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koitsu
MVM
join:2002-07-16
Mountain View, CA
Humax BGW320-500

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koitsu

MVM

Dell U2414H vs. Dell 2407WFP

I've been using a Dell 2407WFP for years. Fell in love with 1920x1200 monitors at my old job (we had workstations driving 3 monitors each) and never looked back.

I felt it was time to get something new, possibly as a 2nd monitor, so I picked up the Dell U2414H. I should note up front that I've tried numerous IPS-based panels in the past (all from Dell) and had to return all of them due to either excessive lit/dead pixels, or more commonly, stupid AG coating or IPS glow (it's hard to tell which at times).

For those curious what the results look like (or what kind of ghetto setup I have -- hey I'm a UNIX SA, I'm not fancy), here's 3 shots from my awful point-and-shoot digital camera (uses a high ISO so lots of noise, and the camera is on its last leg). Dell U2414H (1920x1080) on the left, Dell 2407WFP (1920x1200) on the right:

»www.dropbox.com/sh/ssicc ··· -qgaYZGT

1st is normal room lighting w/ camera flash, 2nd is normal room lighting w/out flash, and 3rd is dim room lighting w/out flash (what I tend to prefer -- yeah, I like sitting in the dark).

Points:

* For details about what connections I'm using, what OS, and what video card, see here.

* I haven't adjusted the brightness/contrast on the U2414H yet which is why it looks semi-washed-out in the photos and "brighter" (more "grey") than the 2407WFP; it doesn't look as washed-out in person. I haven't found the "brightness/contrast sweet spot" yet.

* The AG film on the U2414H is very light and the IPS glow is tolerable. First time I've ever been able to say that about an IPS panel -- I normally hate the things for that reason. Seems Dell has finally listened to customer's complaints for the past 2-3 years!

* I did not have to use any sort of RGB range limitation override to get a full colour spectrum; I found a 24-bit (possibly 32-bit) palette and it looks the same on both monitors. Even though I'm nearsighted I have an incredibly keen eye for colour spectrum and single-pixel mistakes.

* The dot-pitch on the U2414H seems worse (i.e. more defined pixels) than on my 2407WFP; I can see both the horizontal and vertical edges. That will probably take some getting used to.

* The screen has no lit or dead pixels, which makes me very very happy (I had to RMA my 2407WFP 2 or 3 times before getting one with no defects, and over the years its only developed one "half-dead" pixel, which I can tolerate). The red/pink dot you might see on the middle-left part of all shots is a defect in my digital camera, not something on the U2414H itself.

* I hate the touch-sensitive buttons. Awful awful awful. They're not reliable at all, and the one on the far left (used for Up) on my U2414H definitely has something wrong with it (it works about 30-40% of the time). I really prefer actual buttons. But given the lack of dead/lit pixels there's no way I'm going to RMA it over something like that.

* Windows does not appear to "freak out" if I actually power off the monitor -- it still shows up as "Display 2" in the Control Panel layout. This makes me happy; I was worried because of the HDMI-to-DVI connection that it might cause Windows to wig out if it was powered off. Nope!

* Power saving mode (e.g. monitor stand-by) on the U2414H seems to be sort of half-ass; that is to say, the screen goes blank but its more along the lines of "just show all black" rather than "power down". EDIT: I was being impatient. If you let the U2414H sit for a little bit more time (some more seconds), it fully goes off.

* I have not done power draw tests, but I can do them if people want some real-world numbers; just ask. I do have Kill-A-Watt metres. I'm certain the U2414H takes up way, WAY less power.

* Finally: what Dell says about the "thin border" is very true. The distance between the edge of the monitor and where the display starts is about 5mm. For comparison, my 2407WFP is 20mm.

Overall I'm quite happy, and may get a second one, but not entirely sure at this point (I'd rather have a 3-monitor setup since then you can have a "truly centre" monitor, but for now I can live with one and a secondary off to the side).

What I really need though is to find a local carpenter who can make me a desk. My desk is way too small for two monitors, and I have some specific wants when it comes to portability (i.e. removable or foldable legs).
BlitzenZeus
Burnt Out Cynic
Premium Member
join:2000-01-13

BlitzenZeus

Premium Member

About your last comment, it may look unprofessional, and cheesy, however I use a folding table. The newer plastic ones suck however. Maybe you can still find one, sure they're pressed board, and not always the best construction, however they held up my heavy dual crt monitors for years.
HarryH3
Premium Member
join:2005-02-21

HarryH3 to koitsu

Premium Member

to koitsu
said by koitsu:

I haven't found the "brightness/contrast sweet spot" yet.

I have the Dell E2311H, which was a Black Friday Special in 2012. I hated it at first, as I just couldn't find that sweet spot. A search brought me to »www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/ and by following the directions there I was finally able to get my monitor adjusted to where I mostly like it. I still find LED backlit screens to be rather harsh/bright for night use, as compared to the view I could get with my old CRT's.

koitsu
MVM
join:2002-07-16
Mountain View, CA
Humax BGW320-500

koitsu to BlitzenZeus

MVM

to BlitzenZeus
said by BlitzenZeus:

About your last comment, it may look unprofessional, and cheesy, however I use a folding table. The newer plastic ones suck however. Maybe you can still find one, sure they're pressed board, and not always the best construction, however they held up my heavy dual crt monitors for years.

Using small font since a bit off-topic:

Not unprofessional at all if you ask me! I have a very heavy-duty folding table (also long, I think 80 inches or so) downstairs in my garage holding up a lot of rack-mounted servers (not in use) amongst a lot of other things. The problem I have with that table is with the support beams -- they're painted steel, and aren't sanded -- I can't tell you how many times I've torn my trousers, my legs, or even my hands from that. Plus the damn thing weighs more than I can lift (I'm thin and have back problems to boot).

The desk you see in aforementioned photos was made by my late grandfather with the sole goal of supporting up to something like 500 pounds -- specifically an old pantograph engraving machine. The legs are removable (held in place by a wing nut; I'd have to take photos to show how it works) which makes it easy for me to move. The drawer on the left is a bastard though.

What I'd like is something identical in nature, except the surface would be nothing more than a wooden door (really! I did measurements and what I need comes out to be almost the exact size of a door!), preferably made out of some heavy-duty pine + sanded + finished, but the legs would have to be fully removable. I don't want a glass surface as I'm afraid of something cracking it or bad earthquakes causing something to fall over and shatter it.

I could probably find an actual desk to buy, but the issue is that due to health-related problems it's difficult for me to go to a store and check out potential purchases. It's too bad Ikea no longer makes the Jerker, since that thing would work great. Something like this would be wonderful, since it'd free up desktop space by moving the speakers to actual shelves.
koitsu

koitsu to HarryH3

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to HarryH3
Thanks for that link, HarryH3 See Profile! I've seen that site before but had forgotten about it/lost the link. I remember using those on my 2407WFP to work around some weird issue where grey text when scrolled on a white (or black? I forget) background would turn pink or green (solution was to pick very very specific custom colour / RGB settings in the LCD menu to minimise the impact). The B&W crosshatching picture also works great for ghosting tests and "general" latency checks.
HarryH3
Premium Member
join:2005-02-21

1 recommendation

HarryH3

Premium Member

Quite happy to send some assistance your way for a change! I was about ready to return my monitor until I found that site and went through the entire process. I was astounded at the difference it made.
JoelC707
Premium Member
join:2002-07-09
Lanett, AL

1 recommendation

JoelC707 to koitsu

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to koitsu
I just picked up a pair of LG 22EA53 monitors a few months ago. They're my first IPS monitor (always had low end Acer TN panel monitors prior to this) and I was not aware of any wash out or other such effects in the corners. I don't see that on mine as I can read the clock and such just fine. I do like them much better than my Acer 1680x1050 22" monitors though. I thought about stepping up to 24" but I was happy with 22 and this actually shrunk the dot-pitch of the pixels.
said by koitsu:

Overall I'm quite happy, and may get a second one, but not entirely sure at this point (I'd rather have a 3-monitor setup since then you can have a "truly centre" monitor, but for now I can live with one and a secondary off to the side).

I moved from one monitor to two and haven't looked back. I thought about a 3-monitor setup too and I could still do it with one of my old monitors but it's not really something I feel like would drastically benefit me like going from 1 to 2 did.
said by koitsu:

What I really need though is to find a local carpenter who can make me a desk. My desk is way too small for two monitors, and I have some specific wants when it comes to portability (i.e. removable or foldable legs).

That's why I like being a jack of all trades LOL. I had a corner desk big enough for my stuff (was actually too big) but it took up a lot of room in the den (no spare room to turn into an office yet). And there was an entertainment center thing of sorts that held the printer and scanner and such, and another small desk that held another computer.

Fed up with how cluttered it looked and how much space it took up I got out a tape measure and started drawing. What I ended up building was a 2 foot deep by 12 foot wide desk. I used 1" x 2' x 4' white pine boards for the desk, stained and polyurethane coated on all sides. The support legs in front are old hardwood floor boards and the back is supported by a furring strip mounted to the walls. It may not be deep but it holds 3 computers, 4-5 monitors and a color laser multifunction printer. And it regained a couple feet of floor space across the den.
asdfdfdfdfdf
Premium Member
join:2012-05-09

1 recommendation

asdfdfdfdfdf to koitsu

Premium Member

to koitsu
They aren't inexpensive but there is a place called ergodepot out of portland that sells adjustable desks and standing desks, such as this:

»www.ergodepot.com/Ergo_D ··· d17w.htm

Where you can choose different frames and tops(sizes and wood choices like maple and beech) to suit yourself.

What I linked to is a wall mount pedestal but they have variations that are free standing and so on.

They also have a shop in san francisco.

Nick
Purveyor of common sense
MVM
join:2000-10-29
Smithtown, NY

Nick to koitsu

MVM

to koitsu
Cheap and effective solution I use....

An IKEA tabletop and 4 legs. It's $5 per leg and the tabletops range in different sizes from $20 for the smaller ones to, I believe, $60 monstrosities...My desk fits 3 x 24" monitors comfortably and I still have room for all the extra stuff...cofffee, writing pad...etc.

For monitors, I went through several cycles with Dell on getting a pair of decent U2410's when they were about to discontinue them. That way I kept my 1920x1200 resolution which, like you, I love.

PS. Your coffee cup is empty...You need a refill