Alienware AW2518HF Review: Full HD 25″ Gaming Monitor
7/10 (Expert Score)
Alienware’s 25 Inch Gaming Monitor packs premium gaming performance features into a captivating display. Featuring iconic Alienware design, 240 Hz refresh rate with 1 ms response time and AMD FreeSync technology for an effortlessly smooth gaming experience. Designed for the enthusiast, the…
£329.97
Description
Alienware AW2518HF Review
The Dell Alienware AW2518HF offers high end gaming performance, without the usual Price Tag for Alienware products. In this review, we will be discussing everything about the monitor, trying to find out why this is cheap in comparison to other Alienware monitors.
When you think of a 240hz Gaming Monitor by Alienware, you’re probably already thinking “I don’t have a thousand pound spare for a monitor”, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see this monitor available for just over £300! In fact, 240hz monitors are becoming more popular now, with BenQ and Acer offering a few cheap models.
Is 240hz actually needed? Or will 144hz be sufficient? It’s an age-old debate, with the differences visible but minimal. The main difference with 240hz and 144hz tends to be the price!
If you’re looking to future-proof your monitor, be wary that this AW2518HF will only provide you 1920 x 1080 resolution, meaning no 4K capabilities. However, this won’t stop the hardcore gamers from being drawn into this monitors capabilities, since the AMD Freesync tech will allow for rapid frame rates.
The Design
Alienware always tend to set the scene with their designs, bringing extra edges, curves into their products like nobody could expect. This monitor is the same. The monitor sits on the stand like it’s an Easel, being propped up by it’s 3 legs offering the Canvas. The canvas being your new gaming monitor!
It’s a well built monitor, weighing in just over 7kg, with over 3kg being attributed to the stand itself. At least your monitors safe.
There’s also a cable tidy section, meaning that it will sit perfectly on your desk, no wires to worry about.
Screen Quality
This monitor uses TN Technology, which isn’t held in the best regard for Colour Representation. This is a little disappointing, as we feel that it’s holding the monitor back somewhat. Although colour representation isn’t mind-blowing, it’s been applauded for it’s quality of dark blacks, which is what we expect from Alienware.
The Response times are great, but no better than we expect for the price really. This will depend on whether you’re using a Free-Sync Compliant GPU.
Overall, it’s a good monitor. We aren’t sure how it will stand up in regards of future-proofing, but for the price it’s a great here-and-now monitor.
Alienware AW2518HF Review: Full HD 25″ Gaming Monitor Prices
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Specification: Alienware AW2518HF Review: Full HD 25″ Gaming Monitor
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Kane Fulton –
I very rarely leave reviews on Amazon despite buying 80+ products a year. In fact, this could be the first. I felt compelled to write a review because I’ve just gone through four different G-Sync monitors, ranging from the Dell 24-incher to Asus Rog and Acer models. This Alienware blows them all out of the water in terms of picture quality, build, design and potentially response time. I ‘downgraded’ from 144Hz 1440p to 240Hz 1080p, and I’m far enjoying what I have now. That’s because the Alienware has stonking colours for a TN panel – with a bit of tweaking I can’t tell the difference between this and the 27-inch IPS display I formerly had. And I don’t miss the additional clarity of 1440p one bit, because hitting 200fps+ in games like Battlefield One, Battlefield 4, Destiny 2 and other FPS’ just completely changes the multiplayer experience. If you primarily play shooters, sacrifice the extra pixels – 1080p still looks great at this pixel density and the whole package is well worth it. I paid refurbished, and £380 seems like an absolute bargain. A highly underrated monitor.
Richard –
I’ve owned several monitors, now got a triple monitor setup, this being the lowest res but highest hertz, the others being 27″ 2560×[email protected] and 34″ 3440×[email protected] – I used to do a lot of competitive gaming at the highest level in CS, and still enjoy playing games at a high level even if I don’t compete and going from my 100hz ultrawide to something I’d never used, while obvious when I used my 144hz, this 240 is noticeable for me, I’ve always been sensitive to that stuff.Monitor quality is great, looks nice, the stand I guess is a bit obnoxious and comes further forward than I’d like? But easy to remedy and not an issue, that is being picky.The picture quality is fantastic, to be honest – I used to hate 1080p when I first switched to 1440p, but stuff’s crisp, maybe because the screen size is so small compared to what I’m used to.I got this at £250 which is a bargain in my opinion, I was always on the fence to get one but this pushed me to it. Using it as my main monitor currently.