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Thread: Dell S2721DGF First Impressions

  1. #1
    Banhammer in peace PeterB kalniel's Avatar
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    Dell S2721DGF First Impressions

    So I've just bought one of these:

    https://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/dell...or-accessories

    Key specs that I was after are:
    -27"
    -1440p
    -165hz
    -1.07 billion colours
    -98% DCI-P3 coverage (claimed)
    -'Fast-IPS'
    -Freesync

    so this seems to fit the bill. But let me warn you from the start:

    DO NOT BUY THIS IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO IPS-GLOW

    But more on that later. First the good:

    Desktop
    Once set up (don't ask, freesync seems to be a dark art) this is a lovely monitor for motion. Going from 60hz to 165hz is a revelation, even on the desktop. Everything is much nicer - I found myself scrolling webpages for fun, it's much smoother and clearer. I hadn't noticed how much my old screen was blurring in motion, but I couldn't go back now.

    Games
    Games are likewise better with freesync. I'm on a GTX 1060 so was 60fps with vsync on at 1080p before. Going up to 1440p has knocked my framerate down to 45-55 for the most part at the same settings in games like Forza Horizon 4. While this isn't quite as fluid looking as at 60fps there is no screen tearing and it's still very smooth with none of the noticeable drop in frame rate if the odd frame takes longer like before. On the other side, firing up games like Destiny 2, Skyrim that can output high frame rates show they look buttery smooth.

    Photo editing
    Colours were pretty good out of the box, but I calibrated it anyway. I measure DCI-P3 gamut coverage as 96% rather than the claimed 98%, but this is still plenty, allowing for more vivid reds and greens especially compared to my previous monitor (which was 98% of the smaller sRGB space). It's proving useful when dealing with high bit colour photographs that have subtle colour graduations.

    That IPS-glow
    My previous monitor (Dell U2311H) was also IPS, but it seems this generation of 'fast-IPS' displays is far worse in the IPS-glow respect - compounded by screen size which make the viewing angle worse unless you put the display further back.

    How bad is the problem? For desktop use, not at all, nor while playing any game that displays any colour other than black. But if you mostly play space games or watch sci-fi films then strongly consider how much you want a perfect image. It basically acts as if you've got a very slight white reflection in the bottom edge/corners - if you've had a light on in the car while driving at night it a bit like that. It's not distracting, but it reduces contrast and means you can't see detail in blacks without moving your head to look exactly perpendicular to the spot. Combine that with black levels that are not especially low anyway across the whole screen and it's enough for me to recommend a VA or TN display if space is your main thing. I'll go back to watching films on the plasma TV (sorry planet). Still waiting for OLED I guess.

    IPS glow is not considered a fault by Dell, it's a characteristic of this kind of display.

    Other stuff
    The screen looks very smart. There's a LED light rail at the back which I quickly turned off and will never mention again. Bezels are narrow apart from the bottom (though the screen stops a good 6-7mm short of the edge of the glass on the top three sides). It comes with cables and a USB extender. There are cable tracks/holes for neat routing. The stand has a great range of adjustability and a pretty small/neat base footprint. Controlling the monitor menu is a slightly flimsy joystick which you also press in to select items, but it's more intuitive than having vertically placed buttons for horizontal actions.

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  3. #2
    Editable... jimbouk's Avatar
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    Re: Dell S2721DGF First Impressions

    When I got my new screen with the wrong cable/graphics card I was stuck on 30fps for a couple of days - surprising how noticeable it was just on the desktop. Happy when I got it sorted and up to 100fps!

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    Re: Dell S2721DGF First Impressions

    I have to disagree with you on "DO NOT BUY THIS IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO IPS-GLOW".

    ips glow is going to heavily vary monitor by monitor even within the same model. I have a s2721dgf which has almost no ips glow to the point where I can only notice it if I'm in a pitch black room with a all black image on screen and even then it's only a small glow on the bottom left corner. IPS glow is just going to depend on screen lottery.

    Agreed on the other points it's an amazing monitor for the price and was my first 1440p 144hz monitor.

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    Re: Dell S2721DGF First Impressions

    How do these compare to like a 1080p 240Hz? I am deciding between the two...

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    Banhammer in peace PeterB kalniel's Avatar
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    Re: Dell S2721DGF First Impressions

    Quote Originally Posted by SexyPotato View Post
    How do these compare to like a 1080p 240Hz? I am deciding between the two...
    They're higher resolution and slower refresh rate :/

    Quote Originally Posted by golden751 View Post
    I have to disagree with you on "DO NOT BUY THIS IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO IPS-GLOW".

    ips glow is going to heavily vary monitor by monitor even within the same model. I have a s2721dgf which has almost no ips glow to the point where I can only notice it if I'm in a pitch black room with a all black image on screen and even then it's only a small glow on the bottom left corner. IPS glow is just going to depend on screen lottery.
    It shouldn't vary, it's not a quality control thing, especially from someone like Dell. Backlight bleed on the otherhand I have seen vary.

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    Evil Monkey! MrJim's Avatar
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    Re: Dell S2721DGF First Impressions

    It's amazing how the prices of 165Hz 1440p gaming monitors have come down...I paid almost twice as much for my Viewsonic equivalent. IPS glow is something you just have to accept with this class of monitor though. The extent of the problem does vary between examples, however. For similar price you could go for a VA panel monitor like this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-LC2.../dp/B07FCM5WXF which will have better blacks and similar viewing angles to IPS. A lot of VA panels are curved though, which is not something I particularly like on a 27" screen.

  8. #7
    Banhammer in peace PeterB kalniel's Avatar
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    Re: Dell S2721DGF First Impressions

    If primary use is space-gaming/films I'd definitely go VA over one of these. For me I wanted the extended colour gamut for photo work so I was expecting to compromise something, I just didn't appreciate quite how much compared to 'slow'-IPS.

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    Re: Dell S2721DGF First Impressions

    Thanks for sharing the review.
    Can you please tell me about Dell S2417DG?, I am planning to buy this monitor. According to its review on internet, it is good monitor for gaming purpose.
    I need one monitor for gaming purpose only. Should I go with it?

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