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To compare the AW3423DW’s performance, I found one OLED in my database, Aorus’ FO48U. Also here are a selection of speedy ultra-wides: Acer’s X38, BenQ’s EX3410R, MSI’s MPG343CQR and Alienware’s AW3821U. Refresh rates range from 120 to 175 Hz.
Pixel Response and Input Lag
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The AW3423DW has a major advantage over any LCD in that its panel response is faster at a given refresh rate. An LCD will have to refresh at 240 Hz to match the 5 ms I recorded for the OLED. This also speaks to the QD-OLED tech, which is obviously quicker than the traditional OLED panel used by the FO48U. This quick response can be seen both in test patterns and actual content. Movement is completely smooth without any ghosting or lag. Motion resolution remains high even during the fastest side-to-side camera pans and transitions.
In the total lag test, the AW3423DW proved to be on par with the 120 Hz Aorus. The top two screens will provide a slightly quicker control response which will be an issue for the most skilled players but not so much for the rest of us. I had no problems during my gameplay tests, where all inputs were instantly translated to the screen. The key takeaway here is that the AW3423DW has lower total lag than a 120 Hz TV which will be of particular interest to console users.
Viewing Angles
No LCD can boast the off-axis image quality of an OLED panel. You can see in the photos that there is almost no change at 45 degrees horizontally or vertically. Color shifts slightly to red and light output is perhaps 5% reduced. But there is no change in detail levels or gamma. This is as good as it gets.
Screen Uniformity
To learn how we measure screen uniformity, click here.
The AW3423DW has near-perfect screen uniformity with only tiny and invisible variations from zone to zone. When I measure OLEDs in this test, I must use a 10% brightness pattern since the 0% field is unmeasurable. It’s interesting to note that Alienware’s AW3821DW is very impressive in this test. It’s the most uniform panel I’ve ever measured. You will not see anything resembling bleed or glow here.
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