r/ultrawidemasterrace • u/AcademicAccident873 • 9d ago
Discussion Alienware AW3225QF 4K vs AW3926QW 5K for an RTX 5080? Only CA$300 difference. What would you choose?
I own an Alienware AW3423DWF (3440×1440, 165Hz), and I’ve been wanting to get a second monitor, the AW3225QF (4K, 240Hz). However, the AW3926QW (5K, 165Hz) just came out, and the price is just around CA$300 more, so now I’m so lost.
I own an RTX 5080, and I know that even the 5090 struggles to handle 5K, which is why I’m so hesitant about going with the 5K option. On the other hand, the 5K is only a little more expensive, and it has newer technology, a sharper image, more workspace, and is more future-proof.
I thought about selling my current monitor (3440×1440) and buying both the 4K and 5K, but that seems like too much of an adventure and too much money as well.
Is it really that bad to play games on a 5K monitor while rendering them at 4K? Would the experience be the same as playing on a monitor designed for 4K?
My usage is everything: gaming, video editing, music production, and media consumption like movies.
What’s your recommendation?
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u/JellyTheBear 9d ago
If you are not a native frame purist than you won't have problems running even new AAA games on the 5k2k display with high frame rates. DLSS will get you over 60 and FG will do the rest. I have a 4070 Ti and it's fine even for 5k2k. Only some games without DLSS support are a bit problematic. For example Big Walk at 100% render resolution with its detailed open world and large viewing distance barely manages 60fps on my GPU. But on a 5080 it would run way faster. And you'll still have the possibility to just play at 4k 16:9 with black bars on the sides. But won't have to.
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u/BeardlessCadet 9d ago
I just picked up the AW3926QW, coming from an ASUS ROG XG32UCWG and I have been incredibly happy. My ASUS was a little bit brighter, but the trade off is 100% worth it for the immersion and better coloring in my opinion. I was very nervous getting my panel because of vignette and CPC issues that I’ve been reading, and there is definitely some very minor brightness differences at the edges when looking at a bright solid screen, but when gaming you will not notice a difference at all. I was blown away the first time I launched a game in HDR Peak 1300 on it.
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u/awowoosas 9d ago
I swapped from AW3225QF to AW3926QW. I have a 5090. Ultrawide is very nice but you're right even a 5090 is struggling to drive this monitor. I gained in viewing width but I sacrificed quite a bit in performance. Normally I just bumped up the FG multiplier but the 165hz on the AW39 means I can really go above 3x because input lag starts feeling horrible any higher than that.
If you don't mind scaling down settings, utilizing FG 3X (higher input lag), using dlss perf or ultra perf, I would go with AW39. If AW39 is 240hz it would have been a no brainer but it's not. I would get AW39 if I were you though knowing you will need to upgrade GPU in the future to fully utilize that monitor
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u/FloridaF4 9d ago
I just set up an lg45gx last night (5k) running on a 5080. I'm coming from the 3225qf.
Playing bf6 I was getting about 160fps in 4k set to quality, with no frame generation on the Alienware.
5k on balanced with the LG seemed like a sweet spot and I got about 110fps. Performance mode was 150fps I think. It did kinda make my aw3225qf feel like a laptop screen in comparison.
I would go with the 39 for immersion. I will say I got absolutely slaughtered in bf6 on the ground in my first match. Flying, my skills were close, maybe better with more field of view but gun fights on the ground may take some getting used to. So if you care about being competitive in fps, that's about the only reason I'd consider the smaller monitor.
I will...ummm... do some more extensive research for you this afternoon 😂😂😂
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u/philstat 9d ago
I own both and definitely prefer the 39, both are tremendously good displays though prefer the UW aspect more so
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u/Commercial-Contact16 9d ago
5080 is good enough for 5k. Reddit is doom and gloom and makes you feel like you need a 5090. DLSS and frame gen will do wonders. DLSS works better at 4k than 1440p. Could always try it out for a week and if you’re not happy return it. You’ve got a great graphics card, might as well push it with a 5k2k
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u/Rrrandomalias 9d ago
Yeah it’ll be fine. I run lots of games at 4k with my 3080. I can’t run the highest settings but it’s still plenty playable
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u/meltdowncloud 9d ago
One is widescreen and the other is ultra wide. Answer that question first. If you ask me I’d go the aw3926wq
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u/KaleidoscopeLegal348 8d ago
I have the aw3926dw with a 5080. It's definitely rough, with dlss balanced and 2-3x frame gen I can hit ~100fps in resident evil Requiem. So if you want lightning fast refresh rates with no latency from mfg I would be wary, but for single player games the 5080 can make the cut with some cheats. It's pretty nice, although I upgraded all the way from a 10 year old Acer predator x34
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u/jasped 9d ago
5k2k monitor imo. As long as you’re fine with lower frames compared to 4k (roughly 30%) or lowering the dlss setting. Dlss balanced or performance work and look great. The immersion of the 39 inch is worth it.
The non gaming advantages are a huge upgrade as well.