Dell U2311H: E-IPS, Full Adjustments, and DisplayPort
by Chris Heinonen on September 27, 2011 12:20 AM ESTPower Consumption
Since the Dell still uses a traditional CCFL backlight and not an LED backlight, the power consumption falls in line with other traditional 23” displays. At max brightness the Dell consumes 41 watts while at minimum brightness it only consumes 18 watts of power. Heat didn’t seem to be an issue, and while I have no way to measure it, even after sitting here at the display for 2+ hours while I work on this review, neither the screen nor the rear of the panel was very hot to the touch.
Conclusions
Overall the Dell U2311H did a good job as a display, especially when you consider how affordable you can find it available for. The backlight uniformity leaves a bit to be desired, but the dE level was capable of getting to a level that was suitable for print work. The contrast ratio of 1000:1 was very nice compared to other monitors in the same price class as well. While an HDMI input would be nice for those looking to have it serve double duty as a display for gaming or movies, a simple HDMI to DVI adapter will resolve that since it lacks speakers anyway.
We have no problem recommending the Dell U2311H as a step up from the numerous mediocre TN-based LCDs that currently sell for under $200. However, there are other E-IPS LCDs available for under $200, so what you're really paying for here isn't E-IPS but instead it's the other features. What might those be? For one, getting a 23" display with height/swivel/tilt adjustments usually bumps the price up around $50. The other major "extra"? DisplayPort.
Ironically, the royalty-free DisplayPort tends to only show up on more expensive LCDs—a quick search at Newegg for instance shows that the pricing of the U2311H is right in line with other offerings that feature full adjustability and DisplayPort. If you happen to need/want DP support rather than HDMI, it's an important distinction, but you'll pay for the privilege.
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Flunk - Sunday, October 2, 2011 - link
I have one of these, bought it for $220 CDN on sale a month or so ago. I haven't had any problems playing FPSes on it but your mileage may vary.I've been impressed by the build quality and the picture is better than any other monitor I've ever had, if you're not a graphics professional (then you need a 8bit panel) it's definitely a step above.
JoeTF - Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - link
Uhm.Input lag is THE MOST IMPORTANT measurement with e-IPS displays, that are notorious for 30ms+ delays.
Skipping it is like skipping sequential read tests in hdd review.
gevorg - Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - link
This is a previous gen monitor, plenty of reviews on the web. Input lag was measured here:http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2311h.ht...
enterco - Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - link
I own a Dell U2311H, I can't see any noticeable lag. Anyway, the pixperan tool (pixel persistence analyzer) test image looks much better on this display than on my old TN display.ckryan - Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - link
Chris,Are you the new display intern? I too inquired about the highly coveted display internship, but sadly had been beaten to the punch. Ironically, I too am named Chris, and since I had just purchased a new U2311H from Dell, was planning on doing a "review application" of it.
It's a good monitor for the price, but mine has some less than desirable characteristics. However, the input lag is quite low as verified by a couple of other reviews (and my eyeballs), and I only find the off-angle darkening slightly annoying. It calibrates pretty well for me and has excellent black levels for an IPS variant -- that, plus I find CCFL to be generally superior. Just because a display is LED backlit doesn't automatically mean it uses less power -- it's often the case, but identical models that vary solely by backlight use similar amounts of power. Finally, I haven't noticed any artifacts from the 6 bit + AFC implementation, which is a bonus. Overall it's pretty good, but now it's kinda close to the U2412 in price now that it's out, and it looks like a better way to go if you're a fan of 16:10 (and who isn't?).
Anyway, congrats and I'm looking forward to your future reviews.
Daniel Egger - Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - link
> that, plus I find CCFL to be generally superior.CCFL die! Not dead yet? Damn...
The only problem with LED is that companies can't get their stuff together and do it properly and thus we still see crappy LED backlit displays while the high end still tends to use the more known CCFL backlight.
But since NEC recently announced a (what will hopefully turn out to be a nice) LED projector I'm getting my hopes up that we will eventually see a high end LED display from NEC as well. Once that happens HP and Dell will follow suit and we'll have an avalanche of professional grade LED backlit displays coming for us...
Pessimism - Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - link
CCFL needs to die. They may look nicer out of the box but give them a year and they all look weak and yellow. The manufacturers use the cheapest tubes they can find with poor quality phosphors that rapidly loose brightness and color balance. At least LEDs remain consistent for longer, with those you deal with the clear plastic lenses yellowing, again because of poor quality materials.jecs - Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - link
Don't hope CCFL to die too soon or we may get a lot of color precision problems. CCFL may seem old tech but it still produces more neutral color across the spectrum than a white only LED lamp. The downside is more power consumption and heavier units but it is not as important for professionals as it may be for consumers.On the other hand high end LED screens found today on very expensive TVs or monitors uses 3 LED color matrices for each color (RGB). So don't expect anything true LED for desktop use anytime soon.
softdrinkviking - Tuesday, October 4, 2011 - link
jecs +1LEDs still have a long way to go.
they look washed out without being as bright as a CRT. (to me)
alanwong - Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - link
They're selling the U2312HM here in Australia, assume that means the U2311H is out of date?