Zeke Jones / Digital Trends
It ’s no secret that Alienware makes some of thebest gaming monitors , but it ’s not alone . After it shake up the market with theAlienware 34 QD - OLEDtwo years ago , a slew of competing monitor popped up from steel like Asus , LG , MSI , Samsung , and unnumbered others . Two year and a generation of OLED proctor later , though , Alienware still remain the champion of OLED gambling monitors .
A lot of that comes down to the big fear newfangled buyers have when blame up an OLED monitor : burn - in . The risk of suntan - in is veridical , even if it’snot as a big of a dealas some would make it out to be , and most vendee naturally want some peace treaty of mind . And that ’s where Alienware has a big lead over the contender .
Zeke Jones / Digital Trends
Market-leading warranty
Alienware has three OLED play monitors — the 34 QD - OLED , 32 QD - OLED , and 27 QD - OLED — all of which use a QD - OLED control panel from Samsung Display . The critical component is n’t the monitor lizard itself , peculiarly now that we have half a XII other displays run around with the same jury . It ’s that Alienware treats burn - in seriously .
All three monitors make out with a three - twelvemonth warrant that explicitly covers burn - in . As with any warranty coverage , the goal is that you ’ll never need to use it . And if you do necessitate to use it , guarantee claims are n’t always a smooth process , regardless of the company in question . With an Alienware OLED monitor , however , you at least have some sort of refuge should your display educate suntan - in . Parent ship’s company Dell even read it will broadcast a alternate with next - day shipping .
That ’s in stark contrast to the warranty coverage on other OLED instrument panel . Here ’s a quick breakdown of warrant coverage for the major brands selling OLED gaming monitors at the metre of this writing :
Keep in judgment that these terms and time frame are only applicable to the U.S. at the time of this writing . It ’s possible terms can exchange over time , so check that to gibe up on the warranty if you ’re front to pick up an OLED gaming monitor lizard down the line .
Only two brands provide a three - year warranty that explicitly covers burn - in : Alienware and Corsair . I ’ll get to the dynamic between those two brands in a second , but every other major admonisher brand sell OLED panels right now is behind . Either the warrant period is unforesightful , or it does n’t cover sunburn - in , and unremarkably it ’s both .
I ’m being measured here , too . For the brands listed as “ nameless ” for burn - in insurance coverage , I could n’t find any explicit mention of burn - in shelter in the official warrantee selective information . There ’s a good fortune that mean burn - in is n’t covered . If it ’s not understandably list , it ’s safer to assume that sunburn - in is n’t covered . A great example of that isMSI ’s warrantee . It does n’t observe incinerate - in one way or the other , but it says that “ MSI monitors do not have a 0 pixel defect warrantee ” and that the guarantee does n’t lend oneself if “ the MSI OLED Care function that is always on by default has been delayed , work off , or otherwise rendered inoperable . ”
Many brand offer less protection for OLED monitor compared to other type of monitors , too . Asus , for example , offersa three - class warrantyon all of its monitorsexceptfor OLED panels , which are only covered for two years . Similarly , Gigabyte offers three years of reportage on LCD varan under 40 inch , butit only offer up one yearof protection for OLED . The site used to be worse , too . LG excluded burn - in protection from its warranty until the company was bullied into offering suntan - inprotection by The Verge .
Even with some companies offering burn - in protection , far too many neglect the potential problem for OLED monitors . Warranty selective information carves out time exceptions for OLED panels , but conveniently go around any details about suntan - in . It ’s a big factor in a buying determination , and that ’s where Alienware has a grown lead .
It ’s forthcoming with guarantee details , which are lively for emerge technical school that carries some risk of failure . None of the brands I listed above sell bad OLED proctor . TheAsus ROG Swift PG27AQDMis one of the most impressive OLED displays I ’ve reviewed , and theSamsung Odyssey OLED G9is second to none when it comes to immersive gaming . But when Alienware offer the same level of quality and a much just warranty , the buying decision becomes fairly clear .
A solid head start
I need to get back to Corsair , though . Corsair twin Alienware ’s guarantee , and that ’s wild for a company that is n’t primarily know for make play monitors . However , Alienware excels over a lot of other brands with its OLED gaming monitors in another way : handiness .
The Alienware 34 QD - OLED enjoyed almost a full year on the market place before we saw another OLED gaming monitor . likewise , theAlienware 32 QD - OLEDandAlienware 27 QD - OLED , which launched during CES , are useable to purchase now . There are a short ton of other displays packing the same panel on the way , but who recognize when they ’ll actually be here .
The dynamic could change in the future , but for the last two wave of OLED play monitors , Alienware has been the first on the scene . That ’s great if you ’re anxiously awaiting a tatty raw monitor lizard , but it also facilitate with pricing .
We saw that with the Alienware 34 QD - OLED . The monitor lizard bring out for $ 1,400 , but by the time Samsung released its competingOdyssey OLED G8 , Alienware had already drop the cost to $ 1,200 , with frequent sales knocking it down to $ 1,000 . We could see a interchangeable situation this twelvemonth . We do n’t have any release dates for monitors packing the QD - OLED board that Alienware debut with its 27 - inch and 32 - inch model , but if they unblock in the second half of the year , there ’s a good chance Alienware will have already slashed cost on its displays .
We ’re still in the Wild West for OLED gaming monitors , and I ’m sure there ’s plenty of transfer with availableness , warrant support , and pricing out front . Alienware already has a hard base , though , and it ’s come in out of the gates swinging in 2024 . Will that be the same case next year ? We ’ll just have to await and see .
