The Alienware XW3CK says it all in the name – 27- inches of widescreen brilliance. It’s a 27-inch IPS panel with super-fast 240Hz refresh rate, 1ms response time, adaptive sync compatibility (both Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync) and IPS Nano color technology.
Even though the display is 1440p, this sort of panel doesn’t come cheap like its 27-inch productivity monitors like the Sceptre C275W-1920RN or the ASUS VL279HE business monitor. The base price puts it in close competition with more feature-rich Samsung Odyssey G7 and close to some other top gaming monitors like the Acer Predator XB273K and the LG 34GP83A-B, both of which have better 4K resolution, more pixels, 240Hz refresh rates, and the former has a lot more screen.
Design & Features
There’s a lot to like about the Alienware XW3CK build and display, though. It has a wide, heavy base to support the 27-inch monitor with ease. The stand looks great, and offers plenty of adjustment angles – height and 90-degree pivot.
Bell built decent cable routing into the stand to guise the power, dual HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB 3.0 connections through, and keep your desk space clean. Also, around the back, there’s a headphone jack and a pair of USB ports, that are easily accessible on the bottom of the display.
Around the same location, there is a joystick for navigating the menus. Dell adds in a dynamic bias light with AlienFX RGB lighting in the back, that breathes in resonance during gameplay.
What’s really striking is this: 1440p (2560 x 1440) at 240Hz strikes a better balance of quality and performance over 1080p at 240Hz. Visual quality is an added advantage here, so if you’re really super-competitive, you’ll find this monitor’s high resolution satisfying.
Performance
In games, the Alienware XW3CK shines. And, the appeal comes with few tradeoffs (if any). In Overwatch and CS: GO, the monitor delivers some really high frame rates that let you take advantage of the 240Hz panel. The game is butter-smooth at this level, and you can swing around Reinhardt’s hammer at a buttery 210fps, but it also feels good at 144fps. While gaming, both 1080p and 1440p resolutions will be none of an issue, as there are fewer super-fine lines that highlight the PPI (pixels per inch) on a display this size.
That smooth experience is possible on an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 – and it will even be better on the newer RTX 30 Series cards. And to get those high frame rates, you won’t have to sacrifice other visuals, for as long as you have a good graphics card. With the Alienware AW2721D, you can say goodbye to strong antialiasing, and you even leave the RT and Tensor cores dormant, too.
Outside of competitive eSports titles, the appeal remains strong on modern titles as well. For instance, in metro Exodus, you can take advantage of ray tracing, which means you’re hitting 200fps, leaving the AW2721D’s main selling point completely open. That’s to say, the Alienware AW2721D is great when playing other games and productivity tasks.
In Metro Exodus, you’ll be pleased with the colors (with 99% coverage of sRGB), good responsiveness, and contrast of the display. The visual quality holds up in movies as well, where you’ll also appreciate the IPS panel’s wide viewing angles and anti-glare coating.
Bottom Line
The Alienware XW3CK is a super-fast gaming monitor, that delivers great visuals at 240Hz. However, it’ll take a premium graphics card in a beefy computer, something like the RTX 2070 or the AMD RX 5700-XT (and above) to deliver 240fps, but if you’re playing at a competitive level, every advantage counts.
It offers multiple HDMI ports, a DisplayPort, two USB ports on the back, and some more USB ports near the front and a 3.5mm audio jack. And there’s cable routing for most of the cables – at least you’ll not have a messy desktop setup.
All said, a combination of a sleek design, a bright 450-nit IPS panel and anti-glare coating make this monitor easy to see in plenty of conditions. Whether you’re gaming up-close in a sunlit room or relaxing indoors to watch a movie, the XW3CK delivers a decent view.
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