Dell U2711 a good buy?

It's a very good monitor for sure but a good buy in which sense? Best bang for the buck. no... but if you have the money to spare it's a good monitor for sure. I'm also in the market to buy a new monitor and I can't personally justify a $800+ monitor purchase. It's pretty much a U2311H on roids but still. $240 vs $800 for 4" and a slight resolution upgrade is quite a lot in my opinion. For $800 these days you can get a kick ass HDTV setup (just saying eheh).

I can't decide which monitor to buy too
U2311H (hate 16:9)
37" LG LD450
120Hz TN panel (Asus,LG,BenQ) -> I feel they are still too pricey for what you really get in the end. TN panels for > $350 c'mon now

If money wasn't an issue I would most likely get an U2711 or even an U3011. Keep in mind though that if you are a gamer you'll need a kick ass GPU setup to play with all the eye candy.
This is what I can't really afford.
 
They're great looking panels, expensive, but well made. I'd say it depends on what you're using it for.
 
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Its a great monitor but a little pricey. Just a note during the Dell days of deal in December 2010 this monitor came down to $750 CDN, there is no guarantee that the next round of monitor sales will match this price but something to keep in mind.
 
Well I guess I've had mine for almost a year now as of next month and I have to say I absolutely love it. Hopefully it can come in a 120hz flavor someday. :D
 
I'm sure it's a good monitor being in the Dell UltraSharp range at all. Just be aware that the screen, for all its resolution, has quite a small dot pitch. Not such a problem if you're used to using high-end CRT displays of old, but just remember that on screen items will display smaller than on, say, a 22" at 1680 x 1050 or even a 24" at 1920 x 1200.
 
Gaming mostly, I had Dell ultrasharp 2407 and loved it. Unfortunatly I sold it along with a computer I recently built for a friend. I appreciate the feedback, I have been wanting a bigger monitor for a while now and was intrigued with the resolution of this panel. I really want a a 30in panel but the price was just a bit to steep, figured this ould meet in the middle.
 
Nothing wrong with a used/refurbished 3007WFP-HC if you want a 30" panel for gaming. Like the U2711 it uses a 60 Hz panel.

Only reason I'm using the U3011 is because this size of monitor is a bitch to find used and the extra price you pay for the new model does not make it seem so ridiculous. I felt I might as well future-proof with the extra inputs and a 10 bit panel; the 3007WFP-HC only has a dual link DVI input.
 
If money wasn't an issue I would most likely get an U2711 or even an U3011. Keep in mind though that if you are a gamer you'll need a kick ass GPU setup to play with all the eye candy.
This is what I can't really afford.

I've been putting off an upgrade for over a year in the GPU department with the hope of moving to a larger screen with a higher resolution. I have used an HDTV for a primary gaming monitor and found it alright, I preferred the sharpness of my old dell though. Now I guess I have to figure out if its worth the price difference.
 
Just a heads up. Almost all of the latest large ips models and brands have what some people describe as an over aggressive anti-glare (AG) coating. Some people on H have even said they returned theirs it was so bad - complaining that it distorts small text and makes white backgrounds look sparkly or greasy. I haven't seen one in person but its enough to make me shy away since I have seen a panel with over agressive AG before in the past and can't stand it. The exception is the 27" apple cinema display , which uses the same LG panel as the dell, but is glossy/gorilla glass. I'm seriously considering getting one and an ati card to drive its display port. I saw the imac version at bestbuy and it looks impressive. BTW I dislike apple's ideology in general, but there isn't any other choice in the current gen of 27" and 30" very high rez ips monitors that doesn't have over aggressive AG that I've found. The dell also has an LED backlight btw.
 
you also gotta realize some people are more sensitive to that kind of stuff
i own u3011 myself and AG nor input lag bothers me at all
 
you also gotta realize some people are more sensitive to that kind of stuff
i own u3011 myself and AG nor input lag bothers me at all

I think the AG on the 2711 is worse..

I saw it and was like........ugh I don't know if I could deal with that.. and I had a 2007wfp which had pretty aggressive AG..
 
The AG looks bad if you're staring at a white screen, when actually doing something on your computer you wont notice it.
 
The AG looks bad if you're staring at a white screen, when actually doing something on your computer you wont notice it.

I used to have a DELL U3011 and I agree the AG isn't really that noticeable IF you aren't looking at a white screen. But I spend quite a few hours staring at a white screen just doing simple tasks like Word processing or surfing the web on Google. I found the DELL absolutely unbearable to use in these situations and RMAed it.
 
The U2711 is a great monitor, but I figured if I'm spending 800+ on a monitor, I might as well go the extra step and get a 30" :p

But honestly, the U2711 is 16:9, so the height isn't that much greater than a U2410. The 30" format gives you extra vertical pixels and a physically larger display, so you get a decent amount of extra desktop space.

The most cost effective solution though, I would say a used 3007wfp-hc.
 
I personally hate my U2711. Reasons?
- AG coating is just horrible, way worse than on the HP zr24w for example
- strange sounds when it's getting warm (had every single one of the 6-7 U2711 I've tried)
- Dell replacement displays always suck. I had so many U2711 standing on my desk... I don't even remember how often I called the Dell hotline. The refurbished panels had so many dead pixels, defective power supplies or color shifts that I just can't recommend Dell to anyone.

So in my opinion, you should avoid the U2711 and Dell in general. Although it's hard to find alternatives at the moment.
 
I guess Im just lucky, my u2711 has been perfect, no problems. If I was doing it all over again I'd probably go for 3x 24 inchers though, surround is sweet and costs about the same. Some 1920x1200 3x :D

I dont even notice the AG when doing word and what not.
 
Gaming mostly, I had Dell ultrasharp 2407 and loved it. Unfortunatly I sold it along with a computer I recently built for a friend. I appreciate the feedback, I have been wanting a bigger monitor for a while now and was intrigued with the resolution of this panel. I really want a a 30in panel but the price was just a bit to steep, figured this ould meet in the middle.

Leave it be, then. The input lag is too high.
Wait for the 27" 120hz screens to be available and buy those. You won't regret it.
If you want sharpness buy a 23" FullHD 120hz monitor, like the Benq.
 
Leave it be, then. The input lag is too high.
Wait for the 27" 120hz screens to be available and buy those. You won't regret it.
If you want sharpness buy a 23" FullHD 120hz monitor, like the Benq.

Am I mistaken, or do you have to be running a game 120fps+ to take advantage of a 120hz screen? Problem is I need something soon, the 6yr old 17inch sony lcd is killing me. 1280x1024 :(
 
Dell replacement displays always suck. I had so many U2711 standing on my desk... I don't even remember how often I called the Dell hotline. The refurbished panels had so many dead pixels, defective power supplies or color shifts that I just can't recommend Dell to anyone.

So in my opinion, you should avoid the U2711 and Dell in general. Although it's hard to find alternatives at the moment.

I had one 2407 arrive DOA, another emitted a strange hiss, the third worked flawlessly. I found Dell's return policy alright, I had to pay shipping both ways though. :mad:
 
I love my u2711. I wish they had a 27" in a 16:10 format, but I will live with the 16:9. I selected it for the fine dot pitch. I had been struggling to find a good monitor at a decent price with a fine dot pitch. People who complain about it are to be ignored, they just want to read text all the time. When you are looking at pictures, like games, the image is vastly superior with the fine dot pitch, as the pixels are no longer visibly discernible.

Out of the box the brightness will blind you, the %110 gamut makes it bit more difficult to calibrate, but once done, it is truly glorious to behold. I replace the 2408 with this, and now when I see the 2408, the pixels stick out even worse.
 
I love my u2711. I wish they had a 27" in a 16:10 format, but I will live with the 16:9. I selected it for the fine dot pitch. I had been struggling to find a good monitor at a decent price with a fine dot pitch. People who complain about it are to be ignored, they just want to read text all the time. When you are looking at pictures, like games, the image is vastly superior with the fine dot pitch, as the pixels are no longer visibly discernible.

Fine dot pitch plus AG coating which rapes that dot pitch completely? Wide gamut for gaming? Uhm... no...

Put your U2711 in sRGB mode and you have an awesome gaming LCD, I completely agree with that one. But for everything else it just sucks and will always suck. The thing is, if you want an LCD for gaming only you can go for a cheap TN LCD, maybe with 120hz. But if I buy a - quote - "high quality" screen like the U2711 you should to be able to read text on it and work with Word or PowerPoint without it driving you crazy. The U2711 is unusable for any graphics or text work. It's a gamer only LCD - a pretty expensive one.
 
I wouldn't be able to stand the AG on the dell , but that's from reports and replies of owners that I've read. Enough stories to make me shy away from that and any of the current model 30" ips screens which all have over aggressive AG.

There is another option however - I've seen the apple cinema display 27" 2560x1440 in person and it is awesome imo. Glossy , but I dont mind glossy in my desk's lighting environment. In fact I also own a 46" samsung LED-edgelit tv in my living room that is glossy (its back faces the window), and a 17" laptop that is glossy.

I'm seriously considering buying a 27" ips apple cinema display and flanking it with a few 1440x900 19" TN's in portrait mode. All three screens would be LED backlit too. I'm going to upgrade gpu soon so display port shouldn't be a problem. The adapters aren't that expensive anyway if I needed them.

I have to agree with the guy about 120hz tns for gaming as well though lol. I'm torn between the apple cinema display I just mentioned, or getting three 120hz asus 23" tn panels for eyefinity - which would cost about $50 more than the 27" ACD., or $170 less than the total cost of the 27" ACD + 'bookend' lcds in PLP setup.

I've said as much in various threads on [H], but I realize not everyone reads every thread. ;)
 
wouldn't you have problem with vewing angle going 3 x tn for eyefinity?
 
Apple displays are awesome and I love the glossy finish to them personally but the cost between my Dell and the Apple Cinema display was large enough for it not to be worth it.

I run a lot of matlab code and excel on my U2711, the AG still doesn't bother me.
 
From what I have read, the AG coating on the u2711 and u3011 are the same, and I was so concerned by reviews that I had verified return policy after hesitating to place the order.

I have no idea what all the fuss is about, as it looks fantastic to me, and at the very least is a huge improvements over the vanity mirror that is my ex-roomies 27" iMac where you pretty much have to close the blinds and turn off lighting to avoid at least some glare on dark media.
Am I mistaken, or do you have to be running a game 120fps+ to take advantage of a 120hz screen? Problem is I need something soon, the 6yr old 17inch sony lcd is killing me. 1280x1024 :(
To take FULL advantage yes, but to see any advantage just higher than 60fps.

With most people's hardware though, a modern game will be much more attractive with all image QUALITY settings to maximum though, which at that resolution is very unlikely to see framerates that high. Most aim for quality/fps compromise of around ~40-50fps, resulting in no benefit to a 120hz display in and of itself.
 
wouldn't you have problem with vewing angle going 3 x tn for eyefinity?
Its moot, as for the majority of titles, due to FOV issues, you can't really look directly at the left or right monitors as the image distortion is very noticeable.

With the 27" regular 16:9 resolution, you won't have to worry about:
1) maximizing windows spanning across multiple monitors
2) greatly reduced picture size for movies and pictures
3) HUDs and menus stretched outside your field of vision
4) some driver issues and high graphics processing requirement of quad WUXGA resolution

Try playing CIV5 on three 24" portrait monitors in eyefinity for example... its horrific.

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I have no idea what all the fuss is about, as it looks fantastic to me

Obviously, comments on the U2711 coating are going to be subjective as to whether or not its "good" or "bad". But put it next to almost any TN display. I had my U3011 sitting next to a Hanns.G display and the difference between the two were like night and day. Whites on the Hanns.G looked clean and "pure" where whites on the U3011 had a very strong "shimmer" effect. And while the Hanns.G was only 19", imho it looked a helluvalot better and I got it for $150 bucks, lol. :D
 
I have a U2711 and I love it.. The antiglare is a minor annoyance, but works well when working in a bright room; I like to have my blinds open for some natural sunlight, and the AG works well enough that I can. The trade off is worth it for me.

I can't stress enough how much I love this monitor. The picture quality is amazing, the desktop space and sharpness you get from the 2560x1440 is so nice, I don't think I can ever go back to a lower res. Games look incredible, but be ready to have the hardware to back it up, 2560x1440 requires some serious power to run in high detail. Even my 4.0GHz i7, and OC'd 5970 black chokes on some games.

When it comes to FPS games however, this monitor loses it's super star status for me. The input lag hurts the enjoyment FPS games. Especially twitchy games like CS:S, TF2, even Bad Company 2. Any other type of game I believe you will be hard pressed to top this monitor though. Civ 5, Starcraft, etc... omg amazing.

Hope this helps.
 
With the 27" regular 16:9 resolution, you won't have to worry about:
1) maximizing windows spanning across multiple monitors
2) greatly reduced picture size for movies and pictures
3) HUDs and menus stretched outside your field of vision
4) some driver issues and high graphics processing requirement of quad WUXGA resolution

Try playing CIV5 on three 24" portrait monitors in eyefinity for example... its horrific.


Its true. A single 1080p or x1200 lcd plays games fine. So does a 1680x1050 lcd for a little better framerates. And they won't require 2gb or more vram either. You dont have to worry and its much much easier on the pocketbook. Nothing wrong with that, and I'm not knocking your perspective on it, but as with most luxuries its a matter of preference/desire and budget. But in regard to those points made.......

1) Ultramon application. It addresses this issue as well as having a lot of other very useful tools for operating multiple monitors. No problem here.

2) Movies should really be played fullscreen on a single large 1080p display for 1:1 pixel mapping. This is a gaming/application pc. <--- ?
I do agree in part though - I dislike any kind of upscaling, so I would never use a 2560x1600/x1440 for fullscreen 1080p movies. But you can upscale them to fullscreen if you desire.
photos can be upscaled too. Also, many digital cam images are much larger than 1080p now so the usefulness of a rez higher than 1080p/1200p depends what you are doing and what you are looking at. The higher rez is also useful for graphics applications as it gives more desktop space for toolboxes and floating menus.

3) HUDs .. this is unfortunately true for most games.. but really it depends on the game engine and the devs, and community support. Eyefinity/surround gaming is still young.
WoW and LoTRings both allow you to move the HUD elements, either in the game engine itself of with readily available mods from a healthy mod community (due to the developers including a robust scripting engine for the purpose of mod support). If your other games don't support it, complain. I'm sure it could be patched in. As for first person shooters - some pro gamers play without any HUD on purpose.
In the 'old days' id software used to support the mod community fully with lots of tools and functionality, and DEDICATED servers, 3rd party game browser support, modeling tools , etc. One of the few companies I see do anything similar now is Valve, whose games seem to work great in eyefinity and surround btw.. Don't settle for a game co treating pc gaming like a console game. But --- I digress.

4) GPU horsepower.. of course.. this is high end gaming without a doubt, whether a single very high rez 30"/27" ips, or triple monitor gaming. However some games can play decently on even a single higher end ati card in eyefinity for example. It depends on the game and if you are an edge-smudging fanatic to some degree - and again very high rez is a luxury.


Ultramon
* efficiently move windows and maximize windows across the desktop
* manage more applications with the Smart Taskbar
* control application positioning with UltraMon Shortcuts
* multi-monitor support for desktop wallpapers and screen savers
 
When it comes to FPS games however, this monitor loses it's super star status for me. The input lag hurts the enjoyment FPS games. Especially twitchy games like CS:S, TF2, even Bad Company 2. Any other type of game I believe you will be hard pressed to top this monitor though. Civ 5, Starcraft, etc... omg amazing.

Hope this helps.

So the input lag is that bad? The apple cinema display I've been looking at uses that same LG panel, so that would be a consideration. I know ips response times are higher than tn - though much better than they used to be. The ACD is supposed to have a 12ms response time. I was hoping that the input lag would not be noticeable though since there is no scaler.

This review from september 2010 compares some popular displays.. I'm assuming the 27" dell and ACD would be the same result.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3946/apple-27inch-led-cinema-display-review/7

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Then there is this review of the dell u2711 which shows a bunch of other monitors compared to it.
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2711.htm

input_lag.jpg



Thats quite a difference in the results of those two reviews, considering they both use the same LG panel. 28.1 or 12.73 ??
 
So the input lag is that bad? The apple cinema display I've been looking at uses that same LG panel, so that would be a consideration. I know ips response times are higher than tn - though much better than they used to be. The ACD is supposed to have a 12ms response time. I was hoping that the input lag would not be noticeable though since there is no scaler.

Some people seem to have higher tolerance for this than others, and to be fair, my last monitor was a high end CRT. That said, I still play BC2 on the U2711, and have fun, but there is a slight disconnected feeling, especially when you have to quickly flick your view around, or do quick 180s. CS:S, it's unbearable for me, TF2, trying to shoot a scout bouncing around, or being a scout yourself is really frustrating. Enough so that I'm looking into buying another monitor because I love these games. Please add your input here if oyu have suggestions for me: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1036830807#post1036830807

That is my perspective, others might feels it's good enough though. Like I said for non-twitchy games, I've honestly not come accross a monitor that displays them more beautifully.
 
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The U2711 is unusable for any graphics or text work. It's a gamer only LCD - a pretty expensive one.

I disagree. I love surfing the net, creating documents and editing photos on it. The fine dot pitch is excellent for graphics as the RGB of the pixels is almost invisible. I have the 2408 wfp next to it, and it almost hurts to put anything over there. The .27 dot pitch just screams RGB pixels. I do have excellent near sight, so this may attribute to my interpretation of what I see. For those of you who need corrective lenses, you will more than likely disagree. With those who have excellent near vision, go for the fine dot pitch, and you will never go back.
 
The input lag discrepancy might be due to something the dell has in it that the 27" ACD doesn't. So far everything I've read on the dell u2711 says it has noticeable input lag, and everything I've read on the 27" apple cinema display says it doesn't have any noticeable input lag.
I'll have to see if I can find anything about the dell perhaps having some different hardware outside of sharing the same panel that could be responsible.
 
Ah, as I suspected , the dell u2711 has a scaler and the ACD does not. Which for me is another plus of the ACD vs input lag. I dislike upscaling anything anyway. If I want to play consoles I'll hook up to a 1080p display for 1:1.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2922/2

"The final potential drawback with the U2711 that we want to discuss is lag. There are actually two types of lag we noticed during testing, and neither one is likely to be a deal breaker if what you're after is high quality image. Processing lag (a.k.a. "input lag") is definitely present, and it appears to be due in part to the digital scaler. Like the Dell 3008WFP, the U2711 supports a bunch of input options, many of which can't handle the native resolution. That means it needs a hardware scaler to work with lower resolution VGA and analog inputs. The result is slightly more processing lag than what we've measured on 30" IPS displays that don't have a hardware scaler. The other type of lag we noticed is a delay in powering up the LCD and changing resolutions. The LCD takes around 3 seconds to power on, but it can take an additional 3.5 to as much as 15 seconds to sync to the current resolution. It's extremely slow compared to many other LCDs in this regard. Fire up a game that runs at a different resolution than your desktop and you might have a black screen for up to 15 seconds (3.5 to 5 seconds is more common). Depending on how often you switch resolutions, you may or may not be bothered by these delays."
 
Thanks for all the feedback guys. I'm heading over to friend of a friends house to look at and try out his brand new u2711. That will be the dealbreaker, looks like I might looking for a different monitor, maybe another 24 inch panel. We'll see.
 
Leave it be, then. The input lag is too high.
Wait for the 27" 120hz screens to be available and buy those. You won't regret it.
If you want sharpness buy a 23" FullHD 120hz monitor, like the Benq.

Yeah, but any 27" 120Hz panels will be TN. For anyone who wants a 27" 120Hz IPS display, I'm guessing we are YEARS away at best.
 
I'm really enjoying my 2711, despite it's drawbacks.
Although I play games, I can tolerate the input lag and it doesn't bother me too much.
I upgraded mostly because I really wanted the input buffet that the Dell's provided in addition to the resolution hike.

Jumping from 1680x1050 to 2560x1440 was a bit daunting at first, but I'm loving it.
It's really up to you though, as everyone has there own tolerance for pros/cons of a product.
Although, to be fair, the insanely good deal I got for it was what pushed me the most (~$550 on eBay :eek:) so...my situation is a bit different.
 
I'm one of the ones that returned their U2711 due to anti-glare, and I can assure you it is terrible. It's as though the entire screen has been smeared with oil and dusted with rainbow grit. There are other problems with the monitor, such as noise from the CCFL and the fact that it takes about 10 seconds to display when turning on/switching inputs. However, those would've been bearable to me if the AG hadn't been such a total deal-breaker.

I recommend that you wait and see how the Samsung SA850 comes out. This is a monitor featuring a new technology, PLS, which is comparable to IPS, but almost certainly without the horrid anti-glare of panels manufactured by LG (almost all current IPS monitors). It may even be cheaper due to the lower production costs of of the panel type. It's supposed to come out in April, and a lot of us are pinning our hopes on it.
 
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