OLED is gradually becoming the new norm for videophiles looking for the best picture quality, but the often exorbitant prices of reliable, consumer OLED monitors have prevented the technology from becoming as widespread as it could be. That's where Dell came in to save the day with its new Alienware AW2726DM monitor that is well above the $350 price tag.
And the price is really the biggest point to focus on with this new AW2726DM monitor. Its specs won't surprise any tech geek, but they're specs you'd expect from a monitor that costs at least around $500. Throw in Alienware's historically strong build quality, sleek design, and 3-year burn-in protection, and the AW2726DM could be the perfect entry-level OLED.
I've been using the AW2726DM for about a week now, and I'm happy to report that it's quickly becoming my favorite PC gaming display. It's incredibly responsive, sharp and vivid, and while it doesn't put my 4K OLED TV to shame, it's definitely a close second. And whenever I remember that it is so affordable, my affection for it only grows.
Dell's new Alienware OLED monitor is worth the price of admission
There are several different OLED monitors in Alienware's lineup, so to be clear, here are the quick and dirty specs of the new AW2726DM:
-
26.5-inch OLED display (glossy finish)
-
Compatible with HDR
-
Resolution 2560×1440
-
240hz refresh rate
-
Latency 0.03 ms
-
Compatible with AMD FreeSync
-
2 HDMI ports (maximum refresh rate 120 Hz)
-
1 DisplayPort 1.4 port (for full 240 Hz refresh rate)
$350 gets you a 1440p OLED monitor with HDR and a maximum of 240 frames per second – a pretty good deal even at face value. With three different input ports, the monitor is also pretty versatile, especially if you want to switch between PC and console on the same display. It's true that the HDMI ports limit you to 120 FPS, but that still makes the monitor suitable for current-gen consoles, which generally won't go above 120 FPS.
The AW2726DM also comes with a surprisingly premium mount. It's height-adjustable, swivel, and can rotate 360 degrees, which puts it several notches ahead of the pre-packaged mounts that come with most other budget monitors. Coupled with the slim, low-profile design of the display itself, the whole set creates a sleek, discreet silhouette that will work on almost any desktop. Having said that, I still switched to the AW2726DM on my own swivel arm mount; The pack-in mount is nice, but there are certainly better options available, especially if you have a multi-monitor setup.
The AW2726DM is VESA mount compatible.
The AW2726DM works like a dream
Most non-enthusiast gamers are probably most familiar with OLED through handheld devices like the Steam Deck OLED and Nintendo Switch OLED. These devices have fantastic displays, but they're nothing compared to a proper OLED gaming monitor like the AW2726DM, which has to be seen – and felt – to be believed. The combination of the OLED screen, HDR and 1440p resolution created an instantly impressive viewing experience, even just by clicking on the desktop. But of course I had to go through the display, which I did with the following games:
- Cyberpunk 2077 (Ultra settings, RTX Medium, 98 average FPS)
- Blockage (High settings, 80 average FPS)
- Resident Evil 4 remake (Max Settings, RTX Max, 70 Average FPS)
- Forza Horizon 6 (High settings, RTX off, 101 average FPS)
- Max Payne 3 (Max setting, average 125 FPS)
- Sea of stars (Max settings, 240+ FPS)
I tried to achieve a fairly wide spread, from pixel art, to previous generation and indie games, to high-end, recently released AAA titles. On all of them, gameplay was smooth, crisp and colorful, with OLED's darker blacks going a long way regardless of the game's visual style. The AW2726DM I tested isn't NVIDIA G-Sync compatible, which might bother some users, but I found it made no difference: I didn't experience any screen tearing, even with V-Sync turned off. To highlight, the gaming experience was consistently, reliably smooth, which was a pleasant surprise. With such a sharp and colorful image, I half expected the other shoe's performance to drop, but it never did.
There are a few issues that prevent the AW2726DM from being perfect, the main one being its brightness. You have to expect a lower maximum brightness with an OLED screen than, say, an LED screen, but this monitor only reaches about 200 peak nits. That's several hundreds less than leading OLED gaming monitors and significantly less than leading OLED TVs. This doesn't have much of an impact if you're in a dark room, but if you like to play in an area with natural light or with a lamp nearby, you may struggle to see darker images. This problem is exacerbated by the glossy surface of the monitor – while I generally prefer a glossy screen, it's obviously more reflective than matte, making reflections worse. It also picks up smudges much more easily. You may want to keep a microfiber cloth handy.
Also in a perfect world I would have this monitor with smaller bezels. The bezel width on the AW2726DM is about 1.2cm, which is almost double the bezel width of my nearly seven-year-old IPS monitor. It's an incredibly small flaw, but given the low-profile design of the rest of the monitor, the size of the bezel feels like a small blemish on an otherwise beautiful face. It's also a stubborn reminder of the 26.5-inch screen, which might seem a little tight to some.
Ultimately, though, it's almost silly to raise these criticisms. The AW2726DM will definitely impress anyone looking to make the leap from LED or 1080p displays; I imagine this is its primary target audience, given its low price. Honestly, $350 just doesn't make sense given the quality of this monitor. In a tough global economy that has been particularly unforgiving on PC component prices, the AW2726DM is a godsend, one of the few recent examples of gaming hardware being undercharged and oversupplied, rather than the other way around.
The Dell Alienware AW2726DM is available for $349.99 on Dell's website. GameRant was provided a unit for this review.
