Dell U2713HM - Unbeatable performance out of the box
by Chris Heinonen on October 4, 2012 12:00 AM ESTDell U2713HM Brightness and Contrast
Last review I changed how I measured brightness and contrast to use a 5x5 ANSI grid instead of solid black and white screens in order to provide more accurate data. I wasn’t sure how this would impact screens, making comparisons between models harder. Measuring the center square of the 5x5 ANSI grid, the maximum brightness I could obtain from the U2713HM is 343 nits, which is very close to the 350 nits listed in the specs. With the backlight set to minimum that drops down to 28 nits, giving you a wide range of brightness levels to choose from.
Black levels are where I expected the most impact with the new testing, since an ANSI grid prevents LED systems from going to full black. Preventing these systems from kicking in gives a much better real-world idea of the contrast ratio for a monitor. The U2713HM does a good job with the new measurements, as seen in the chart below.
Figuring out the contrast ratio from the avove data is simple. There’s some slight rounding, but otherwise we see contrast ratios very close to 1000:1 for the display at both maximum and minimum brightness. This stacks up very well compared to all the other 27” displays that have been tested, and using a more stringent standard. The contrast numbers from the Dell are very good overall,
With a good foundation of brightness and contrast levels, it’s time to see how the Dell performs with color.
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landerf - Thursday, October 4, 2012 - link
so it's officially confirmed their AG coating is improved to samsung levels now? no more having to remove it to make a bearably unblurry image?khanov - Thursday, October 4, 2012 - link
Thanks for the review. I was wondering what options the scaler offers?I have a U2412M and an old 2709W. The 2709W offers proper scaling while maintaining aspect ratio.
Strangely, the newer 2412M does not, it only stretches and is very annoying if you feed it a 16:9 signal.
Strulf - Friday, October 5, 2012 - link
How many Hz does it do? I presume it's not 120, right?IceDread - Friday, October 5, 2012 - link
The input lag makes the screen a deal breaker if you ever want to play a game where reaction time matters.swindmill - Saturday, October 6, 2012 - link
We can sell these monitors for around $600 USD + shipping. Send an email to delldeal@circu.it for more information.Wkstar - Saturday, October 6, 2012 - link
I paid $300.oo delivered each for my Catleap 2703's. To me they are wonderful.I do not need USB builtin or OSD or pivot, rotate
They do get my Tea on the morning
I guess if you want USB, OSD, Pivot, Rotate etc. Then it would be worth an extra $30.oo
To pay anything more for a screen would be Crazy ! !
Wellsoul2 - Wednesday, October 10, 2012 - link
I also bought a Catleap 2703 for $295 shipped.No bad pixels I can see.
The base isn't great but I don't move it anyway.
It doesn't look cheap.
It has glossy gorilla glass in front.
It only has DVI-D and no OSD . Just adjust backlight basically.
Colors and Contrast (Black) is awesome.
So many people have bought these and had great luck.
surgex - Monday, October 8, 2012 - link
I don't understand why Dell is doing this.I've had a U2410 for years now -- I'm STILL waiting for an UPGRADE to it!
They keep releasing these awesome budget monitors but they are actually worse in tech specs than the previous model -- oh it's got USB3 but the color isn't as good and the resolution is the same as the model that came out 2 years ago.. what the fuck!?
Why is Apple the only one who actually cares about display quality?
Dell keeps sending me emails saying to use my buying power (dell account) to upgrade -- and I awlays reply to their customer service team, I'll upgrade when you come out with a product thats WORTH UPGRADING TO.
How about 120hz, higher resolution \ pixel density!? All we get is a shitty USB 3 hub and a lower quality display compared to the U2711. BOO!
serons - Thursday, October 11, 2012 - link
There's a thread in a Swedish forum about units suffering from severe backlight bleed. Another common problem is a yellow color cast in the lower left corner. It seems to be quite common, but the Dell representative I've been in contact with says that they've only had complaints from Sweden. I have two of these monitors and both suffer from yellow color cast in the lower left corner. What you make of this? The posts in the forum are in swedish but there are images: http://www.sweclockers.com/forum/101-skarmar-och-t...jacknhut - Saturday, October 13, 2012 - link
I would love to see a direct comparison between this and the recently released ASUS PB278Q 27'' 2560-1440 monitor. The Asus seems to be a decent monitor that is geared toward gaming. Thoughts?