Alienware AW2310 23.5in 3D TFT Review

Alienware AW2210 3D TFT Review

Manufacturer: Alienware
UK Price (as reviewed): £449.99 (inc VAT)
US Price (as reviewed): $449.99 (ex Tax)

When two powerhouses of PC gaming collaborate on a new technology, it’s usually time to stop scoffing and take it seriously. The news that Alienware had adopted Nvidia’s 3D Vision technology for its new gaming screen (and that 3D Vision is also part of the 3D Blu-ray spec) only added to our feeling that maybe 3D might actually take off.

The new OptX AW2310 is slightly larger than the Alienware Optx AW2210 we saw a few months ago, and is billed as being the best 3D (120Hz) screen yet. That’s a little like saying Lotus is the best of the new F1 teams, but we were intrigued nonetheless.

The AW2310 is almost identical to its smaller cousin, apart from its slightly larger panel – there isn’t even a 3D Vision sticker to mark the difference. Both screens have a 16:9 panel, with a native resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, and both have four USB 2 ports.


The consistency in the design means that the AW2310 has the same excellent stand; it offers 90mm of height adjustment and you can easily tug the screen into place. The same touch-sensitive OSD buttons are present too, although you can turn off the button-beep on the AW2310.

The OSD is easy to navigate, although the default setup was fine. Alienware has wisely avoided using the preset modes, which generally spoil the colour and contrast balance. However, we increased the brightness from 50 to 80 to give purer whites (while not spoiling the black level), and bumped up the contrast from 50 to 55 to give us slightly better definition between bright tints. However, reds weren’t particularly well handled at the bright end of the scale.


Despite a quoted contrast range of 80,000:1 (the static contrast range isn’t given), the dynamic range wasn’t as generous as with other screens – very dark greys were shown as black, and very light greys as white. However, the strong, pure white we achieved from our OSD tweaking should compensate for the poor contrast range towards the bright end of the chrominance scale, even if we could do nothing about the slightly speckled coating of this screen. Viewing angles are also very poor, with noticeable (if not terrible) colour distortion vertically across the screen. All these issues are typical of the TN technology of the panel.

Specifications

• Display Type TN TFT
  
• Dimensions (mm) 545 x 200 x 375-465 (W x D x H)
  
• Colour Black
  
• Connections Dual-link DVI (with HDCP), HDMI, 4 x USB
  
• Viewable Screen Size 23.5in
  
• Maximum Resolution 1,920 x 1,080
  
• Contrast ratio 80,000:1 (dynamic), static not quoted
  
• Brightness 400cd/m2
  
• Response time 3ms (grey-to-grey)
  
• Warranty Two-year return to base