this post was submitted on 10 Mar 2025
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My comment from last time this was posted.
The most commonly cited monitor in recent years for this is “AW3423DWF”… Which is AlienWare 34" from 2023, DisplayPort, WQHD, Freesync.
Point is, people see a lot of characters and complain when in reality it is exactly what you are referring to. The name is an encoded version of its capabilities. Its just that the encoding isn’t always clear because if every company used the same encoding they would have the same name. and if there are 2 similar monitors you would need to have every feature in the name to differentiate them, so the shorthand encoding becomes necessary. (Eg, AW3423DW and AW3423DWF only really differ on freesync vs gsync, thus the F at the end)
Just give it a cool name like Deathstalker and put that information on the box.
Why does it need a "name" at all.
I just say "I have the Alienware ultrawide OLED" and if anyone cares, the exact model number gives information and is very distinct and googleable.
You can google for "AW3423DWF" very easily and know youve found the right monitor for reviews etc.
Googling for "Macbook Pro" reviews, for example... a pain in the ass.
I get the logic here but I just don’t think most people think like this. Products are called the “Honda Accord” and the “Apple iPhone” and the “Cordless handheld vacuum” for a reason.
Maybe these code names make sense for the actual engineers working on them. But only the nerdiest of the nerdiest of nerdy consumers will remember a couple of these names. In my line of work I’ve spent a couple decades with a ton of regular folks, non-techy people. You might be surprised how many of them can barely remember what number of iPhone they’re on, and don’t even think about asking them which version of iOS is installed.
TBC: This is not a knock against people who aren’t neck-deep in every industry of every product they own. I couldn’t tell you which engine is in my Hyundai Tuscon or which generation of motor is in my cordless vacuum.
I just think these names are gibberish, probably greenlit by people who don’t think about this stuff. But they aren’t effective names for regular consumers.
But the model number isn't really the "name" either. That would be "Alienware 34-inch Monitor", from that year, etc. That they don't call that their "Mars" line of monitors is maybe a marketing issue, but the thing people want to know first/most about a tv/monitor is how big it is.
Cars and Phones have product numbers that break down the same way but like you say the general public doesn't refer to them that way. Like the Samsung Galaxy S24 instead of "SM-S928U", which is the North American (T-Mobile?) specific model.
Youre right. "Cordless handheld vacuum" is a descriptor and not "the name of a product".
In fact, on the Alienware website, the product is called 'Alienware 34" Curved QD-OLED Gaming Monitor - AW3423DWF'
Alienware 34" curved QD-OLED gaming monitor sounds a LOT like exactly what you described. And then the SKU is tacked on to the end because they sell multiple various models of of 34" curved QD-OLED gaming monitors, and people are going to want to get the right one, so they make it prominent.
Sure but the thing with TVs is a manufacturer will over 15 different SKUs of "a TV" that are all pretty different. Plus, a lot of the times (especially for TVs) they will still have a "normal" name.
Like Alienware sells a few different "Alienware 27 Gaming" monitors. But they only sell on "AW2725DM"
Just use the same common encoding and postfix it with the brand name (or prefix, depends on what you like to sort)
The official product page is an actual monitor name, and postfixed with the encoding to help differentiate similar models. So you're right, but also, "AW3423DWF is a terrible name" is wrong, because AW3423DWF isn't the product name, it's just how people identify it, because there are so many similar monitors out there.
i think bundling these features together in a brand name and incrementing it with version number would be more helpful.
having the "alienware porkchop 23" would allow people to become familiar with the branding and understand the featureset that this model comes with.
dwf does not mean anything to most.
That only works if you assume that there is something consistent to version. Some years it's a 34" ultra wide, some years it's a 32" 4k. Will there ever be another 34" ultra wide from alienware? Who knows! Not every monitor gets a revision. and if you have random names for 100 different monitors every year, that doesn't really help make sense of things either.
Alienware Monitor 7.... Well they release 100 different models a year, and every year thats going to increment, and consumers often conflate "bigger number better" so you better make sure you get the numbering right.
And "Porkchop" means absolutely nothing to anyone. DWF at least means something to some people. Going from 0% usefulness to even 10% usefulness is a good move.
Do monitors keep a stable amount of features from one generation to the next? I mean the only real reason to upgrade a monitor is for new features, not because it has incrementally improved on the features it already offered, or size maybe. What would be the basis for calling something a "porkchop" vs a "lizard milkshake"
I guess you could have like 3 tiers of features, going from Cheapest to most Expensive (i.e, lower end is 60hz, higher end 120+hz) and then each generation you know which monitor is "better"
Can you decipher this one for me please?
34GP63A-B
Only the 34 makes sense.
Sure: that's a SKU and not the product name.
From LG's own website:
The name of the product is:
But since 34" curved monitors are a dime a dozen and the full name listing all the specs is a freaking mouthful, it winds up being referred to it by the SKU to help differentiate it.
The 34WP60C-B is apparently the same monitor, but without speakers and a different stand.
This isn't Apple where there is only 1 macbook pro each year and you can differentiate with a "M4" or "2024" on it. every year, LG releases 100 different monitors, some of which have VERY similar specs. If they gave them all names, the names would be meaningless except for to differentiate the models. "LG UltraGear Megashark" offers no details, and only serves to make it memorable and google-able.
34GP63A-B isn't memorable, but it is google-able to an even better degree (because theres no chance of getting a Terraria Megashark SEO landmine, I hate products that have names like "Cursor", because how the hell am I going to google that).
34 is size, G is "gaming", no idea on P63A, and -B indicates that this is the second revision (there is also a 34GP63A without the -B).
So this is a LG Ultragear 34" monitor.
So you have
I can answer this one for you. That number is not actually the name of the product, but the vendor code or manufacturer SKU.
I've had some experience in how these SKUs come to be for large brands. In a lot of cases the people developing the new models have like a whole list of monitors they could create. Out of these a selection is made for which they will create, which capabilities are good etc. This is done per region and even if the capabilities are exactly the same, it will get a different SKU for the different region. This is important because the labeling could be different, often different plugs and manuals are included. Sometimes different paperwork needs to be filed, so it's important the SKU matches the region. From this list of product SKUs the manufacturer can create for a region local distributors choose which ones they think are good for their market. This can often be hard and different distributors can choose different SKUs (depending on the manufacturer). Out of this list of available SKUs in the channel the shops can select which ones they want to carry. Some shops just carry them all (especially when dropshipping), other shops carefully select which ones they like.
This leads the shops to have seemingly random SKUs and nonsense numbers. But that's because those SKUs were figured out all the way back in step one. Those lists can be huge and all the numbers need to be unique. Normally there is some sort of internal structure used to generate the SKUs. But the end result is just a confusing mess of numbers.
When looking at for example distributor level at what they carry or what is offered, the numbers make a little more sense.
So it isn't ideal, but there is reason to the madness.