If you feel like you’re letting your GPU go to waste, this 5K2K Alienware monitor is actually affordable with a hefty new price drop
(Image credit: Future) The RAMpocalypse has kicked my ass: about 18 months ago I was preparing to upgrade from a long in the tooth 30 series gaming laptop to something with a whole lot more grunt. Alas, the ...
The RAMpocalypse has kicked my ass: about 18 months ago I was preparing to upgrade from a long in the tooth 30 series gaming laptop to something with a whole lot more grunt. Alas, the kind of specs I want are nowadays extremely expensive and upgrading is no longer on the cards. My only consolation? I know I'm not alone.
But if you're not like me and happened to upgrade just before the AI-induced pandemonium was unleashed (or indeed, if you're just filthy rich) you might be in the market for a gaming monitor that can squeeze as much life out of your high end GPU as possible. For that, no mere 4K display will suffice: you probably want a 5K2K display, or in other words, a 5120x2160 display.
The 39-inch Alienware AW3926QW, while not without its launch controversies, is among the best you can get if an extreme excess of pixels is your bag. Complimenting that ultrawide resolution is:
- DisplayHDR True Black 500 (for bright brights and deep blacks: vibrancy, basically)
- A maximum 330Hz refresh rate (165Hz at the full 5K2K, or 330Hz at 2560x1080)
- RGB-stripe subpixels (basically eliminates some OLED bugbears, like blurry text)
Normally this monitor sells for AU$1,999. Indeed, that's what Dell is currently selling it for. But as part of Amazon Prime Big Deal Days you can get it for AU$1,449.99.
The catch? It's small: You'll need to be a Prime member, which means grabbing a free trial. Once that's activated, the AU$1,449.99 price will be available to you, with free shipping to boot.
I referred to launch controversies above, and while they're not insignificant, they're being fixed. As Jeremy Laird reported last week, the AW3926QW's habit of vignetting around the edges during gameplay—which can be blamed on its Convex Power Control tech—will be fixed in a forthcoming firmware update, as per Alienware's Kris Graft.
But that annoyance aside—and it is an annoyance, and if you buy this monitor tomorrow you may have to cope for a while—Jeremy's 89 / 100 review of this model was obviously well deserved. "This is the biggie, the 5K2K 39-inch ultrawide that everyone was going bananas for," he wrote. "Well, it's here in all its RGB-stripe, Tandem WOLED glory. And it's mostly incredible. But there is also some truth in those Reddit threads about the flaws."
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Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.