Earlier this year, Dell dropped a bombshell on the gaming community with the 24.5-inch Alienware AW2524H. We reviewed the monitor and ranked it among the best gaming monitors on the market thanks to its 500Hz refresh rate, responsiveness and excellent contrast/saturation. Now, Alienware is back with a cheaper follow-up: the AW2524HF.
The AW2524HF just went on sale today with an MSRP of $649.99, which is $180 cheaper than the AW2524H. While the AW2524HF retains a 24.5-inch 500Hz IPS panel, Alienware has made some changes and omissions to meet the lower price point.
For starters, the AW2524HF supports AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, while the AW2524H relies on Nvidia G-Sync. The two monitors also do a bit of shuffling regarding port selection. The new AW2524HF has one HDMI 2.1 port and two DisplayPort 1.4 ports, while the older AW2524H has two HDMI 2.1 ports and one DisplayPort 1.4 port.
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | AW2524H | AW2524HF |
| Panel Type / Backlight | IPS | IPS |
| Screen Size / Aspect Ratio | 24.5 inches 16:9 | 24.5 inches 16:9 |
| Max Resolution & Refresh Rate | 1920 x 1080 @ 500 Hz (OC) | 1920 x 1080 @ 500 Hz (OC) |
| Nvidia G-Sync Compatible | AMD FreeSync Premium Pro | |
| Response Time (GTG) | 0.03ms | 0.03ms |
| Brightness (mfr) | 400 cd/m² | 400 cd/m² |
| Contrast (mfr) | 1,000:1 | 1,000:1 |
| Video Inputs | 1x DisplayPort 1.4 | 2x DisplayPort 1.4 |
| 2x HDMI 2.1 | 1x HDMI 2.1 | |
| Price | $829.99 | $649.99 |
But those aren’t the only differences. The cheaper AW2524HF lacks the DisplayHDR 400 certification of its elder sibling and forgoes the snazzy AlienFX RGB lightning on the back panel.
All the other specs for the AW2524HF remain familiar, like its 1920 x 1080 resolution, 480Hz native refresh rate (500Hz overclocked), 0.5ms gray-to-gray response time and 99 percent coverage of the sRGB color space.
You’ll have to decide if those changes are worth the healthy discount compared to the AW2524H. However, we’d imagine gamers with a rig potent enough to push a 500Hz monitor won’t be splitting hairs over $180.
The Alienware AW2524HF is now available to purchase directly from Dell.com for $649.99. Making matters even more interesting is that the AW2524H is currently on sale with a $80 discount, making it just $749. So that puts the difference between the two monitors at just $100.
