The Best Monitor Ever? - Alienware AW3423DW QD-OLED Review

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00:00 - Intro, Specs, Design
05:50 - There Are Some Issues
09:41 - Subpixel Structure
11:50 - Concerns with OLED
13:25 - Response Times and Overdrive Settings
14:22 - Response Time Performance Comparisons
18:30 - Color Performance
20:31 - Brightness, Contrast, Uniformity
22:22 - HDR Performance
28:00 - HUB Essentials Checklist
29:30 - Final Thoughts

Alienware AW3423DW QD-OLED Review

Disclaimer: Any pricing information shown or mentioned in this video was accurate at the time of video production, and may have since changed

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[rentabone]

This is by far the most awaited review for this monitor, thanks HUB for toning down the hype while providing the reasons that many needed to buy this, the future for monitors finally has a chance to look bright after seeing this.

[randoir]

Huge shoutout to the Patreon and floatplane subscribers I know this review has been long awaited and Tim did a fantastic job explaining everything about this monitor. Even though it was a longer video, I watched the whole thing . Does any 1 else get excited for Tim's technical speak when he's explaining what makes for a good monitor?

[katalysis]

For those who are curious, LG's OLED uses self-emitting white, green, red, and blue subpixels to emit color. QD-OLED uses only self-emitting blue sub-pixels, and uses a quantum dot (hence "QD") layer to change sub-pixels to whatever other color they need to output. So it's a bit different.

[aaron_]

For the first time in my life, I am using a monitor before the review from HUB! Loving the AW3423DW! I'm one of the few that don't have the coating smudge issue, nor the loud fan noise. Thankfully the light sources in my room are at an angle that doesn't throw a reflection in my face so all's good for me!

[dee-jay]

Great review for a ground-breaking monitor. But it does sound like there are some "quick wins" that would make this monitor universally better. I look forward to version 2.0.

[Raddnedge]

I didn't like the idea of spending much money on a monitor, but I'm starting to appreciate that, as monitor tech doesn't evolve quickly, a good monitor can give you better graphics that can last for multiple GPU and CPU generations. And, those better visuals are 'free' as far as your other hardware are concerned.

[Nurph]

Thanks! I got this monitor and agree with everything, but for real use I have some personal input:
- Because of covid I am using this monitor for homeoffice work and yes.. it would not be my first choice. U see the fringing and it is less clear than my other monitors.. however: When my mind is on work, I dont notice it. I have to look for it.
- I NEVER hear the fan. If I shut everything off and put my ears like 10cm to the screen.. yeah.. there it is. Otherwise the usual ambient noises are louder. PC fans (and mine are really quiet, too), breathing... is enough. So: If you game or watch video content... you will not hear it. Doesn't matter whether you use speakers or headphones.. you won't hear it.

[Valk-Kilmer]

As an LG C1 owner, I'm glad there is more monitors like this. I'm sick of the £1500 144hz IPS display crap

[WArockets]

Literally ordered mine from JB Hi-Fi today $1650 Aussie and got home to this review. Awesome the negatives are not off-putting to my setup. I play in a light isolated room at HDR reference light levels and it will only be used for gaming with a small home theatre system so fan noise will also be no issue. Thanks HUB fantastic in depth review

[gabrielst]

One without G sync ultimate module (at a reduced price) would be amazing since it would take care of the noise and also reduced price.

[zerojin]

Finally the review frm HUB we've been waiting for

[Hayden]

PSA for anyone interested in this monitor:

While it's definitely an awesome panel, the monitor initially shipped with a number of bugs in the launch firmware "M0B101" (e.g. shutting down after regular pixel refreshes rather than returning to standby, bugged pixel refresh reminders, settings randomly resetting, etc.).

Dell is aware and is now shipping most new stock with revised firmware M0B102 to address all these issues. The problem is,  Dell contends it is unable to offer the firmware for early adopters to download due to unspecified "complexities".

Therefore, everyone who bought the monitor between launch and late April are stuck with what is effectively faulty firmware.

If you buy this monitor, please know that the firmware you receive is what you'll have for the life of the device. Any subsequent updates will NOT be offered to users as downloadable firmware.

[SashimiSteak]

Oh wow HW Unboxed doesn't disappoint when it comes to monitor reviews. This is seriously in depth and informative!

[perativeX]

I just bought the LG 42" C2 OLED and i'm more than happy with it. 4K 120hz with G-sync compatible mode is imperceptible when compared to 4k 144hz + G-sync module. And 700 nits is good enough for me. I also prefer having an eARC socket so I can send audio to my 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos surround sound speakers via the Denon X2700H AVR. Monitors do not come with an eARC socket so this means you'd need to run a 2nd HDMI cable from the GPU to an AVR or Soundbar if using a the Dell QD-OLED Monitor. And doing so creates a 2nd 'phantom' display screen in Windows. With an eARC socket, no phantom display is created because only 1 cable is connecting the GPU to the TV then the TV's eARC HDMI cable passes the audio straight down to the AVR. Another advantage of the 42" C2 OLED is that there is no annoying active fan noise because the TV is passively cooled.

[gotscroogled]

Not something I can afford but I was waiting for Tim's review on this one. It's not all sunshine and rainbows after all. I really want to see more OLED base monitors none the less.

[havokharakiri]

I've watched a lot of reviews for this monitor and this is easily the best one! Amazing work man! I might have to wait to see what the Samsung QD-OLED will look like, and really hoping it doesn't have the same screen coating as this one.

[Dionyzos]

I prefer a bigger 16:9 4K display to Ultrawide after having used Ultrawide for a few years and switching to a 48" CX. The 42" C2 would be optimal. Ultrawide is just SO annoying when watching 16:9 content. But once you go OLED you never go back.
If you can afford it, buy one now. The pros outweigh the cons by a lot. Don't waste your life looking at ugly backlight bleeding.

[HeretixAevum]

I was tempted to pull the trigger on this with the EOFY sales, but thank you for being so upfront about the monitor's shortcomings. The fan noise, reflective coating and the black colours being practically ruined by ambient light (I don't ever use my PC in the dark) are legitimate deal-breakers for me, personally.

Best monitor reviewer around!

[KubanKevin]

Great first try at an OLED ultra wide. I waited on this review because I know HUB does not buy into hype and gives us straight facts. Thank you!

[collingundrum]

Thank you so much for your reviews. I honestly don’t buy any monitors until I’ve watched your review for it. You do an amazing job on the technical review and I appreciate your hard work and dedication to the monitor review space. Keep up the good work!