Dell UltraSharp U2711 review

£948
Price when reviewed

The Dell UltraSharp U2711 is one of the new breed of high-resolution 16:9 ratio displays to hit the market. With a high-quality IPS panel, a huge 2,560 x 1,440 resolution, and an equally hefty price tag, the U2711 is a high-end monitor to aspire to.

Dell UltraSharp U2711 review

It cuts an impressive dash on any desk. The squared-off figure and brooding dark grey and black exterior look great, and are matched with a sturdy-feeling stand that can tilt, swivel and raise up and down by 90mm.

Meanwhile, the sheer pixel density makes for some of the crispest visuals we’ve ever encountered on a monitor. But, since those 3.6 million pixels are crammed into a relatively small space, each individual pixel is impossibly tiny. So tiny, in fact, you’ll soon find yourself upping Windows 7’s DPI control to make text more legible.

We had few qualms about the quality of the U2711’s IPS panel, though. Contrast exceeded Dell’s claims with a measured 1,061:1, and default brightness came out at a sensible 258cd/m2. We cranked up the brightness to maximum and measured a seriously bright 365cd/m2.

Everything you put through the U2711 looks great, with smooth transitions of greys to pure whites and deep, deep black. There was no banding evident in our test colour ramps, and the vibrant hues of Avatar leapt from the screen with stunning intensity.

Technically, though, the colour accuracy doesn’t quite match some of the best high-end displays on the market. At its default settings, we recorded an average Delta E of 2.4, which is still very good, albeit with those Delta E figures rising to 5.2 in the blues.

Dell UltraSharp U2711 monitor

That’s more than accurate enough for most uses, and photographers will also appreciate the presence of factory-calibrated sRGB and Adobe RGB colour presets.

In fact, there’s only one major issue with the U2711’s image quality. The matte anti-glare coating adds a grainy quality to images which we found difficult to ignore, and for photographers working in Photoshop, that may be a deal-breaker.

Still, there’s certainly no shortage of features. Twin DVI inputs are accompanied by VGA, HDMI, DisplayPort and component video inputs, and a 3-in-1 card reader and four port USB hub are crammed in for good measure. The on-screen display, which is sublimely easy to navigate, boasts a comprehensive range of options too.

For all its fine qualities, though, the U2711 has some serious competition. If, for example, you can live without an on-screen display and spare an even larger space on your desk, HP’s superb ZR30W doesn’t cost a great deal more. But, make no mistake, if you’re in the market for a high-quality display with loads of video inputs, a flexible stand and a genuinely useful array of features, the U2711 has plenty to offer.

Details

Image quality5

Main specifications

Screen size27.0in
Aspect ratio16:9
Resolution2560 x 1440
Screen brightness350cd/m2
Pixel response time6ms
Contrast ratio1,000:1
Pixel pitch0.233mm
Horizontal viewing angle178 degrees
Vertical viewing angle178 degrees
Speaker typenone
Speaker power ouputN/A
TV tunerno
TV tuner typeN/A

Connections

DVI inputs2
VGA inputs1
HDMI inputs1
DisplayPort inputs1
Scart inputs0
HDCP supportyes
Upstream USB ports1
USB ports (downstream)4
3.5mm audio input jacks1
Headphone outputyes
Other audio connectorsN/A

Accessories supplied

Other cables suppliedDisplayPort, DVI, VGA, USB
Internal power supplyyes

Power consumption

Peak power consumption94W
Idle power consumption2W

Image adjustments

Brightness control?yes
Contrast control?yes
Colour temperature settingsStandard, Multimedia, Game, Warm, cool, Adobe RGB, sRGB, Custom Color
Extra adjustmentsInput colour format (RGB, YpbPr), Gamma (PC/Mac), Preset modes (Standard, Multimedia, Game, Warm, Cool, Adobe RGB, sRGB, Custom Color), aspect mode (fill, aspect, 1:1), sharpness, reset display settings, picture by picture, OSD language, OSD transparency

Ergonomics

Forward tilt angle-5 degrees
Backward tilt angle20 degrees
Swivel angle90 degrees
Height adjustment90mm
Pivot (portrait) mode?no
Bezel width27mm

Dimensions

Dimensions650 x 200 x 430mm (WDH)
Weight7.700kg

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