The Alienware 500Hz (AW2524H) is the fastest gaming monitor I’ve experienced. I was skeptical when I checked out the monitor at Dell’s CES 2023 preview event in NYC. 500Hz seemed unnecessarily high, even for professional gamers who require high refresh rates and high latency. But after spending a lot of time with the AW2524H, I can’t deny that it delivers.
My full review is still in progress, but I wanted to share some of my initial thoughts. While advertised, it is only useful for a niche audience. Although I enjoyed the butter-smooth response time the monitor provides, I’m not asking for the $829 price for this monitor, when the monitor is almost as good in every way (except for that crazy high-end refresh) for a hundred less. Then again, I’m not the author of Dell’s marketing game for this monitor.
We care about keeping the price down, the Alienware 500Hz is a great peripheral that will find a home on our best gaming monitors list. It’s not for everyone, but it lives up to its promises. Below, I’ll go over what I like and don’t like about the AW2524H. You can read all about it when my review goes live, but I hope this part gives you what to expect and if you should invest in this valuable gaming peripheral.
Blazing fast performance…for the price
The AW2524H will display a native refresh rate of 480Hz, but it can be overclocked to 500Hz via the display settings if you think you’ll be playing higher than 480 frames per second. I thought the native 240Hz was impressive in comments like the 7 best gaming laptops at CES 2023, but the Alienware monitor is more than twice as fast. But does this matter?
Playing Adept Eternal on the AW2524H felt great because it ran butter-smooth on the Alienware 500Hz — with a steady frame rate of 130 fps. This game requires you to constantly move and stay away from the hordes of demons. It’s about my arrows and arrows. I wouldn’t say it was a transformative experience, but I can’t deny that the high-rate monitor helped me play better — even name it.
But is there a significant difference between the native 480Hz and Angoreas 500Hz? Not that I would say that, but then again, I’m not a professional gamer. But surely the same doctors will notice the difference, because they are more sensitive to things like frame and recovery rates. I didn’t notice a big change between 480Hz and 500Hz, but the experience is smoother compared to the 144Hz gaming monitors I’m used to.
I said this in my review, but one fixed point with the AW2524H is that you need a hefty gaming tig to increase its power. The Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 8 testing monitor packs a 13 Gen Intel Core i9 CPU and RTX 4080 GPU — and $3,349. It costs a lot. This is $829 over the AW2524H. The boat is not worth the price of real estate.
A useful display
Mono’s 500Hz refresh rate is the AW2524H’s main selling point. For such a high refresh rate, the monitor skimps on features like an OLED display and high resolution. It’s a good display that presents a clear and sharp image but won’t wow you. Then again, this monitor isn’t for you with exceptional picture quality.
When we brought the monitor into our testing lab and ran our Klein-10A colorimeter on it, we found that the AW2524H’s display achieved an average brightness of 346 nits in Latin mode. That is less than $8399 No Inzone M9, which averaged 395 nits of brightness in its Latin mode. However, Alienware’s $999 monitor excels LG Ultra Gear 27203 which shine in the middle of the nest.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Alienware 500Hz | No Inzone M9 | LG Ultra Gear 27 |
| nits (brightness) | 346 | 395 | 203 |
| sRGB* | 113% | 145% | 173% |
| DCI-P3 | 80.7% | 102.9% | 122% |
| Delta-E | 0.14 | 0.31 | 0.41 |
In Latin mode, the finished display captures 113% of sRGB colors and 80.7% of DCI-P3 colors (close to 100% best). Its Delta-E value reached 0.14 (closer to 0 better). The other modes remained within this range, although G-Sync Esports had the highest sRGB and DCI-P3 averages (133% and 94.3% respectively).
In comparison, the Sony Inzone M9 captures 145% of sRGB and achieved 102.9% of DCI-P3 color in its Standard mode. Its Delta-E value is 0.31. The Gigabyte M27Q X (173.3% / 122.8%) scored better than both the Alienware and Sony monitors.
The AW2524H’s picture quality is not its strongest attribute. The LG UltraGear 27 isn’t as bright as the Alienware monitor, but it has more vibrant colors and a sharper display. That last point may be unfair since the LG monitor has a 2.5K resolution compared to the Alienware monitor’s 1080p, but I’m willing to trade for a higher resolution refresh rate.
The only verse
When considering the Alienware 500Hz, the most important question you need to ask yourself is: Do you need a 500Hz gaming monitor? The high refresh rate combined with low latency certainly makes games feel better in my experience. To this end, it is a phenomenal gambling monitor for professional hunters who value performance above all else.
I think the Alienware 500Hz is great for what it does, but it’s expensive at $829. Dell has $449 Alienware 25 (Opens in a new tab), which also features a 24.5-inch 1080p display with a 0.5ms response time. It doesn’t have a refresh rate of 500Hz, but 360Hz is nothing to complain about. If I had to choose both, I would have the Alienware 25.
As for the future of 500Hz gaming monitors, the Asus ROG Swift PRO PG248QP is on the horizon. Interestingly enough, this was announced before the Alienware 500Hz, but Dell beat Asus to the punch and released its first monitor. I want to see that device step by step to see how it stacks up. But now, the AW2524H 500Hz monitor space has it all to itself. If you are a professional player, you should consider it. Just be prepared to pay a premium.
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