Windows 10: Dell Alienware AW3418DW IPS-glow typical? Owners please chime in.

Hey all,
Wasn't sure if this needed to go under "Driver's and HW" category, which sounded like troubleshooting those types of issues so I'm posting here instead. Mods feel free to move if topic is more appropriate elsewhere.

I posted about this on Dell's community forums but have received no response and I'm under some time constraints. I've also gone and looked at the same monitor in MicroCenter but can't get any feel for it there since it's bright enough to get a sun tan from the lights in there.

Onto my question ->
I picked up a new, A04 revision, of the Alienware AW3418DW ultrawide monitor this week. Upon turning down the brightness to 30 in the OSD I'm still seeing what to me is an unacceptable level of "IPS-glow", especially in the lower-left, from the appropriate viewing distance specified in the manual. I have to pull my head back to beyond 38" from the screen until it no longer becomes bothersome, which is something I cannot do if I still want to be able to use it as intended. I want to ask if this is a typical amount of IPS-glow from this (or similar ~$800) monitor, in which case I'll just ask for a refund, or if I received an atypical example, in which case I'll ask for an exchange and hope the second is better.

I should also mention that this monitor does have some other issues which I'm giving a pass to including: flickering issues at 120Hz, IPS glow in the other corners, and a slight left-to-right cool-to-warm color shift.

I've included some photos with the understanding that what you see may be a bit different due to your monitor settings, etc. I tried to make the photo as representative as possible as to what I see when I look at the screen (I didn't try to exaggerate the effect by over-exposing the images). To me these photos look quite accurate.
Thank you in advance for your help.

:)

 

Alienware Introduces AW3418DW and AW3418HW Ultrawide, Curved Displays

Alienware has introduced a pair of ultra-large monitors to their lineup at IFA, which boast of Curved, ultrawide displays with a 34" diagonal. Refresh rates are above 100 Hz - especially after these have been overclocked - and both feature NVIDIA's G-Sync tech alongside Alienware's AlienFX lighting and cable management features.

While the AW3418DW will be Alienware's flagship, packing a 3440x1440 resolution on its 4 ms GtG IPS panel, the AW3418HW is much more of a budget option, offering a much more common 2560x1080 IPS, G-Sync panel with the same 4 ms GtG, a 160 Hz refresh rate (when overclocked), G-SYNC, and a less enveloping 3900R curvature. Both displays offer the same 1000:1 contrast ratio, and while we don't know the brightness rating of the AW3418HW (2560x1080) panel, the flagship AW3418DW only offers 300 nits of brightness, effectively leaving HDR out of the picture. Pricing on these is what seems to be a little off, if you were to ask this particular editor. The AW3418DW is an interesting panel (who needs 144 Hz or higher refresh rates at this resolution) but at this point, giving up $1,499 for a non-HDR panel seems wrong. There are other options out there with the same or equivalent specifications at a much lower price tag. And the $1,199 Alienware is asking for their 34", 2650x1080 W3418HW also seems too excessive. But your mileage may, of course, vary. The flagship AW3418DW is available now, while the AW3418HW should be available around the holiday season. I've put a useful guide for screen curvatures below, if you need a reminder of how curvature ratings work.











Source: AnandTech

 

No deal between Dell and Alienware

It seems that there will be no deal between Dell and Alienware. According to a Dell company spokesman who denys the rumors that Dell bought Alienware, this is a bit much of a speculation. Here's what he has to say:

Source: [H]ardOCP

 

Random BSOD typically while Laptop is Idle


Typically when I step away from my laptop, or leave it over night - I will awake to it having a BSOD and reboots to the Dell Alienware Recovery Program. I've updated all the drivers I can, and it still is giving me this issue. Luckily it rarely happens while I'm actively using the laptop.