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:
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www.dropbox.com/sh/ssicc ··· -qgaYZGT1st 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).