Reddit reviews Dell UltraSharp U2711 27-inch Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor – Max Resolution 2560 x 1440 (WQHD)

Here's the link to the album as well as a long list of things!

ALBUM - 25 IMAGES

Monitor 1 - Dell U2711

Monitor 2 - Dell U2312

Desk 1 - IKEA Galant

Desk 2 - IKEA Micke (Looks like they don't have it in black color anymore)

Footstool - IKEA POANG

Chair - IKEA MARKUS

LED Lights - IKEA Dioder

LED Clamp on Light - IKEA Jansjo

Headphone 1 - Sennheiser HD800

Headphone 2 - Sennheiser HD650

Headphone Stand

Headphone Amplifier

DAC 1

DAC 2

DAC 3

Earphones - Sennheiser IE80

Keyboard 1 - Filco (Red Switch)

Keyboard 2 - Filco (Brown Switch)

Keyboard 3 - REALFORCE 87U (Uniform 55g)

Speaker Stands

Monitor Stand - Ergotron MX

Mouse - Steelseries Sensei

Mousepad

iPod Classic 160GB

Laptop - Samsung Ultrabook 9

I hate to argue, but while they may be the same LCD panel model, it's not the same "quality"

There is a reason they are not sitting inside of an Apple, HP, or Dell display.

Lower grade panel, and less features. THOUGH, the less features do translate to better response time. That's a plus \^_^

Yeah but if you leave asthetics aside you can get a 27" WQHD monitor for the same price.

Edit: Of course ever time I go down the monitor rabbit hole I end up on something like this...sigh, someday I'll have money.

I just bought the Ergotron LX arm yesterday, it shipped today and says it'll arrive on Monday (yay Amazon Prime). I heard about it from Jeff Atwood in his post on Coding Horror, and I think highly of him and the things he's done, so that was a big influence on my decision.

I expect my U2711 will also arrive Monday; I haven't gotten the shipping notification yet, but I also ordered it last night. I can come back here and let you know how it goes if you haven't yet made your purchase before then (if I forget, remind me by replying to this or with a PM).

But at $125 (USD), this arm had BETTER hold my monitor well or else it's going straight back to Amazon. It's much more than I expected to spend for a monitor arm, and I did see the far cheaper arms out there, but I'm counting on it being the best. It has excellent reviews, so I expect so.

Edit: I am very happy with the Ergotron, it holds up my monitor without problems (it has an adjustable tension, so I just tightened it until the arm no longer sank on its own). I can very easily raise, lower, and move it around. It clamped to the edge of the desk. The materials are thick and have some weight to them so I'm confident it's not going to break or fall apart. Overall I'd recommend it, if it's in your budget!

For $370 the HP ZR24w is a great 24" S-IPS ("super" in plane switching) display. I bought one for my mom who is an amateur photographer and she loves it. I enjoy using it as well. One thing I've noticed (and hasn't yet been a problem) is that the panel gets quite warm and radiates a significant amount of heat.

A step up would be the HP LP2475w (which I haven't actually used) for $550, or the Dell u2411 (which I have used and like) for $500. Both of these monitors are also IPS displays.

I have been using two 17" Dell ultrasharp 1703FP PVA (Patterned vertical alignment) panels since they came out in 2003. They are decent monitors. VA (Vertical alignment; in order of quality: MVA, PVA, S-PVA) panels used to be considered high-end, although most high-end panels are now IPS.

I put off buying a cheap larger 22" or 24" TN panel because I wanted to save up for a larger 27" or 30" IPS panel. I do a lot of programming (which would have benefited from a large cheap panel) but also a lot of graphic design and photo editing (which would not).

After ~8 years with the same monitors I finally upgraded to a NEC PA271W-BK-SV 2 months ago. the NEC has hardware calibration and a 2560x1440 resolution. If you can wait and save up your money, I would absolutely recommend a 27" panel. The resolution and color accuracy are phenomenal. The Dell u2711 is a great cheaper 27" IPS panel.

One possible negative about high pixel-density IPS panels is that a lot of manufacturers seem to be using very aggressive anti-glare coatings that can give the screen a "gritty" look. Like adding a slight amount of noise to a photo in Photoshop. The NEC that I have has this problem, but after a while I stopped noticing it.

Search google for IPS anti-glare coating and you will get a lot of hits. You may or may not notice it. Unfortunately, you won't be able to tell until you have the monitor in front of you.

Whatever monitor you get (unless you get a NEC SpectraView), you are going to need a monitor calibrator. I own the recently discontinued X-Rite i1 Display 2 (still an OK choice), but don't have any experience with anything else. Read reviews and pick one, but be prepared to spend at least $100.

Things to avoid:

• TN (twisted nematic) - cheap and good response time, but horrible contrast and color accuracy.
  
  
• LED backlighting - can be brighter (not desirable if you are trying to get accurate prints) and can have issues with white point and color accuracy.
  
  
• Claims of high dynamic contrast ratio - dynamic contrast ratio doesn't mean squat. Manufacturers will even inflate the normal contrast ratio. NEC claims that my monitor has a 1000:1 contrast ratio, when in reality I get closer to 600:1.
  
  
• Response times: shorter time should mean better, but manufacturers never specify how they measure this and so the numbers are practically meaningless. And a fast response time shouldn't matter for graphic design anyway.
  
  Monitors are always getting cheaper, but good monitors are still expensive. And a good monitor means nothing if it isn't properly calibrated.
  
  Good luck and happy shopping.

This is basically the gold standard as far as monitors are concerned. Though the korean monitors share the same panel and are considerably cheaper. If you want to read about them a little check out this

with that money range the best that I know of and that really hit everything you asked for is DELL U2711

just google for some reviews and we are done here.

a GOOD 27" 1440p monitor is at least $600 like this http://www.amazon.com/Dell-UltraSharp-U2711-27-inch-Widescreen/dp/B0039648BO


but 27" 1080p monitors can be found for about 250-300

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236304 <-- cheap and "ok"

http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=308280#1
thread on good monitors

THe U27u11b is one of Dells UltraSharp monitors and its a no brainer if your doing photography its hand down the Ultrasharp.

Its also $150 more btw than the one you picked out.

how much does she want to pay?

If she can afford it, I've heard amazing things about the Dell U2711

Awesome build. I'm a software developer and my gf is into graphic design. I'm planning on a shared rig, but I've already bought her a Wacom Intuos 4 XL DTP. It's a nice starting point for her.
AS for the screen, I have in mind a Dell Ultrasharp u2711 which should be enough to face an Apple monitor.

27'' Dell http://www.amazon.com/Dell-UltraSharp-U2711-27-inch-Widescreen/dp/B0039648BO

Great Monitor, got it a few years ago and loved the picture ever since.

Neither are worth a dime. At 27 inches you're just killing your eyes unless the resolution is increased to 2560x1440. Have you ever tried to use a computer on a big-screen TV? That's what a 27 inch monitor is like.

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-UltraSharp-U2711-27-inch-Widescreen/dp/B0039648BO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319386616&sr=8-1