Dell has announced its Alienware 27 gaming display that is based on a 'Fast IPS' panel that brings together a 240 Hz refresh rate, rich colors, and wide viewing angles. Aimed at hardcore and esports gamers, the model AW2720HF also supports AMD’s FreeSync variable refresh rate technology.

Displays with a 240 Hz maximum refresh rate have been around for years, yet all of them were based on TN panels with all their peculiarities like 170°/160° viewing angles and mediocre reproduction of colors. By comparison, IPS panels have offered 178°/178° viewing angles and superior colors, yet could not hit truly high refresh rates. This year AU Optronics introduced its ‘Fast IPS’ panels featuring a 240 Hz refresh rate as well as a Full-HD resolution, bringing qualities of IPS displays to hardcore and professional gamers.

The Alienware 27 (AW2720HF) monitor relies on one of such Fast IPS panels offering a 1920x1080 resolution, 350 nits brightness, a 1000:1 contrast ratio, 178°/178° viewing angles, a 1 ms GtG response time (with overdrive in extreme mode), and a variable refresh rate of up to 240 Hz. The 27-inch LCD can display 16.78 million of colors and can reproduce 99% of the sRGB color space. In order to ensure consistent performance even when ambient lighting is too bright, the monitor has an antiglare coating with 3H hardness.

For connectivity, the Alienware 27 has one DisplayPort 1.2a connector, two HDMI 2.0 inputs, one quad-port USB 3.1 Gen 1 hub, one headpone jack, and one line-out jack. The stand of the display can adjust height, tilt, swivel, and pivot. Speaking of the stand, it is noteworthy that the AW2720HF, according to Alienware, features its latest Legend futuristic design style that makes the monitor look like an indispensable part of an intergalactic spaceship. Of course, the monitor has customizable RGB LEDs for personalization.

As we are talking about a gaming display, it is not surprising that the Alienware 27 naturally supports on-screen features like an FPS counter, timer, customizable frame modes, user customization, and other things that one comes to expect from a product of this pedigree.

The Alienaware 27 IPS Display with 240 Hz Refresh Rate
  AW2720HF
Panel 27-inch class IPS
Native Resolution 1920 × 1080
Maximum Refresh Rate 240 Hz
Dynamic Refresh Technology AMD FreeSync
Range ?
Brightness 350 cd/m²
Contrast 1000:1
Viewing Angles 178°/178° horizontal/vertical
Response Time 1 ms GtG
with overdrive in extreme mode
Pixel Pitch ~0.27675 mm²
Pixel Density ~82 PPI
Color Gamut Support 99% sRGB
Inputs 1×DP 1.2
2×HDMI 2.0
Audio audio input
audio output
Stand Height:+/- 130 mm,
Tilt: 5° to 21°
Swivel: 20° to 20°
Pivot: 90° to 90°

Built in cable management
Warranty 3 years
MSRP $599.99

Dell’s furiously fast 240 Hz Alienware 27 gaming monitor will be on sale for $599.99 starting from September 17.

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Source: Dell

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  • imaheadcase - Wednesday, August 28, 2019 - link

    Doesn't matter if its IPS, doesn't matter if its 240Hz.. you are paying $600 for a 27inch monitor with a silly 1920x1080 res in 2019.

    The market is saturated with 27inch monitors, this one does not stand out at all.
  • CharonPDX - Wednesday, August 28, 2019 - link

    Agreed. I'd rather see 144 Hz 4K displays at that size. Fast-twitch is great, but if you can't make out the distance details, what does it matter? (I suppose for some games, this is better, but not many.)
  • SmCaudata - Wednesday, August 28, 2019 - link

    Is it reasonable to think we are pushing 4k to 144 Hz? I guess I tend to play more AAA titles than the eSports stuff, but to achieve that frequency at 4k for most modern games I would assume you'd need to turn down settings enough that you would again not make out the distance details. I could very well be mistaken though.
  • DanNeely - Wednesday, August 28, 2019 - link

    LG has a 27" 4k144 panel in the works.

    AUO will be following up on this with 27/32" 1440p240 panels in IPS and 27" 1440p240 and 32 1080p240 panels in VA.

    Innolux has 32" 4k144 panels with SDR, 10,000, and 1,000,000 zone HDR in work. Assuming they can get the price down, the latter with ~3x3 pixel dimming zones should squash haloing problems and be competitive with OLED.

    TFT Central doesn't have a 2019 update on Samsung's plans; but their fall 2018 one was mostly ultrawide/curved panels.

    https://www.tftcentral.co.uk/blog/innolux-latest-p...
    https://www.tftcentral.co.uk/blog/au-optronics-lat...
    https://www.tftcentral.co.uk/blog/lg-display-lates...
    https://www.tftcentral.co.uk/blog/lg-display-lates...
  • FullmetalTitan - Wednesday, August 28, 2019 - link

    We are fast approaching that being realistic with single card solutions. I have a 1080Ti and it handles almost everything at max settings in 4k around 80-90fps. At 1440 it can easily push 120 for most titles.
    The thing is that Nvidia went heavy on ray tracing, and they didn't beef up the raster potential of the Turing cards very much over the 10 series. It looks pretty likely that the next gen cards will bring 4k60 to even the lower-mid pricing tiers, with 4k120 possible for flagships (without ray tracing enabled).
  • mikegrok - Thursday, August 29, 2019 - link

    Personally, I think antialiasing is a cheap substitute for resolution, and run 4K with antialiasing turned off. In world of tanks medium settings I get 40ish FPS on a 750ti.
  • Spoelie - Wednesday, August 28, 2019 - link

    check youtube for "4K gaming is dumb" - i'm happy enough with a 1440p (or widescreen equivalent) 144hz that has proper response times, black levels/contrast ratio, low lag, a functional blur reduction mode, good colors, hdr support. I'm still waiting for a monitor that scores well in all these categories.
  • SmCaudata - Wednesday, August 28, 2019 - link

    I'm hoping the new AUO panel entering production later this year is implemented nicely. Current expected specs:

    27″ with 1440p (M270DAN06.7) – Sept 2019 with 165Hz, HDR600, Adobe RGB gamut

    This gives good resolution, plenty of refresh, some degree of local dimming for HD600 spec and a reasonable gamut. I'd like to see high 90's DCI-P3, but near full Adobe RGB is acceptable.
  • Gigaplex - Thursday, August 29, 2019 - link

    Computers are a multi purpose tool. Some people do more than just game on them.
  • Spoelie - Thursday, August 29, 2019 - link

    Which beckons the question, why would you need high refresh rates for non-gaming purposes?

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