The AW3926QW has an RGB stripe tandem OLED panel produced by LG. At the moment, it’s one of just two ultrawide monitors to offer the panel, which is also available from LG’s UltraGear Evo GX9. I recently tested the 27-inch Asus PG27UCWM, another RGB Strip OLED that I was impressed by, but it’s a standard 16:9 aspect ratio rather than ultrawide. RGB Stripe OLED panels use a different sub-pixel array to produce better color performance at high brightness and sharper text.
The AW3926QW is bright for an OLED monitor. It quotes a maximum SDR brightness of 300 nits, which my testing confirmed. HDR, meanwhile, is quoted at a peak brightness of 1,300 nits. I didn’t manage to hit that, but I did record a peak brightness up to 1,011 nits, which is at the upper end of what the best OLED monitors can deliver.
Color performance is excellent. The color gamut spans 99 percent of DCI-P3 and 93 percent of AdobeRGB. These are excellent figures and comparable to the best OLED monitors on the market. Color accuracy was high. The monitor’s color performance isn’t just excellent for games; many creative professionals will also find it sufficient for work.
Meanwhile, the AW3926QW’s price of roughly $1,100 isn’t inexpensive, but it’s a lot less than the LG Ultragear Evo GX9, which debuted at an MSRP near $1,800 and currently retails around $1,600. So, what’s the catch?
Photograph: Matthew S. Smith
It’s not connectivity. The AW3926QW has two HDMI 2.1 inputs, one DisplayPort 2.1 UHBR20 input, and one USB-C input that also supports DisplayPort 2.1 and provides 90 watts of power delivery. All of the video inputs can handle the monitor’s maximum resolution and refresh rate.
The monitor has a lot of downstream connectivity, too. It includes three downstream USB-A ports with a 5-Gbps data rate. You’ll also find a single downstream USB-C port with the same data rate and support for up to 15 watts of power delivery. A 3.5-mm audio jack rounds out the connectivity options.
Some Cost Cutting
The Alienware’s lower price is more evident in the monitor’s look and build quality.
As I’ve put on record across multiple reviews, I’m not a fan of Alienware’s current design language. I think it’s too basic and demure for the Alienware brand. Aside from the AW3926QW’s curved design, which is noticeable even at a glance, nothing about the monitor stands out. Even the curve is not that remarkable, as most ultrawide monitors are curved.