U2713HM review

After spending 2 months with the U2713HM, I decided to publish my thoughts on this monitor.

Green to indicate aspects which I want Dell monitors to continue to have.
Yellow to indicate aspects which I want to see improvements in.

Pros:

• PWM flicker is indeed non-existent, even at 0% brightness. Used the 'fingering technique' and verified using a camera. And because of the lack of FRC, there isn't an issue of FRC flicker either. Sometimes, less is more! But I still experience eye fatigue, perhaps because the screen is now much larger and because the texts are so much smaller (i was formerly using a 23" Samsung 226BW) and blurrier (see below). In retrospect, I should have gotten the S27740L because of it's large pixel pitch and lived with the extremely reflective screen. Or perhaps it's EM radiation? Maybe I should try out one of these.
• Great range of brightness, from 20cd/m2 to 320cd/m2 according to TFTcentral. That's the main reason for choosing the Dell over the Viewsonic VP2770. Please, please keep it that way for all your other monitors, Dell!
• Very user-friendly OSD. Buttons are well placed and have a nice tactile feel. I hate those touch-sensitive controls (aka non-pressable buttons), such as the ones used in the U2713H. I love the preset options too because it's faster to adjust the brightness of the monitor to suit the different room lighting conditions in the day and night. It would be even better if there were an automatic brightness control just like the Eizo FlexScan monitors.
• Dell has supplied a useful utility that allows one to split the screen in every conceivable way. While it does not work for all applications, it works for more applications than window's "show windows side-by-side" utility. Its implementation is also better than window's.
• Aesthetically beautiful IMO. The bezel is neither too thick nor thin; it's proportionate. I also love the fact that that the borders are straight, not curved. On the whole, the monitor just looks professional, poised and dignified.
• The stand is functional and feels sturdy.
• The monitor mounts onto the stand very easily. (It's tool-free installation)
• Securely packaged.
• Kudos to Dell for designing the exterior so well. But much has to be said of the image quality.

The mediocre (areas which could be improved upon). Note: I'm talking about out-of-the-box, uncalibration/unprofiled performance:

• Ghosting is very minimal and only noticeable when I look for it.
• Using the standard present, colour temperature is warmer than 6500k. It's also too red. Using the RGB preset, it's too green! But according to TFTcentral, calibrated performance is good, so I'll consider this a 'mediocre' rather than a 'bad' point. Wish it were hardware calibrated though, since the default presets are so far off. Why can't companies understand that simply because monitor is an sRBG, not an AdobeRGB one, doesn't mean it's not meant for colour-critical work? Sure, charge more for hardware calibration, I'll still pay for it.
• Black levels could be improved. Still far from 'inky black'.
• Adjusting the colours using the RGB channels is almost impossible because the increments are too large. In other words, there is a lack of granularity. For instance, reducing the red channel by just one unit changes the colour dramatically. This is also true for the sharpness setting; it's only in steps of 10 units.
• Black crush exists. Using the Lagom test, the first 3 boxes are indistinguishable.
• Banding can occur if contrast setting is set too low. Keep it at 75!
• A very slight buzzing sound can be heard from the top when I put my ear next to it, but not enough to be heard at normal distances even in an absolutely silent room, so not an issue to be concerned about.

Bad:

• While ghosting is minimal, I do wish it were a 120Hz monitor for a more fluid experience.
• There is very noticeable input lag even in normal desktop environment. I can't believe this. It's only what? 20ms of lag according to TFTcentral and prad. I swear it's not because I'm trying to look for minor imperfections in the monitor. I noticed this lag the first instant hooked up the monitor and moved my mouse. I also hooked up the monitor to my desktop using the supplied DVD dual link cable, but the lag is still present, so it's not an issue with the macbook nor displayport cable. I'm coming from a Samsung 226BW which certainly has lag since it's not a CRT, but the lag is almost imperceptible. The Dell, on the other hand, is terrible in this regard. Definitely a no-go for any respectable FPS gamer. If the Viewsonic VP2770 and the AOC Q2963PM can manage much lower levels of lag, why can't you Dell?
• This Lagon test shows that pixel-walking exists.
• The AG is still too aggressive. While it is supposedly lighter than the previous Dell versions, the 2713HM coating is still aggressive enough to cause texts to appear blurry. There is a severe lack of acuity when viewing texts, especially when compared to the MacbookAir. At this point, I wish to point out that there is a difference between 'reflectance' and 'glossiness'. Not all glossy screens are reflective. The MacbookAir is a perfect example of this. Never have I once experienced reflections that are too distractive on the glossy MacbookAir screen. The technology to produce non-reflective glossy screens already exists, as Apple has already clearly shown. So please please, take a page from Apple's books. Or at the very least, make it semi-glossy.
• Backlight bleed is terrible, especially when viewed from the left. Don't give me the crap that this is an inherent problem with IPS technology. The Apple iPads which use IPS technology have great blacklevels even when viewed from the sides.

Note: The monitor is currently hooked up to my Macbook Air via a minidisplay port to display port cable. Ensure you get displayport 1.2 because older versions are not compatible. There's apparently a problem with the iOS software too. It sees the monitor as a TV and therefore outputs YCrCb rather than RGB; read up this issue yourself). Thankfully, I'm using windows on the Mac, so I don't have this problem.

Edit- I don't notice the purported cross-hatching problem.

Thanks for your time
I should receive mine tomorrow, I waited too much to have my 1st IPS monitor in home.

Black levels could be improved. Still far from 'inky black'.
Black crush exists. Using the Lagom test, the first 3 boxes are indistinguishable.

Click to expand...

No LCD has good black levels period so these points are meaningless. Even 5000:1 AMVA has nothing on plasma.

what is the manufacturing date on the box mate?

young boy said:

Backlight bleed is terrible, especially when viewed from the left. Don't give me the crap that this is an inherent problem with IPS technology. The Apple iPads which use IPS technology have great blacklevels even when viewed from the sides.

Click to expand...

Tablets are starting to use "A-TW" type polarizers, as are some TVs. So we need them for large displays and small displays, but not the ones in between? I agree, it's impossible for companies to justify not using them on monitors anymore.

yellow and green are the same for me.

please edit post to make it more color blind friendly.

thanks! :-D

Weeeellll I got this last week for 1/2 the price so I could not say no. I have tried so many from Asus to Viewsonic, Monoprice, Dell 27**, the 29" which every brand had blacklight bleed and after the 2nd ones I gave up. Then finding this one for a steal ...you have to just keep watching.

So far ALL had IPS Glow some were worse like Monoprice. I know so many want to say the Korean ones are just a A- panel haha yet there is a HUGE difference. Anyway IPS GLOW is NOT blacklight bleed. Most the time its just the black boarder pressing to hard on the panel. I just snap it off where there is some bleed and its 100% gone now. Or sometimes sliding a piece of paper double or a tad more 1/4 -1/2" where the bleed is and moving it from side to side would get rid of bleeds (other monitors). Yet when paying $550-1000 I wont take a monitor with any bleed.

Not sure about the matted screen because mine is almost as shiny as my 32" LG TV and the fonts are crisp no blur what so ever. Very sharp. I had it replaced the 1st one was made Jan 2013 (LG panel) the other Jun 2013 (Samsung panel). The difference was the LG had darker blacks and I really liked that where as the Samsung panel was more GRAY blacks yet the color was spot on.

As for lag and I have a Asus 144 and I am NOT a hardcore gamer yet I dont see any lag.

There are things I don't like about this monitor yet I would be paying $300-400 on top of what I got this Dell or any other so this one is a keeper. When you get advanced exchange for up to 3 years there is NO reason to put up with any bleed or the like

Loving this monitor since June when I bought it BUT what pisses me is that at two weeks of use I noticed a nasty dead pixel and yesterday I noticed another one.
I CAN'T return it because I'm overseas...