It features support for VESA DisplayHDR 600, as well as Nvidia's top-grade G-Sync Ultimate (to prevent screen tearing when used with compatible GPUs). The 1440p display is built on a Fast IPS panel with a native refresh rate of 240Hz. (Photo: Chris Stobing) Testing the Alienware AW2721D: Not the Fastest, But One of the Prettiest
Everything needs to be routed through two hooks found near the base of the monitor, and while that's a good lesson in cable management for people like me who almost never do it, I shouldn't have to in order to get everything plugged in. Getting the necessary cords into those ports is another matter, though. These include two HDMI 2.0 ports, a DisplayPort 1.4b input, an upstream USB port, two downstream USB 3.0 Type-A ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack for audio throughput via HDMI, and the connector for the AC power cable. Most of the ports are centered in the back of the monitor, facing down. Unfortunately, neither the OSD menu nor the Command Center offers a ton of customization beyond that, forgoing deeper color customization and calibration tools in favor of a long list of preset gaming profiles.
(Photo: Chris Stobing)Įach of the lights lining the monitor's casing is customizable, either from the snappy and responsive onscreen display (OSD) menu (it's controlled by a four-way joystick on the back), or via the Alienware Command Center software suite, if the display's connected to your PC via USB. The monitor also pivots 90 degrees between landscape and portrait mode if that's your thing, though we can't think of a reason to spend this much for a secondary monitor used for programming. The base lets the screen slide up and down by just over five inches, tilt forward and back (from -5 to 21 degrees), and swivel left and right (from -20 to 20 degrees). The monitor sits on a black and white stand that ends in a Y-shaped base.
With a 27-inch display running at 2,560 by 1,440 pixels, the AW2721D features a design straight out of the company's more recent playbook, mimicking said unidentified craft with an almost wholly white shell, save for a few bands of customizable LED arrays strewn around the monitor's underside, running the height of the stand, and behind the quintessential Alienware logo in the top right corner. For a minute, you might be forgiven for thinking those might just be a shipment of Alienware monitors falling out of a plane somewhere.
If you've been paying attention to the news over the past few years, you might have heard the Pentagon has been detecting all-white, perfectly smooth "Tic Tac-shaped" objects zipping around our skies. The Alienware 27 will be a luxury item for some, but that doesn't prevent it from easily earning an Editors' Choice award as one of the best gaming monitors on shelves (and hopefully on your desk) today.
Whether you are watching a movie or playing a multiplayer title in HDR, the display looks great inside and out, showing almost no compromises apart from its steepish price. Featuring a sturdy, highly ergonomic stand lined with on-brand LED light strips, the Alienware 27 is a marvel of design and construction quality while also pumping out beautiful onscreen action. Until now, the holder of that title in the 27-inch 1440p category had been the stellar $649 Razer Raptor 27, but this year the $769.99 Alienware 27 Gaming Monitor (AW2721D) seizes the crown. Once in a while, a gaming monitor comes along that truly does it all. Best Malware Removal and Protection Software.