Alienware AW2725Q Monitor Review – Add OLED to Your Switch 2 (Sort Of)
It's so beautiful.
When it dawned on me that the Nintendo Switch was going to be 4K, and when we eventually learned that it would have VRR (RIP), HDR, 120Hz support and all that sort of modern jazz – I had a problem. My TV is an ancient Sony 1080p unit (with a really nice panel still), and my desktop monitors where I play most of my games now are Dell productivity monitors. They look great, are colour accurate and they’re 60Hz. They get the job done. But it was time for an upgrade.
If you’re looking for an in-depth review of this monitor that talks about colour gamuts, latency and all sorts of advanced monitor stuff, I’m a games reviewer, you won’t find much of that here. I asked to review a bunch of monitors before the Switch 2 came out because I needed a new one for myself first and foremost, but also I want to be able to tell people what they could buy and have the Switch 2 look great. But at over a grand, should you really pony up that much for this? Let’s find out.
The Alienware AW2725Q is a 27” inch, OLED monitor, with every checkbox ticked in terms of features you need to make your games look greawat. It’s primarily a gaming monitor, so it’s got the chops for PC and console gaming, and it looks great for movies and just general browsing as well. Out of the box, the monitor comes with (after some assembly) a nice stand; it plonks on, and aside from the Alienware logo on the back and a bit of funky rounded design on the back, it looks like any other monitor— which is great for me. If you want some gamer-looking RGB-filled thing, then you’ll have to look elsewhere. Which given this is an Alienware branded monitor, was a bit of shock.
It’s not until it turns on that you see how very different this is to other monitors out there. I received the monitor to review before the Switch 2 was released, so before getting to that, I was able to test out all the features it has to offer on the PlayStation 5. The OLED display is phenomenal and fast – I was able to boot up my blessed Apex Legends and eventually, after wading through the settings of the monitor and the PS5, unlock 120Hz gameplay. I know I sound like some grandpa here, but as technology gets better the older I get, the less things impress me. The jump to a Retina screen in the iPhone, the first OLED TV I saw, they were impressive, but we’ve been in a technological malaise for a while. But the combination of deep blacks, vibrant colours, and the speed here is something that will be hard to go back on.
Eventually, the Switch 2 was released, and for those lamenting not having an OLED screen on that console, get something like this. I’d played the Switch 2 at launch on some Samsung OLED screens, and they were nice; this is also as good as a multi-thousand-dollar OLED TV. I run the Switch 2 on this monitor, with a loop through Elgato on my other monitor, and the difference is night and day. While not every Switch game has all of the features this monitor can do, even just at its base being an OLED brings everything another level. Nintendo’s implementation of HDR works solidly here, and unfortunately nothing yet really runs at 120hz outside a demo in Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour.
To take advantage of everything this monitor has to offer, though, you really need a Windows gaming PC, NVIDIA G-SYNC Compatible, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, 240Hz, and Dolby Vision – the gang is all here. You’re sorted with connectivity too; there are two HDMI ports, and there’s a DisplayPort as well— but sadly, there’s no USB-C port for carrying video. There’s a USB-C port to act as a hub, so you can boost the number of ports available to you on your machine, but that’s it. For me, this required a bit of tweaking of my setup as my work MacBook is on USB-C so I can just walk away with it.
And that comes to my work setup. I have a Mac mini M4 on two screens with this, and it took a while to get the colour profiles right with Mac OS. Even after hours of tweaking, the Mac still looked a lot cooler than the other monitor, with faces in movies and TV shows appearing just a little more green. You could notice it in videos mostly, but this didn’t affect the consoles. You’re probably not going to buy such an expensive gaming monitor and just do productively on it either. If you are worried about using an OLED monitor on a PC, there’s an anti-burn-in AI algorithm and an anti-burn-in graphite sheet to protect the screen – can I test that in a month with the monitor? No, but there is a three-year warranty to back it up.
The other other real downside to this display is the on-screen displays, they’re controlled with this little joy-stick under the face of the monitor and while its better setup than some monitors I’ve used, there’s a lot of settings in there to tweak and its just a fumble to get around. Also the entire interface is all grey, and with teal as the colour to select things. If you’re colourblind, or even just like me and just a little bit – you’re really going to struggle to navigate around this stuff. I realise this is real nit-picking stuff but that’s all that’s really bad here.
There’s no doubt this is an expensive monitor, but it’s a monitor that has everything, and once you use it, it’ll be hard to go back to just a regular screen. I have to give this back too, and I’m already not looking forward to it. For gaming on the Switch 2, on the PlayStation 5, this has everything you need to take advantage of all the specs they have to offer. If you’ve got the cash and want that OLED look for the Switch 2, it should be on your list to consider.
The Alienware AW2725Q is available now with an RRP of $1199, it’s available from Dell themselves, and Amazon only – so not a lot of competition on pricing. Certainly not cheap, but hard to do better.
This monitor was provided by Alienware for the purposes of this review on loan. Some links in the review are affiliate links and any products purchased via them will support the website.
