Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The AW2721D would EASILY be a FIVE STAR Monitor if it wasn’t for the issues I describe in the negatives, which completely offset the majority of the positives. Positives: + I instantly unpacked and set it up, using a 1080Ti, the first thing I wanted to see, as we always do, the initial light up, back-light bleed, flash-lighting etc., to my amazement, it was nice and dark black, zero discernible issues. I set it up and used it for about three hours, tried a few games and such and then ran it though the Lagom and Eizo online tests, did exceptionally well on both. This monitor is reportedly calibrated from the factory, though I didn't see a slip in the box with the measurements, as you would expect, though, I'll look again. + G-Sync Ultimate is actually much smoother the more I use it compared to for example the G7 or the LG 27GN950, you can definitely tell a difference, very noticeable in RTS and strategy games when you're panning the map a lot, same thing for other games as well. It's become more pronounced over the past couple of days, definitely makes more of a difference than initially thought. + The GUI is near identical to the Alienware AW2521HFL, with a few small omissions, surprisingly, the 25 inch has a bit more feature rich GUI options. + Colors on the AW2721D are slightly more vibrant than the AW2521HFL, it was at least noticeable over HDMI, with my Nintendo Switch and PS4 Pro. I don't think this monitor is as bright as the LG 27GN950, I would be stunned if it measured around 750 nits of HDR brightness as the LG did. Though it's considerably brighter than the G7. + I immediately ran checks for color banding, display uniformity etc., and I'm very pleased, this monitor did exceedingly well, among the top I've used. + When selecting 144hz, in the Nvidia control panel, you actually can set the monitor to 12bpc, vice 8 and 10, very interesting, you typically don't have this as an option on the majority of monitors. + Standard color mode offers the best, and most accurate colors, RTS and RPG are the most colorful, nice thing is you can have independent settings for each input. RPG is the best balance of all of them, the most versatile. + The stand is monolithic, wow - just wow, it truly looks the part, I love the Alienware logo on the front as well, surprised they just now added this, should have been there all along. Definitely a huge fan of the construction and quality of it, among, if not the best available. + Monitor does not have wake or sleep issues with PC, tested this multiple times, no issues. Ensure in device manager, it does not say PnP Monitor, that you actually load the drivers and it reflects AW2721D. + Playing Borderlands 3 on this monitor is definitely a sight to behold, in HDR or SDR, both look exceptional, again, the colors on this are definitely more pronounced than most monitors playing HDR content. Very nice surprise, same with NBA 2K21, it looks better than expected in HDR. + I find this monitor in many ways far superior to its closest competitor, the Samsung G7, it definitely has better colors, much greater viewing angles, better AG coating, clearer, two HDMIs and has G-Sync Ultimate. The latter is not as noticeable as one would think though it's exceptionally smooth. Without a doubt the AW2721D also has some of the best tonal and color gradients of any monitor I've used. + You can actually change the colors in HDR mode, this is the first monitor I've used that had this capability, you can select between multiple different presets, the colors in HDR on the AW2721D are among the best I've seen. Played multiple HDR games, and it was readily apparent, very colorful and vibrant, and to my surprise was much brighter and more livelier than I expected it to be. Negatives: - The lack of VESA Display Stream Compression (DSC), I will see what happens in the next couple of weeks, though I didn't buy this to have Chroma subsampling! It also should have Ultra Low Motion Blur (ULMB) support as well. Currently, you can only get 144hz at 10bit color, not the full 240hz, in order to go beyond 144hz, you have to change it to 8bit color. This is one thing Samsung got right with the G7, it supports both DSC and ULMB. The lack of DSC could be due to the fact this monitor uses a dedicated G-Sync module and it’s a limitation of the hardware. - This monitor needs an easier way to change inputs, vice having to go into the GUI every time. Why isn’t there an auto port switch when it detects a signal?!? - The ports on the back are extremely difficult to access. The bottom lip of the monitor in the rear serves no purpose other than to crimp your cables. I'm using a VESA certified KableDirekt DP 1.4 cable and two high end HDMI 2.0 cables, very tight and unnecessarily crowded port area, there’s plenty of space to spread them out more. - Noticeable overshoot in MS Office, web browsing (text) and other apps when using the faster or higher response time setting, sometimes noticeable during gaming as well, you are left using the slowest setting, fast. I’m able to use the AW2521HFL with extreme settings and no discernible overshoot occurs. - THE BIG ONE - As of right now, the EDID does not allow this monitor accept a 4K signal. The PS4 Pro only recognizes up to a 1080p signal, just wow! It will not accept a 4K signal for console gaming nor for Netflix over HDMI. This demonstrates a serious disconnect with many gamers who like to use the HDMI ports on their monitors for their gaming consoles, Roku, Apple TV etc. Why have HDMI 2.0b ports if they’re not able to be used to their full potential. Nearly every HDMI 2.0b equipped monitor to come out in the past 3-4 years from major manufacture’s will do this. - There's also no auto input source, very strange that this is not available, it was on the AW2521HFL, so now, every time you quit playing a game on console you have to manually click the toggle on the monitor to change it to DP. - Of note, when HDR games are played, it doesn't flash an HDR sign like every HDR monitor I've used previously, it's not until you access the monitor's settings do you see the game is being played in HDR. - Lacks the two primary capabilities I was looking for when purchasing it, DSC and the ability to accept a 4K signal via HDMI.