Dell UltraSharp U2412M 24-Inch Screen LED-Lit Monitor, Black

Great monitor, IPS is on point. The LED on the monitor can be a little bright if you keep them in a dark room, but its easy to fix if it bugs you. The colors and quality are one of the best Ive ever seen. Ive been running three of these together for a few years now, and I believe it to be a problem with my AMD graphics card at first but I did have some issues driving three of these in Windows. Being a 1920x1200 monitor, almost everything worked just fine but occasionally you do come across a game that stretches or doesnt look right even when proper display settings are in place. Thats probably because almost everything is built for 1920x1080, youll definitely run into times where you find wallpapers for 1920x1080 wallpaper sizes only but its not so much of a problem now. I would have given these monitors 5 stars but there are just a few quirks that leave me unable to do that. There is a tiny tiny bit of latency being that it is IPS and that cant really be helped being that this an IPS monitor so you should know what youre getting into. If I reviewed this a few months ago I would have considered the 5 stars, but it seems that Dell has really dropped the ball with something regarding these monitors because there is an issue with Windows 10 (possibly just the November 15 update and beyond) regarding EDID support I believe, or something where this monitor gets knocked into 640x480 and the only way to fix it is to unplug the power for a bit and replug it in. It sounds like user error but if you search for this monitors model number followed by Windows 10, youll see people having issues with this specific monitor. I believe the 12 in the model number (U2412M) designates 2012, as in this is a 2012 model - so keep that in mind that it appears that Dell has several successors now. For its time it was a star and must have, but that time has moved on now.

The monitor itself is awesome when you consider how little it costs. But setting it up was a real hassle for me. Granted I am running a 5 year old system, but it is a Dell computer, running a Dell monitor, replacing a Dell monitor... how hard should that be? Anyway, to resolve this, I needed to address two problems (at least on my machine). First, when I bought my PC, it came with a graphics card that only has DMS-59 pin as a digital connector. These things are outdated. So I needed to buy a DVI-D to DMS-59 connector. Mind you, the stupid DVI-D connector is also outdated, but the regular DVI-I that is popular today also works with it. I just wish the Dell tech knew this and told me so. Second, I needed to unravel the driver puzzle. Basically my graphics card does not have a driver that supports Windows 8.1 (which I am running). I looked into buying a new graphics card, but then would also have had to update the power supply... which basically costs as much as a new computer when you add all this stuff together. So I finally learned that you can use the old Vista legacy driver... and now it works perfectly. I hope I never have to go through that again, but at least I can say the monitor works great. Now I just have to get used to the idea of moving my mouse from one side alllllll the way to the other :)

I had two 16:10 LG monitors and at 9 months one went south. LG quit making them so they are issuing a refund. LGs customer service to this point is excellent btw. So, I ended up here looking for another comparable monitor for my dual monitor setup. In the price range it boils down to this Dell model and an Asus. If you are looking at these you will know which Asus I am speaking of. I read and researched forever it seemed and came up with two options. One may be yellow and one may flicker. Wonderful choice. If you are in that position then possibly this will help you decide. One site called TFT Central does a good job of reviewing both monitors. Both get reasonable marks with the edge possibly going to the Dell. What caught my eye is the Asus uses PWM or Pulse Width Modulation to dim the monitor and Dell does not. PWM is essentially turning the backlight on and off faster then the eye can detect and to dim the monitor the LED stays off for a longer interval. Thats how I understand it. It is said that this could cause some eyestrain in some people while reading. It reminds me of the old interlaced low frequency monitors that indeed caused me much eye strain so one strike against the Asus because I read a lot. At full brightness the PWM does not engage so it wont matter but you cant look any of these monitors for very long on full brightness so you will most likely be looking at the PWM working. Once again it may not bother many but I did not want to chance that. The Asus has some USB3 ports that may or may not work. Its the may or may not part that makes me wonder why I should use that as a criteria at all. Then there is the Dell where some were getting a distinct yellow tint and that certainly bothered me. You would possibly get the yellow tint with a Dell monitor that has a A00 revision number as reported by some here on Amazon. The numbers seem to go backwards as you read the reviews causing some head scratching. It didnt make much sense. I found a blog talking about this very subject and a fellow named Chris from Dell answered the question at some point. The A0... number starts over at 00 if there is a hardware change. For anything else like the case, stand or software change they add another digit to the revision number. So, what you have to do is compare the revision number to the date of manufacture to be meaningful. The yellow monitors appeared to be manufactured in the later part of 2013 with a revision number of A00. So I took the chance on a yellow monitor and ordered the Dell about 3 weeks ago which would have been the later part of May 2014. I received one with a date of manufacture of March 2014 and a revision number of A01. To my satisfaction there was and is no yellow tint with the unit I received. So it would appear that the one I have has had a software or firmware update based on the revision number. The part that I still find confusing is what if they have another hardware update immediately after a A00 revision? Hmm. The color was really very good out of the box and the only adjustment I have made to date is to turn the brightness level down a little. Much to my surprise it matches the LG color as exact as I can tell. I see virtually no difference. I also have a reference because while I waited for the new Dell I had an older Dell 19 inch running next to the LG and there was a major difference in color that could not be adjusted out. Last but not least I find out that the Dell U2412M and the Asus both use the same panel made by LG so any difference should only be in the electronics, case and stand. The Dell stand is very nice and the case very slim. I find the menu easy to use. The mat coating on the screen is not an issue. It looks just fine on both of my monitors. Some here have complained about the Dell warranty. That may be an issue to consider. I think they all could take a lesson in customer service from LG. Those folks have it down. So this is how I decided. Hopefully it will help if you find yourself with the same dilemma, yellow or flicker.

I have never been a fan of LED monitors. Sometimes the brightness can be harsh on the eyes, but I was pleasantly surprised when I received my new Dell U2412M. My eyes were pleased with the IPS Display. The 24 size is perfect for a desktop. I was impressed with the stand and its adjustability that alone is worth the price, most monitors in this price range have a cheap plastic feel to them, not the Dell. I am just an average user who touches up some family photos, surfs the web. Out of the box, the image quality is fantastic and was easy to set up. There is no HDMI input on this particular monitor, you will have to use a DVI adapter if your PC does not have a DVI plug. For the price Amazon sold this for I can live without an HDMI input. Bottom line, I saved a lot of money and got a Dell U2412M, Best Buy could not even come close to this price. Read the reviews, a lot of people here with technical knowhow explain in detail what is good and what is not so good. I have no buyers remorse....I actually want to get a second one.

I 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.

Update -- after using a new adapter to connect to my MacBook (VGA to DVI, I believe), the sleep problem seems to be solved! (I did not change the type of adapter, just swapped one adapter for a different one at work.) So the problem seems to have been in the adapter. I am updating from one star to 5 OLD REVIEW FOLLOWS... THE PROBLEM IS NOW SOLVED! I bought this monitor to work with my Macbook Pro, 13-inch, Late 2011 model, running Mac OS X Lion 10.7.4. The monitor works great for a few minutes then goes into energy saver mode, goes black and will not wake up unless I use mirroring mode, which I dont want. I want two screens showing different things on each. Dell recommends upgrading the software on my laptop video card which is so far impossible because Intel only seems to offer windows versions of the software for the video card. So, to summarize, the monitor is really awesome when it works, which is hardly ever. Oddly, it worked well for several weeks, so Im not sure its possible to return to Amazon. I have tried many different ways to solve the problem, including turning off the feature on my computer that puts the display to sleep, playing with all the features on the monitor itself, plugging and unplugging everything in various orders, rebooting the laptop over and over, etc, etc... nothing solves the problem. I hope this information helps Macbook Pro users avoid the problems Im having with this monitor.... very, very annoying when you are busy at work!! Meanwhile my cheap old, small Viewsonic monitor worked beautifully with the same laptop, but the image was terrible.

I purchased two of these. One of them had a stuck pixel cluster and a pea sized bright spot near the center of the screen. I returned that one and the replacement arrived with two dark pixel clusters. On any background but a black background the dark pixel clusters look like the monitor is dirty or has a smudge....tried to clean the screen multiple times but the dark spots are still there. Evidently Dell doesnt consider it an issue unless you have 6 or more of these spots but an ultrasharp monitor should be better than this. I can understand one bad monitor but now the replacement has issues too. Very annoying. The 2nd of the first two I purchased doesnt have any issues. Other than the pixel cluster issue the colors are great and the monitors perform as expected. UPDATE: After more research the dark spots on the replacement monitor are actually smudges/fingerprints/dust etc. between the layers of the monitor. That is why it looks like a smudge but you cant clean it. It is behind the top layer. This has to be a quality control issue during assembly. Pros: Great color and excellent picture Cons: Quality control issues/stuck pixels/smudges between layers My Settings: I have used both the standard and color temp control. My favorite settings are the color temp mode set to 5700K, brightness at 35 and contrast at 75. I have also used the same brightness and contrast with the standard preset mode and like that too. The brightness comes set at 75 which is way too high in my opinion. Great color reproduction and no eye strain with these settings. I did find the 6500K color temp setting too red for some colors and that is why I settled on the 5700K.

First, let me say I really like my Dell U2412m monitor. Ive had it about a month and have thoroughly enjoyed using it everyday, and for the price point, this is a wonderful monitor with an excellent feature set. However, its not perfect. The first one I received had severe clouding in the right top and bottom corners. Of course, these come setup with the brightness at an eye searing 75%, and the clouding diminished a bit when I turned it down to a more reasonable 30%, but it was still quite evident on a dark image, and not acceptable for my main purpose of photo editing, so back it went (thanks Amazon for the easy no hassle exchange!). The second one also has a tiny bit of clouding in the corners, but only when viewed really close-up, and mostly not visible at all except on a completely dark screen. So, not perfect, but acceptable. I really like the 16x10 ratio, its a nice big workspace. The build quality seems up to Dells high standards, and I love the stand, with its easy and yet very secure adjustments. I will say that the color on my second monitor leaned toward the green, cyanish side (yuck). Unfortunately, the color controls in the main menu are not fine enough for the kind of color adjustments that were needed, but luckily for me, I found some sites on the internet that described how to carefully access the service menu, and I was able to tweak the color to perfection using some very good LCD monitor test images I found using Google. So, lets wrap it up: Pros: 1. Good build quality 2. Excellent color and picture (when tweaked correctly) 3. Easy and stable stand adjustments. 4. Works beautifully with both my new Mac Mini AND my 10 year old Mac G4 (using a USB switch) 5. Lots of inputs and USB connections 6. 3 Year warranty Cons: 1. A bit of clouding in the corners, but generally not visible during normal use. 2. Only USB 2.0 3. No HDMI input So, would I recommend this? Yes, but with qualifications. Be sure and check your screen for unacceptable clouding, and be prepared to tweak the brightness, contrast, and color. If you can live without HDMI and USB 3.0 ports, than this monitor should be on your short list. UPDATE (March 4, 2013): I really like this monitor. It has performed flawlessly over the last 5 months. The bit of clouding in the corners doesnt seem to show up in real world use. No color drift and no problems whatsoever. I leave it on 24 hours a day and it automatically goes into power-saving mode whenever I put the computer to sleep. For the price, this is quite a nice monitor. Update (Sept 5, 2013): The thing I like most about this monitor, it just works. I know that sounds simple, but in this complex world of cables, and operating systems, and weird stuff, its nice to have something that I can just plug in and it works perfectly, all day, every day. The color has been SUPER stable, with no drift. The slight clouding in the corners hasnt gotten worse, and doesnt effect my day to day photo work. All-in-all, an excellent and reliable monitor.

Cutting to the Chase (Value vs product & purpose): I was upgrading from a Dell 20 16:10 ratio (1680x1050) 2007 LCD Monitor which had no actual problems with it, but I wanted more real-estate and a higher res image. I wanted colors, and was willing to pay for them, because I do do layouts and basic photo-editing from time to time, but I ultimately chose this over the 2413 and Im glad I pocketed the extra $200. For about $300, its a great buy and $50 cheaper than directly from Dell. I did some research in the way-back machine and it seems like I paid close to $500 7 years ago when I got my old 20, so paying 300 for a larger, higher res and more vibrant screen, is really quite a good deal... especially since 2007 dollars are about 50% + more valuable than our inflated monopoly money today. (Side lesson kids: so long as we print money, dont bother saving any in your mattress!) My work is Architecture, so added area for CAD or REVIT drafting is important- and 24 certainly feels like a lot to me. Most firms Ive worked at provide 20 screens. Ive used big 30 in apple screens, back when they had the clunky plastic frames. Frankly I feel like 24 is a nice compromise between size and working my neck muscles searching for the tool bars at the extremes of the screen. I also play games like Fallout3 and Bioshock Infinite, Civ franchise and SupCom, so I was worried about all this talk of lag (more later). The first thing my wife noticed when I plugged in the monitor was that the colors in the desktop background were more vibrant than the old monitor: three people had distinctly different lip and skin tones which didnt show nearly as clearly before. This is revealing, since when emursing myself in reviews for monitors, I started to feel like the 2412M would be a compromise.... Performance: Even from people who professed their love for the 2413, I kept reading about ghosting problems, about cyan color trails and input lag and gaming modes, and other things which sounded either REALLY irritating or complicated. I dont feel like flipping through settings menus to make an experience fluid feeling or good looking - I constantly flip back and forth between games, work, web browsing, or videos, and dont want to have to sort out the menu every time. I cant compare this model with another model because I only bought one of them! So heres a list of items about THIS monitor Ive found to be true in my experience: Q:Anti-Glare coating? A:It looks great. Supposedly its an advancement over the 2410, and not as good as the 2413. Well It is certainly an advancement over the 2007 I had, and way better than anything Ive been provided on the job. It looks smooth and clear to me, although it does not have the almost glossed look that the 2413 claims to have. Since I have to stare at the screen professionally for 8 hours a day, and then i come home and feel like playing a videogame or watching netflix for a few hours... this screen seems perfect, and I wouldnt want it any glossier. Q: Input Lag, or total lag, or transmission lag... that sort of thing? A: All kinds of fears about 6ms vs 8ms vs 1ms vs 2 ms got me really wound me up for NO REASON. Finally one of the reviews I read linked me to a reflex-reaction website, and I found that from click-to-click, although I could at times be quite fast, generally speaking, my fastest clicks could easily vary 10-20ms. So worrying about 2ms or a 6ms on-paper difference between this monitor and another monitor, even a TN fast gaming monitor, starts to seem really silly, at least to a non-pro gamer who isnt hopped up on a dozen energy drinks, who isnt nitrogen-cooling his CPU to eek out another dozen frames per-sec on his first person shooter. No noticeable response time problems here, which is why I suppose Ive heard that a lot of Gamers choose this monitor. Q: Color? A: Colors look great. It is supposed to cover most of the sRGB Gamut. I can tell you its a lot more vibrant than what Im used to. getting all wound up about color calibration is another thing most people just not need to worry about. I plug and play and havent had a problem. No weird color shifts here. The white looks white, the reds are red. Snozberries taste like Snozberries. Maybe the 2413 would have been all of my graphic dreams come true, but really I wouldnt have used it to its fullest, and unless your profession is colors, you probably wouldnt either. Read Fuzzy Wuzzys review for details about how in order to use the monitor to its fullest, you need to have an unbroken line of image processing from beginning to end optimized for that level of quality. Q: Backlight Bleed / glowing/ pixles? A: I dont see any bright light-leaks at the edges or anything, but when the screen is black, it isnt quite as black as Id like it. This is my first IPS monitor, and it seems like standard fare to have a bit of glowing, but its nothing I notice regularly. While gaming or web browsing or watching videos its something I dont notice at all. The pixles are fine, although I checked for dead pixles, I didnt find any. Q: Overall build quality/ customer service? A: Good, no defects, and I am sensitive since I once ordered a DELL laptop which came with a popped up piece of plastic trim. The monitor was Surprisingly light, although its larger than my old one. Seems sturdy. Not knocking it around or anything, so its not wobbling. The action for moving or rotating the monitor is very smooth and efficient. Aesthetically I like its clean lines. Well worth the value, no regrets. Cheers!

This review is for the Dell 24 inch Monitor model number U2412 My trusty decade old Dell