Dell U2412M - 16:10 IPS without Breaking the Bank
by Chris Heinonen on February 28, 2012 9:00 AM ESTDell U2412M Design, OSD, and Viewing Angles
The look of the Dell is certainly utilitarian and not sexy. Unless you kept posters of 1980s-era minivans on your wall as a kid instead of a Porsche or Corvette, you are not going to find the U2412M to be an attractive display. But as we noted on the previous page, like those minivans, what it lacks in looks, it makes up for in utility.
Dell continues the menu system with four unlabeled buttons that control the OSD, and manages to make it fairly easy to navigate overall. I did hit the wrong button a couple times, so perhaps they could space them out a little more than they do, but overall the menu is easy to use and navigate. There is no switching between horizontal and vertical movements with the same set of buttons, which is a peeve of mine.
In our forums some users expressed concern about the anti-glare coating of the U2412M so I decided to pay extra attention to it. I have to say that I wasn’t bothered by it at all, and didn’t see anything to be concerned about. It certainly was nothing like the patterned retarder on passive 3D displays that drives me crazy from a close distance. If no one had mentioned the anti-glare coating to me then I wouldn’t have even noticed it was there. Perhaps I’m just not that sensitive to it yet and will become more so going forward.
Viewing angles are always a good area of performance for IPS panels, and you can see that in the included gallery. Overall the angles were good, with a loss of contrast at the extreme angles but nothing that you would notice in a normal working position, or even if someone was looking at your monitor for a presentation. Overall from a physical perspective the Dell was unexciting but didn’t cause any areas of concern that some other models have for me.
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Finraziel - Friday, March 2, 2012 - link
Perhaps if all you do on that screen is play games, yes... Personally, I'd LOVE 120 hz, I can often still see chopping at 60hz and hate it. But, so far, getting a 120hz monitor means you have to compromise at just about everything else. I also hate the colourshifts in TN screens and I do other stuff on my system as well for which I really don't want to go to a 1080p screen (yes, I'd miss those 120 lines). If anything, if I'm buying a new screen, I want more desktop space, not less.Maybe new display technologies will make it possible to offer 120 hz at higher resolutions and better display quality. Until then I guess I'll stick with my old dell 2405FPW...
T2k - Thursday, March 1, 2012 - link
You must be blind.Sabresiberian - Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - link
This IS a review of a quality monitor. It might not fit your needs, but it is above any TN screen, and priced in the ballpark of the best of those. It isn't intended to be the best out there, but provide a decent 16:10 at a relatively low price point.Anandtech.com reviews a wide variety of monitor qualities, if you think they just do low-quality monitors you must have just started reading here and need to learn how to look up past articles. It's not hard.
;)
toyotabedzrock - Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - link
He/She wasn't attacking anantech.And this screen is not much better than a TN monitor except in viewing angles.
seapeople - Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - link
Wow, you screen snobs are getting overbearing.SlyNine - Thursday, March 8, 2012 - link
Yea, because saying this screen isn't much better then a TN monitor makes him a screen snob...You don't own a Dell U2412M by any chance do you ?
DarkUltra - Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - link
It should have said so in the header. Now it says only IPS which is misleading, aka getting more hopeful visitors.Visual - Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - link
Totally agree, calling eIPS IPS is downright lieing to your readers.Tetracycloide - Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - link
Panel Type eIPSWhat are you on about exactly?
Visual - Thursday, March 1, 2012 - link
Article title.