Alienware AW3821DW ultrawide vs LG CX 48" OLED

Luck100

Now that I finally have an RTX gpu with some muscle, I'm looking to update my display (first-gen 27" 144Hz IPS). The Alienware and the LG (yes, a TV) seem to be the best-of-class to me in their respective domains. Both are available at similar prices with discounting. I'm looking for opinions from anybody who's used at least one of the two. I definitely recall a few guys saying they'd sprung for the Alienware recently.

I'm leaning toward the LG, with the amazing contrast and HDR being the key selling point. It doesn't seem practical as a full time monitor for regular work, so I'd have to keep a regular monitor on hand as well. And the size means wall or stand mounting and push the desk away a bit so I don't go cross-eyed :).

K.O.Kiki

Practicality is why I went for the AW3821DW myself.

It's not perfect by any means.

Still has some IPS glow and viewing angles aren't as good as OLED.

Plus, not all games are great with UW.

But compared to 4K, it'll be easier to run games due to lower resolution, and it feels like a massive monitor - a 48CX would give me that "it's really a TV" feeling.

Luck100

https://boards.ie/discussion/comment/117643370#Comment_117643370

What were you running before the Alienware?

Luck100

Just discovered this site: https://www.displayninja.com/new-monitors/

There's some good stuff in the pipeline...maybe I can wait. If the Alienware had a decent number of zones + HDR 1000 it would be a no-brainer.

Squidgy Black

The experience between the two would be entirely different tbh, I'm not sure you could compare them directly.

The AW is like 40cm high and 90cm wide, the LG is 65cm x 107cm wide.

Reconmended viewing distance for the LG is around 1.5m so you're probably looking at having at least a 120cm deep desk with it mounted on the wall, the AW is about half that because of the screen curvature and the dimensions.

Personally wouldn't be keen on playing fps stuff on it or even some MMO stuff, AAA stuff would probably be fine, but it's just way too big.

Luck100

https://boards.ie/discussion/comment/117647603#Comment_117647603

Yep, very different indeed. I have the space to make the LG work. I sit about 27" away from my current monitor (27") diagonal, so I'd need to be 48" back from the LG for the same field of view. It's no problem in my current space if I put the LG on the wall (or a stand flush against the wall). My desk is only 30" deep, but I use a keyboard/mouse tray which puts me another 15" back. There's plenty of room behind to pull desk further away from the wall as needed.

I'm skeptical about the LG as a full-time monitor for remote working, so I'd still keep my current monitor for day-to-day work. Come gaming time, I can swing the work monitor to the side and turn on the LG. With custom resolution settings, I can even go ultra-wide on the LG (3840 x 1600, exactly the same as the Alienware). I'd just be missing the curved screen experience (seems cool but I haven't tried it) and the convenience of a single-monitor solution.

K.O.Kiki

https://boards.ie/discussion/comment/117643484#Comment_117643484

27" 1440p.

platinums

ive used a 49" for last few years - ive had to switch to my old 24" that I used vertical next to the 49" as another tv in the house broke and i had to sacrifice mine.. :(

I cant do small single monitor.

Soo, Ive been looking at the LG CX and LG C1 (btw curries.ie were doing a €200 discount offer yesterday on the C1 48" but only have 10% now if you "talk to an expert", price €1550)

The beauty of a TV is you can have the equivalent of 4x4 24" monitors when working, then i think you do the same as I do and letterbox a 3840x1800 resolution (ie don't scale it to the full 49" screen, so you get higher frames too)

I sit 1m from it also have an £30 arm from amazon that can bring it closer, but never really had to.

Also something to bear in mind is most TV's are glossy, and very reflective where monitors are mostly matte, bear that in mind with room setup ie if you are opposite a window

oh also , https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/best/by-usage/video-gaming is a great resource when looking at these things

Luck100

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117705213#Comment_117705213

Cool, thanks for the tips!

I ended up getting a nearly-new 55" CX for a very good price. It's set up on a floor-standing mount behind my desk. Basically looks like it's wall-mounted, without the need to do wall mounting.

I'm doing the 3840x1600 letterbox trick (NVidia custom resolution) to game in ultra wide format. Looks fab. The only drawback is that you can't use HDR in a custom resolution mode (why NVidia, why!!!!).