Alienware AW2310 23.5in 3D TFT Review

Testing and Image Quality

It was odd that the screen didn’t cope well with the response time tests – we saw evidence of lag and inverse ghosting in the Lagom tests – as this is usually a strength of TN technology. The screen showed a tiny amount of input lag too – 16ms more than the practically lag-free Dell 3008WFP-HC.

In our HD Serenity trailer, we saw what we expected – a decent picture, even if the dim areas of a scene were slightly flat and muddy, with stronger bright areas. Explosions and shafts of light looked pretty good, although a decent PVA or IPS panel would offer an even more stimulating picture.


Watching a 1080p Shrek 4 trailer revealed another flaw with the TN nature of the screen though – 6-bit dithering. We saw artifacting and colour banding due to the inability of the screen to display all the colours in the source material.

Crysis revealed much the same issues, with bright colours looking fine, although darker colours looked duller than we’d have liked. We didn’t notice any input lag, though, and the worrisome response time test results of the Lagom tests didn’t prove distracting in practice. This is probably due to the 120Hz refresh rate offsetting the poor response time.


Finally, we hooked up the screen to a GeForce GTX 280 to test its 3D abilities. The screen worked fine, but we were reminded of what a poor experience 3D Vision can be. In Race Driver: GRID, for example, we constantly missed our turn-in points and apexes, and didn’t have the confidence to muscle past a car on a straight stretch of road. As a result, we finished last in every race we drove.

With 3D Vision disabled, we were jockeying for first place, and able to sling ourselves round corners with much more precision and grace. What’s more, after our extensive 3D gaming session, the relief at being able to remove the cumbersome 3D Vision glasses (not included) was immense; the world seemed so much brighter and full of life.

Conclusion

Despite the apparent growth in demand for 3D – both in cinema and PC gaming – we’re firmly in the camp of nay-sayers. Gaming in 3D not only destroyed our skills (such as they are), but felt oppressive thanks to the bulky glasses. The fact that the glasses are effectively shades, and therefore dull the visuals of the screen, is another serious impediment to enjoying a game in 3D.

Given our poor experience regarding 3D, and the fact that this screen is merely a TN panel, we’ll stick with the NEC EA231WMi as our large screen of choice, especially as the AW2310 doesn’t include the £130 3D Vision glasses.

• Image Quality
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• 7/10

• Features
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• 10/10

• Value
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• -
• -
• -
• 4/10

• Overall
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• 7/10

Score Guide