Advice - ALIENWARE 38 CURVED GAMING MONITOR - AW3821DW

CMDR MERANGO

CMDR MERANGO
Greetings CMDRs.

I am seriously considering buying the ALIENWARE 38 CURVED GAMING MONITOR - AW3821DW.

The reason I have not bit the bullet as yet is that some reviews state that it is not brilliant while playing 'dark' themed games.

Given E: D is a space sim and obviously dark, I was wondering if anyone had used this screen to play E: D?

Many thanks in advance.

Cheers CMDR Merango
 

d8veh

d8veh
The aspect ratio is not so good for Ed. You need height rather than width. I prefer a 4k monitor. That might change with Odyssey if you want to do all the things on the ground.
 

Alec Turner

Alec Turner
I recently bought a 27" Samsung Odyssey G7 curved monitor and I love it.

I originally bought a curved Gigabyte Aorus screen but ended up sending it back.

The issue, I subsequently learned, was response time. Basically, all the little thin lines on a dark background (orbit lines on the HUD, text, etc) would fade when they moved and then come back into sharp contrast when they stopped moving (I have head tracking so this amounted to everything fading whenever I moved my head). The Aorus was supposedly a highly rated monitor but I found this completely unnacceptable. This slow response issue is apparently common to VA panels (a screen technology which is otherwise excellent for Elite because of its deep blacks, and excellent contrast and colour). I switched to the Samsung Odyssey because it has exceptional response times for a VA panel.

You can see this in the following graph from a techspot review ..


.. and I later realised the monitor I returned is, by comparison, at the bottom end of the chart.

Hope this helps, I don't know anything about the Alienware monitor you're looking to buy.
 

Sysmon

Sysmon
When I'm in flatland, I'm on the 34" Acer Predator X34. Contrast is not the greatest in dark parts, but it was great for getting rid of some of the squeezed lateral vision even without head tracking. But It is now my favourite work monitor, as I can have four A4 pages up side-by-side at the time, and graphics programmes get good-sized workspaces as well as plenty of space for detached menus to float about. Otherwise, it's VR all the way.

:D S
 

CMDR MERANGO

CMDR MERANGO
Thanks for all your comments., much appreciated.

What I neglected to say, in my haste to post and play is, I am currently running a 27-inch ROG Strix in 4K at 60 FPS and it plays awesomely well.

I am also venturing into 3D modeling and wanted more real estate with a curve.

Cheers Merango
 

Esteban

E
I was considering the Alienware AW3420DW display recently, despite the cost. All of the specs and reviews seemed just fine and I had pored over (what I thought at the time) all other displays that were possible contenders (to me, of course). I was literally ready to order when I discovered someone had released another competing display and had that REALLY? moment. I thought I had agonized over it enough...

LG released their Ultragear 34GP83A-B display. This display cost quite a lot less than the Alienware. The specs are all equal or superior, execpt for G-Sync. The Alienware display is GSync compliant (meaning it has the NVidia chip for adaptive synchronization built-in). The LG is GSync compatible, meaning it does not, however it has been tested by NVidia and found to perform adaptive sync without issue. If you're an AMD card user, this is an AMD FreeSync Premium display.

I agonized over this and ended up purchasing the LG. I can tell you that I find it to be beautiful. It adaptive-syncs without problem. I didn't have to "set" anything for the adaptive sync to work - it does so by default. I run in the native resolution of 3440x1440 and run at 100Hz* easily using my Nvidia GeForce RTX2060 video card. I have run it higher refresh rates (144Hz) without issue as well, but, not feeling the need to go super high, I have moderated that setting (this also reduces noise from the video card). Elite Dangerous is beautiful on this nano-IPS HDR display.

My PC is in an east-facing room of my home where mornings are very bright. I have no issue with brightness of this display, in fact I operate the brightness at 18% (units presumed). Yes- that low. The display is exceedingly bright in my opinion. I can't imagine folks running this things at full brightness, screaming at your eyes for prolonged periods unless you use sunglasses! :cool:
Colors are rich and beautiful. This display is rated at 144Hz (vs Alienware's 120Hz), and overclocks to 160Hz.
I won't comment on how it occupies desk space because I generally don't use display bases, preferring to post-mount them and free my desk of that. This also allows me to adjust the display's height to my preference. Most adjustable-height bases are insufficiently high for me.

Have fun making your decision. It's one fraught with worry for some of us.

* Just to be sure (because I don't know your level of knowledge): you must use the DisplayPort interface for high refresh rates. HDMI only supports up to 60Hz, period. Make sure you get yourself a premium-quality DP cable and you won't encounter any issues. The display includes one, but I opted to purchase one because I needed one that I (correctly) presumed would be longer than the one supplied. I purchased a Kabel-Direkt DP cable from Jeff Bezo's starship-funding store. ;)
If you consider this display, I suggest you look at LG's web pages for info. They have a very comprehensive documentation of the display's features and (more importantly) technical specs that I consider more reliable than third-party marketers' product listings.

Specific questions? PM me, if you like.
 
Last edited:

Iron Body

Iron Body
I just got the 38" LG 38WN95-C with G-SYNC compatibilty and 120fps. The Alienware uses the same screen.
I would agree the blacks are not brilliant, but I like everything else about it.

I bought it in anticipation of Odyssey, 'cos I think the planetary landscapes are going to be awesome, and the sky won't be black.
The first Odyssey trailer is already in 21:9 format, and it is fing awesome.

I decided the 48" OLED was too big for my desk. but thats where the black is.
 
Last edited:

CMDR MERANGO

CMDR MERANGO
Great responses, TY.

As soon as I saw the trailers for Odyssey, I knew I needed to hurry-up this plan, black not so black be damned!

Out browsing in an electrical store last week I sat in front of the Samsun G9 - ye gods it is big and that curve - too much for my needs (I did however try to imagine what 2 of those bad boys on top of each other would be like) ((bezels, hmmmmmmmmmmmm)).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom