If you’re looking for the ultimate 4K gaming monitor on a budget right now, this Alienware gaming monitor deal is for you. It can deliver ultra-sharp 4K image quality at a very smooth 180Hz but then also switch to delivering a blazing-fast 360Hz refresh rate at 1080p, which is ideal for competitive gaming.
So good is this Alienware display that it is already our top choice of 27-inch 4K gaming monitor on our best gaming monitor guide. Even better, though, is that we already thought it was excellent value and a superb choice at the $550 price it sat at when we wrote our Alienware AW2725QF review, but with today’s discount that price has dropped all the way to $480.
The reasons to consider this display are manifold, with it being a jack of all trades and a master of quite a few, too. For a start, not only can it deliver 4K visuals at a near ludicrous 180Hz – a combination only the best graphics cards can even handle in most games – but it does so at an incredibly sharp pixel density of 163ppi, thanks to all those 3,840 x 2,160 pixels being packed into a 27-inch screen.
This density makes games and videos look incredibly detailed and also lends itself well to work, with text looking super smooth and apps such as Adobe Premiere Pro taking full advantage of all those extra pixels to show you high resolution video previews while you edit, for instance.
Then, when you want to play more competitively, at the tap of a button this display can flip to its 1080p mode running at 360Hz. You lose that 4K sharpness – in fact, this display in its 1080p mode is slightly less sharp than a native 1080p monitor – but it’s still ample for the likes of Counter-Strike 2 and Valorant.
All this would be great on its own, but the overall image quality from this panel is superb too. Its IPS LCD panel delivers 95% of the DCI-P3 color space to ensure that the extra vivid colors of HDR are delivered with aplomb, adding dazzle to whatever it is you’re watching. You also get the great viewing angles that are typical of IPS LCD displays – you can read more about what IPS means in our IPS vs TN vs VA guide – and you even get a contrast level that’s higher than typical for this panel type. Generally they sit at around 1,000:1 but this panel delivers over 1,200:1, adding just that little extra bit of depth to what you’re watching.
This display is never going to compete with an OLED gaming monitor for contrast but with a maximum brightness of well over 500cd/m2 it still provides plenty of HDR punch. For an example of what we mean about contrast, check out our LG 32GS95UE review, as this OLED display boasts the same 4k/1080p switching tech as this display but on an even bigger 32-inch panel.
One further area where this display can’t compete with an OLED is in response time. Although you’re getting a blazing-fast 360Hz mode, in our tests it only delivered an average response time of 4.1ms, which is a bit slow for such a fast refresh rate, resulting in some image ghosting. But, it’s reasonable to expect a bit of compromise when you’re getting this much tech at this low a price.
All told, we can’t recommend this deal highly enough. If you’re on a relatively tight budget but want a really versatile gaming monitor, it’s a great buy with its current 17% discount.
For buyers in the US, just head on over to Amazon via this link to grab this bargain. Meanwhile, a similar 15% discount is also available for our UK readers via this link.
For more choices of 4K gaming display, check out our best 4K gaming monitor guide. You can also follow us on Google News for daily PC hardware news, reviews, and guides, or join our community Discord to stay in the know.