Dell UltraSharp U2412M 24-Inch Screen LED-Lit Monitor, Black
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scienceandcake
Greater than one weekAfter shopping for a new monitor, this is my third that Ive ordered from different places, second of this model. Finally! Ive found something I can keep. The model I received from amazon is in 96% perfect condition. Stable base (which was actually why I had to return the previous model), no backlight bleeding, the monitor is very bright, so I have the brightness turned down to 30 or so, which is great. The IPS viewing angles are fantastic compared to other IPS displays Ive seen. The only problem is that when I have totally black screens, like end credits or something, there is the slightest vertical streak on far right side of the screen. its very thin, less than 4mm across, and the pixels are good, just slightly slightly greyed out? I never actually see this error unless its a totally black screen. Also, its so far to the right, Im never really looking over there. 24 is a pretty big screen! Other than that, its perfect. No issues in my 4 days of ownership. Oh, but I would advise to just go to the Dell site to get the drivers for the monitor, the disk didnt find the monitor when I put it in. Downloading the drivers works perfectly.
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Tamer
> 3 dayPros: - Viewing angle: Much better than a TN monitor: This is very important for monitors that are 24+ inches as all TNs look significantly darker at the top even when sitting right in front of them. This is very noticeable in dark areas of movies and games. All IPS variation monitors address this problem well. The Dell u2412m seems to not have quite as good a range as other IPS monitors, but it doesnt really matter if youre sitting right in front of it. - Sturdy base: Rock solid. Does not wiggle when typing or even shaking a less-than-sturdy desk. - Color reproduction: The range of colors is very good, minus blacks, once properly calibrated with a spectrometer. There might be a tad bit extra hint of blue, but nothing terrible. - No dead pixels: I absolutely hate dead pixels. It is a very common issue. Luckily, this monitor did not have a single one. Cons: - Factory Default settings: Out-of-the-box, the colors are waaaaaaaay off. Like you took a translucent blue paint brush to your monitor. Using Windows 7s monitor calibration tool is not sufficient, you will need either a really good third-party program such as EzTune or, for better accuracy, a monitor spectrometer such as the Xrite ColorMunki. - Blacks are poor: This is to be expected of an IPS monitor. I was unable to calibrate my monitor to distinguish between 96-100% blacks. - Anti-glare coating: Oh god. Where to begin? When I first turned my monitor on, the first thing that popped into mind was Wow, this monitor is really dusty. How did this happen? Upon turning my monitor off, and taking a better look at it, there wasnt any dust on it at all. I then turned it back on and looked closer. It was the Anti-glare coating that was applied to it, reflecting light produced from the monitor into the wrong directions and producing what looks like small, dull, red and green specs. I then began to speculate. Maybe they just used way too much anti-glare coating on my monitor? After-all, it received so many positive reviews on Amazon. Well, after looking around at other websites for reviews, it turns out that it is a very common complaint about this monitor. The dusty-looking screen is very distracting. Like looking through a window that had collected dust for a few years. Solid colors do not look like solid colors, bright colors look murky, and no matter what you do, you cant get over looking past the dirty screen. The Anti-glare coating itself is not very effective. I have a window to the side and it seems to somehow reflect some of the light back at me in a dull satin shine. For reference, my old monitor has a very glossy mirror-like finish and there is no glare at all on it. If the window was behind me, however, it would be a very different story. I really wanted to like this monitor. I really did. But the anti-glare coating is such an eye sore. This is unacceptable for me in a monitor. I have an old Gateway FHD2400. It was a TN medium-low-end monitor for its time, and it has a better picture than the Dell u2412m due to everything looking so clean. The only thing I liked better about the Dell is that it has a better viewing angle. Needless to say, I sent the monitor back. Out of the hundreds of purchases I have made on Amazon, 95% of them being technology related, this is the only item I have ever sent back for a refund. I had high expectations of the Dell u2412m, but was very disappointed in the end. I would like to see Dell cease use of the useless anti-glare on this otherwise nice monitor. Edit- For more information on Anti Glare with Hard Coat 3H, the coating Dell uses on their IPS monitors, google dell u2711 anti glare review.
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T. Bellis
> 3 dayThis is a gorgeous monitor. I wanted an IPS monitor for editing photos in Photoshop and Photomatrix (HDR). My 1080P gaming monitors just werent cutting it. My choice came down to Asus or Dell, and I finally went with Dell because of price. Frankly, the Asus PA248Q is probably equally gorgeous. I have tried out both the DVI and DisplayPort and see no difference. Before opening photos in photoshop, I ran X-Rites Colormunki Display on the Dell and on one of my old cheap TN monitors. The Colormunki made a striking difference. The initial factory setting of the U2412M was too green. In contrast the munki made my cheap monitor look worse (low contrast to improve color accuracy, I think). Whatever. It made the Dell IPS monitor look wonderful, and that is what matters. Update: Got my second monitor and it was a bit red. Again, Colormunki fixed it. Out of curiosity, I fired up some games on the U2412M. Common wisdom is that IPS is not good for gaming. Perhaps. Again, I thought it looked fantastic. My eyes must not be good enough to see the alleged light leakage IPS monitors supposedly have. I am pleasantly surprised by the ability to game on this monitor and the 1200 vs 1080 height difference is something I really like. Gaming is absolutely NOT what this monitor is for, but if you play games in addition to editing photos, this monitor works fine. My original plan was to have only the one IPS monitor and game on cheap TNs. This monitor changed my mind. I have ordered a second one and after a few paychecks will acquire a third. The TN monitors will be retired. Update: Third one is on its way! I have no use for HDMI on my computer screens, so I cannot comment on that. I mounted it on a multi-monitor stand, so I cannot comment on the supplied base. I selected this U2412M over a wide gamut monitor because I rarely print my photos. My (limited) understanding of wide gamut is that it is meant for people who mostly print their work. For display on screen, this regular IPS is better than buying a very expensive monitor and then not using the wide gamut you paid for. Should you buy the Dell U2412M instead of the Asus PA248Q? Personally, I believe they are equivalent. When I was buying, the Dell U2412M was cheaper. When you read this, it just might be the other way around. I recommend going with lower price. In summary, I found this Dell to be the best value for my photo editing and am pleased with its ability to game. I am buying more. I highly recommend using a calibration tool such as a Colormunki or Spyder4.
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Anna Lovelace
> 3 dayPros: - I bought an IPS display for good color and this monitor has it. I was blown away at first when I switched to it. And I miss it now that Ive returned it. Im having trouble finding another monitor that will match the display quality of this one. - Great viewing angle without color distortion. Cons: - The anti-glare coating was more noticeable than other Dell monitors Ive used. It wasnt extremely distracting, but it was there. Especially plain white surfaces, like web pages, would shimmer a bit. - The IPS glow, especially in the bottom right corner. I didnt think it would bother me that much, but it did. I havent seen IPS glow this bad on Apple IPS displays so I wasnt expecting it from the Dell either. Under certain circumstances it was almost completely invisible, but on dark images, especially those near black, it was extremely noticeable and distracting. I found myself tilting the monitor, moving it around, moving my head, trying to make it go away, but didnt. For comparison, the U2312HM also has this problem but for some reason it is much less visible. - The monitor failed spectacularly after less than two months of use, with bands of random color running down the screen. I probably just got a lemon, but it impacts my perception of the monitors reliability. Service: - I had problems getting Dell customer service to help me because they expect the monitor to have a Service Tag number or for you to have a Dell order number. This monitor came with neither from Amazon, so you can expect to get zero help from Dell if something goes wrong with your monitor. Amazon finally took it back from me, but buyer beware buying Dell products from anyone other than Dell.
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Nebula
> 3 dayMy vintage 2005-ish Samsung 213t (21.3) monitor quit abruptly on me a month ago, so I had to scramble to get a replacement. I had been very pleased with the Samsung, even though it was a TN type display. The IPS-panel Dell U2412M doesnt disappoint. My, how the technology has changed! Im a photography hobbyist, and I fuss a fair amount over color fidelity, sharpness, detail and the like. However, I cant afford more than a basic investment in digital photography. I use a pretty ordinary Canon photo printer, and Ive been fairly satisfied with the look of my images on the Samsung and in print. With the U2412M, images are represented even more accurately on the display while maintaining quality output from my printer. The U2412M is designed to be highly compliant with the sRGB color space, which is appropriate for my purposes. It doesnt even attempt to handle the much wider Adobe RGB color space, but that range of colors isnt supported online anyway. In fact, unless I were to output my photos primarily to a high-end printer with an Adobe RGB gamut, that capability would be wasted (and so would my money). Heres what else I like about the Dell U2412M: * It has a full 1200 pixels of vertical, like my Samsung. I find vertical screen space to be exceptionally valuable, and was shocked to discover that few reasonably priced monitors these days have more than 1080 pixels. I dont need a wide movie screen on my desk; thats what my TV is for. * Its EPEAT Gold Energy Star compliant. This is hard to find in any large monitor. * Its screen is anti-glare. I dont understand the current obsession with glossy surfaces; the reflections on such monitors are incredibly distracting and make photo editing difficult. And no, the anti-glare surface doesnt bother me at all. * Its amazingly lightweight. Maybe this is normal these days, but the old Samsung weighs three times as much. * It has all the positioning adjustments you could want (tilt, swivel, height, and landscape/portrait pivot). Especially useful is the height adjustment: I can push it down to 1 from the desktop, so I dont have to tilt my head back to see through my progressive lens glasses. And my one caveat: The U2412M claims to have a 178° viewing angle both vertically and horizontally, but in practice, it doesnt seem to be even as wide as my old monitor. Outside a cone of about 90°, the brightness falls off significantly. This hasnt really been a issue as I sit pretty well centered when I use it. Your mileage may vary. Update: Upon further consideration, I think I overstated the viewing angle issue. The display exhibits some minor brightness variation when I move well off-center, but it remains quite impressive. Practically speaking, I dont think youre likely to find this a problem.
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TunaMan
> 3 dayAn old 24 1920x1200 monitor died (different brand). After a few days without it, I **needed** a replacement. The Dell USharp is **the** standard for quality 24 monitors. Ive used them at work for years, so my expectations were already set. Based on my reading of reviews across the web, it seems to have the best overall quality/value proposition. I was sold. I have other monitors at home, mostly 1080p, and feel like Im missing 200 pixels from the screen. The Dell 24 resolves that issue perfectly. I like that the Dell power switch has a physical feel and is not logical. That always bothered me on the previous monitor. I did take appart the old monitor to see if replacing a few capacitors would fix it. None of them were fried, so a new Dell was my answer. The Dell feels the same size, thickness, and I suspect is made by the same Asian maker. The old monitor lasted 7+ yrs. I expect this Dell will last that long too. The only thing that Id change on the Dell is to have a USB3 hub built-in instead of the old, out-of-date, USB2 connections. Other brands are doing that, but those also had more complaints about dead pixels and other returns. USB3 is not a major part of my peripherals yet, but it is growing. Overall (with 1 month of use), Im happy with this purchase and would choose the same monitor again.
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Morf Thumperton
> 3 dayBeautiful image set in a good, unobtrusive matte bezel. I replaced a deceased TN panel with this, its wonderful no longer having viewing angle or a photos location on-screen affecting brightness and contrast when I process things. The stand seems sturdy and has nice tilt, rotation and height adjustments. Out-of-the-box default settings had the panel WAY too bright and it seemed to have a bit of a cold cast; if like me you dont have calibration equipment TFT Central makes available a color profile you can try. That plus the brightness brought down to 35 worked well enough for me and images are beautiful, without their ICC Im not sure I couldve tuned it well by eye (its amazing how quickly our eyes adjust to compensate for color casts). Im glad they kept the 16:10 Aspect ratio instead of 16:9, 1920x1200 has lots of real estate, and the only reason Im not giving this 5 stars is that Dell is a pain to deal with if you havent purchased directly from them. I had to call them three times (and ignore a thread in their forum where their liason misinformed me) before getting an employee who would deign to entertain my questions without an order number or service tag, finally a tech rep acknowledged for me that yes, the manufacturers 3-year warranty (from time of manufacture at rear) remains valid despite my inability to obtain an order number.
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M. Merkey
> 3 daySo Ill get the big points out of the way first. No, its not a 10 bit panel, and yes, its an e-IPS panel (the low-end of IPS). If you dont know what either of those things mean, dont worry about it. This is far and away a better monitor than any TN panel out there (even the best TN panel wont match a low-end IPS panel for color reproduction, and its likely what youll get with any monitor under $200). So with that out of the way, Ill review this monitor as someone looking for a better than average LCD panel. That is, after all, what Dells U2412M is designed to be. Its not aimed at professionals. Its aimed at consumers that arent happy with how their TN LCD cant quite ever do white justice. Its aimed at the casual or enthusiast photographer that wants decent colors but doesnt have a job riding on it. Its aimed at the gamer that is disappointed by how hard it is to make out a dark room in their favorite game. It wasnt that long ago that TN panels in this size and resolution were going for the same kind of money (the Acer P241w sitting next to this Dell was $300 new). The fact that you can now get an IPS panel for under or around $300 is incredible. Compared to my old Acer (which Ive never been able to get decently calibrated) the Dell is fantastic. Whites are so much whiter. Colors are richer. Details are sharper. The OSD is quite frankly brilliant (the softkey system makes fumbling for the right button in the dark a thing of the past). Then add features I never had with my Acer, like the height and swivel adjustments, rotation, and a USB hub. Its money well spent as far as Im concerned, and Im very happy with it. Now to address an issue Ive seen in several reviews: yellow tinting. The display I got (model U2412Mb, rev A00) shows no signs of it. Thats only a sample size of one, so I cant claim that its gone, but its definitely not present on the one I got. I ran the Windows 7 monitor calibration (which is a visual calibration, calibrated eyeballs required), and was generally pretty pleased with the results. I dialed out a bit of green and just a hint of red (the gamma was pretty much spot on), and if anything it makes it look like my old Acer has the yellow tinting problem. For sake of mentioning the competition (I know how much some people like to comparison shop), you might check out ASUSs PA248Q. I havent seen one myself, but it seems to be the only real price to price direct competitor. The ASUS has USB 3.0 and HDMI if thats important to you. This Dell has neither (no HDMI at all, and the USB hub is 2.0). If youre like me and just cant stand how average TN paneled LCDs are these days, this Dell is a very good option. Im very happy with mine. It arrived with no issues (no weird tints, no dead/hot pixels of any kind). While I cant say for sure that your Dell will be just as good (quality control being what it is these days), I can say its worth it if you do get a good one. As always with Amazon, youre likely to have the best luck buying directly from Amazon (thats what I did).
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Danny
> 3 dayI work in I.T. and this probably one of my favorite monitors I have ever used. The Dell UltraSharp screen, while not 4K, makes it easy to read text off the display without easily detecting pixels. The colors on this monitor are fantastic. Plus, the 16:10 ratio makes it easy to see more of documents at once. The build quality of this monitor far surpasses typical monitors you would purchase. And, of course, the easily adjustable stand is fantastic. I find writing programs so much easier in vertical position, which can easily be done with this monitor. Additionally, I find myself changing the height and angle throughout the day as my activities change, relieving my back and eyes from strain. The only downside to these monitors is that they do not have HDMI inputs. However, the DVI input can be used as an HDMI port with an HDMI to DVI cable, so this is not a major downside. The monitors also have a 4-port USB hub, VGA input, and DisplayPort input. I recommend these monitors to everyone I work with, and bought 2 for my mother. Amazing product.