I just tested Alienware’s new 39-inch 5K OLED gaming monitor — and it’s nearly perfect

The Alienware 39 5K2K OLED (AW3926QW) is Alienware’s finest gaming monitor yet. That’s saying a lot, given how fantastic its 34-inch QD-OLED monitors have been. But thanks to its enhanced OLED technology, fast performance, and sleek design, it’s hard to argue that it's one of the best gaming monitors you can buy.

The star of the show is the four-stack, three-subpixel RGB stripe tandem OLED panel, which is the first of its kind to hit the market. Thanks to that, you get higher brightness, richer colors, sharper text, and superb contrast. The crisp 5K resolution also ensures that everything looks absolutely stunning. And if that weren’t enough, you can also switch to 330Hz refresh mode for fast-paced competitive shooters.

Other than being a tad too big for some setups, the Alienware 39 5K2K OLED (AW3926QW) is about as perfect a gaming monitor as you can get. Find out why in my full review.

Alienware AW3926QW review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? The Alienware 39 5K2K OLED (AW3926QW) is a feature-rich gaming monitor.
• Who is it for? It’s for folks who want a gaming monitor with dual refresh rates to balance visual fidelity and performance.
• What does it cost? The AW3926DW costs $1,099.
• What do we like? We like the classy design, vivid OLED panel, fast and smooth gaming performance, and easy-to-use UI.
• What don’t we like? We don’t like that you need a relatively large desk to comfortably use this 39-inch monitor.

Alienware AW3926QW review: Specs

Alienware AW3926QW review: The ups

From its minimalist design, crisp visual quality, and smooth performance, there’s a lot to love about the Alienware AW3926QW.

Sleek design

The Alienware AW3926QW has a design reminiscent of the AW3426DW, but it’s larger, with a 39-inch panel instead of 34. I’m glad the design matches its smaller sibling, as it looks equally great in an office as it does in a gaming den.

The panel’s 1500R curvature conforms nicely to the curvature of your eyes and draws you into whatever game you’re playing. The 21:9 aspect ratio is similarly immersive for gaming and also gives you more desktop space for windows and apps for when you’re working.

Over on the back, you’ll find the Alienware logo, which is the main thing that tells you this is a gaming monitor — especially if you enable the AlienFX RGB lighting. The back isn’t flush, unlike on the AW3426DW, because it has a gap for the air vents. It also includes a VESA mount for one of the best monitor arms, if you prefer.

Like the AW3426DW, this monitor has a flat stand to keep it in place. Since its profile is relatively small, you’ll still have plenty of room on your desk for the best gaming keyboards and best gaming mouse.

The shaft has a cutaway for clean cable management. Lowering and raising the monitor along the shaft is seamless, as is tilting and swiveling it to your preferred viewing angle. And while the monitor weighs 22 pounds, I found it light enough to easily move around when I needed to access the ports on the back.

Speaking of ports, this monitor has a pair of HDMI 2.1 ports, a DisplayPort, two USB-A ports, two USB-C ports, and a USB-B port. There’s also an OSD (on-screen display) joystick underneath the ports for navigating the monitor’s display settings.

Vibrant display

There’s a lot of fancy technology under the hood of the AW3926QW, especially the four-stack, three-subpixel RGB stripe tandem OLED panel. Thanks to that and the 5K resolution, this monitor delivers a stunning picture quality.

Cyberpunk 2077 looks incredible on the AW3926QW. I drove around the city during the day and marveled at how the glass towers and the river gleamed in the sunlight. The neon signs and colorful holograms were vivid and sharp. You can also see more of your surroundings because this game supports 21:9 monitors.

There are two display modes here: 5K resolution and WFDH. Naturally, you get the best image from 5K (5120 x 2160), which is perfect for cinematic games like Cyberpunk 2077. WFHD (2560 x 1080) lowers the resolution but bumps the refresh rate to 330Hz. I’ll cover that shortly, but suffice it to say that 1080p resolution doesn’t look as sharp as 5K, but is still clear enough for the competitive gamers this mode is for.

The AW3926QW delivered strong results in our lab tests. In its standard display mode, the AW3425DW produces vivid colors (sRGB and DCI-P3) and solid color accuracy (Delta-E). These values are comparable to the Samsung Odyssey G8 G80HS in its Standard mode, though the Asus ROG Swift OLED produces more oversaturated hues.

HDR brightness is pretty strong for an OLED monitor. In dedicated HDR modes, the AW3926QW reaches around 500 nits at 10% of the display and about 300 nits across the entire screen. OLED gaming monitors are finally delivering brighter HDR, and I’m glad to see that the Alienware AW3926QW hasn’t missed the party.

There are 11 display modes available. This includes dedicated modes for game genres like FPS, RTS, Sports, and more. As with the AW3426DW, there’s a Creator Mode with better color accuracy for video and photo editors. Aside from that mode, the other options differ only slightly from one another, such as FPS being brighter and Sports being more colorful.

Smooth and fast performance

Whether you’re playing at 165Hz or 330Hz, everything runs smoothly on this monitor. Compatibility with Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync, along with the ultra-low 0.03ms response time, ensures that games run buttery smooth with no perceptible input lag. You’ll get much faster performance from the LG UltraGear 27GX790B-B, which can run at 540Hz and 720Hz, but unless you’re a professional gamer, you likely won’t notice a difference.

To test the AW3926QW, I connected it to the HP Omen Max 45L, a monstrous gaming PC packing an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D CPU, an Nvidia RTX 5080 (18GB), 64GB of RAM, and a 2TB SSD. You’ll need a similarly powerful PC to take advantage of the monitor’s insane performance.

Whether it was at 165Hz or 330Hz, Cyberpunk 2077 ran buttery smooth. Sure, I wasn’t quite able to hit 165 frames per second to match the lower refresh rate, but the extra headroom let me enjoy the 65-70 fps I did get without any hiccups like screen tearing.

Simple UI

The Alienware AW3926QW uses the same interface as the AW3426DW. As before, the UI features a black-and-gray background with blue-and-white lettering. This is where you’ll find all the available display modes and other settings. There are many menus and submenus to sift through, but it’s easy enough to find whatever setting you need.

The OSD joystick, located just beneath the ports, is easy to find by touch. The stick itself is responsive and has the right balance of rigidity and looseness.

Alienware AW3926QW review: The downs

The Alienware AW3926QW is a nearly perfect gaming monitor for most folks, but it does have one drawback that might make it inconvenient to own for some.

A bit unwieldy

This likely won’t be a dealbreaker for most, but if you have a small workspace, you may not have enough room to comfortably fit this 39-inch monitor into your setup.

I’ve reviewed much larger gaming monitors, such as Samsung’s 49- and 57-inch Odyssey monitors. Alienware’s device is much smaller in comparison, but I still needed a relatively deep desk to use it comfortably. Thanks to the panel’s size and curvature, you’ll want to sit a good distance away.

Alienware AW3926QW review: Verdict

The Alienware AW3926QW delivers a phenomenal gaming experience thanks to its immersive, vivid, and sharp curved panel. The tech behind the display is so impressive that I fully expect competitors to ape what Alienware has done.

Even if there are monitors with higher resolutions and refresh rates, the AW3926DW beautifully balances visuals and performance. Sure, it’s a tad pricey, but it’s worth it for the features it offers. This is exactly the kind of gaming monitor I’d want to own. It’s that good!

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