Alienware AW2725D review: OLED gaming greatness at a budget price

At a glance

Expert's Rating

Pros

Compact but functional stand
Excellent SDR color gamut and contrast
Bright in HDR
Great motion clarity with AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync Compatible
Very attractive price

Cons

Design isn’t much to look at
No USB-C input with DisplayPort and Power Delivery

Our Verdict

The Alienware AW2725D is a great OLED monitor with an MSRP of just $550, with SDR and HDR image quality that often rivals more expensive alternatives.

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There’s no denying that a flood of OLED monitors hit the market in 2025, and Dell (which owns Alienware) is among the companies most responsible. It now has a total of five OLED monitors in its catalog of 14 current displays.

The Alienware AW2725D sits at the bottom of the OLED ladder. It’s a 27-inch QD-OLED monitor with 1440p resolution and a maximum refresh rate of 280Hz, and it retails at an MSRP of just $549.99. That makes it an easy choice if you want an OLED gaming monitor at a mid-range price.

Read on to learn more, then see our roundup of the best gaming monitors for comparison.

Alienware AW2725D specs and features

The Alienware AW2725D’s specifications are entry-level for a modern QD-OLED monitor, though that might surprise you if you don’t keep up with the latest displays. Though entry-level, the AW2725D still provides a respectable QD-OLED panel with 2560×1440 resolution and a speedy 280Hz refresh rate.

Display size: 27-inch 16:9 aspect ratio
Native resolution: 2560×1440
Panel type: OLED
Refresh rate: Up to 280Hz
Adaptive Sync: Yes, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, Nvidia G-Sync Compatible
HDR: Yes, VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black Certified
Ports: 2x HDMI 2.1, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x USB-B 5Gbps upstream, 1x USB-A 5Gbps downstream, 1x USB-C 5Gbps downstream with 15 watts charging
Audio: None
Price: $549.99 MSRP

It also supports Adaptive Sync, with official support for both AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync. HDR support, meanwhile, comes with VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black certification.

The price, though, is the real reason to buy the AW2725D. Its retail MSRP of just $549.99 is among the lowest for any QD-OLED monitor. It matches or beats Amazon Prime Day deals on competitors like the Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 and Gigabyte Aorus FO27Q2, which are older QD-OLED monitors with a 240Hz refresh rate.

Alienware AW2725D design

Alienware redesigned its entire monitor lineup for 2025, but not for the better. The retro-futuristic look the brand relied on for the past five years is gone, replaced by a curved, organic design. The plastics used don’t look or feel as premium as before and, strangely, all Alienware monitors come in one color: a dark navy-blue hue.

It’s not all bad news, though. The change in design comes with a new stand that’s more compact than the dramatic wing-like stands that shipped with many older Alienware monitors (and still ship with the Alienware AW3225QF which, despite the name, was released in early 2024). Alienware’s entire 2025 monitor line-up takes up little space on a desktop.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

The stand provides a decent range of ergonomic adjustment, too. It adjusts 40 degrees of swivel, 25 degrees for tilt, and 110mm in height. It can rotate 90 degrees into portrait orientation, too. This is typical for a 27-inch gaming monitor in this price bracket but still appreciated. A 100x100mm VESA mount is available for use with third-party stands, as well.

Alienware AW2725D connectivity

I’ve often raged against gaming monitors that fail to include important ports, like USB-C with DisplayPort and Power Delivery. But this year, Alienware called my bluff. They decided to skip USB-C video input and power across the Alienware range—and dropped their prices.

That means the Alienware AW2725D isn’t a great choice for use with a USB-C laptop or tablet. You’ll have to stick to HDMI 2.1 or DisplayPort for video input. The monitor does act as a USB hub with a couple downstream ports (one USB-A and one USB-C), but it only provides one USB-B upstream port. So, you can only connect one device to the monitor’s USB hub at a time.

Whether that works for you depends on your needs. It’s not a problem for most gaming desktops, of course, as USB-C is rarely used for video input. But if you were hoping to connect a thin-and-light laptop that’s easy to power over USB-C, perhaps because you use one alongside your gaming PC, you’ll likely want to look elsewhere.

On the other hand, this choice seems to help Alienware reach an extremely competitive price. The AW2725D’s $549.99 MSRP is in league with older QD-OLED monitors with 1440p resolution and a 240Hz refresh rate.

Alienware AW2725D menus and features

The Alienware AW2725D is also light on features. It has a joystick hidden under the center of the lower bezel that provides quick access to the monitor’s menu system. Alternatively, owners can use Alienware’s Command Center software to tweak monitor settings within Windows.

However, there’s not a lot to change. The monitor doesn’t have color temperature modes that target specific values. It does provide gamma adjustment, but only in a couple specific modes, such as Creator. The most significant color adjustments are limited to Custom Color mode. Limitations like this are common for gaming monitors. Still, content creators who know what they want may find the monitor a hassle to tune and calibrate.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

It does provide a few gaming features. You’ll find common features like an on-screen crosshair and timer, as well as a dark stabilizer that can elevate the brightness of dark scenes (to make foes easier to see). It also has Alienvision, which further tweaks the image to improve contrast and clarity at the expense of image quality.

The AW2725D doesn’t include speakers. Though a small disappointment, it’s to be expected given the price. Most gaming monitors don’t include speakers. Monitors that have good built-in audio, like the LG Ultragear 32GS95UE-B, are much more expensive.

Alienware AW2725D SDR image quality

The Alienware AW2725D is less expensive than most OLED monitors but has a Samsung QD-OLED panel that’s at least as good as the 27-inch 1440p panels that were in most flagship OLED gaming monitors sold a year or two ago. As a result, the monitor’s SDR image quality doesn’t at all reflect its inexpensive price.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

The AW2725D starts off with a win in brightness. It achieved a maximum sustained SDR brightness of 272 nits which, as the graph shows, is among the highest figures recorded from recent OLED monitors.

Brightness can still be an issue in bright rooms. While 272 nits is a lot for an OLED monitor in SDR, it can look dim when forced to compete with sunlit windows. The AW2725D also has a highly reflective display coat that amps up reflections.

Still, if you want to go OLED and SDR brightness is a concern, the AW2725D is better than most.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

There’s not much to say about contrast, though only because it’s precisely as excellent as expected. OLED monitors achieve an effectively infinite contrast ratio thanks to their ability to reach a minimum luminance of zero nits. That’s why OLED monitors look richer, deeper, and more immersive than LCD monitors with an LED backlight.

Once again, price works in the AW2725D’s favor. All OLED monitors are effectively identical in this respect. Spending twice as much on a high-end competitor won’t net you any improvement in contrast.