Alienware AW3420DW or LG 34GK950F?

LValouSydney on 20/04/2020 - 16:09
Last edited 20/04/2020 - 16:26 by 1 other user

Hi,

I'm undecided between those 2 monitors.
According to rtings, the LG is much better than the alienware on everything except customer service.

The LG has 144hz which makes it more future proof, has better colours, fake hdr, 10bits panel vs 8bits…and now is gsync compatible!

So even though the design is not as good, I'm leaning toward the LG.

However it seems impossible to get at the moment :)

Am I right to prefer this monitor or is the customer service that bad that I should look for Dell instead?
Ive never had any problem with TV or monitor so never really used any customer service in the past.
My current monitor is a hp w2408h TN panel so quite a change haha

Questions would be were to buy the LG?
Are you still advising the Dell even though it doesn't seem as good as the LG?

Thanks!

Computing 34inch Alienware Computer Peripheral FreeSync LCD Monitor LG

Comments

  • chew_chew on 20/04/2020 - 16:21
    +1

    Centre com has it for $1599 delivered, ETA 2nd May

    https://www.centrecom.com.au/lg-34gk950f-b-34-inch-219-ultra…

    I have had the aw3420dw for a few months now, not sure how it compares with the LG, but gotta say I love the design :)

  • trankillity on 20/04/2020 - 16:36
    +1

    I just recently got the Acer Predator X34P (120hz). It's great, but I would have gone the LG if I had the extra cash for all the reasons you outlined and more. I would have loved it for the faux HDR as that really brings a lot to an image. Keep in mind that "G-sync compatible" doesn't really mean anything, it's just officially tested by Nvidia to work with Freesync on their cards. You'll still be using Freesync instead of G-sync. But with Freesync 2 on that monitor, you really won't notice any difference.

    At this point, I don't think the AW is worth the money. It's not as good overall, just has actual G-sync. It also weighs a fair bit more, which is definitely a consideration when it comes to ultrawide monitors. I went through two different sets of arms before I found one that could support my Predator X34P.

  • ValouSydney on 20/04/2020 - 16:41

    Thanks for the feedback, what do you think is a decent graphic card to run a few games on such monitor?
    I guess a gtx 1660ti may be a little just?
    I really don't need to reach 144hz.

    • trankillity on 21/04/2020 - 09:13

      1660TI is definitely on the lower side. You would be very hard pressed to even reach 50FPS in most modern games at full resolution with that. And being a pre-RTX card, you can't even take advantage of DLSS in games that support it :(

      That being said, getting a 20xx series card right now is silly, considering the 30xx line is right around the corner and will likely have much better RT & AI/ML cores.

      So you could pretty easily struggle along at 2560x1080 for now, then bump up to 3440x1440 when you upgrade your card.

      • ValouSydney on 21/04/2020 - 09:53

        Haha thanks for the reply, you wouldn't guess what I have at the moment! A gtx 570.
        It has been serving me good for about 10 years now as well as my config i7 2600k, ssd crucial m4…
        I have a 2019 macbook pro for work and don't feel the need to upgrade - my desktop is still more powerful I feel.
        But yeah with those xtra pixels I would need something better, at least the graphic card.

        I wouldn't mind getting the Dell monitor but it's at 2900$ at the moment so that really makes no sense but if it was around $900-$1000 I couldn't explain the diff in price for the LG

        • trankillity on 21/04/2020 - 09:55

          Yikes, well definitely budget to upgrade to a 30xx card later in the year. If that even means getting a lesser ultrawide, or not even getting an ultrawide for now, you'll be much happier. I went from a 970 to a 2070 and thought that was a big enough leap, but yours will be ridiculous!

      • Pelicannn on 29/06/2020 - 22:30

        TBH a 20XX series isn't that stupid. Suppliers generally only hold GPU stocks for what they know will sell, just like with the 10XX series, there weren't many insane sales once the new series was released. Sure the 30XX series will be faster, but considering the 1080Ti is still in the top handful of fastest GPU's there isn't anything wrong with a 20XX series.

        Also can confirm. I run a 1440P monitor, with a watercooled 2080Ti and I get 120-140FPS on ultra in PUBG. with a 1660Ti, 120Hz is more than enough as you won't hit those frames unless the game is very well optimised or not AAA spec.

        • trankillity on 30/06/2020 - 07:03
          +2

          It's less about the power, more about the features. If the rumours are true, the amount of extra ML cores/RT cores on the 30xx series, as well as the potential existence of the co-processor will mean that the leap in functionality over the 20xx series will be as big as the leap was from the 10xx series.

          • Pelicannn on 01/07/2020 - 00:57

            @trankillity: Fair points, I guess OP never specified what games exactly he wants to play.

    • Kingduytan on 15/05/2020 - 12:15

      A month late reply, but wth… I have an RTX 2080 with X34P and they are the perfect couple. If you can get a really good price for 2070 Super or used 2080 then go for it. But judging by the tech price recently and the RTX 3000 series will be announced any day now, probably worth it to wait a couple of month.

  • beeze on 21/04/2020 - 08:14

    I have the LG, it's not perfect. The light bleed on the left bottom is quite noticeable, less so now I have it raised on a stand. No problems with synch once you understand the best settings (gsync and vsync enabled in nvidea control panel, no sync turned on in game).

    The gamma profile all the pro sites recommended left dark scenes with the blacks crushed, I played a lot before deciding on what suited me. The HDR support is only for some modes, I have not used it yet.

    I use a 34UC99W at work which is a great panel for non graphic work use. I can't compare to the other models other than having seriously considered the Acer or AW at what was the $1k price point before the aud went down.

    I pair mine with 2080, I would strongly recommend something stronger, 2070s or 5700xt to push all those pixels if you want mostly Ultra, newer AAA I'm more likely to see 80fps.

  • Zazer on 26/04/2020 - 23:50

    You end up going for it?

    • ValouSydney on 27/04/2020 - 06:38

      Im going to but I haven't pulled the trigger yet as I was triple checking the warranty and return policy on this website centrecom.
      Seems like quite a few people complains about light bleeding… Which may just be a normal thing for IPs panel or some lack of QC makes it worse?!

      • Zazer on 27/04/2020 - 13:51

        Mine’s been fine. Got it from Scorptec as I always prefer being able to go instore if there’s an issue.

        • ValouSydney on 27/04/2020 - 15:29

          They don't seem to have it in stock though :/

        • ValouSydney on 27/04/2020 - 20:27

          How is the backlight bleeding on yours?
          Are you very happy with your monitor?

          • Zazer on 27/04/2020 - 23:46
            +1

            @ValouSydney: It's honestly not even noticeable. I game and play with dark scenes fairly often and have never had an issue with it. I just used a backlight checker for the first time (been using it with no problems for the past few months now) and it turns out there's a bit of bleed on the bottom left, and almost imperceptible bleed on the top right and left corners. But I've personally never noticed this before - the monitor's big enough that it would never be an issue anyway, my attention's never focused on the corners. I love it, both for gaming and productivity. Either way it's a massive step up from my previous setup of dual generic 1080p Lenovo TN monitors. It's fantastic.

  • ValouSydney on 14/05/2020 - 07:25

    Alright I finally pulled the trigger. The monitor is fantastic!! I'm very happy so far.

    I checked it for issue but couldn't notice any bleeding or ips glow so far even while watching a dark video.
    The dark is better than I would expect.

    Now my only drawback is I'm wondering if it's not too small haha especially in height.
    It's about the same height as my old 24" monitor.
    But the extra space is amazing!
    The 38" version is almost twice the price so I don't think I will keep it.

    • Kingduytan on 15/05/2020 - 12:21

      Well… if you can read text comfortably at 100% scale then the height is plenty enough. 34" ultrawide actually has the same height as 27", and you have that ideal 1440px in height so it's as much vertical space as you can get, unless you go 2160p which is over the top…

      http://www.displaywars.com/34-inch-21x9-vs-27-inch-16x9

      • ValouSydney on 15/05/2020 - 13:41

        Yeah, it's an improvement compared to my previous monitor but at work I have 2x 4k 27" monitors and I can tell it's not as sharp.
        But at least it won't be too hard to run game on it.

        • Kingduytan on 15/05/2020 - 13:56

          Ah I feel you. I have a 4K laptop for work so I do miss the sharpness when switching back and forth. Let's hope in 1 or 2 years time we will have GPU capable of doing ultrawide 2160p just like how the current RTX series handle Ultrawide 1440p.

    • foo7 on 25/05/2020 - 14:38

      Hey Valou, which one did you end up getting?

      • ValouSydney on 25/05/2020 - 15:18

        The LG 34gk950f, let me know if you have any questions.

        • foo7 on 26/05/2020 - 16:03

          Thanks mate! Would you recommend for gaming? Still happy with purchase?

          • trankillity on 27/05/2020 - 08:44
            +1

            @foo7: If you can afford it, this one is the new defacto standard.

            IPS panel: ✅
            144/160hz: ✅
            1ms OC G2G response: ✅
            Latest G-sync/Freesync: ✅
            HDR10/DisplayHDR 400: ✅

            I bought an Acer Predator X34P around 1.5 months ago. Kicking myself I didn't wait a few months and get this instead.

          • ValouSydney on 10/06/2020 - 19:20

            @foo7: Yeah it's a very good monitor and I don't have any bleeding so I'm happy. However I'm wondering if this isn't too small for me now.
            If you're in Sydney I could maybe make you a good price so I can upgrade to an even bigger one :)

            • CrayRay on 29/06/2020 - 09:43

              @ValouSydney: I am in Sydney hunting for a new monitor, wanna have a chat? ;)

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