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I'd like to share my thoughts on the U2713HM I bought last week.
Generally I'm pleased with this monitor. Its strength is definitely the large size, as well as the detailed image (high pixel density). I also like the coating, which is indeed semi-matte. Coming from a regularly coated IPS (EA231WMi) I appreciate the lack of any graininess in this type of coating. The difference in coating was immediately evident (even with the monitor powered off). Reflections are more visible, but I think it's a fair compromise. The flicker free (no PWM) backlight is a very good feature. It makes the image appear stable and pleasant to look at.
The model is a July 2012 build (made in China). In term of image quality, it performs similarly to the other reports here. Here are some of my observations:
- There is a slight yellowish backlight leakage at the left hand corner of the screen. This is minimal though and not visible during "normal" use, nor is it really noticeable when watching movies in a pitch black room.
The following images show a black screen at 0% brightness from about 2m distance:
1 sec exposure, 2 secs exposure.
It may also be worth noting that the monitor used to have more bleed, but I managed to correct 1 specific spot (read more at the end of this post).
- The backlight is not entirely uniform, as the center is more bright than the corners. Hence, on plain white and light gray surfaces especially the right hand side appears a bit darker. See the following images for uniformity on a gray and white screen (at 0% brightness like the previous pics) 1/20 sec gray, 1/60 sec white, 1/160 sec white). The picture does exaggerate this effect. Uniformity checks on TFTcentral and Prad.de show similar patterns by the way.
- Image retention can be found using the black and white checkerboard images. During usage, however, this never shows up for me.
- There is a hint of cross hatching on very light and plain surfaces. Depending on the viewing distance, they can sometimes be seen, but most of the times they blend in.
- The "Wikipedia buzz" is present and can be noticed in a completely silent room. I didn't find it on any other website and it becomes more quiet when the (browser) window size is decreased. Also, for some reason, making Wikipedia's fonts larger decreases the frequency (lower pitched sound), while making fonts smaller increases the tone height. Altogether, with fond size increased on Wikipedia, the lower buzz is not much of an issue.
- I don't notice the input lag in the games I play (most notably Battlefield 3).
Despite some of these issues, I think it's a very nice monitor overall. The IPS panel displays nice (and presumably correct) colors and has a wide range of backlight brightness adjustment. The build quality is high and the ergonomic features are excellent. It's definitely a "modern" monitor with USB3 ports and LED backlighting. With this type of panel it appears you need a bit of luck in terms of backlight uniformity and bleed though. I would definitely recommend the monitor to others looking for a quality 27 inch IPS, as long as you take into consideration some of the minor weaknesses that are found.
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On a side note, I was able to get rid of some of the backlight bleed of the panel by exerting pressure on the bezel. First the screen had yellowish bleed coming from about 1/3rd of the bottom left side. This ons spot was specifically bothersome when watching movies in a dark environment. The spot could be moved around by putting pressure on the border (pinching the bezel between thumb and index finder). When the right points were pressurized the bleed disappeared entirely. Now, when keeping a slightly higher pressure at these points for longer than 10 seconds, the bleed didn't reappear when grip was released. Compare before and after images here.
I can't tell if this bleed would have disappeared on its own or if this technique would work for any other kind of bleed. But maybe others would like to try and see if it helps. It's best to try it on a black image with the monitor set at 100% brightness.
Even if only one bright pixel is found on our select range of monitors, a free panel exchange is guaranteed during the Limited Hardware Warranty period.
This monitor won't display the full resolution through HDMI. 100% certain.
I keep getting conflicting responses on that.
Why wont a 1.4 card and 1.4 monitor display the full resolution?
It's not a HDMI 1.4 monitor.
If thats true then that definitely clears things up. I just got that its a 1.4 from another member on overclock and in the manual it states this
"Video input signals
Analog RGB, 0.7 Volts +/- 5%, positive polarity at 75 ohm input impedance
Digital DVI TMDS, 600mV for each differential line, positive polarity at 50 ohm input
impedance
DP1.2/HDMI1.4 signal input support"
So you guys can see the conflicting info out there.
The EDID data does not support 1440p. So it may not be the HDMI 1.4 issue. But both TFTcentral and PRAD state that the monitor does not support 1440p over HDMI.
Ok thats good to know, thank you.
Cutting out HDMI leaves me with these 2 choices, will they work?
1. GTX660- Dual link DVI + Dual link DVI + Display port
3. 7870- Dual link DVI + Mini Display Port w full DP adapter + Mini Display Port w full DP adapter
3. 7870- Dual link DVI + Mini Display Port w full DP adapter + Mini Display Port w full DP adapter
How's the input lag while playing games that require fast reactions? I'm not sure what to think about it, while I've never experienced it ruining my gameplay on any monitor, I still see many people saying that it's too much on current WQHD displays.
I have edited my review post and included that I did notice some minor input lag in FPS shooters. I can't give a definite conclusion, because I don't have the monitor for that long.
Does your current monitor have any input lag (based on reviews etc.)? If you come from a monitor with near zero lag, you may notice the increase in certain situations. I noticed it when looking through a sniper scope and moving quickly from one point to another. I wouldn't say it ruins your gameplay in other situations. If you play really fast games that require fast mouse movements, it may be a deal breaker. If you think it would seriously bother you, you may consider the HP ZR2740W (3.6 ms) or the Asus PB278Q (16.6 ms - only slightly less).
In the end, it all about how you experience this. I'm curious to hear what others think of the input lag...
My current monitor is Dell U2412MH with response time of 8 ms, which would surely make many TN-panel 2 ms "hardcore players" cringe, but I can't see it. Then again It has smaller measured input lag if I recall correctly. I'll look into the PB278Q.
The U2412 is known to have a very low input lag. I had this monitor for a short time and I did not notice any input lag when playing Battlefield at all.
The difference in input lag can be compared in these reviews:
U2412M
http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/review/2011/review-dell-u2412m-part13.html#Responsiveness
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2412m.htm
U2713HM
http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/review/2012/review-dell-u2713hm-part9.html
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2713hm.htm
Looks like such a difference is perceivable in real life (fast FPS) gaming. You may notice a slightly higher delay playing on the U2713HM in some situations.
Quality control on the Asus monitor seems to be a problem I had 2 and both had back backlight bleed. I don't know maybe my standards may be a little tough but for $700 I want a monitor with no blacklight bleed, you might want to look into the Dell if there quality-control is better. I think that's the new monitor I'll be buying.
Menace
Prad.de states that these test were run at native resolution for both monitors. I coudn't find that statement on TFTcentral, but their input lag test program (SMTT 2) is quite advanced, so you may assume they test under the right conditions.I haven't sifted through these results yet, but do they perform the input lag tests @ native resolution? I know some other websites do these tests - but do them at 1080p (while the native is 2560x1440/1600) so that would obviously skew results. Non-native res nearly always has significant input lag.
Seems like a reasonable choice to me. You could also consider the HP ZR2740w if you care for really low input lag. This graphs provides a good summary: http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/images/hp_zr2740w_v2/input_lag1.jpg. The ZR2740w does have slightly more motion blur (see review).Looks like it's PB278Q then.
So I am entering my final week or so before I cannot return this anymore.
Can someone explain to my why if it's IPS that when I look at it from slight angles it looks somewhat foggy to me? My TN panel was better than this. It must be the AG coat right?
Plus there is a spotlight effect on the bottom which must be what y'all call light bleed.
I also see some after image when moving between light and dark web pages.
And thin light text on dark backgrounds gets rainbow banding from cleartype.
The problem is I don't think there are any other choices if I send this back. 1920x1080 is just too little.
I've heard Dell has bad quality control issues too, so it might be no matter which I choose, there's a risk.
Somebody tell me they had a easy time with this purchase.
How does one generate red with green and blue leds?