Alienware’s latest peripherals have landed, but the monitor might be overkill
Alienware today launched a new suite of PC peripherals, expanding the size of its peripheral line to cover a broader range of needs and budgets.
Known for its powerful gaming PCs and handsome space-age style, Alienware is no stranger to gaming peripherals. Its range of gaming monitors is considered by many gamers to be one of the best out there and it already has quite a few gaming headsets, gaming keyboards and gaming mice in its collection.
Now the premium PC gaming brand is adding two new Hi-Res gaming headsets, a wireless mouse and their first-ever wireless gaming keyboard to their growing family of PC gaming peripherals. All but three of these new releases — the Alienware AW720H headset, AW620M gaming mouse, and AW920K keyboard — are wireless to deliver premium gaming without the inconvenience of being plugged into your PC. However, the AW520H headset stays traditional with its dual USB and 3.5mm connectivity while offering the same high-resolution audio from 20Hz to 40,000Hz as the AW720H.
In addition, Alienware has launched the “world’s first 500 Hz IPS gaming monitor.” The 24.5-inch 1080p Alienware 500Hz AW2524H offers a 500Hz refresh rate, a GtG response time of 0.5ms and Nvidia’s Reflex Latency Analyzer, which allows gamers to optimize their systems to minimize latency – quite to the point not to mention sRGB 99% color coverage, AlienFX RGB lighting and an integrated headset hanger so you can store and display the AW720H or AW520H easily.
Staggered release dates
Although these peripherals are launching today, they are getting a staggered release. The Alienware AW620M gaming mouse and AW720H wireless gaming headset are available today for $99.99 and $159.99, respectively. Meanwhile, the AW2524H gaming monitor will be launched on March 21 for $829.99.
Both the AW520H wired gaming headset and the AW920K wireless gaming keyboard, priced at $99.99 and $289.99 respectively, are coming in the second quarter of this year — although Alienware hasn’t given us a definitive release date just yet. We’ll update this story as we get pricing and availability for the UK and Australia.
Is 500Hz necessary for gaming?
We’ve yet to get our hands on the rest of these peripherals, but we managed to fully test the Alienware AW720H headset. Its Hi-Res audio and wide soundstage are out of this world. In addition to its detailed, immersive audio enhancing our gaming and movie experiences, it’s also comfortable to wear for hours and can last up to 30 hours on a full charge.
If this headset is anything then we can expect amazing things from the rest of the range, especially this gaming monitor. Typically, the higher the refresh rate of a monitor, the harder it is on your system. However, Alienware capped its resolution at 1080p, which should perhaps make a small difference. We can’t wait to see how it actually performs in real-world situations and if that dizzyingly high refresh rate is even necessary.
Many gamers already find the 360Hz refresh rate – which most gaming monitors have been limited to until now – unnecessary, especially as it requires much more power from the CPU and GPU. So the same question arises here, especially since you’re also sacrificing resolution. While 1080p displays aren’t exactly outdated, many gamers also appreciate the amount of detail and sharpness they get with 1440p and 4K monitors, especially when playing open-world and other visually stunning games.
Asus tried to launch a similar 24-inch 1080p 500Hz gaming monitor in 2022, but we haven’t seen this monitor on store shelves yet, which makes us wonder if the manufacturer has decided that there is simply no demand for such a fast ad. At least not yet.
However, it looks like Alienware is going full steam ahead with its own 500Hz entry, so we’ll have a chance to see how it fares in the wild soon.