Should I buy the Dell U2711?

[gamingguy27]

Hello All,

I'm debating whether or not to buy the Dell U2711, I currently own a nice 24" monitor - but nevertheless, I wouldn't mind upgrading.

I play games, watch films and work all on my PC so I'd definitely get the use out of it!

Some wisdom from my fellow tech heads would be good though...


Thank you,

Alex.

 

[RayRay]

[LEFT]It's a very good monitor indeed, but since you mention gaming, I recommend a monitor with a response-time at 2ms, not 6ms.[/LEFT]
[LEFT]If you don't care about that detail/or not that hardcore gamer, then yes, buy it.[/LEFT]

 

[slh28]

You need to invest in hardware calibration to get the best out of it. If you're just expecting great results out of the box then you'll probably be disappointed considering the price tag. The U2711 and U2410 are really aimed towards graphics/photography professionals and unless you know that you need a wide colour gamut then I wouldn't recommend them, they also have high input lag and pixel response time which isn't great for gaming.

 

[Mister_K]

Is the 6ms really that big of a deal when gaming? I doubt it will worsen up your ability to kill other players in FPS games or ruin the experience.

I have Samsung Syncmaster 2333HD which has 5ms timer and I have no problem in games like BF3 or CS.

 

[slh28]

It's more to do with the high input lag, it's 30ms according to tftcentral. That's 2 frames and it's definitely noticeable.

If the OP wants a monitor primarily for gaming then a 120Hz panel is definitely recommended over an 8-bit IPS. Unfortunately 120Hz monitors are all TN at the moment, but you can check out the BenQ XL2420T which seems to be the best one out there.

 

[yRaz]

While the U2711 is a great monitor it catches fire for a really aggressive anti-glare coating. This coating degrades the image quality and it is most noticeable when viewing white. Office docs and web pages seem fuzzy. The coating bothers some people more than others. If it's going to be used for movies and games I don't see it being too invasive. People also say the coating isn't that noticeable when you lower the brightness. This is less of a problem than it might sound because it is very bright to begin with.

IPS panels sometimes get a bad rap about response times but that was a problem they had in the early days of LCD's. I don't notice much of a difference between 60Hz and 120Hz so I choose the IPS's image quality over the TN's refresh rate.

The U2711 is the only monitor in Dell's UltraSharp line with that type Anti-Glare coating. If you don't mind spending the extra money you can get the U3011 or take a hit on screen size and go with the U2410. Both the U3011 and the U2410 are 16:10 monitors so they are not ideal for watching movies in the HD 16:9 aspect ratio. They have a 23" version but I find that size is too small for watching movies.

My over all opinion of this monitor is positive.

 

[Red87]

I've used one for over a year for everything from photography to high end gaming. The anti-glare is noticeable when you first get it on white screens, but after about the first month it no longer bothered me. Ignore people who are saying the response time is bad. Unless you're doing "Uber-l33t" high end competitive FPS play (You probably aren't) its not going to be an issue. I can regular score very well in every FPS I play, and I'm by no means a great FPS player. I don't even notice the response time honestly, and on some monitors that are purported as 30ms above I can notice it.

Another thing to look for, however, is if you're going to do any gaming type stuff is video card. If you plan on gaming at native (2560x1440) you're going to need a high end card to drive any modern games with all the eye candy up. I run two 560ti's and can play BF3 at ultra with everything maxed (I use the Nvidia FXAA instead of in game - looks just as good and much less framerate hit) at 60+FPS solid. Just food for thought.