Dell U3011 Review: Dell's New 30-inch Flagship
by Brian Klug on January 13, 2011 9:17 PM ESTBrightness and Contrast
For brightness we display white and black levels at maximum and minimum brightness as allowed by the OSD, and divide the two to get contrast. We use the same colorimeter described earlier. In this case, an Xrite i1D2 with ColorEyes Display Pro. For the U3011, dynamic contrast is turned off, contrast is set to maximum on the OSD, and the brightness control is varied across its possible dynamic range.
The brightness dynamic range on the U3011 isn't really amazing. In fact, it was a challenge to get the display to 100 nits for calibration (it required changing contrast and carefully balancing brightness and contrast controls on the OSD). One look at the contrast ratio plot however, and it's obvious what Dell did here - sacrifice dynamic range control for luminance but in so doing keep contrast extremely stable across that range of brightnesses. It's a tradeoff which actually makes a lot of sense, even if it isn't readily apparent when you're playing with the display, especially because the contrast OSD control visually makes a much larger difference than brightness which actually controls the CCFL power. I took a lot more data, but between max brightness and min brightness, contrast is pretty steady at around 750.
It's a bit unfortunate that the IPS in the U3011 isn't a bit more contrasty, especially when advertised is around 1000:1 with dynamic contrast off. Still, not bad.
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Sabresiberian - Friday, January 14, 2011 - link
Indeed! Thar's the thing I most want at this point; I hope manufacturers are reading your articles! Samsung? LG? Anyone listening?;)
mapesdhs - Friday, January 14, 2011 - link
Can this new Dell display accept a sync-on-green signal? How well does it handle lower
resolution inputs such as 1920x1200 or 1600x1200?
Such large displays don't seem to be quite there yet wrt quality and sensible pricing, so I
went with a 24" HP LP2475W (HIPS version).
Ian.
flblws - Friday, January 14, 2011 - link
how much? $1300? and still has a VGA port? REALLY?AND
and no 120HZ or 240HZ ?
Really?
yawn....
cjl - Saturday, January 15, 2011 - link
No monitor with this res will have 120Hz (or higher) anytime soon - the bandwidth just isn't there over DVI, HDMI, or DisplayPort (though the latest DisplayPort might just about be good enough - I'm not completely positive). As for the VGA port, some people still have laptops with only a VGA output. Obviously, it isn't meant to be the primary input, but it is there as an option (among the enormous number of other inputs).DanNeely - Saturday, January 15, 2011 - link
VGA is there because it costs next to nothing to add, but you can forget running native resolution over it. I tried once by accident (my GPU decided to send analog video over a DVI-I cable) to my NEC 3090, and the result was a ghastly mess. My initial reaction was to wonder if my monitor was DOA.AnnonymousCoward - Saturday, January 15, 2011 - link
DP1.2 x4 has the bandwidth for 2560x1600, 30-bit, 120Hz. All techs have the bandwidth for 120Hz at lower res.Soldier1969 - Saturday, January 15, 2011 - link
Well you keep on yawning my poor friend ill keep playing with maximum eye candy at 1600p. I have a 55 inch LED Sony 240hertz for everything else and a second 120hertz 37inch Samsung panel next to my 30 incher for double duty. Meanwhile you keep playing on your puny panel. You need to get educated on the tech or just keep showing your ignorance. You get what you pay for. If you want to play at the best res there is for PCs then get one otherwise just keep playing with TN panel garbage that keeps being churned out for the poor folk that think its good as it gets.Luay - Saturday, January 15, 2011 - link
Everyone is comparing the HP to the Dell but has anyone heard of Hazro?I'm sure a little attention to this company and its products will encourage them to venture into other markets. review please!
https://www.hazro.co.uk/shop.html#ecwid:category=4...
MeanBruce - Saturday, January 15, 2011 - link
With do many tech groups claiming to be delivering exactly what their customers were asking for let's hope someone from Dell Monitor Design reads Anandtech or at least these many comments. Everyone seems to be in agreement on the lack of RBG LED and DisplayPort 1.4 for this flagship design. There is hope though, Dell is due to replace the U2410 this year with the U2412, and in the past has introduced it's latest developments on the 24in platform then later they appear on the 27 and 30. So let's hope the new 24inch Ultrasharp is everything we have come to expect from Dell panels, and hey throw in a remote to control all inputs and the OSD and volume on the Soundbar. For all that I would have no problem with a $699 or $799 pricetag, they already make three other 24inch monitors at very low price points. Give the rest of us what we want!MeanBruce - Saturday, January 15, 2011 - link
Even $899, if it's Drop Dead Gorgeous!Peace Brothers!