is, that everyone should have a colorimeter, especially with dell products 😉
You remember the 2716 DG with gsync and TN? It is a terrible monitor (crab) as long as you don´t calibrate it.
Comparing the gaming features between the AW and the Acer x34a , it shows very clearly who is the leader.
Adaptive contrast or a crosshair to support aiming you won´t find at the AW. Why not??? It is a gaming monitor, isn´t it?
I have decided to keep the AW as long as there is nothing better on the market.
This product is OK, but not perfect and flawless,
But momentary there is absolutely no good monitor on the market, especially with gsync, which is worth the money.
So lets see what LG brings us next year and if those new 144 Hz monitors will be fine and flawless, the AW3418DW will be history for me .
Greetz from Munich (D)
Paolo Reva says
Thank you for taking the time to share your observations and experience, musikos. We agree that there isn’t any perfect monitor out there because even same models have varying outputs such as in panel uniformity and quality. Also, most websites are not optimized for anything beyond 1080p, which is why sometimes there are black or gray bars on the sides. Enjoy your AW3418DW!
musikos says
If you design a website and specify the css information for the body, to have a white backround, then you´ll see it over the whole panel, doesn´t matter which native resolution the monitor has.
And the AW as well as other widescreen monitors have the problem obviously very often, that white backround is not even. z35p for instance (VA) is horrible
Best to test is the Eizo tool
musikos says
nice review
how far is this review influenced through Dell?
I am just asking, cause I owned this Monitor by myself
Eli Nolan says
Hello Musikos! We are completely editorially independent. Dell had no role in this article whatsoever. Please tell us more about your experience with the Alienware Ultrawide, we’d love to hear it.
musiikos says
will do soon, comparing it with the x34a, which i have had also for a while