We’ve talked plenty about the next-gen consoles, but there’s also another generation of gaming tech on the way very soon: next-gen monitors.
Supporting 120Hz and higher frame rates are a big drawcard for the PS5 and Xbox Series S. But on the PC side, things are going way higher than that. 360Hz gaming screens were announced earlier this year. Acer announced their models in July, but the fanciest of their screens — like the 1440p/240Hz IPS XB273U GX — have been delayed.
Fortunately, however, Alienware is coming to the party to save 2020. The company announced three new gaming monitors recently. There’s the 24.5-inch AW2521H IPS screen with a 360Hz refresh rate and G-Sync support, a monitor obviously for Fortnite/CS:GO/Valorant/Warzone players who absolutely just want the crispest action possible. This’ll retail for $1199 in Australia, and $1397 in New Zealand.
If you’re after something that’s a better fit for AMD’s Big Navi or the RTX 3080/3090, however, then there’s the AW2721D. This is a 27-inch IPS screen with support for HDR 600, 1440p resolution and 240Hz. It’s the HDR 600 element of this that I’m really intrigued by, because the current gen of Fast IPS screens available are only capable of doing HDR 400 — which is too low to even bother with.
HDR 600 offers some hope that these screens will be better suited for console gaming as well, especially if you want to play games like DiRT 5 at the higher refresh rates/frame rates. The AW2721D is selling for $1349 for Australians, and $1559 in New Zealand.
There’s also a 38-inch mammoth screen, however, if you really need ultrawide support. The AW3821DW — which will retail for $2249 here and $2589 for Kiwis — is a 37.5-inch 3840×1600 screen with 144Hz support, HDR 600 and 98 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut. It’s listed as a G-SYNC Ultimate display as well, and has a 1ms response time. That 1ms is likely to be from the same Fast IPS panel that we’ve seen in some other monitors recently, like the very good LG 27GL850B. In other words: it probably won’t be 1ms when you use the Normal or Fast settings, but it should be very quick, and still look very, very good.
Now, here’s the bonus part. All three of these monitors will be available in Australia from November 27. That’s good news for everyone who have been upgrading their PCs like crazy for games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Alienware, sadly, didn’t have any news on upcoming 4K/144Hz models, although more of those screens should be coming from December/January 2021. Acer’s Predator line has one in the works, and an update from LG’s Display division notes that a 27-inch 4K screen with HDR 600 support and 144Hz refresh rate has already gone into production.
LG will also have their own 1440p/240Hz IPS screens, again with HDR 600, and an interesting 31.5-inch 8K screen. The extra catch with all these new screens is that they’re using “Oxide” panels that will supposedly be “real borderless” screens without the inner black border that you see on screens today.
The AW3821DW is much cheaper than the LG & Acer if that $2249 is to be believed, thanks for saving me $800 > <.
Reviews on the LG with HDR 600 is that its kinda worse than the HDR 400 model, sure peak brightness is higher, but because its still edge lit and the zones are so huge, you just get giant rectangles of brightness. We kinda need FALD monitors, but at $3500, the same price as a 65" OLED, no ones paying that.
The X27 is still the best / most practical HDR monitor I’ve seen and used.
And the goddamn fan on that thing is like a jet engine.
That photo has either a giant desk or a tiny monitor, either way I wouldn’t be happy with that workstation!
Some really bad photoshop it looks like :P.
Giant desk (and maybe some dodgy photoshop) – compare the size of the monitor to the full-size keyboard in front of it – it’s huge!
LG CX TV’s are probably much better value if your going to spend over 2k on a screen.
Not for the single HDMI 2.1 port they have (or the limited bandwidth) and certainly not if you’re using them as a regular PC and the distance you’d be sitting from.
A 55′ LG CX is still $3959 RRP too, which is in a totally different category.
Its 120hz, has VRR, and that is a inflated price in Australia because their MUCH cheaper on the amazon US store. There is also a 48″ option.
Unfortunately their no longer available, must have been a limited stock thing.. Maybe because of popularity they upped the price also….
They were like $1599USD for 48″ model a few months back when I checked.. that’s 2020 for you… basically a waste of time buying shit this year, and next year could be just as bad!
Evidence here below… but again, no stock, fucked 2020
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1555062-REG/lg_oled48cxpua_cxpua_48_class_hdr.html
You buy overseas though, you’re losing out on local warranty and servicing. I don’t know many who could stomach that on such a high ticket item.
LG may cover warranty on it in Australia, you’d need to ask them direct.
Nothing but a dumb gimmick, I can’t believe people fall for this crap. The human brain can’t even process anything over 120hz, hell most casual gamers can’t tell the difference between 60 and 120 in blind tests. Anything over 120 is a useless waste of money and bandwagon jumping, not to mention the hardware required to get modern games running that high a framerate is very niche. Like they say though, dumb people and their money are quick to part ways.
Hi,
Can the author (@alexwalker) please provide a link to the pricing data in this article. It appears to be very wrong.
The AW3821DW is listed on Dell China for the equivalent of approximately AUD$3200.
https://www.dell.com/zh-cn/shop/alienware-38-%E7%B3%BB%E5%88%97%E6%9B%B2%E9%9D%A2%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E6%98%BE%E7%A4%BA%E5%99%A8-aw3821dw/apd/210-axlq/%E6%98%BE%E7%A4%BA%E5%99%A8
It was supplied by Alienware’s Australian reps in a press release.
I assume the same press release that included the 27 November release date? I think they might’ve mucked up. 1 December and still no sign of the 38 on the Alienware website (not even a pre-order/out-of-stock listing). I spoke to support and they said they have no idea when it’s coming.
Yeah, I think they’ve bumped the date (and just not told anyone).