R 18%, G 18%, B 23%. But being able to change the power LED colour to suit your mood is a nice little touch. The article also covers a technique called pursuit photography, using a moving rather than stationary camera to capture motion in a way that reflects both elements of perceived blur. Rather than simply reflecting the pixel response elements. We benchmark 25" Dell Alienware AW2521HF gaming monitor performance in terms of response time, total input lag and display brightness and contrast. It has exceptional motion handling and low input lag, whether you play at its maximum 240Hz refresh rate or 60Hz. The ports are concealed beneath a removable plastic cover, facing downwards and include; AC power input (internal power converter), 2 USB 3.0 ports (plus upstream), 2 HDMI 2.0 ports, DP 1.2a and a 3.5mm audio line-out. The AlienFX lighting system allowed some degree of customisation and some elements are visible from the front, but it was our wall who got the most enjoyment out of the light show. ; Response time also determines how well a monitor can handle motion the lower the response time, the better. The screen surface was a touch on the grainy side when viewing lighter content, although this wasnt a strong layered graininess or excessively sandy appearance thankfully. So things didnt have a banded or blocky appearance as youd see if gamma was far too low. Most users will probably wish to enable VSync when using FreeSync to ensure that they dont get any tearing. It also imparted an obvious green tint, with a relatively strong green channel. Author: Adam Simmons The third and fourth blocks were slightly fainter than they should be, although still distinguishable. fps got much better BUT .1% and 1% lows are so much better than any CPU on market while being clocked slower than 5800x 200-400mhz that it makes no sense to normal consumer why the hell is it so good when it is simply extra L3$ reducing amount of times CPU has to access latency included slow RAM which causes that stuttering or hitching The red block appeared a fairly rich red throughout. The front-face of this is matte black plastic, with a satin-finish Dark Side of the Moon (dark grey) plastic upper surface that continues at the rear of the stand. Medium orange (3), Persian pink (6) and looked slightly undersaturated in person, but they appear much less saturated and overly bright in the image compared to how they actually looked on the monitor. This worked exactly as its designed to, removing tearing and stuttering by ensuring the refresh rate stuck to a multiple of the frame rate. We refer to these as interlace pattern artifacts but some users refer to them as inversion artifacts and others as scan lines. No additional monitor drivers or ICC profiles were specifically loaded for the review. The Alienware AW2521HF is a FreeSync gaming monitor, but its also compatible with Nvidias G-Sync. The default is Off, unless application specifies which means that VSync will only be active if you enable it within the game itself, if there is such an option. Experience a fuller view with more space to take in all the action. Note that if the monitor is running at a refresh rate from the first list, including 60Hz, steps must be taken to correct the colour signal on Nvidia GPUs. 1ms response. The screenshot below is for a different model, but the settings and layout of the page are the same. This indicates that the monitor has been specifically tested by Nvidia and passes specific quality checks. The main feature from the front, as usual, is the screen face. And the lack of tearing and stuttering was very nice indeed, if youre sensitive to such things. Not to the extent seen on models with a more generous colour gamut, but enough to stand out and have the intended look overall. This title has a lot of high contrast scenes, with very dingy backgrounds and pulses of energy, explosions and lightsabers offering some illumination here and there. The cable bundle includes two DisplayPorts, one with a mini connector, and a USB 3.0 wire. If a game ran at 34fps, for example, the refresh rate would be 68Hz to help keep tearing and stuttering at bay. When you open up Nvidia Control Panel, you should then see Set up G-SYNC listed in the Display section. Fast flat panels used to rely on TN technology for their speed, but that is no more. This more pronounced powdery trailing was still less pronounced than some of the weaknesses weve observed observe for similar transitions on many 240Hz TN models, including the predecessor to this model (AW2518H/HF), ViewSonic XG2530 and AOC AG251FG. Theres no strobe backlight mode on this model, but they come with their own compromises that not everyone is willing to make. Colour reproduction Video review So things didnt have a banded or blocky appearance as youd see if gamma was far too low. There was slight extra yellowing at the bottom of the screen but nothing extreme. Some users prefer to leave VSync enabled but use a frame rate limiter set a few frames below the maximum supported (e.g. The Super Fast setting just slightly reduces this, replacing it with a very small amount of overshoot. It automatically sets the brightness to 100% to compensate for the loss in light output. Overall it put in a respectable performance for the panel type and will keep a broad spectrum of gamers happy, from casual to competitive. We left the variable backlight on Mode 0, which upped contrast slightly. The AW2521H is not an HDR or wide gamut monitor, instead hitting about 450 nits of maximum brightness and covering 92.8% of the sRGB color space. We stuck with the Fast setting for the subjective testing below. In the image above you can see that the monitor is validated as G-SYNC Compatible (or you could, if Nvidia Control Panel displayed the entire text instead of cutting it off). The monitor doesnt weigh a lot, but its almost as hefty as some 27-inch models weve handled in the past. The very low signal delay of this model also aided the connected feel, but the very high frame and refresh rate combination also helped. Overall, response is on another level, and motion clarity is superior to any 240 Hz screen weve encountered. Gamboge (23) verged too much on a mustard yellow without a suitably warm golden hue, too. The stand has a penguin-foot design with flattened feet and a wide neck piece. ), but you do get alot of artifacts from the increased overdrive. [CDATA[ FreeSync: Yes; G Sync: No; . And that was its excellent gamma consistency. It soon disappeared when using monitor normally. There are a few black printed elements as well 25 (identifying the screen size, with a bit of rounding) towards the right side and a broad Alienware logo at the left of the stand neck. . Lagom contrast tests Our RX 580 is far from a powerhouse of a graphics card, so maintaining 240fps was very tricky. The monitor itself must support VESA Adaptive-Sync for at least one of its display connectors, as this is the protocol that FreeSync uses. So when it was revealed that the brand was releasing the Alienware AW2521HF, a 240Hz, 24.5-inch, 1ms, IPS panel monitor for sub $500, people got excited and rightfully so. My god, some people are dumb if you have to ask who this is for, it's not for you. If someone has the exact setttings pls share them with me. The base takes up a lot of space, but it provides superb flexibility to the monitor. Brighter elements stood out well against darker surroundings, complete with a bit of graininess from the screen surface but nothing extreme. However; that also comes with a bit of overshoot, whereas the AW2521HF is entirely free from any noticeable overshoot at 240Hz and very high refresh rates. Vibrant elements such as roaring flames and brightly painted objects looked quite rich and far from washed out, but not as eye-catching as theyd appear with a significantly increased gamut. At 240Hz, above, the UFOs again appear more sharply focused again with clearer internal detailing. The refresh rate was put to very good use overall; fairly strong pixel responsiveness, low input lag and no noticeable overshoot. The monitor didnt put form over function, either, and was solidly built with good ergonomic flexibility and VESA mounting options. Interlace pattern artifacts One of the most important concepts raised in that article is perceived blur, contributed to by the movement of your eyes as you track motion on the screen as well as pixel responsiveness. ASUS TUF Gaming VG28UQL1A; LG UltraGear 27GN850; Alienware AW2521HF; Samsung Odyssey G7 Series 27" BenQ Zowie XL2411K; Best HDMI 2.1 Monitor For Warzone - ASUS TUF Gaming . Note that individual units and preferences vary, so these settings are simply a suggestion and wont necessarily be optimal in all cases. The AW2521H uses one of these, along with a white LED edge-array backlight. Video Settings, VALORANT . Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Not only is the AW2521H well-made, it has a glowing Alienware logo on the back and a long LED bar on the stand that mimics the shape seen on Alienwares gaming PCs. Ensure the Enable G-SYNC, G-SYNC Compatible checkbox and Enable settings for the selected display model is checked as shown below. Typical gaming monitors usually have a response time of 1 to 6 ms. We also observed various episodes of the animated TV series Futurama. Contrast The Alienware AW2521HF sports a 25-inch IPS panel with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, 240Hz refresh rate, and 1ms response time. And slight gamma corrections, assuming the unit behaves like our sample in that respect. The SpyderX Elite was also used to analyse variation in the colour temperature (white point) for the same 9 quadrants. Black levels arent all that deep, so shadow areas looked more like dark gray. Full HD Monitor IPS *FOR PARTS* at the best online prices at eBay! Medium chocolate brown (24) is also good for highlighting colour consistency, which like Aquamarine is positioned at the extremities of the screen. The colour temperature uniformity was good. Youd therefore select either the third or fourth option in the list, shown in the image below. Finally, note again that you can go to Game Enhance Mode in the Game section of the OSD to activate the Frame Rate feature. The Extreme setting increases the overshoot so its more noticeable, particularly for the medium background (middle row). We observed some faint vertical dynamic interlace patterns at ~60Hz and below, but these were not particularly obtrusive in our view. In this case, overshoot (inverse ghosting) including some colourful bright halo trailing due to aggressive pixel overdrive. This indicates that the monitor has been specifically tested by Nvidia and passes specific quality checks. We created our own LBL setting by making manual adjustments to the Game 1 profile. The IPS-type panel of the Dell Alienware certainly provided a key contrast advantage over VA and TN models, though. The contrast gradients were displayed well, with distinct brightness steps in most cases. So better than some IPS-type models, weaker than others but very much as specified. and how to change the display settings. This worked exactly as its designed to, removing tearing and stuttering by ensuring the refresh rate stuck to a multiple of the frame rate. The bezel is visible when the powers on, but is only 7mm wide at the top and sides. There was also a moderate amount of IPS glow, particularly towards the bottom corners of the screen. Given the intended uses for monitor, inter-unit variation and decent performance following OSD tweaking alone we will not be using any ICC profiles for this review or including any measurements or graphs using them. Just thought to share this build to everyone. Home; Professional Development; About Us; Contact us Some users prefer to leave VSync enabled but use a frame rate limiter set a few frames below the maximum supported (e.g. All together that's a $980 discount, bringing the price of this top . Features & Aesthetics Its possible newer Nvidia GPUs, including their RTX series, support this expanded range or it may have just been misreported on the website. Color was rich and saturated with natural hues, but shadows were still more gray than black. Some users prefer to leave VSync enabled but use a frame rate limiter set a few frames below the maximum supported (e.g. These were briefly explored in the OSD video, but for the purposes of this table well be looking at manual adjustments and settings we feel have more utility. Both our responsiveness article and the G-SYNC article linked to explore the importance of these two elements being synchronised. With VRR off the Super Fast and moreover Extreme settings show strong overshoot in the form of bright halo trailing. The screen is displaying reference photographs of this printed sheet, in both the same order as printed (right side) and reverse order (left side). Alienware Tenkeyless Gaming Keyboard - AW420K. FreeSync the experience The perceived blur was therefore dominated by eye movement and the monitor put its 240Hz refresh rate to good use. Conserve your battery life with up to 140 hours of gaming with the 2.4GHz wireless dongle connection. 360 Hz is seriously fast, and even just moving dialog boxes around the desktop looked almost other-worldly. IPS glow also came with the territory. Brightness= 38% (according to preferences and lighting). Its something that will be more pronounced if youre sitting closer to the screen, are using a high brightness setting or have strong backlight bleed or clouding which can bring it out more noticeably. Use the code 'SAVE350' to get $350 more off. The Fast setting only showed a relatively small amount of this, whilst the Super Fast and Extreme settings ramped this up. The screen surface imparted a bit of graininess to lighter content, so it wasnt as smooth as it couldve been. However; the Gain controls required different adjustments. Some models are specifically validated as G-SYNC compatible, which means they have been specifically tested by Nvidia and pass specific quality checks. It indicates a very low signal delay at 240Hz which even sensitive users shouldnt find bothersome. As such shades appear much as the developers intend, with a bit of extra saturation in places and a bit of extra vibrancy for some shades. The display itself sports a nearly-frameless bezel apart from the bottom, with a text-only Alienware logo in the middle. So better than some IPS-type models, weaker than others but very much as specified. With the Fast setting, theres just a faint hint of powdery trailing, sticking very close to the UFO and very light in appearance. Most pixel transitions were performed fast enough for a solid 240Hz experience, with either no additional trailing or just a little light powdery trailing in places. Laras skin also appeared much as it should, without the overly tanned appearance that a wider gamut would provide. There are a few black printed elements as well 25 (identifying the screen size, with a bit of rounding) towards the right side and a broad Alienware logo at the left of the stand neck. Some shades appear a touch oversaturated due primarily to the slight extension in the gamut, the most noticeable being dark lime green (18) which appeared a touch more neon. For those who play a variety of games, some competitive and some casual, having a screen that offers a 240Hz refresh rate and good colour quality can be very attractive. Uh yeah. Gamma consistency was good, ensuring detail levels were largely appropriate (IPS glow affected regions aside) throughout the screen. This is an alternative to VSync which allows the frame rate to rise above the refresh rate (no VSync latency penalty) whilst potentially keeping the experience free from tearing or juddering. Our suggestions regarding use of VSync also apply, but youre using Nvidia Control Panel rather than AMD Radeon Software to control this. FreeSync requires a compatible AMD GPU such as the Radeon RX 580 used in our test system. The Alienware AW2521H is available for $729 from Amazon, Best Buy, and direct from Dell's online store. The pastel shades of this movie were suitably varied and muted, whilst vibrant shades such as neon reds and greens appeared fairly eye-catching. The image below shows a printed reference sheet of 24 sRGB shades, included as part of the Datacolor SpyderCHECKR 24 package. But there wasnt a strong coarse graininess nor a strong smeary appearance, either. This was by no means extreme and not everyone will notice it many Adaptive-Sync models have much stronger overshoot than this following such refresh rate drops, in fact. Around 1000:1 even following adjustments to our Test Settings. You should then ensure that the first slider, Radeon FreeSync is set to Enabled as shown below. AMD FreeSync is a variable refresh rate technology, an AMD-specific alternative to Nvidia G-SYNC. Gamma consistency was good, ensuring detail levels were largely appropriate (IPS glow affected regions aside) throughout the screen. A futuristic sci-fi prop look which some will find quite endearing. That means shades just above the darkest black will appear too dark, obscuring fine details in shadows not ideal for competitive gaming, which could mean missing a stealthy opponent. The IPS-type panel of the Dell Alienware certainly provided a key contrast advantage over VA and TN models, though. The Lagom text appeared a blended grey throughout, with a slight red hue to the striping of the text. There were slight weaknesses for some transitions, though these were fairly minor and arent something everyone would find bothersome. Lagoms viewing angle tests help explore the idea of colour consistency and viewing angle performance. Where possible, the monitor dynamically adjusts its refresh rate so that it matches the frame rate being outputted by the GPU. Including both components, the bezels are ~6mm (0.24 inches) at the top and sides. But they were still closer to the vibrant vs. washed out end of the spectrum in our view. This reflects a moderate amount of perceived blur due to eye movement and is something shared with the reference screen. On some monitors, particularly but not exclusively those with high refresh rates, interlace patterns can be seen during certain transitions. Some users prefer to leave VSync enabled but use a frame rate limiter set a few frames below the maximum supported (e.g. FreeSync requires a compatible AMD GPU such as the Radeon RX 580 used in our test system. The screenshot below is for a different model, but the settings and layout of the page are the same. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. We refer to these as interlace pattern artifacts but some users refer to them as inversion artifacts and others as scan lines. Our article on responsiveness analyses the key factors affecting monitor responsiveness. Above this dropdown list theres a toggle for Radeon Enhanced Sync. We prefer stronger RGB LEDs at the rear, producing a strong glow around the monitor that can help enhance perceived contrast. Although not nearly as pronounced or obvious as stepping up from 60Hz to 144Hz (or even 120Hz). FreeSync the experience This resulted in a more noticeable powdery trailing with a greater effect on perceived blur. We didnt readily observe either artifact type at high or relatively high refresh rates (100Hz+). Main: Roasted chicken with roasted potatoes and green beans. This was by no means extreme and not everyone will notice it many Adaptive-Sync models have much stronger overshoot than this following such refresh rate drops, in fact. The 240Hz refresh rate also allows even division of 24fps, 30fps and 60fps which reduces juddering for such content the lack of overshoot at 240Hz worked nicely as well. Brightness 120cd/m 2 - 25. IPS glow eats away at detail, particularly near bottom corners. The top and side bezels are slender with a dual-stage design, including a panel border thats flush with the rest of the screen and a slim hard plastic outer component. Donations are also greatly appreciated. As usual we tested a broad range of game titles using FreeSync and found the experience similar across the board. The Dell Alienware AW2521HF (now designated AW2521HFA in UK and EU) aims to find a nice balance between speed and image quality, combining a 240Hz refresh rate with the superior colour quality of an IPS-type panel. The luminance of each quadrant was measured and compared to the brightest measured quadrant. This model uses a regular (medium) matte anti-glare surface. A very slight shadowy trail behind the UFO, but overall rather similar to the Fast setting in appearance. Its again important to note that individual unit vary when it comes to uniformity and that deviation beyond the measured points can be expected. The monitor didnt provide excellent depth and atmosphere here due to the static contrast and IPS glow limiting things in that respect. Even on this title where there are lots of high contrast transitions, with bright objects against much darker backgrounds, there was nothing that really caught the eye as a clear weakness. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Some models are specifically validated as G-SYNC compatible, which means they have been specifically tested by Nvidia and pass specific quality checks.