The AW2523HF has the same picture modes and calibration options as most other Dell and Alienware displays. I tested the Standard and Custom picture modes and found that calibration wasn’t essential but made a slight improvement when performed.
Grayscale and Gamma Tracking
Our grayscale and gamma tests use Calman calibration software from Portrait Displays. We describe our grayscale and gamma tests in detail here.
The initial grayscale run shows a bit of coolness in the brightest steps, but that doesn’t translate to the actual content. It is visually without error. Gamma tracks perfectly against the 2.2 reference. If you want a darker or lighter look, the AW2523HF has a Console mode that offers presets, something I hadn’t seen before in other Dell gaming monitors.
With a two-click reduction to the blue gain control, grayscale is now perfect, and gamma is visually the same. It doesn’t get much better than this.
Comparisons
The AW2523HF’s 2.34dE default score puts it firmly in the calibration-not-needed category. The monitor can be enjoyed right out of the box with no fiddling. Of course, calibration does produce an improvement in the measurements to a very low 0.59dE, not enough for first place here, but since all the monitors are under 1dE, they are visually identical.
The AW2523HF has a slight gamma tracking advantage over the others with an extremely tight 0.06 range of values and a 0.9% deviation from the 2.2 reference. The actual average was 2.18, which is excellent performance.
Color Gamut Accuracy
Our color gamut and volume testing use Portrait Displays’ Calman software. For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, click here.
The AW2523HF has just as much to offer in the gamut accuracy tests. Though I would have loved to see a wide gamut option, no other 360 Hz monitor has one, so that consideration is moot. Out of the box, there is slight under-saturation in red and a hue error in magenta. But with an average of 2.24, these issues are invisible in actual content.
Calibration tightens up the chart nicely with more vivid reds, and the magenta hue error is nearly fixed. A visual improvement here manifests as a slightly warmer and more vivid image. The adjustment is definitely worth making. Just reduce the blue gain to 98%, and you’ll likely replicate my results.
Comparisons
Color accuracy won’t be a deciding factor in purchasing any of these monitors. They all exhibit superb behavior with visually perfect color that is bright and vibrant. In the volume chart, you can see that none of the screens really approach DCI-P3 coverage, but five of them exceed 100% of sRGB. If you want a wide gamut, you won’t get 360 Hz.
MORE: Best Gaming Monitors
MORE: How We Test PC Monitors
