Alienware AW2725QF review

Two «native» resolutions. One screen. Can it ever work? We've seen plenty of attempts at dual-mode panels before, most recently in the LG UltraGear 32GS95UE. But where that LG had plenty more to mark it out, including LG's latest 4K OLED tech, the new Alienware AW2725QF leans into its dual-mode status a little more emphatically.

This is a 27-inch 4K IPS monitor that runs at up to 180 Hz in UHD mode. Make no mistake, it's a very high-spec panel. But it doesn't have full-array local dimming or any other really cutting-edge feature. Except, that is, for the dual-mode shizzle.

In simple terms, what Alienware is doing here is the same as other dual-mode screens, namely pixel doubling. In other words, you double up in both vertical and horizontal directions, which results in a quartet of pixels acting as one. 

Of course, 4K is precisely four times the overall resolution of 1080p. So, what you end up with is a 1080p display in which each «native» pixel is actually made up of four smaller pixels. In other words—boom!—you've got a «native» 1080p and you can run higher refresh rates. In this case, the Alienware AW2725QF hits 360 Hz in 1080p mode, a hefty step up from its maximum 4K refresh and with consequent benefits in response and latency.

Screen size: 27-inch
Resolution: 3,840 x 2,160
Brightness: 450 nits SDR, 600 nits HDR
Color coverage: 95% DCI-P3
Response time: 0.5 ms GTG
Refresh rate: 180 Hz (4K) / 360 Hz (1080p)
HDR: DisplayHDR 600
Features: Dual-mode 4K / 1080p, IPS panel, HDMI 2.1 x2, DisplayPort 1.4, USB hub with 3x USB-a and 1x USB-C
Price: $599 | £530

In principle this all makes sense and means you no longer need to interpolate a 1080p image over a 4K pixel grid when rendering 1,920 by 1080 pixels on a 3,840 by 2,160 pixel grid. What's more, if you drill down into the structure of any actual individual pixel on a modern, standard flat panel display, you'll find it is in fact composed of multiple subpixels itself. So, how native is native anyway?

With that in mind you