A closer look at the Dell U3011
It is very hard to convey the size of this display using pictures, you really need to sit in front of it for a while to appreciate what this size of monitor brings not only to gaming but just general usage of the PC. That much screen real estate leaves enough room to have an IRC chat client, the PC Perspective home page, the PC Perspective Podcast notes and a Skype window open during the Podcast with room to spare.
The monitor can swing over 20 degrees to the right or left letting you fit the base into tighter spots that otherwise as well as helping those blessed folks who can afford more than one of these monitors.
The swivel on the monitor is very smooth with absolutely no clicking. The weight of the base holds the montior very stably while you are adjusting the monitor. The entire silver circle on the base moves, it is not turning on a fragile post inside the vertical portion of the stand of the display which is critical in a monitor of this size.
You can tilt the monitor away from you about 30 degrees from the vertical and about 5 degrees towards you.
You also have a hair over 4” of vertical travel with a very sold feeling movement. It doesn’t sink down from a position once you place it there.
I would love to show you this monitor in portrait mode but it simply does not do that with the stand provided. In order to have a portrait display you would need to remove the Torx bolts which hold the display to the stand and mount it on a VESA arm capable of holding the weight of the monitor which is 20lbs naked.
It can do full resolution
It can do full resolution over dual-dvi cable
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/MONITORS/U3011/en/ug/optimal.htm
like most modern monitors the default windows pnp driver will not always set a proper resolution.
HDMI is limited still
I was using the Catalyst
I was using the Catalyst 11.2’s for this review and I could not coax them to see above 1920×1200 as a maximum resolution with the dual DVI cord. I am sure there exist some driver versions that will reach their full potential for those with a 30″ monitor and a card without DisplayPort but really, isn’t it simpler to invest in a card that can manage DisplayPort than hunt down a specific driver?
Well, that is an interesting
Well, that is an interesting statement. Mainly because I purchased two EVGA GTX 570 cards to run in SLI and ended up purchasing two EK water blocks to cool them with my WC loop. So I basically invested over $900 in my graphics cards, discovering shortly after that the reference GTX 570 cards did not feature display port!
Sure, they had the mini HDMI port, but no display port? I was just confused as to why they would have mini HDMI but no display port. Of course, the EVGA GTX 570 HD now features display port! Go figure.
I have a U2711 and it is
I have a U2711 and it is amazing with the smallest dotch pitch available on a monitor.
I wish I had the cash for a U3011 but as also have a U2410 and U2311 as well I think my wife would kill me!
I have a 2311 and it’s
I have a 2311 and it’s awesome! I can’t imagine how better the bigger guys could be, also they are kinda pricey for me so never given ’em a thought. Hail IPS!!!
I also have the U2711.
I also have the U2711. Although it is a bit smaller than the U3011, it is still “big” for a monitor. I immediately noticed the color difference when playing BC2: Vietnam. It changed my gaming experience for good.
Maybe next year I will upgrade to the U3011, unless there is something better. Either that or I will get a 2nd U2711.
very nice, but i can’t
very nice, but i can’t understand why they are not using ATW Polarizers anymore, it’s a shame really, they could make really nice blacks on IPS.
Looking straight on the
Looking straight on the blacks on this are great, it is only if you are a bit off of true that you notice a bit of lightness to it at the edges. I do prefer that to the colour changes you get going off of true on a TN monitor.
of course is vastly superior
of course is vastly superior to any TN crap but they should use ATW Polarizer for hi-end IPS monitors.
wonder if I can convince
wonder if I can convince someone to send me a display with it so I can compare
with that ATW Polarizers we
with that ATW Polarizers we have nice black just like PVA’s, they look really nice
The U2412HM looks like a step
The U2412HM looks like a step backwards from the U2410. 🙁
“…work to pay for it or use
“…work to pay for it or use it as a task write off…”
task–>tax