Dell 2408 mini-review

[doddsy]

Well it got here about 10 minutes ago so here are my some photos and initial impressions. Firstly the thing is huge, it is such a leap from 17" it's almost unbeleivable! I'm glad dell never changeds the design to be more similar to the 3008 because I really like this design.


Not much to say really.


The admittedly heavier than it looks stand, nothing flimsy about this!


You get a fair amount of connectors with it; DVI, VGA, Displayport, USB. As well as a frankly useless manual, a disc with a better manual, power cord and quick setup sheet.


And there it is, the wonderful screen. It clicks onto the base with a re-assuring noise. All in all the thing weighs a tonne!


Here it is in portrait mode, I can't see me ever using it but it moves round easily enough and still stands steadily.


Here we go, now the goodness starts. Windows recognised and loaded drivers for the media reader (on the side) and it showed up as 1920x1200 no problem.


My new desktop




The viewing angles are incredible!

Image quality is incredible, I watched a short clip of a 1080p film I have and it looked fantastic, not quite as good as my 1080p TV but I haven't calibrated the screen yet and my TV did cost a hell of a lot more. There are no dead/bright pixels (that I've seen anyway) and practically no backlight bleed that I can see anyway. There does seem to be a bit of input lag but that could just be because the screen is bigger that the mouse feels slower 'off the mark' as it were. There also doesn't appear to be any ghosting, although I haven't tried any games with it yet.

The menu is easily accessible and seems potent enough with enough options over brightness etc. It also allows 1:1 mapping, fill, along with others and a number of presets for desktop, gaming etc that change the contrast, colour brightness...

All in all it is easily the best display I have ever used, so far I can't think of any faults bar the price (it's over twice as expensive as a 24" acer) although I think it's worth it.

Edit: never enough thought about putting this in reader reviews, sorry.

[HEXUS]

HEXUS forum reader, doddsy, today became the proud owner of Dell's 24-inch Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor, the 2408WFP. Within a record breaking 10 minutes, he shares his first impressions with us all in his mini-review.

Read more.

[M4tt]

Thanks for the mini review doddsy, I think my credit card will be getting a bit of a work out soon!
As far as the input lag goes, do you have any further thoughts on that now you've had more time with the monitor?

[doddsy]

I think it may just be me getting used to it. I'm used to a 17" running 1280x1024 and I haven't changed the mouse sensitivity so the cursor takes a lot longer to get accross the screen. I don't have a crt to hook up though to measure it properly though. Still getting used to the size of it!

[directhex]

question is...

who the hell cares about displayport? O_o

[finnrogers]

I own a Dell W2600 LCD TV/Monitor which is 26" and supports a maximum resolution of 1280x720 (720p HDTV) - It's truely a fantastic screen if it's being used as a telly/console/pc screen. I think Dell screens are among the best I've ever bought and I'd love to own a Dell 2408 or a 3008 (or both ideally!). Thanks for the review, it confirms what I expected of this screen and it'll definately now be on my list to santa.

[M4tt]

I think it may just be me getting used to it. I'm used to a 17" running 1280x1024 and I haven't changed the mouse sensitivity so the cursor takes a lot longer to get accross the screen. I don't have a crt to hook up though to measure it properly though. Still getting used to the size of it!

Fair enough, it's a heck of a lot of screen real estate to get used to...
I wonder how long it would take to get used to it in comparison to my 17" crt

[Izmunuti]

I think it may just be me getting used to it. I'm used to a 17" running 1280x1024 and I haven't changed the mouse sensitivity so the cursor takes a lot longer to get accross the screen. I don't have a crt to hook up though to measure it properly though. Still getting used to the size of it!

You're pretty much dead on there. It took me a while to get used to how much you have to move the mouse. If you haven't already, I recommend getting a mouse with a high dpi, you'll need it to save you're sanity.

[doddsy]

I have a logitech mx518 so I can adjust the dpi 'on the fly'. I've tried it on the highest setting but ot just doesn't feel right. I might setup something in between, for the sake of my sanity!

Oh and I was just playing portal, looks incredible at the screen's native res! I think I'll definitely need a gfx card with a bigger memory buffer though for things like CoD4 and Crysis.

[vipernet]

Good review mate. I'll sell you my dell 24 inch and you can have matching. I'll just need to go for twin 30s next!

[rooophy]

Hey congratulations on your acquisition, I bought the 2407WFP in late 06 and i still love it. Back then the revision number was a very important information as they had fixed banding with revision A03 (the one I got) and it was important to make sure that you didn't buy A01 or A02. What revision is your monitor?

[funk3h]

It looks lovely!

I've been uming and ahing about a 24 inch widescreen LCD recently myself, and have been struggling to decide which to get. I liked the sound of the 2407WFP-HC, but conflicting reports of ghosting count against it. I've also been considering the BenQ FP241W which has attracted some great reviews since it's launch, but is perhaps showing it's age, especially in colour reproduction, versus the 2407-HC (even with ghosting concerns) and now the even more impressive 2408.

I almost ordered an LG L245WP (which uses the same P-MVA panel as the benq) since it's had some cracking reviews, especially CNet in which the picture quality and colour vibrancy were heavily praised. But then i came across a group test on XBit which critised its performance in those very areas, suggesting that the brightness either caused similar dark or light shades to become indistuinguishable depending on whether the brightness was set high or low. In the ensuing article-discussion, a few people suggested that it might have been an earlier revision model, manufactured pre-july '07, but there wasn't a satisfactory resolution as the author hasn't yet replied with the date printed on the back of the test model.

Finally the Hyndai W240D-PVA seems a steal at around ~ £390, since it features the same panel as the 2407-HC apparently without the same ghosting problems, and i've read comments from plenty of satisfied owners, but the lack of expert reviews makes it hard to judge whether it's decent value or not.

I'm sure you're equally familiar with each of these models, and i reckon you've probably plumped for the pick of the bunch At this stage, i think the 2408 seems like the best deal.

I have a couple of questions though:

1. Do you know if it will display 1080p over component? I know the LG and the original 2407WFP don't, which is a bit of an iritation as i'd like to use the screen for my 360 ocasionally.

2. On the same subject, have you tried it yet over VGA? (i have an old 360, so no HDMI) And if so, what's it like? My brother has the 2407WFP-HC and he recently told me the VGA image was pretty unstable.

Cheers in advance for the help

I'm pleased the ghosting issue seems absent too, and am eager to hear your impressions in that regard after you've had chance to get a proper feel for the monitor.

[azrael]

Most importantly a link to the Elisha Cuthbert wallpaper please

[doddsy]

Well most important thing first: Elisha Cuthbert

@rooophy; as it's only just been released I'd guess if anything it's an A01, can't remember seeing anything about revision number anywhere.

@funk3h; I've not tried my xbox on it yet, I'll set it up tonight and report for you. I don't have a vga cable for it though, I can test it over component and hdmi. I'm sure 1080i or even 720p would still look great on it though. I have to admit I was sort of in the same position you are, I'd researched every 24" around and everyone of them just seemed to have one minor annoyance that I hated. When I saw this for pre-order, and based on it's specs, I just went for it. I'm glad I did.

[SiM]

Looks good, but its a bit risky buying this at the moment... there probably a 50% chance it will need rmaing for banding/ghosting/other new problems it might have...

Displayport... its one thing that it has over my 2407hc
What else is different other than the displayport?

[funk3h]

@funk3h; I've not tried my xbox on it yet, I'll set it up tonight and report for you. I don't have a vga cable for it though, I can test it over component and hdmi. I'm sure 1080i or even 720p would still look great on it though. I have to admit I was sort of in the same position you are, I'd researched every 24" around and everyone of them just seemed to have one minor annoyance that I hated. When I saw this for pre-order, and based on it's specs, I just went for it. I'm glad I did.

Cheers dude

Yeah, that's exactly how i feel about it. To be honest, i was in this same position when i bought my last LCD, the viewsonic VP191S. There doesn't seem to be a "perfect" screen in any category, unless you can afford to shell out for one with LED backlighting. Samsung do a nice 24inch LED backlit screen, although it's over a grand - well out of my price range!

Anyway, i'm getting pretty close to taking the plunge and ordering the 2408 myself. Irrespective of the ghosting controversy, the 2407-hc was widely considered one of the best 24inch lcds available, and i'm not that much of a heavy gamer these days in any event.

*goes to procrastinate on the pcbuyit website again*