In just this retiring yr , gaming monitors have enjoyeda successful jump to organic light-emitting diode . The technology is maturing , there are choices aplenty , and prices have even start to drop .
But in the world of productivity- and God Almighty - based monitor , the choices remain a bite more stagnant . Dell has hoped to entice buyers with itsIPS Blacktechnology , which enhances contrast above standard IPS jury . Combined now with a dissipated 120Hz refresh rate , and it ’s meter for a refresh .
That ’s the Dell UltraSharp 34 Curved Thunderbolt Hub Monitor ( U3425WE ) , a curved ultrawide monitor for productivity and creators . It comes with all the bells and whistles , making it for serious productiveness junkies only . But there ’s lot to praise , especially with the addition of the faster refresh pace .
Specs and pricing
The U3425WE costs $ 1,020 , which is an eye - watering price compare to what else you may get for that money . Competitors like LG and Samsung do n’t have an accurate competitor to it out on the grocery store , but they have pretty closelipped options for well under $ 1,000 . Take the2020 LG 38WN95C Ultrawide , for example . It uses a brighter panel , faster at 144Hz , has like port choice , and is currently sell for just $ 850 . According to LG ’s web site , it originally betray for $ 1,600 , but I do n’t know how long it sold at that Leontyne Price .
For pricing comparisons , it ’s also deserving consider the lower - priced version of this same monitor from Dell , the U3423WE . This video display is identical in almost every way , including get the same resolution IPS Black screen , the same exact design , and all the same ports and features . The only affair missing is the 120Hz refresh charge per unit .
Dell says it will continue to be sold and is presently goes for $ 736 . Is the startle from 60Hz to 120Hz worth $ 284 ? I ’m not sure that it is , but that ’s a full-grown question when it comes to the economic value this reminder offers .
Design
UltraSharps are premium in feature of speech and effigy lineament , but peach they are not . It ’s not that they ’re ugly — they ’re just fairly canonical . And a little clunky . To be clean , that ’s what many business and home office users are looking for in a reminder – something that blends in with the environment and does n’t draw off too much aid .
As bring up , it ’s identical in conception to the U3423WE and most of the other UltraSharp monitor .
That ’s not a bad thing needfully , but when you ’re spending this much on a monitor lizard , it ’d be courteous for it to be made of good stuff or have a cleaner designing . Dell ventured into sleeker designs in the past , but this form element requires a passably with child stand and foot . It ’s a thick screen too . I ca n’t say the contender is all that more compelling though . I think the look ofSamsung ’s ViewFinitymodels are a bit classier , but the all - atomic number 47 face of the UltraSharp gets the job done .
A big hooking , plainly , is the curved , ultrawide blind . The 1900R breaking ball is quite subtle , specially if you ’re used to the more aggressive curve find ongaming monitoring gadget . This one wrap around you gently , providing the slight sensation of immersion and ensuring the breadth of the covert feels comfortable .
determine up the UltraSharp could n’t be mere . The stand connects to the base with a few tightens of a screw , and the outdoor stage snaps into the VESA adapter on the back of the instrument panel . At 25 British pound , it ’s somewhat easy to maneuver and set up .
As is true of all21:9 ultrawide monitors , the base is quite large , shoot up a healthy amount of space on your desk to sustain the full motion of the admonisher . The VESA adapter on the back make it easy to swap it out for a different answer , fortunately . If you are using the stand and base , though , there ’s a decent amount of adjustment to help find out a comfortable position .
It takes a minute of muscleman to get it move , but it can height aline 5.9 inch or swivel by 30 degrees . The addition of swivel is handy — and not something some of the tinny ultrawide monitors out there have . There ’s plenty of movement there , and on top of that , it can tilt down 5 degrees or up 21 degree when needed .
Ports and controls
Dell set the name “ Thunderbolt Hub ” right in the name of the product , so you’re able to look there to be a healthy number of embrasure . The U3425WE does not disappoint in that attentiveness . It has just about everything you could need and more . That includes a DisplayPort 1.4 , an HDMI 2.1 , a Thunderbolt 4 USB - C with 90 watts of power delivery , a USB - ampere-second 3.2 Gen 2 upstream , four USB - A 3.2 Gen 2 downstream , a USB - C 3.2 Gen 2 downstream , a USB - A 3.2 Gen 2 , a 3.5 mm earphone jack , and an RJ45 Ethernet jack .
A large part of what you ’re paying for here is the ability to plug in all your extraneous devices , peripherals , and supplement into the back of the monitor , with just a undivided cable length connector to your PC . If you work off a laptop , this kind of setup is ideal . Throw in the simple but hardheaded overseas telegram direction solution in the sales booth , and you ’ve got a very hefty desk .
Considering the special fee , of course , you should really need to evaluate if you will put this to full use . If your frame-up is relatively basic , it might not make sentiency to fork out the extra cash required for this amount of connectivity . Dell has two cheaper ultrawide monitors with a similar you ’ll want to consider first .
The only thing it ’s really lose is the pop - down , front - face port of theUltraSharp 6 potassium , which are super commodious for quick access . Along with those ports , the reminder also sport a KVM switch , letting you plug into to two rootage , and easily switch between the two , all using the same add-on . Again , this is n’t something everyone need , and you ’re definitely paying additional for it . For those who would actually use it , though , it ’s a must - have feature .
The control are funnel through a single stick site on the right side of the reminder ’s frame . You ’ll also find a dedicated power button next to it . It employ the typical Dell OSD ( on screen display ) , which is n’t pretty , but is fairly functional . You ’ll have admission to the different Preset modes here , include Standard , Movie , and Game , as well as individual configurations for adjust color temperature or colour blank space . As I ’ll talk about after , you may also aline brightness and contrast here , in addition to toggling off auto - light or auto - color tuning .
Image quality
Unlike some of its competitors , Dell has stayed by from adopting new panel types , such as mini - LED or OLED . It ’s ironic , as its gaming brand Alienware has been on the cutting edge of these highly improved monitor type , some of which are flash than this UltraSharp . TheAlienware 34 QD - OLED , for instance , sells for just $ 800 right now . Obviously , that ’s a different target consultation and use grammatical case , but it ’s firmly not to make the comparing .
Dell has an alternative to these panel types however , which is calledIPS Black . It ’s a partnership made with LG Display that attempts to promote contrast and colors to contend with some of these other control panel type . Dell claims the U3425WE can hit a demarcation proportion of 2,000:1 and 300 nit of brightness , as well as viewing angle of 178 arcdegree . That ’s not quite OLED quality , of course , but it claims to significantly enhance the contrast of a ceremonious IPS .
If you do serious subject creation with this varan , you ’ll need to fine-tune it first .
When you reboot up the monitor , the default setting for dividing line is at 75 % . At that level , I was able-bodied to measure a contrast proportion of 1,750:1 . Set to 100 % within the options , I was able to get it slightly close to 2,000:1 , but that tank the gloss truth . In theory , you could always max at the dividing line when you ’re consuming content and drop it to 75 % when you’recreatingcontent . Either fashion , I was n’t ever capable to really achieve 2,000:1 . On top of that , keep in mind that this is a matte silver screen , mean there ’s an anti - glare coating over it to reduce reflections . I favor a glossy filmdom , especially if line is supposed to be emphasized , as the coat obscures some of the impact of that extra line .
But really , if you ’re planning to do serious depicted object creation on this monitor , you ’ll need to graduate it yourself . Using my Spyder X2 Ultra , I was able to calibrate the screen to correct the colour accuracy down to a Delta - E of just 0.65 down from a not - so - great 2.17 . The color coverage is adept , however , with 100 % sRGB , 88 % AdobeRGB , and 94 % P3 .
The resolution at this size is n’t super precipitous , with a pixel denseness of 109 pixels per column inch . Just as a point of comparing , the accounting entry - level Dell XPS 13 ( with a 1900 x 1200 resolution ) is 35 % sharp . Obviously , that ’s not a fair comparability to make because of how much bigger the screen is , but it ’s worth note if you ’re issue forth from working on a laptop computer . 3440 x 1440 has become the banner for 34 - inch ultrawide screens , which is why the higher pixel density of 4 K 27 - inch or 32 - inch screens is still preferred by some .
For what it ’s worth , theUltraSharp 32 4 K U3223QE , a monitor we gave a glow revue to , cost just $ 870 in good order now . The U3425WE still has a lower pixel density than that laptop , but comes substantially nearer . The U3223QE is an interesting point of comparison , actually , because it ’s significantly vivid , can in reality impinge on the 2,000:1 direct contrast ratio , and total with importantly better out - of - box colouration accuracy .
Refresh rate
I ’ve gone this far without talk much about this admonisher ’s primal feature , which is its 120Hz refresh rate . I’vewritten extensively about this trendalready , but I ’ll say it again : it ’s fantastic to see 120Hz refreshen rates on non - gaming displays . It come to laptop first , even making it to theDell XPS 13 and 14this class . Notably , it ’s even usable in the basis configuration of the XPS 13 , strike out a big alteration from the 60Hz panels in all XPS laptop in the yesteryear .
But with monitor , there are far less features that pass aid , making the conflict between 60Hz and 120Hz more pronounced from a marketing standpoint . I suppose that ’s how Dell gets to charging this much just for an upgrade in refresh pace . apparently , the alteration in refresh rate is n’t as noticeable in productivity as it is in games .
This conflict can be feel when you switch between a 60Hz screen on the Apple Studio Display , for example , and something quicker . The jumping from 60Hz to 120Hz dramatically reduces motion fuzz , make even just move the pointer across the sieve experience smooth .
The higher refresh charge per unit also means you may play game in good order on the U3425WE . That ’s a pretty big deal . While I would never grease one’s palms this varan first and first of all for gambling ( particularly at this price ) , being able to play some games on the side without being cap at 60Hz is an attractive proposition . The ultrawide build broker has become popular for gamers too , meaning this could easily double as a play display — if only it had support for FreeSync .
But again , there are cheaper choice like 144Hz LG 38WN95C Ultrawide or even the 100HzSamsung 34 - in ViewFinity CJ79 .
Is it worth it?
When you consider the contention , Dell is excite mellow prices here for its IPS Black contrast and fantabulous three - year warrantee . The LG and Samsung options I listed above only occur with one - class warranties , which is a bummer .
As for IPS Black , it ’s genuine that you ’re get a decent increase in contrast here compare to a conventional IPS panel . That piss a difference , even if my unit never actually hit 2,000:1 . It ’s not as though that demarcation is enough to make this a drool - suitable HDR panel by any means , and the color truth is n’t big out of the boxful for originative work . The Apple Studio Display is n’t an ultrawide evidently ( and it ’s even more expensive ) , but it delivers on out - of - the - box color truth , luminosity , and pixel density .
It ’s frustrative to compare this model to how good Alienware ’s QD - OLED options are in this regard . Until we get OLED or mini - LED creative varan that do n’t scare masses out , these IPS panels will always feels overprice at full retail toll . Again , consider the U3223QE , which was a stronger example of IPS Black and has already dropped over $ 300 from its original retail cost .
Over time , I ’m almost sealed prices will come down on the U3425WE too , and if it dip a bit more , it ’ll be a no - brainer . But even as is , this is a really satisfying monitor for those who are ultrawide - inclined , specially when you factor out in its admit industriousness - leading , three - twelvemonth warrantee .
