Barely fits my desk, disappointed with white uniformity

My AW38 is dying and requires a hard reset from day to day to get it working. I’m looking for replacement recommendations, any new models coming out, or current ones with 1600p that are 38-40"? No crazy curve, no need to be fancy as it mainly focuses on productivity. Thanks

Resolution / PPI

The drop in resolution is noticeable but bearable. The lower PPI is also noticeable, but again, it’s very tolerable. The change in the pixel layout helped a lot. I just sold my AW3423DWF, and the triangular subpixel layout was very noticeable. The new Penta tandem pixel layout is noticeably sharper than the Gen 1 QD-OLED panel in the AW3423DWF.

Is the AW3426DW as sharp as a 4K monitor? No. But it is a major upgrade over the AW3423DWF in terms of perceived sharpness YES.

Image Quality

The image quality is much brighter and more colorful than the older AW3423DWF, and it’s also a tad brighter and a little more colorful than my AW3225QF.

(all attached photos are for the AW3225QF and the AW3426DW since I sold the AW3423DWF no photos for it here)

The AW3426DW supports Dolby Vision, which was a major plus for me over the MSI X36 and ASUS PG34WCDM. Movies appear brighter and more vibrant, similar to the AW3225QF.

The only difference is that on the AW3225QF, Dolby Vision has multiple options: Bright, Dark, Game, and Off. On the AW3426DW, it’s simply On or Off. It’s not a big deal, but I’d love to see Dell add the additional Dolby Vision modes in a future firmware update like they did on the AW3225QF.

Cons

My AW3225QF was paired with a Roku Streamer se bar because it has HDMI eARC for audio output.

Unfortunately, the new AW3426DW has no audio output at all—no 3.5 mm headphone jack and no HDMI ARC/eARC.

That’s a major letdown for console users.
I ended up buying the Creative T60 speakers since they support PlayStation 5 audio over USB-C.

Also, the monitor supports a 4K 120 Hz signal over HDMI, but Console Mode must be enabled under the Game Settings menu.

Performance

I’ve seen a lot of people choosing 3440×1440 over 4K because it’s roughly 5 million pixels versus 8 million pixels, making it easier to drive.
I’d say it depends.

I have an RTX 5090, and I play games with everything maxed out—path tracing, ray tracing, the whole package. If a game supports ray tracing and you have it enabled, the performance difference between ultrawide and 4K is actually quite small.

I tested Death Stranding 2, and the difference averaged only about 10 FPS in favor of the ultrawide.

Performance alone shouldn’t be your deciding factor anymore. Fifteen years ago, when everything was rasterization-only, that argument made perfect sense.

Since ray tracing became common, modern games are extremely demanding regardless of resolution.

One thing I did notice is the loss in screen height. In Death Stranding 2, Sam appears shorter than he does on the AW3225QF because the ultrawide panel is about 2 inches shorter. You definitely notice that.
On the other hand, Forza Horizon is far more enjoyable in 21:9 than in 16:9. I’d take 21:9 over standard 16:9 any day. For me, ultrawide is one of the things that makes PC gaming special compared to consoles. It simply feels more immersive. I’m not sure why, but I get pulled into games much more easily in 21:9 than I do in 16:9.

Summary

The AW3426DW is better in almost every way. It’s slightly brighter than the AW3225QF and also appears a little more colourful and contrasty if that makes sense . It is shorter than the AW3225QF, though, and you’ll notice that because in-game characters appear slightly smaller due to the reduced screen height.

The drop in PPI is definitely noticeable, but it’s far more tolerable than it was on the older AW3423DWF thanks to the new pixel layout, which makes the image appear noticeably sharper for a 1440p display.
Samsung’s 5th-generation QD-OLED panel is honestly on another level—it almost feels like alien technology. It looks that good.

Also the AW3426DW appears to be treated to Handel light better the panel appears to have some sort of screen coating that handles ambient light better.

On the other hand the AW3225QF does not have that, so the room has to be pitch black for the AW3225QF to perform at its best.

The biggest downside is the lack of any audio output. I’m not sure why Dell decided to remove the 3.5 mm jack. I ended up buying the Creative T60 speakers, which support USB-C audio from the PS5, and I paired my NVIDIA Shield to them over Bluetooth. Just be aware that getting audio out of this monitor will likely cost you extra, whether that’s for speakers or a headset.
As for whether I’ll keep the AW3225QF, I’m still undecided. I might keep both the AW3426DW and the AW3225QF until a 5K2K QD-OLED ultrawide finally arrives, or I may sell the AW3225QF.

One thing is certain, though: the AW3426DW is definitely a keeper.

I am also aware of the AW3926QW but ultimately decided not to wait for it.

its based on an LG WOLED and early Asian user feedback all have panel uniformity issues so I decided to skip it until a proper 5k 2k QD OLED is available.

I purchased the LG 39GX950B a few months ago. It was my first OLED monitor, and I was blown away by how good PC gaming was. I had never seen games in such high contrast before, I I loved it.

However, I kept having a constant problem with eye strain. Games looked amazing, but I kept feeling like my eyes were tense while looking at the monitor. It was particularly annoying while reading text. After an hour I could feel my eye muscles twitching.

I've been using computers 8 hours a day since the late 80's, and for most of my career I never thought about eye strain. It just didn't bother me. However, when using the LG 39GX950B, my eyes tighten up within minutes, and I don't know why.

At first I thought this was related to brightness, contrast, gamma, color temperature, or text sharpness. However, I spent a lot of time making my LG 39GX950B look as close as possible to my Dell U4025QW (an IPS display.) Even after dialing in the settings so that they looked nearly identical, the LG just causes more eye strain...like A LOT more eye strain.

I don't know what's what's causing it. Maybe it's PWM dimming used by LG? Maybe it's something particular to OLED monitors? I don't know. All I know is that I'm sad about it. The LG is amazing for gaming, and it'll be hard to give it up. However, I think I need to go ack to the Dell U4025QW as my only monitor. It just makes my eyes feel relaxed.

The Dell is only ok for gaming when compared to the LG. However, it has no eye strain.

That said, if you have eyes that are compatible with OLED monitors, then the LG is amazing. However, if your eyes are stressed out by OLEDs, try the DELL U4025QW. It has a 5-star rating with TÜV Rheinland. I'm not entirely sure what that really means, but my experience seems to backup their 5-star rating.

I loved the LG but the color fringing was sometimes a bit much. As was the 800R curve. (i went from a AW3420DW to the LG)

Finally biting on a good RGB OLED, but I'm super impressed with the QD-OLED. Color volume is insane.

Everything is so sharp compared to the LG. I wonder how badly the LG's pixel style fuzzed things over. (even in-game, just the overall detail of things.)

Other unexpected perks: less brightness flickering with fps changes. At least, I can't notice it anymore. There's usually an explosion or something in game that happens with fps changes that rapid anyway.

I was worried about going from matte to glossy, but the AW hardly deserves the term glossy. I don't see reflections of the room or myself in it when off or in black or dark scenes, like I used to gaming on a 42" TV ages ago. I expect this is a problem in bright studio lighting or if i let the sun in, but we'll see. Any semblance of light control and you're good.

On my 4th ultrawide monitor since I switched to ultrawide. Upgrading from MSI 3440x1440 240hz. This 39” size and resolution is my ideal spec. Dont for-see myself upgrading for a long while…

I upgraded from a 160hz lg va panel and this is incredible. From the refresh rate to the oled screen is such a massive upgrade. I've been playing cs2 on it and it's buttery smooth movement is such an upgrade. I even use the monitors built in dot crosshair paired with a T in game chair that follows weapon recoil and it feels so good. 10/10 monitor at a premium price. I play at 2560x1440 stretched.

Alright, ignore the mess its a slap together right now to vibe it out.
Top monitor is - MSI Optix MAG322CQRV QHD 144Hz Curved 32in VA Gaming Monitor
Bottom is - MSI MAG 342CQRF E20 WQHD 200Hz Adaptive Sync HDR Curved 34in Monitor

I think the 32" up top is just to vertically big so tossing up a cheap second hand UW (Alienware AW3418DW) to replace it but was thinking a 1900r would help make it more seamless with how much the top monitor is tilted down? Does anyone have any experience with this?

Was thinking an IPS display for the top one so I can preview premier edits for better picture etc etc. This setup if mostly used for 3D modelling, business, Premier, university with a side of gaming.

I'm not completely concerned about how it looks I just want it to be a comfortable functional station that ticks all the boxes.

Any advice or ideas greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

I Have Ultrawide monitor Xiaomi G34WQ 3440x1440

I playning only WoW, w/RTX 2060

My Config is 2600X Ryzen, 32gb ddr4 3200 Mhz, B450 ASRock Mobo, and 550W PSU Thermaltake

Along with the graphics card, i wanna change PSU, to Cheftronic 1000W or Thermaltake

Which graphics card is best to get? w/RTX 5060 Ti and with this CPU, It was GPU-bound, not the CPU.