Alienware’s new 4K OLED is for gaming, but the text is the real story

Dell took the wraps off yet another glorious-looking QD-OLED gaming monitor at IFA Berlin today — a 32-inch 4K beast that seems to tick every box a gamer could ask for. Yes, please! But I’m more intrigued by the Alienware 32 4K OLED Gaming Monitor (AW3226Q) for what it can do when you’re knee-deep in work, not play.

That’s because the Alienware AW3226Q uses LG’s new RGB Stripe Tandem OLED technology for its pixels. (The same tech is inside Alienware’s new 39-inch “5K2K” OLED monster, too.)

OLED has offered superior contrast, speed, and vibrancy for gamers for years now, but earlier generations suffered from an irksome drawback: Static, fine-line objects like text can look “fringed” and grainy because of limitations of the subpixel layout. I covered this in-depth in my review of the Corsair Xeneon Flex (which used an LG OLED panel) in 2023.

“It is a significant advancement in OLED technology as the four-stack tandem emissive layer drives brightness higher, while RGB stripe subpixels preserve color volume for rich, beautiful saturation,” Dell’s press release explains. “Text renders cleanly with no fringing, and a polarizer layer maintains deep black levels even in bright environments.”

They ain’t lying. I saw RGB Stripe technology in action at LG’s CES booth in January (LG is a major panel supplier for other monitor makers) and the difference is immediately apparent. The text clarity means OLED is finally a superb option not just for gamers, but also workers who moonlight as gamers, like yours truly. Finally!

But don’t get it twisted: The Alienware AW3226Q has plenty of game, too.

The 32-inch, 4K display can hit a stunning 1,000 nits of brightness and is certified with VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 and Dolby Vision. That means this bad boy will have deliciously deep blacks and an infinite contrast ratio to go with that luminous HDR support. The panel is factory-calibrated for Delta E<2 color accuracy and covers 99% of the DCI-P3 color space. Dell’s selling that as a way to see crisp, detailed images even in the darkest shadows, which is true, but it also means this could be a pretty badass monitor for video creators, especially paired with the pixel-packed 4K resolution.

The Alienware AW3226Q’s 165Hz refresh rate and 0.03ms gray-to-gray response time should be plenty for all but the sweatiest of esports gamers, while Nvidia G-Sync Compatible, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, and general VESA AdaptiveSync certifications mean the image will be blissfully tear-free. The inclusion of HDMI 2.1 means it’ll work like a charm with gaming PCs and modern consoles alike.

Put it all together and the Alienware AW3226Q sure seems like a luxurious monitor for work and play alike, though we won’t know for sure until we’re able to get our grubby hands on a review unit. Look for it to arrive later this fall for $699 — an incredibly competitive price for an OLED monitor with these specs, and most of its rivals lack the RGB Stripe technology that promises to make text sparkle. Dell will offer a 3-year warranty against pixel burn-in as well.