Dell u3011 or Viewsonic VP2770?

[nanobeast]

I am in search of a monitor. Usage will consist of gaming, web browsing, and some light hobby photo editing (lightroom and PS), and possibly some light video editing of home made movies.

I have been hearing some good things about the Viewsonic VP2770 and was interested in it. However last week, I was able to order a u3011 from Amazon warehouse, not a refurbished one, most likely a customer return. The total came out to $500. It was a REV08 and still has about 3 years warranty left on it which I was able to get it transferred to my name. The monitor is in excellent shape except slight temperature difference (left side is cooler than right side).

Now, I can return this monitor to Amazon Warehouse for full refund and place order for VP2770- for about $700 with 3 year warranty as well, OR I could simply keep the Dell for about $500 with 3 year warranty and the Dell warranty is better (next business day delivery).

u3011 - Bigger screen, better warranty service, better value but temperature difference across screen, worse input lag, worse screen coating.

vp2770 - better IQ?, better screen coating, better input lag but smaller screen, not as good a warranty service, not as good a value.

I am slightly confused and I was wondering what folks here would do. Therefore, I have made a poll.

I am leaning towards keeping the Dell since it seems to be the better value. What do you guys think?

BTW, will calibration help with the temperature uniformity issues across the screen? I am assuming not. Also, if I were to get warranty service, I am am assuming they will ship out a refurbished one? What are the odds of me getting a refurbished one without any problems. Seems like Dell does not really fix the issues with refurbished units and just keeps recycling them? Will I ever be able to get a new replacement if i go through several refurbished ones and they still cant take care of the problem. I guess this would factor in my decision making.

 

[King Icewind]

I would say it really just depends on how you feel about the u3011. Is the temperature difference, the input lag, or the coating that noticeable/bad? Have you even given it much of a trial run?

I just got the VP2770 Friday, and it's great, but $500 for a 30" is pretty nice too.

 

[NCX]

The 3011 has:

Worse black levels, a grainy matte coating, more ghosting, higher input lag & is a wide gamut monitor, so, unless you use the sRGB mode games & web content will have oversaturated+inaccurate colors. Most newer, sub 200$ IPS panels can easily beat the 3011's sRGB mode in terms of color quality & black levels.

It's an easy choice if you want the content you view & play to have proper colors. It is normal for CCFL back-lit 30" to have obviously uneven color temperature. Calibration can help but you will need to buy a colorimeter which is compatible with a wide gamut display like the i1 display pro or spyder 4.

 

[nanobeast]

It is normal for CCFL back-lit 30" to have obviously uneven color temperature. Calibration can help but you will need to buy a colorimeter which is compatible with a wide gamut display like the i1 display pro or spyder 4.

I have a Spyder pro coming in. I have never calibrated before so will read into it. I use the sRGB mode. Can I calibrate just the sRGB mode? BTW, you are right, I am not very impresed with the way blacks show on this monitor.

Its intresting that the calibrator can help with the temperature variance across the screen. How much of it does the calibrator usually fix? Should I keep my expectations low?

 

[nanobeast]

I just got the VP2770 Friday, and it's great, but $500 for a 30" is pretty nice too.

Any temperature difference on your screen, one side to another? Or do you even care/notice? I am wondering if I am too sensitive to this?

 

[King Icewind]

I do not notice anything. It's all even and beautiful.

 

[NCX]

I have a Spyder pro coming in. I have never calibrated before so will read into it. I use the sRGB mode. Can I calibrate just the sRGB mode? BTW, you are right, I am not very impressed with the way blacks show on this monitor.

Its interesting that the calibrator can help with the temperature variance across the screen. How much of it does the calibrator usually fix? Should I keep my expectations low?

Yes you can calibrate it using just the software but the contrast ratio will be further reduced resulting in even worse black levels & you will still end up with worse image quality vs. many sub 200$ IPS panels.

Best to keep your expectations low, calibration can only help slightly. It is common for 30" panels to have obviously different color temperatures (30-40% variance), in fact wide gamut IPS are infamous for having different color tints on each side of the display.