New 4K OLEDs from Alienware and Asus

The gaming departments of Dell and Asus are showing very similar OLED monitors at CES. The Alienware AW2725Q and the Asus ROG Swift PG27UCDM are both based on the new QD OLED panel from Samsung. It has a diagonal of 27 inches and a UHD resolution (3840 × 2160 pixels). This results in a pixel density of 165 pixels per inch (ppi) - a first for OLED screens.

The models are suitable for you if you prefer a higher picture sharpness to the larger screen area of 32-inch 4K OLEDs. Otherwise, there are hardly any differences between the two monitor types. The frame rate of the 27-inch models is also 240 hertz, the response time is 0.03 milliseconds, the maximum full-screen brightness is 250 nits and 99 per cent of the DCI-P3 colour space is covered.

Alienware AW2725Q: new design language

If you are familiar with Alienware's previous monitors, you will notice the new design of the AW2725Q. It is not completely black, but "Interstellar Indigo" - or in German: dark blue. The manufacturer calls the new design language "AW30", a reference to Alienware's 30th anniversary. It is intended to combine sci-fi aesthetics with functionality.

The housing of the AW2725Q is made of plastic, the base plate has a small footprint and is nevertheless said to be stable. There is space for cables in the relatively thick stand. The outdated on-screen display user interface (OSD) for operating the monitor has also been revised.

The connections are standard fare: one DisplayPort 1.4, two HDMI 2.1 and three USB-A and one USB-C for accessories. Although the latter delivers 15 watts, it does not support DP Alt Mode. This means you cannot transfer the image signal via USB-C. One of the HDMI ports supports eARC and can therefore transmit Dolby Atmos to speakers. As a 27-inch monitor is rarely used for pure console setups, this seems somewhat superfluous.

To prevent burn-in, Alienware installs a graphite plate between the different layers of the panel, which dissipates the heat. "AI algorithms" are supposed to help recognise problematic elements and adjust the image locally. What exactly this means remains unclear. It is presumably something similar to the previous logo recognition, which darkens static menus and logos. Alienware also offers a three-year burn-in guarantee.

The recommended retail price of the AW2725Q is 899 US dollars. According to the press release, it will be available in Europe from April 2025.

Asus PG27UCDM: DisplayPort 2.1

The Asus PG27UCDM looks exactly like its bigger brother, the PG32UCDM (to the test). However, it differs in terms of connections: While the 32-incher only has DisplayPort 1.4 installed in addition to HDMI 2.1 and USB-C, the new 27-incher comes with DisplayPort 2.1 - in the most powerful version with a bandwidth of 80 Gbps ("UHBR20").

This allows the UHD resolution to be transmitted in 240 hertz without loss. However, you also need DisplayPort 2.1 with the highest standard on your graphics card. UHBR20 is only available with Nvidia's new RTX 50 series and presumably also with AMD's Radeon 9000 series. The Radeon RX 7900 XT and XTX also have DisplayPort 2.1, but only UHBR13.5 with 54 Mbps. However, the new connection is not absolutely necessary (see info box).

Does it need DisplayPort 2.1?

DisplayPort 2.1 supports higher data rates than version 1.4 - exactly how much depends on the standard: UHBR10 comes to 40 Gbps, UHBR13.5 to 54 Gbps and UHBR20 to 80 Gbps. Current AMD graphics cards support DisplayPort 2.1 with UHBR13.5. The high data rates are not absolutely necessary. This is because the image signal can be reduced in size using Display Stream Compression (DSC) - without any visible loss of quality, according to most experts. With DSC 3.0, the bandwidth of DisplayPort 1.4 is sufficient even for 4K at 240 hertz. Uncompressed, this signal would necessarily require UHBR20.

Just like Alienware, Asus also offers a three-year burn-in guarantee and various preventative measures. For example, pixel shift, global dimming during inactivity, local dimming of logos and an automatic cleaning cycle. Another new feature is a proximity sensor. It can be set to different distances and recognises whether you are sitting in front of the screen at all. If not, it switches the pixels off and goes black.

There is no information yet on the price and availability of the Asus PG27UCDM.

In addition to Alienware and Asus, other manufacturers have also introduced monitors with the same QD OLED panel, including MSI and Gigabyte. An overview of all new products will follow after CES 2025.