Alienware AW2725D QD-OLED QHD 280 Hz gaming monitor review: Rich color, high performance and excellent value

It’s a 280 Hz panel with QHD resolution, Adaptive-Sync, HDR10, wide gamut color, and a very attractive price.

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Alienware AW2725D
Editor's Choice
(Image: © Tom's Hardware)

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Uncalibrated – Maximum Backlight Level

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Alienware AW2725D
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The AW2725D doesn’t include a variable brightness option for SDR mode, so window and full screen patterns will measure the same. I recorded 265 nits peak in the Standard mode, which is on par with other screens in the genre. The LG and Asus panels can top out at over 400 nits, which would be handy in a very sunny environment like a location video shoot. Black levels cannot be measured by currently available instrumentation, so contrast is undetermined.

After Calibration to 200 nits

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Alienware AW2725D
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Calibration and the setting of 200 nits peak don’t affect black levels or contrast. They are still unmeasurable. ANSI, or intra-image contrast, is the same way, with no reading coming from the black squares in my checkerboard pattern. This is typical OLED performance.

Test Takeaway: The AW2725D has about the same peak brightness as its competition save the LG and Asus monitors, which can go over 400 nits in SDR mode. If you need those higher peaks for your environment, they are a good choice. For a typical office, media or game room though, the AW2725D is more than bright enough.

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Christian Eberle
Christian Eberle
Contributing Editor

Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors. Christian began his obsession with tech when he built his first PC in 1991, a 286 running DOS 3.0 at a blazing 12MHz. In 2006, he undertook training from the Imaging Science Foundation in video calibration and testing and thus started a passion for precise imaging that persists to this day. He is also a professional musician with a degree from the New England Conservatory as a classical bassoonist which he used to good effect as a performer with the West Point Army Band from 1987 to 2013. He enjoys watching movies and listening to high-end audio in his custom-built home theater and can be seen riding trails near his home on a race-ready ICE VTX recumbent trike. Christian enjoys the endless summer in Florida where he lives with his wife and Chihuahua and plays with orchestras around the state.