Alienware launches a Nvidia friendly 3D display

Charges an arm and a leg for it

ALIENWARE’S OptX AW2310 screen is the company’s first venture into the land of 3D video and the specifications aren’t too bad, for a 23-inch screen that is. Although Acer beat Alienware to be the first company to announce a full HD 1080p 3D Vision ready display, it looks like Alienware might be the first one to ship units. Well, at least as long as you live in New Zealand or Australia that is, as it’s only listed on the local Alienware websites in those two countries.

We’re sure it’ll appear on other Alienware/Dell websites shortly, as Nvidia announced the display during its CES press conference. Panel specifics include TN technology, 80,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and 400cd/m2 brightness, a 3ms response time and this is of course a 120Hz unit, as otherwise it wouldn’t be 3D Vision compatible. This is the biggest problem with 3D Vision, as there are barely any 120Hz screens on the market and the Samsung and Viewsonic models that are currently available only offer 1680×1050 resolution.

Alienware has thrown in DVI and HDMI connectivity and we’re happy to report that this display doesn’t have any analog connectivity which is a huge step forward in our opinion. It also has a four port USB hub and an audio input and output jack. The stand is also height adjustable which is sadly becoming something of less common feature on LCD displays these days.

However, here’s the kicker, it’s listed for AU$599, that’s roughly $550, that’s more than twice the price of a high-end Dell display with similar connectivity options and features, although without 120Hz support. Remember that this doesn’t include the $199 3D Vision glasses that need to be added on top, and which make for a mighty expensive setup. We can’t really see it as being worth it and if you read Copper’s story about the Gunnar 3D glasses, then you already know that there are cheaper options available already and many other competing technologies are being announced this week at CES.S|A

Update: The official US retail price is $499, which isn’t a whole lot cheaper.

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