lcd monitors reviews free sample

We previously recommended an older version of this display, the Asus ProArt PA247CV, as a top pick in this guide. Both monitors are fantastic, but the newer PA248CNV offers a larger, more accurate display and a higher charging wattage for only around $40 more, an extra expense that we think is worth paying. If the PA248CNV is out of stock or has jumped in price when you’re shopping, or if you don’t have a high-powered laptop that requires 90 W charging, we recommend getting the PA247CV instead.

If you’ve been reading our other monitor guides lately, you might notice that this is the 24-inch version of the top pick in our guide to the best 27-inch monitors. Although many home-use displays under $500 have fallen short of their advertised color accuracy, contrast, and brightness in our tests, we’ve found that the ProArt line often lives up to its claims (or at least gets much closer than the competition). It also prioritizes features that are essential, such as USB-C charging for laptop owners and sturdy, adjustable stands.

We generally like this monitor and haven’t found issues with it. However, as we mention in our How we picked and tested section, if you’re planning on using this monitor as your main work display, you might want to consider a higher-resolution 27-inch monitor. (Our top pick in our guide to the best 27-inch monitors is just a larger, higher-resolution version of this same monitor.) On that kind of monitor, you have more screen space, and text is a bit sharper and easier to read. But if you’re already working on a 1080p laptop screen or monitor and satisfied with the image quality, that’s great! The Asus ProArt PA248CNV will be a quality replacement or upgrade.

Why you can trust Tom"s HardwareOur expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.What’s your monitor’s purpose?If it’s gaming, you’ll generally want something with a high refresh rate (ideally 100Hz or more), low response time and AMD FreeSyncor Nvidia G-Sync for fighting screen tears at low framerates. For general use, look for high contrast, and for creative work prioritize color accuracy.What resolution do you want? More pixels means a sharper image. No one should be buying anything under 1080p/FHD (1920 x 1080) these days. But if your budget can handle it, 4K is as sharp as it gets at a reasonable price. Many gamers find 1440p/QHD (2560 x 1440) a good compromise between price and high-refresh-rate performance.Contrast and color.We consider contrast the most important factor in image quality, with 1,000:1 being solid. Color errors are particularly important avoid for content creators, and anything with a Delta E (dE) greater than 3 may show visible errors.Panel tech:When it comes to image quality, TN< IPS< VA. VA monitors typically still have better contrast than even the best IPS panels, although IPS panels are also known to be very colorful.What size do you want?These days, 24-inches is on the small side and 27 inches is mainstream, while 32-inches is a good large size for those on a budget. Anything bigger than 43 inches probably won’t fit on a regular desktop. For portable monitors, stay in the 17-inch range or under. Anything bigger isn"t really all that portable.sRGB or DCI-P3? In most cases, you’ll either be getting a monitor made for the sRGBcolor space or the more colorful DCI-P3 one. Technically, Windows, the web and non-HDR games and video all use sRGB, but if you want an extra colorful screen, an accurate DCI-P3 monitor is more appropriate.

Before we get into our primary list of picks, here is an amazing deal on one of our favorite tested monitors below. Sure, it"s more of a TV than a monitor, but it"s hard to pass up a big OLED screen for $600 (after an admittedly annoying $200 mail-in rebate).

eSports players and hopefuls rely on the fastest peripherals available to attenuate the delay between deciding on in-game action and when that action happens on screen. 360 Hz is the fastest refresh rate PC monitors have today, and the MSI Oculux NXG253R is the fastest of them all. Yes, the NXG253R is the fastest display we’ve ever tested, making it the best computer monitor for eSports you can buy.

The NXG253R outperformed other 360 Hz monitors by 1-3ms (depending on the rival screen) in our absolute input lag test. It also matched all its 360 Hz rivals in our response time test with a 3ms score. The monitor also fights screen tears down to a 1 Hz refresh rate with G-Sync and includes the Nvidia Reflex latency analyzer to help fine-tune your eSports performance further.

Making HDR pop over SDR is all about contrast, and for the ultimate contrast, there’s nothing better than OLED. The Aorus FO48U’s massive OLED panel not only delivers immeasurably high contrast, but we recorded 107.7% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space and near-flawless grayscale tracking. As a result, you get a rich image that’s also accurate out of the box. However, it’s not as bright as a premium LCD (399 nits with HDR, according to our testing).

A lot of us are finding ourselves working in tight spaces these days. If you’re looking to add another screen to your space, the Lenovo ThinkVision M14 is the best portable monitor. Its most standout feature is a critical one: a reliable, strong kickstand that’s easy to use, thanks to two flip-out feet. While many portable monitors are stuck with flimsy sleeves that double as stands, you can intuitively prop up the ThinkVision M14 at a -5 to 90-degree tilt or even in portrait mode. Unfortunately, its travel case isn’t as tough.

Manufacturers implement different techniques of pulse width modulation, but one of the more common techniques is shortening the duty cycle. The duty cycle refers to the amount of time the pulse is sent for, and shortening the duty cycle reduces the intensity. Below are two examples from TVs that use different types of PWM, but the same techniques are applied with monitors that use PWM. You can see with the LG that the backlight flickers at all brightness levels, and the difference between the 100%, 50%, and 0% luminosity is the duty cycle. The backlight stays on for less time as you decrease the brightness. The Vizio starts to flicker at lower brightness levels with a short duty cycle, and by the time it reaches 0%, the cycle is almost 0.

We test the flicker on TVs similar to monitors, but on TVs, we also check to see which backlight setting the flicker starts at. We don"t do that for monitors. You can use the test above to see when the flicker starts exactly.

This test is meant for LED-backlit displays and not OLEDs because they don"t have a backlight. Still, OLED monitors get a perfect 10 because they don"t have any flicker.

LED-backlit monitors have a backlight to display an image on the screen. Sometimes, these monitors will use a technique called pulse width modulation in order to dim the backlight, where it sends short impulses, creating a flicker effect. We want to know which monitors do this and at which frequencies the backlight flickers. Most monitors we"ve tested are completely flicker-free, but there are a few that flicker. Introducing flicker can help with the appearance of motion but may also create eye strain, so having a monitor that flickers or not is entirely up to you.

While most people often associate Dell monitors with office use, they also have a brand of gaming monitors known as Alienware. These monitors focus solely on gaming with higher refresh rates and fewer office features than their regular Dell lineup. If you"re looking for the best Dell gaming monitor, the Dell Alienware AW3423DW is an excellent option with stunning picture quality. Like most Dell monitors, it"s hard to find with retailers, but you can easily get it through Dell"s website. It"s different from the Dell U2723QE because it has an ultrawide display with a 21:9 aspect ratio and 3440x1440 resolution. The wider screen lets you see more of your game at once, which is great for atmospheric or FPS games.

It features new QD-OLED technology that allows it to display perfect blacks in dark rooms while making colors look vivid and highlights pop for a satisfying HDR experience. However, this monitor isn"t perfect as the black levels raise in bright rooms, and there are some issues with color fringing, so if that bothers you or you don"t like the ultrawide format, there are other Alienware monitors you can get. The Dell Alienware AW2523HF is great for esports gamers thanks to its 360Hz refresh rate, while the Dell Alienware AW2721D has native G-SYNC support like the AW3423DW but with a standard 16:9 aspect ratio.

How big is big enough? When it comes to computer monitors, you want something that can fit comfortably on your desk while giving you plenty of screen real estate. While in the past sub-20-inch monitors were commonplace, today, unless you’re really constrained for space, there’s no real need to buy anything under 22 inches. For most, 24 inches is going to be a baseline, as you can pick up a number of screens at that size for around $100, and they look fantastic at 1080p.

For those who want more than that, though, there are plenty of sizes to choose from. Monitors that stretch 27 inches diagonally are increasingly popular, and there are plenty of options beyond 30 inches that are affordable. If you want to go extreme, we’ve even tried some great computer monitors that get close to 50 inches, like Samsung’s CHG90.

While you’ll need to sit well back from those, there’s no denying that they look amazing. They give you the same screen as multiple smaller monitors without a bezel dividing them down the middle. They tend to be rather expensive, though, and if you go really wide, you’ll struggle to find media that can display at close to its native resolution, leaving the picture to either look stretched or surrounded by black.

Anywhere between 24 and 30 inches is going to be perfectly fine for most users. They let you make the most of modern resolutions and color clarity, and they also fit a couple of different web pages open at the same time without needing to use two monitors, which is handy for many professionals. They don’t tend to be too expensive at that size, either, unless you opt for the top-end models.

Today, all the best screens are still LCD monitors that use LED technology for a slim product that saves energy while providing ideal backlighting. We’ve been waiting years for OLED technology to make the transition to PC monitors, it isfinally beginning thanks to brands like LG, but the technology is still relatively rare.

One aspect of PC monitors that you do need to consider, though, is resolution. While 1080p was once the gold standard, today, it’s just the baseline. If you’re happy to spend a little more, there are a few other options worth considering, especially if you want to improve screen space or gaming visuals. Resolution isn’t the be-all and end-all of monitor features, though. In fact, too much resolution on too small of a screen can often be annoying because it shrinks all images down and forces you to enlarge everything to easily read it.

1080p: If you want reasonable clarity, but want to save on cost or focus on other, more important features, 1080p is where it’s at — as long as the monitor you’re buying isn’t extremely large. 1080p is ideal for 21-inch to 24-inch displays. These monitors offer great picture quality, and now that they are competing with 4K, the prices are rock-bottom. If you want to go larger than 24 inches, though, you should consider 2,560 x 1,440 resolution at the least and perhaps 4K.

4K/Ultra HD (UHD): 4K is the resolution that the industry is most keen to drive consumers towards. It looks much more detailed than 1080p with 3,840 x 2,160 pixels, and prices have come down substantially in the past few years. That said, gamers will need a powerful graphics card to run a system at this resolution, and finding affordable monitors with full suites of frame synching support or high-refresh rates is still difficult. There is plenty of 4K media out there to enjoy, though, whether you’re streaming or using UHD Blu-rays.

5K:This resolution made headlines when Apple debuted it on its iMac, but it’s far from a common resolution even years later. Dell’s UP2715K is a great-looking display, but we would recommend many high-end 4K monitors before it, as you won’t be able to see too much difference between them.

8K: There are some 8K monitors available as well, notably Dell’s 8K Ultrasharp. There’s not really any need for a monitor with such a high resolution at this time, but they are available for those with the budget if resolution is absolutely the most important thing.

While the above are the most common resolutions you’ll find on monitors, some fall into more niche categories. The best ultrawide monitors offer unique aspect ratios and resolutions with broad horizontal pixel counts, but less on the vertical dimension.

Aspect ratio: The aspect the screen shows images in (length compared to height). A common standard, and your best bet, is 16:9. It works with plenty of content, and it’s great for movies or games. Some fancy monitors like to stretch things out with ratios like 21:9, but that is more suitable for unusual work situations or hardcore gaming. Another common format, 16:10, provides slightly more vertical space for viewing multiple open documents or images. 3:2 is becoming more commonplace in laptops for better web viewing, but that’s rare on stand-alone displays.

Brightness: High-end monitors these days have brightness around 300 to 350 cd/m2. Extra brightness may be handy if you work in a well-lit room or next to large windows. However, too much brightness is a recipe for eye strain. As long as brightness options reach 250 cd/m2, your monitor is good to go. That said, if you want one with HDR support, the more peak brightness, the better to best take advantage of that technology.

HDR: High dynamic range, or HDR, is a recent addition to the PC monitor space and can have a dramatic impact on visuals. However, most PC monitors lack the brightness needed to take full advantage of it, and even the best ones don’t look as good as they should. Keep in mind there are a variety of HDR versions to consider, like HDR10+, for more advanced content.

IPS: Displays with IPS panels tend to be the most expensive of the bunch, but what you get for your money is much richer colors and clear viewing angles that are near horizontal. The downside of IPS panels is that they don’t tend to have as fast response times as TN displays, so some consider them inferior for gaming. There are, however, gaming IPS displays, like the fantastic Asus PG279Q, which make good ground on their TN counterparts. Some IPS monitors suffer from quality control issues, though, and most IPS displays have a telltale glow when displaying dark images due to backlight bleeding.

There are also curved monitors to consider. They don’t have different resolutions than their flat counterparts, but present a concave curved screen, which can make a difference to the experience and tasks they’re best suited for.

They have a narrow field of view, and aren’t that great for group watching. Fortunately, this is less of an issue on monitors, which tend to have an audience of one.

To run a display at 4K resolution, you’ll need to use HDMI 1.4 at the very least, though HDMI 2.0 would be required if you want to support a refresh rate of 60Hz, which should be a bare minimum unless all you do is watch movies on it (with HDMI 2.1 being the newest version of the standard). If you want to do high refresh rate gaming, especially at higher resolutions, DisplayPort 1.4 monitors can handle up to 8K at 60Hz and 4K at up to 200Hz, so they’re better suited than HDMI in that regard. DisplayPort 2.0 is also on the way.

The slightly older, DisplayPort 1.2 connector can handle 1440p and 1080p at high refresh rates, too, so if you’re not opting for 4K, that port option should suffice for lower-resolution monitors. USB-C is an option, as it can support up to 4K resolution, but it’s not as capable as DisplayPort connections.

We recommend picking a monitor that is easy to use, especially if you’re building a complex setup with more than one monitor. Think about adding a stand that you can tilt or rotate to achieve the perfect monitor angle. Some monitors even let you adjust tilt and rotation with one hand.

Built-in controls to navigate through the monitor’s menu and select different monitor modes are an interesting feature, but they shouldn’t feel clunky. Pay attention to port placement and cable management features to connect your new monitor in a neat and tidy manner. Some monitors go an extra step and include charging ports along the base or even turn the monitor base into a wireless charging pad for your phone.

The most common computer monitors are compact enough to sit on a table, desk, or stand. However, if you’re in the market for an enormous monitor, the most space-efficient choice is to mount the monitor onto a wall, thereby freeing up precious floor space. In this case, look for monitors thatcome with VESA standard mountingoptions or which are compatible with them. That way, you’ll have a larger selection of mounting arms from a variety of manufacturers to choose from, rather than being limited by specific mounting options.

You may use your monitor to hold video chats with friends or for business conferences. You have two main options for video communication, namely a built-in webcam or an independent camera, with marked differences that provide benefits according to your needs. Many monitors, especially high-quality models, come with an integrated webcam.

* Rewards 3% back excludes taxes and shipping. Rewards are issued to your online Dell Rewards Account (available via your Dell.com My Account) typically within 30 business days after your order’s ship date. Rewards expire in 90 days (except where prohibited by law). “Current rewards balance” amount may not reflect the most recent transactions. Check Dell.com My Account for your most up-to-date reward balance. Total rewards earned may not exceed $2,000 within a 3-month period. Outlet purchases do not qualify for rewards. Expedited Delivery not available on certain TVs, monitors, batteries and adapters, and is available in Continental (except Alaska) U.S. only. Other exceptions apply. Not valid for resellers and/or online auctions. Offers and rewards subject to change without notice, not combinable with all other offers. See Dell.com/rewardsfaq. $50 in bonus rewards for Dell Rewards Members who open a new Dell Preferred Account (DPA), or Dell Business Credit (DBC) account on or after 8/10/2022. $50 bonus rewards typically issued within 30 business days after DPA or DBC open date.

*Expedited Delivery: * Expedited Delivery not available on certain TVs, monitors, batteries and adapters, and is available in Continental (except Alaska) U.S. only. Other exceptions apply. Not valid for resellers and/or online auctions. Offers subject to change, not combinable with all other offers. See Dell.com/rewardsfaq.

Most computer monitors range from 19� to 29�, but larger screens of 40� to 55� are also increasingly popular. Additionally, 60� to 90� monitors are perfect for the boardroom or classroom interaction. It really depends on how you�re using your computer. If it�s just for emailing and word processing, a smaller screen should be sufficient. But if you�re using your computer for designing, gaming or for viewing movies, a larger screen may be a better choice.

LED (Light- Emitting Diode) monitors essentially the same as LCD monitors � the only difference is in the backlighting technology. LCD monitors use fluorescent lamps to light the display, while LED monitors use the more energy-efficient light-emitting diodes. LED monitors use up to 40% less energy and contain no mercury, making them a more environmentally friendly choice. They may also help reduce eye strain, which is important if you spend a lot of time in front of your computer.

LED monitors tend to be more expensive than LCDs. But when selecting a computer monitor, it�s best to go with the highest quality and largest size that fits your budget.

Choosing the perfect computer monitor can be tough, so that"s why we"re here to help. Watch our video and learn how to pick out the perfect one. We"ll go over three different monitors for PC builds ranging from basic to high performance.

It also arrives certified for VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400, which unlike the regular DisplayHDR 400 certification, isn"t complete junk. Using OLED means we get true HDR hardware, and Dell is claiming up to 1000 nits of peak brightness with a 0.1ms grey to grey response time. It"s also a curved monitor with a 1800R curvature. That"s pretty standard for ultrawide monitors and it feels just right for gaming.

Despite having the hardware to destroy much more expensive products and is one of the only gaming-suitable OLED monitors you can buy, the Alienware AW3423DW arrives with a competitive price point of $1,300. As far as high-end displays go, this is significantly less expensive than other true HDR products like the Asus ROG PG32UQX, which still costs a hefty $3,000.

So far, so good. But now let"s talk about two issues with the AW3423DW. The first is the fan noise. This display, mostly due to the G-Sync module, requires active cooling. The built-in fan runs all the time, and it"s audible in a quiet room. You won"t hear it while gaming, but for quiet desktop use, I could hear it over my PC"s (admittedly near-silent) fans. It also seems to vary its speed at times, giving you periods of louder and quieter fan noise. In our opinion, monitors should be silent, either fully passively cooled or with a fan so quiet it"s irrelevant. That"s not the case of the Alienware, which is a shame.

The vast majority of the monitors we"ve tested fall into one of two categories. Most use a standard matte anti-glare finish. This prevents mirror-like reflections, but does lead to diffuse reflection of ambient lighting, usually restricted to specific areas on the display. Other monitors use a gloss finish, like the LG C1 OLED, which limits a heap of ambient light reflection, but can cause mirror-like reflections for objects directly behind the display. There are pros and cons to each approach depending on the setup and brightness of the display.

How this affects the viewing experience will depend greatly on your environment, but when there is enough ambient light, you"ll see greyish blacks. And that"s a problem, because one of the main benefits to using an OLED is its deep blacks – the pixels are off after all. But in bright usage conditions, the black level of this QD-OLED visually appeared no better than an IPS with a 1000:1 contrast ratio. It"s only when dimming the lights does the OLED start to separate itself from a regular LCD, and when using it in a mostly dark environment, that"s where it shines and you get the full benefit of the OLED panel. And yes, this is quite a bit different to how LG"s OLED TVs fare in brighter conditions, where even in my bright office the black levels appeared significantly deeper than any LCD -- LG actually does a great job of ambient light reflection.

To be clear, this doesn"t mean the AW3423DW is useless in bright ambient lighting. In most instances you"ll see a similar experience to an LCD, perhaps with the occasional visible mirror reflection. You just won"t get a typical OLED experience though, like you do from monitors that include appropriate polarization. This leads us to conclude that is display is meant for people that often use their monitor in dim conditions, especially at night, or are willing to adjust their lighting setup to minimize ambient light. It does look stunning with the lights turned down.

We"ve seen various opinions as to how noticeable these fringing artifacts are, with some saying they don"t notice them at all. Personally, I find it quite easy to notice when using desktop apps, such as when web browsing, even at viewing distances of a meter or more (I typically sit closer). It"s especially obvious next to a normal RGB stripe LCD, which may be the case if you plan on using the AW3423DW next to a second, LCD-based display. The drop in clarity moving from the IPS LCD I use every day to the QD-OLED was noticeable.

Typical LCD monitors tend to perform worse at lower refresh rates compared to what they achieve at high refresh rates, but that"s not the case with OLED. Average performance remains extremely consistent, while LCDs move back a touch. But the general placement remains the same, and it"s still true that getting the AW3423DW will give you an experience that is more than twice as fast as its competitors, if not significantly more.

The cumulative deviation numbers are perhaps the most interesting. Despite the QD-OLED response time numbers being equivalent to what we see from LG WOLED panels such as the LG C1 and Gigabyte FO48U, the QD-OLED panel ends up behind in cumulative deviation. This is because the response curves are different. WOLED has a quicker initial response in the first half of the transition, which accounts for most of this difference. But regardless of which OLED tech you get, the results are significantly superior to anything LCD based.

The AW3423DW is 2.5x better than its nearest VA LCD competitor, and 4x better than today"s fast IPS monitors. That"s a huge difference that results in a significantly clearer image at the same refresh rate, with no ghost trails or inverse ghost trails to speak of. The difference compared to VA LCDs we typically see in today"s ultrawides is huge and the difference side-by-side is immediately obvious.

As this monitor is not using VA technology, there are no dark level performance issues. Performance is consistent across all transitions we measured, and this leads to excellent results for dark performance, especially compared to some VA monitors.

Another contentious issue is power consumption. OLEDs are power hungry, especially when viewing full white images, which is the worst case scenario for an OLED. Displaying white uses around 2.5x more power than a traditional LCD, although at least the AW3423DW can actually display 200 nits, unlike the FO48U and C1.

However, it"s not typical to see 100W of power consumption during everyday use, especially while gaming. During typical usage the monitor hovered between 40 and 60 watts of usage, even during HDR gaming. This is still higher than an LCD, but not to a ridiculous degree. A significant chunk of this power consumption is actually not related to the panel, as we recorded over 30 watts of consumption even with the display fully switched off showing a black image.

Relative to other monitors, grayscale performance isn"t the worst thanks to strong CCT performance, but could have been elite with some attention to gamma. As expected ColorChecker calibration puts it in the lower part of the table due to saturation issues.

We did calibrate this monitor fully and the results are decent. Correcting this gamma curve requires a larger than normal amount of work, so there can be banding visible in some gradients relative to monitors that handle gamma better from the factory. But aside from this, calibrated performance can be decently accurate especially for sRGB and P3 work.

As for contrast, all OLEDs are self-lit, there"s no backlight, so when displaying black each pixel can fully switch off. This leads to an effectively infinite contrast ratio, though for this review we"ll show black level instead. This is mostly just to illustrate how other display technologies compare, you"ll see that even though VA LCDs can get reasonably dark, they still have a way to go to reach the 0 black levels we see from OLED.

One of key selling point of OLED displays is HDR performance, which is leagues ahead of the majority of LCD monitors that advertise HDR functionality. Unlike those LCDs, OLEDs have true HDR hardware capabilities, which leads to a night and day difference in terms of real world HDR image quality. Seriously, the difference is so vast between an OLED for HDR, and a DisplayHDR 400 LCD monitor for HDR, that you"d think the LCD monitor was completely broken.

The main advantage OLEDs have is they are self-lit. This means each pixel can individually illuminate itself for perfect HDR image quality. LCDs have to rely on a backlight to function, and most true HDR LCDs then use dimming zones to achieve the high levels of contrast required for HDR. Even good full array locally dimmed LCDs with 1000+ zones pale in comparison to the effective 5 million zones the AW3423DW provides.

The true image quality advantage will vary depending on the content, but OLEDs simply do not suffer from blooming or haloing around bright objects, which you can get on a mini-LED LCD, especially if the zone count is insufficient.

There are good HDR LCDs out there, but even the best struggle with fine HDR details like starfields or Christmas lights, and the worst panels with only a few zones look downright terrible. No such issues with an OLED panel like this, which looks brilliant in all conditions. Side by side comparisons really show the difference in these tricky scenes.

Like with SDR performance, HDR on the AW3423DW also has an effectively infinite contrast ratio. The best we"ve seen from an LCD based display is close to 14,000:1 in the punishing checkerboard test, and about 13,000:1 in our worst case single frame contrast test. Basically, the AW3423DW can get darker and display richer shadows in tricky scenes where bright and dark areas are on screen close together at the same time.

The trade-off with an OLED is always brightness. OLEDs are great at shadow detail but poor for bright highlights, while the reverse is true for an LCD-based HDR display. The AW3423DW has two HDR modes that vary the brightness depending on the setting. In the HDR 400 True Black mode, peak brightness tops out around 460 nits for small elements, and 280 nits for full screen elements, with no difference between peak and sustained brightness. In the HDR 1000 mode, peak brightness now reaches as high as 1020 nits, however full screen brightness drops slightly to 260 nits.

Neither of these displays holds a candle to the Asus PG32UQX, which is a mini-LED LCD with 1152 local dimming zones. This display powers along at 1700 nits right through to 10%, and only dips to 1200 nits at full screen window sizes. This gives the best LCD-based HDR gaming monitor a big lead for brightness, at the cost of black levels, blooming and tightness of dimming. However, the peak brightness of the Alienware is still great for HDR playback, and real scene brightness can be impressive, I measured easily over 800 nits for bright highlights in several scenes I tested, with real scene brightness above 1000 nits possible at times.

Despite this, in comparison charts, OLED panels do fare poorly in brightness. Full screen sustained brightness is low relative to the best LCDs, and flash brightness isn"t any better as OLEDs typically have no difference between sustained and peak brightness. The quick fall-off for brightness also sees the AW3423DW end up last for 10% brightness, I"d really like to see this be up over 600 nits, even if at times you get 800 nits plus for small bright elements.

On a positive note though, grayscale tracking in the lower luminance range is excellent and better than most LCDs we"ve seen. This OLED is able to harness its deep blacks to deliver shadow detail right down to a fraction of a nit, which is the limit of my testing tools. Tracking is very accurate and leads to excellent shadow detail. Color tracking is also decent, not perfect, but at a level where we get the required level of saturation when necessary without oversaturating things that shouldn"t be.

What may come as a surprise to some, the motion section is not a good result. Part of this is due to Dell bizarrely advertising a 0.1ms response time. We get the idea was to say motion performance is an order of magnitude better than 1ms LCD monitors, but countering a lie with a lie is bad. At best the QD-OLED panel hits 0.4ms in its fastest transitions, but is more accurately a 1.5ms monitor on average. It also gets hit for processing lag which is oddly high, and not including backlight strobing which would have worked very well on this panel.

On the positives, the AW3423DW is easily the best HDR gaming monitor you can buy right now. The setup, the hardware, and the performance all points to elite gaming performance. The resolution is perfect for today"s GPU hardware and it has a nice high refresh rate of 175 Hz. Response times are significantly better than any LCD. And on top of this, it"s a true HDR panel with no visible blooming, perfect black levels, per-pixel dimming and decent peak brightness.

This monitor is significantly better than any 34" ultrawide before it. Previously at the high-end we"ve had some really good IPS ultrawides without HDR, and a VA model with HDR and a low dimming zone count. This AW3423DW is much better than any of these options for gaming. It"s also better than the vast majority of HDR gaming monitors, only falling behind the very best mini-LED LCD panels in brightness.