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Alienware 34 Curved QD-OLED Gaming Monitor

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Pizzamigo

Pizzamigo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,442
GameAddict411 said:
ABL exists for a reason. Not sure why people tend to mess around with those settings. It will definitely void you warranty but above all the burn in
protection might be compromised.
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I'm well aware. But I'd also be potentially willing to risk it if what that guy said was true and you can change the strength of ABL without having to turn it off completely. As is, it defeats the purpose of HDR1000 mode for me personally as the ABL is not tuned well enough to not be distracting and I'm not gonna be switching back and forth depending on the game heh. So I just leave it on TB400 now.

I never really noticed it in my LG OLEDs whether it's because it maxes out at in the mid 700s peak brightness or because whatever algorithm LG uses isn't as sudden and instant to change back and forth as the AW does.

I wonder if it's something Dell can tune with firmware.
 
TSM

TSM

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,847
Pizzamigo said:
It can be aggressive in HDR1000 mode, depending on the game. Played 60+ hours of Elden Ring didn't have any issues there. Tried out SW Fallen Order and I've noticed the ABL kick in several times in certain tough to handle situations. That game I imagine is one of the worst case scenarios though because the levels have wide range of dark/light but what makes it even harder is you're constantly wavering around a bright ass lightsaber that leaves just as bright motion blur trails as you wave it.

I've since switched to TB400 and haven't had any problems with ABL really, but of course the peak nits is around 500 there vs 1000.

So I'm pretty curious to see if someone shows how to access the service menu to adjust the ABL cause if we can lower the aggressiveness of it (according to that person) then that's a huge game changer for HDR1000 mode!
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The problem with TB400 mode is that the display locks you out of the brightness control when in HDR mode. So it's a 500 nits cap on an already very bright image.
 
Pizzamigo

Pizzamigo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,442
TSM said:
The problem with TB400 mode is that the display locks you out of the brightness control when in HDR mode. So it's a 500 nits cap on an already very bright image.
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Can't you just use the contrast slider to knock it down a bit (sure at the expense of a little peak brightness)?

I just use Windows in SDR though and only switch to HDR when I need it, since I do some graphic design work on the side and don't want to be working in the slightly skewed Windows HDR desktop mode. But yeah even at 0 on the Windows SDR Content brightness slider, it was measuring around 140-150 nits (I think thats what I remember) if that's what your're talking about. A tad higher than what I calibrate SDR for (120) but probably wouldn't be the end of the world for me the extra 30 or so nits if I did want to leave in on all the time.
 
Velox Cor

Velox Cor

Member
Apr 23, 2021
523
Pizzamigo said:
I'm well aware. But I'd also be potentially willing to risk it if what that guy said was true and you can change the strength of ABL without having to turn it off completely. As is, it defeats the purpose of HDR1000 mode for me personally as the ABL is not tuned well enough to not be distracting and I'm not gonna be switching back and forth depending on the game heh. So I just leave it on TB400 now.

I never really noticed it in my LG OLEDs whether it's because it maxes out at in the mid 700s peak brightness or because whatever algorithm LG uses isn't as sudden and instant to change back and forth as the AW does.

I wonder if it's something Dell can tune with firmware.
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That's disappointing to hear. I am pretty sensitive to ABL changes and was hoping this monitor would be a step above the LG OLEDs in that regard. Have you tested the snow fields in Elden Ring by any chance? I noticed ABL kick in pretty obviously as I exited a cave with my hip lantern enabled earlier this week on a 48" C1 OLED. The snow went from white to grey and back depending where I was pointing the camera.
 
TSM

TSM

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,847
Pizzamigo said:
Can't you just use the contrast slider to knock it down a bit (sure at the expense of a little peak brightness)?

I just use Windows in SDR though and only switch to HDR when I need it, since I do some graphic design work on the side and don't want to be working in the slightly skewed Windows HDR desktop mode. But yeah even at 0 on the Windows SDR Content brightness slider, it was measuring around 140-150 nits (I think thats what I remember) if that's what your're talking about. A tad higher than what I calibrate SDR for (120) but probably wouldn't be the end of the world for me the extra 30 or so nits if I did want to leave in on all the time.
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You can use the contrast control to affect it, but brightness is the proper way to do it. The contrast control changes the maximum number of steps between black and white so you are reducing the dynamic range of the monitor when you lower it.
 
LaneDS

LaneDS

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,640
Pizzamigo said:
Can't you just use the contrast slider to knock it down a bit (sure at the expense of a little peak brightness)?

I just use Windows in SDR though and only switch to HDR when I need it, since I do some graphic design work on the side and don't want to be working in the slightly skewed Windows HDR desktop mode. But yeah even at 0 on the Windows SDR Content brightness slider, it was measuring around 140-150 nits (I think thats what I remember) if that's what your're talking about. A tad higher than what I calibrate SDR for (120) but probably wouldn't be the end of the world for me the extra 30 or so nits if I did want to leave in on all the time.
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Maybe dumb question related to this.

Haven't had an HDR monitor until now, so unclear on how HDR vs. SDR content works with Windows (I'm using 10, but I'll just say "Windows" without getting specific about 10 or 11).

If a game supports HDR, does HDR need to first be enabled at the OS level? Or can games/software tell the display "I have HDR content" and display accordingly, ignoring the OS setting?

For now, I've left HDR enabled at the OS level (some testing with HDR content in a browser & YouTube at least seemed to suggest HDR needed to be enabled at an OS level to work anywhere) but wanted to ask in here just in case.

So far the monitor is very impressive for games and just alright for work/browsing, and I think part of that is how Windows 10 looks with HDR enabled when viewing SDR content (i.e. kind of mutes everything).
 
Anomander

Anomander

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,474
lmao just got another email now saying my order has been delayed further until 26th of May. What a shitshow, I'm canceling it.
 
Cosmic Schwung

Cosmic Schwung

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,650
Chili

Chili

Member
Oct 25, 2017
124
Just got my UK order delay email from May to July. I cancelled my original order and reordered later to take advantage of a coupon so always felt that was on the cards. It is what it is, at least they are allowing forward orders rather than having to refresh constantly to find stock.

Looking forward to hearing some more impressions over the months and in particular comparing it to the PG35VQ/X35. I'm still not sure it's a worthwhile upgrade from that.
 
Anomander

Anomander

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,474
Ordered a 42 inch C2 from a German retailer instead and it's supposed to be shipped between 29 and 31st of March. Let's see.
 
ss_lemonade

ss_lemonade

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,714
LaneDS said:
If a game supports HDR, does HDR need to first be enabled at the OS level? Or can games/software tell the display "I have HDR content" and display accordingly, ignoring the OS setting?
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I believe that's the case nowadays. Back in the day though, games were able to control whether HDR was engaged or not (and I liked it that way before because it played nice with nvidia game streaming if your PC wasn't connected to an HDR monitor)
 
Pizzamigo

Pizzamigo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,442
It depends on the game, Elden Ring for example kicks in the HDR automatically for me without having to toggle it in Windows first.
 
Zafir

Zafir

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,209
Yeah HDR on windows is a bit of a mess still. Some games enable it auto in game when you select it meanwhile others you have to turn HDR on before you launch the game. I usually have to launch a game once to check whether it has options to display it on my other screen and also whether I need to enable HDR manually or not because neither is a given.
 
JiyuuTenshi

JiyuuTenshi

Member
Oct 28, 2017
851
Still not sure why Microsoft can't enable HDR on demand on Windows like they do on the Xbox or at the very least fix the SDR wrapper they're using to display the desktop in "HDR". I've never been able to get the colors to look right with HDR turned on.
 
LaneDS

LaneDS

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,640
Interesting, so it really sounds like "it depends". I might actually disable HDR at the Windows 10 OS level and I guess check on a game by game basis if it supports HDR. Things do feel like they just kind of look worse in SDR with HDR enabled in Windows 10, and that's going to be the bulk of my time with the monitor.

Thanks for the answers all! Welcome more discussion on the topic too.
 
Lithium Flower

Lithium Flower

Member
Nov 1, 2017
1,624
Looks like the bozos at DHL shipped the monitor to the wrong facility and they're currently closed until Monday. Cool, cool, cool. I'm never getting this thing.
 
vixolus

vixolus

Prophet of Truth
Member
Sep 22, 2020
56,212
Im getting a near $5k tax return and im tempted to be irresponsible and try to source one of these lmao but idk if my 3060 Ti can really hang
 
Zabojnik

Zabojnik

Member
Oct 28, 2017
129
Alienware / Dell unfortunately don't sell the monitor in my country, so I guess I'm stuck waiting for it to trickle down to retail partners, which means it's probably gonna be a year before I'll have the chance to buy one. Big sad.

Btw, can anyone tell me what the monitor's box dimensions are?
 
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Pizzamigo

Pizzamigo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,442
Anyone with previous Alienware monitors: how was Dell with firmware updates? Regularly fixed issues or barely supported monitor with firmware updates?
 
x3sphere

x3sphere

Member
Oct 27, 2017
981
I agree with that review. This is far and away the best gaming monitor I've ever owned. I think once they get this tech into a nice variety of sizes, LCD based monitors are pretty much finished, at least for the mid to high end.
 
Tovarisc

Tovarisc

Member
Oct 25, 2017
24,520
FIN
Vanta Aurelius said:
I'm glad we finally got his review. It stinks that he decided to split the positives and negatives in to two separate reviews. He also didn't go in to detail on calibration aside from saying that the monitor's calibration is really good out of the box.

I look forward to seeing he thoughts on the text/pixel structure issue.
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Need to try and bait those clicks, it's YouTube after all.
 
Anomander

Anomander

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,474
Jokerman said:
From the UK? If it gets stopped at customs that is going to be a whacking VAT charge on a £1k TV.
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Nah, I'm in Germany. I don't think any retailer ships that huge TV internationally. But anyhow looks like many retailers will start selling the TV across Europe beginning of April. Mine arrives on Tuesday.
 
Zophop

Zophop

Member
Apr 12, 2018
169
Had a slight worry with mine over the weekend, for almost 24 hours the fan on the gsync module was extremely audible, it was by no means abrasive but it was definitely there and clear in a quiet room. Fortunately it's now back to being completely silent, but was definitely a worry. Dell have also approved my refund on the pricing error this morning which is a relief.
 
Yappa

Yappa

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,562
Hamburg/Germany
Zophop said:
Had a slight worry with mine over the weekend, for almost 24 hours the fan on the gsync module was extremely audible, it was by no means abrasive but it was definitely there and clear in a quiet room. Fortunately it's now back to being completely silent, but was definitely a worry. Dell have also approved my refund on the pricing error this morning which is a relief.
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"Pricing error"? Do you mean the price it had early on before discount codes worked? Did you contact them by email?
 
Yappa

Yappa

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,562
Hamburg/Germany
Zophop said:
Yeah, I took a chance ordering it back when it was showing the pre-discounted price. I popped in an email to them on Sunday morning and they've just replied.
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Oh yeah, you're the one who also ordered it in the night before it was officially available. I never followed up on my own 1.600€ order and just ordered again a few hours later.
 
EvilBoris

EvilBoris

Prophet of Truth - HDTVtest
Verified
Oct 29, 2017
16,719
LaneDS said:
If a game supports HDR, does HDR need to first be enabled at the OS level? Or can games/software tell the display "I have HDR content" and display accordingly, ignoring the OS setting?
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It depends on the age of the game and what graphics API it uses, but sometimes yes.
 
HeadlessDevil

HeadlessDevil

Member
Nov 2, 2017
17
EvilBoris said:
Yeah, I think that is a DX11 thing - DX12 can't do that as it technically doesn't run full screen exclusive or something
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I don't think that's it; Elden Ring auto-switches to HDR in the main menu and it uses de DX12 renderer.

Can anyone with the AW3423 confirm if the HDR Mode resets to HDR 400 True Black when turning the monitor off and back on? Seems like that is the default and setting it to HDR1000 only lasts until the next time I turn it on.
 
Pizzamigo

Pizzamigo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,442
HeadlessDevil said:
I don't think that's it; Elden Ring auto-switches to HDR in the main menu and it uses de DX12 renderer.

Can anyone with the AW3423 confirm if the HDR Mode resets to HDR 400 True Black when turning the monitor off and back on? Seems like that is the default and setting it to HDR1000 only lasts until the next time I turn it on.
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Is there a specific way of testing this you'd like me to try? Cause that doesn't happen to me with a simple turning off/on of the monitor, it stays on whatever HDR mode I left it at.
 
RedOnePunch

RedOnePunch

Member
Oct 26, 2017
2,628
I have an LG 27" 4K monitor and the fan drives me crazy sometimes. When I learned this thing has a fan I lost interest. I think I'll go with a 42" LG C2. I think the color fringing would also bother me a lot considering how close we sit to our monitors.
 
tokkun

tokkun

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,454
RedOnePunch said:
I have an LG 27" 4K monitor and the fan drives me crazy sometimes. When I learned this thing has a fan I lost interest. I think I'll go with a 42" LG C2. I think the color fringing would also bother me a lot considering how close we sit to our monitors.
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Unfortunately text clarity is not that great on WOLED either.

Also, unless you are willing to use a service remote to disable ASBL and potentially lose your warranty, you shouldn't try to use LG OLEDs for things things like word processing or coding.
 
Zafir

Zafir

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,209
tokkun said:
Also, unless you are willing to use a service remote to disable ASBL and potentially lose your warranty, you shouldn't try to use LG OLEDs for things things like word processing or coding.
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That's not entirely true. If you're in a reasonably dark environment you can set the brightness low enough that you don't really notice the brightness limiter kicking in.

Of course if you like your screen to be bright then it's not a great solution
 
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