Alienware AW3418DW Review: The Perfect Monitor?

The size of this monitor when sat on my desk is amazing, the feel and quality of finish is extremely heavy and sturdy. Once in place theirs no chance of it tipping over or moving. The lightning effects are a nice addition and can be turned off, the menu system is also nice and easy to navigate almost as though someone thought about it for a change.Picture quality is amazing and back light bleed for this type of panel isn’t too bad (mine was a tiny bit warm to the left bottom corner in a pitch black scene).The 100Hz refresh rate with G-Sync is extremely smooth and performs very well on my RTX 2080. Unfortunately when OCed to 105Hz or higher it instantly starts stuttering and tearing, this seems to be a known issue with the Dell panel which is a shame as at this price range (£1,100 at time of writing) you don’t expect quality issues with one of the main features this monitor is marketed with.If Dell could resolve their quality issues this would be a must buy for any enthusiast gamer. Due to the fault with the refresh rate I decided to return the monitor in hopes that the panel lottery gave me something better.My experience returning this to Amazon was quite possibly the worst and most stressful I’ve experienced. In the first instance the Amazon Agent agreed for a 6pm pick up via Hermes for me to be called at 11am the next day asking if I was going to be available. Hermes then cancelled the pick up request. Amazon provided me a second collection which I took a day off work for, I waited in all day and no courier turned up, checking the reference number amazon had provided with my returns label directly with Amazon apparently I had cancelled the pickup on the 23rd September 2018 (I was returning the item on the 3rd January 2019). I was then provided another Hermes reference number which again Hermes did not recognise. After spending three evenings using live web chat and the automated dialling system I finally got another pick up arranged with Hermes for Monday 7th and on this occasion everything went smoothly…..well ha ha until I found out that Hermes make parcels vanish as if by magic only arriving back at Amazon on the 17th. During this time I was going to be in receipt of a replacement, this was sent by DPD to a pick up location, the location refused the parcel due to the size and instead of giving me the chance to change or request an alternative delivery date Amazon requested the item be returned to them (literally 2 minutes after it being refused by the DPD location) 40 minutes on hold trying to speak to DPD to be told they could do nothing as the cosigner (Amazon) had requested the parcel be returned to them. I queried this with Amazon who knew nothing of the failed delivery and wanted me to prove I had not received the item. The item was held by DPD for 4 days (???) before it eventually made its way back to Amazon. I’m still waiting for a refund which Amazon have said can take up to a further 7 days from today (18th Jan 2019). The service provided by Amazon has been shocking in this instance, I just kept getting passed from team to team with no one wanting to take any responsibility for helping me obtain my refund. The most frustrating thing being I now have a PC with no monitor that I’ve not been able to use for over two weeks and I am still no closer to getting a replacement, the most insulting part being on one hand they were offering me a £5 gift voucher for my trouble, but their returns department telling me I would be charged a further £1,100 if the replacement that they stopped me receiving didn’t turn back up.Save yourself the hassle when purchasing this kind of expensive equipment and go to a specialist supplier like SCAN or Dell themselves as Amazons return policy in this instance has been a bloody nightmare.