[Trial Sharing] Dell S2817Q 4K Monitor Unboxing Experience Test: 4K Resolution Is Arbitrary

I have a special attachment to resolution, and I can’t stand the jagged feeling caused by low-resolution displays. Maybe it's because I'm highly myopic and don't expect any "hazyness". Before, I used a 27-inch 1080P monitor, and I always felt that something was missing. I could still see it when I wasn't competing, but it often fell off at critical moments. Later, I changed to a 27-inch 2K () professional graphics monitor, and the fineness and delicacy of the picture improved to a new level. However, after using it for a while, I became restless.

For example, with 1080P resolution, the effective pixels that can be displayed are (), and with 2K resolution, the effective pixels that can be displayed are (). What about the higher-definition 4K resolution? The effective pixels that can be displayed are (), which means that a 4K monitor can provide at least a display quality of nearly 10 million pixels, and the display fineness is more than 4 times that of 1080P. This is very suitable for someone like me who is very picky about resolution. I recently saw the good price of Dell's 4K monitor and my belief in the brand, so I bought it.

【Unboxing】

When I opened the inner packaging, I found that it was not protected by thick original hard foam boards. There were only some carton packages around it. Under the premise of violent domestic express transportation, it was still delivered to me safely. It seems that Dell is very confident in the quality of their screens. !

The base and stand of this monitor are packaged separately. The base is made of aluminum alloy and galvanized, making it solid and stable without losing its appearance.

The back of the base has anti-slip treatment all around.

The monitor stand has a strong Dell family style. Unfortunately, it cannot be raised or lowered. Fortunately, I am tall enough so it does not affect it much.

The connection between the base and the bracket can be installed without tools and can be tightened manually.

After tightening, the bracket tilts slightly inward, which is a bit special.

It adopts a snap-on design that can be tightened manually, eliminating the trouble of screw installation. It is worth learning from some domestic monitor manufacturers. Don’t keep the old screws away. If one of them falls out, it will be annoying.

The stand tilts inward without tightening, supports pitch angle adjustment, and can be adjusted to the best angle for use. (There is nothing you can do to adjust the height of the display)

【Exterior】

The front of the monitor has the traditional style of the Dell monitor family. The first impression is that it is calm. You can’t tell how amazing it looks, but you can’t tell what is ugly about it. It is similar to the Volkswagen brand in cars, and they all look the same.

The matte screen has no reflective effect. Instead, the surrounding frames are treated with piano paint. Under the contrast of the light, the photo effect is not ideal, but the real thing will be better.

The moment the screen lit up, I finally saw the long-awaited stunning resolution 4K display. My first impression was: Oh, it turns out the picture can be so detailed!

The back of the display is treated with a black piano paint process, which is somewhat similar to gloss black. It is understood that this kind of backplane processing technology is relatively complicated. It is rarely seen except for Dell. It requires multiple times of painting, polishing and then spraying. But one disadvantage is that it easily attracts fingerprints and dust.

【detail】

The Dell LOGO is full of faith. I don’t understand why the “E” is written slanted? Can any netizen explain it?

The monitor menu buttons are located on the lower right side of the bottom of the monitor. There are five physical buttons in total. The feedback is moderate and it is easy to get started.

There are also dual audio combinations on the left and right sides of the bottom of the monitor, each with a power of 9W. Compared with some monitors equipped with 2W or 3W small speakers, the sound quality is much higher. The sound effect is indeed good.

The input interfaces of the monitor, from left to right, are HDMI 2.0 (supports MHL), HDMI 2.0 (also supports MHL), 1.2, and Mini 1.2. It can be connected to an external digital camera, XBOX ONE, PS4 game console, or notebook. Since VGA and DVI cannot support 4K resolution, it is natural for them to be cancelled.

On the other side of the bottom, there is also a power cord interface, USB3.0x2 interface (downstream port), USB3.0x1 (upstream port) and audio output interface.

The 28-inch large screen has improved pitch angle adjustment, but unfortunately it cannot be lifted or rotated left or right.

[Monitor menu experience]

Dell has developed a user-friendly and easy-to-operate display menu for its monitors. Compared with other brands, I think the operation is more intuitive, faster and more convenient. Next, I’ll show you how to experience it.

All the contents of the menu, including brightness/contrast, input source, color, display, PIP/PBP, audio, monitor power, menu, personal settings, and others, each item performs its own function, the instructions are clear, and there is almost no learning cost.

Input sources, including DP, mini DP, HDMI/MHL 1, HDMI/MHL 2, automatically select and reset the input source. When different types of interfaces are connected, the monitor will automatically recognize it.

Color can provide preset modes, input color formats, reset colors, and choose your favorite color style according to your own usage habits.

Here are some common display settings, including aspect ratio, monitor sleep, response time, and more.

It provides PIP (picture-in-picture) and PBP (picture-by-picture) functions. You will experience this function next.

In the display menu, you can also control the volume and speakers of the monitor audio.

Monitor power supply, control LED power button and USB power supply.

Here are some general settings, language, transparency, timers, etc.

It also provides "Personal Settings" to customize shortcut keys. Defined shortcut key 1: preset mode; shortcut key 2: volume. One click to operate.

Dell has put a lot of effort into the display menu. It has all the functions, clear categories, easy operation, and a very good user experience.

【PIP/PBP experience】

Dell's PIP/PBP split-screen function supports two signals to be displayed together at the same time. Desktop PCs and laptops can be connected to this monitor at the same time, making it easy to handle complex multi-tasks. This means that two things can be done at the same time without the task windows interfering with each other.

After turning on the PIP function, the signal source, size, and position of the PIP can be adjusted, and the subject and object of the screen can also be switched.

After turning on PIP, the content displayed on the laptop is synchronized to the Dell. The two screens do not interfere with each other and can be operated separately.

Project the notebook display content onto the screen and switch the window size

All 13.3-inch notebook screens are "moved" to Dell.

The position of the PIP can be adjusted in four positions: upper left, upper right, lower right, and lower left.

PBP is painting next to painting

The PBP function can divide two equal screens without interfering with each other. It is equivalent to one monitor and can display the contents of two computers at the same time. For some special operations, this function is very refreshing, such as working and watching movies at the same time. ; Chatting with girls while typing code; copying articles and sample essays at the same time...

[Subjective color expression]

Dell's price is just over 3K. Among 28-inch 4K monitors, the price is relatively cheap. It is not surprising that it uses a relatively low-cost TN screen. Low cost does not mean low quality display!

It seems that in traditional impressions, when people mention TN screens, they think of keywords: color cast, whitening, light leakage, unreality, etc. In fact, for any kind of panel, there are good screens and bad screens. Who says that IPS screens are necessarily better than TN screens? I think the key lies in the manufacturer's ability to adjust the panel color. I'm very confident in Dell on this point.

I just have the IPS monitor on hand. This is a 27-inch IPS screen professional graphics monitor. The official data is: 10Bit IPS panel, resolution, 99% color gamut coverage, Delta E less than 2, the data on paper is amazing. . Just compare it with the actual display effect of Dell with a TN screen to see if the TN screen can really output an IPS screen?

Dell's display calibration is one of the best among monitor manufacturers. Even with a 4K TN screen, there is no color deviation or color drift. Overall, the three primary colors are accurately grasped. Red is transparent, green is soft, and blue is soft. Gotta be deep. Compared with IPS screen monitors, it does not fall behind at all.

In this colorful landscape, the display effects of both are very close to the original image, but I personally feel that the Dell screen effect is more realistic, while this IPS screen monitor has a reddish cast and color drift.

In this comparison, I believe everyone will vote for Dell. The layering of the picture is stronger, and the blue sky and white clouds are presented more realistically.

This picture is not easy to compare, but based on test experience, the 4K resolution Dell has better picture resolution than the 2K IPS screen monitor, although it is difficult for the camera to present this intuitive visual effect.

In this night view, Dell is closer to the original image, giving it a sense of quiet depth.

As shown in this picture, both have a certain color deviation from the original picture. Please pay attention to the teapot and plate on the far side.

Compared with the original picture, I personally feel that Dell's red color is more transparent and natural. My previous IPS screen monitor felt too bright, which may be one of the reasons why the IPS screen is so cute. Anyway, I don't like bright colors.

However, returning to the portrait comparison, IPS screen monitors have more advantages than TN screen Dells, what do you think?

Although Dell is a TN screen, it has good performance in terms of color display texture, color reproduction accuracy, color layering, etc., and is comparable to high-end IPS screens. It can be seen that the calibration of TN screens reflects the skills and experience of this established manufacturer.

【Game experience】

In the gaming experience, the advantages of Dell's TN screen are reflected. The response time reaches 2ms, which can reduce screen delays. Especially for games with extremely demanding control requirements like "Overwatch", faster response time means smoother control experience.

【test】

The test tool is Starscream 4 ELITE

1. Color gamut test:

According to actual measurement data, Dell’s measured sRGB color gamut coverage value reached 97%, and the color gamut coverage value reached 76%, which is basically consistent with the official NTSC data of 72%. 97% of the sRGB color gamut shows that it can display most colors in the sRGB color gamut. In daily use, this color gamut coverage is more than enough.

2. Screen brightness uniformity:

Brightness uniformity refers to whether a uniform white color can be reflected throughout the screen, and the brightness change is measured at a given position.

At 100% brightness, the center of the screen is the brightest, and the difference from the darkest point is only 16%. For a 28-inch large screen, the performance is not bad. Within such a gap range, it is difficult for the naked eye to detect the difference in screen brightness.

3. Color accuracy:

Color accuracy, Delta-E is used to quantify the color difference between different colors. Delta-E can standardize the range that people can tolerate within their perception. Generally speaking, Delta-E is between 3 and 6. If it can be accepted, then the technical standards related to Delta-E are as follows:

1.6-3.2, when viewed from a certain distance, there is basically no difference in color, which is usually considered to be the same color;

3.2-6.5, the difference in color can be seen, but the impression given by the color is basically the same;

6.5-13, the difference in color can be seen, but it can be considered as the same hue;

13-25, are considered different hues, values ​​above this are considered different colors.

Undoubtedly, the smaller the DELTA E, the smaller the color difference of this monitor.

Under 100% brightness, Delta-E value is 0.0--2.0

Under 83% brightness, Delta-E value is 0.0--2.7

Under 67% brightness, Delta-E value is 0.0--2.5

Under 50% brightness, Delta-E value is 0.0--2.3

Among the 48 common color displays, the average Delta-E value is only 0.84, which shows that the color accuracy of this monitor is very good. Even if it is a TN screen, it once again proves that not all TN screens can present colors. Neither is accurate.

4. Gamma curve

Gamma correction is to edit the gamma curve of the image to detect the dark and light parts in the image signal by non-linear tonal editing and increase the ratio between the two, thereby improving the image contrast. Effect. In the field of computer graphics, the conversion relationship between screen output voltage and corresponding brightness is called the Gamma Curve.

If the monitor's brightness coefficient curve is close to the standard curve (under luminosity 2.2), it means that the monitor can correctly reset the screen brightness and contrast; if the deviation is larger, it means that the monitor's ability to reset the brightness and contrast is worse. The result of Dell's test is 2.1, which is between 1.8 and 2.2, and the performance is relatively ideal.

[Advantage of 4K resolution]

4K ultra-high resolution, in addition to bringing extremely delicate picture quality, can display a larger area and display more content, which has certain practicality in daily use.

1. Documents and forms

Dell's documentation shows

Document display on ordinary 1080P monitor

The editing interface of Word can fully display the entire content of the first page on a 4K high-resolution screen, and more content is displayed on average. The higher the resolution of the monitor, the more content can be displayed on a single page, which is more advantageous when working at work.

Dell's table display

There are exactly 2 rounds from A to AZ in the horizontal direction, and to 100 in the vertical direction, a total of 5200 grids.

Table display of ordinary 1080P monitor

The 1080P monitor has exactly half the display area from A to Z in the horizontal direction. When performing big data processing, more data content can be displayed, which can improve work efficiency.

2. Image processing

Dell PS software interface

Ordinary 1080P monitor PS software interface

With its 4K ultra-high resolution, Dell can see the details of the picture clearly without enlarging the pictures in the PS software interface, which has more advantages in the picture processing process.

3. Web page

Dell displays the web page

Web pages displayed on ordinary 1080P monitors

The higher the resolution of the screen, the richer the amount of information that can be displayed. The picture can clearly see the page display effect under the two resolution screens. In the vertical direction, 4K has about four times more additional information than the 1080P screen.

【Summarize】

Having written this, I believe everyone has an objective understanding of Dell. I bought this 4K monitor and I think it's a great value. Finally, let me summarize the advantages and disadvantages of this monitor:

Advantage:

1. 4K () ultra-high resolution, four times the resolution of full HD, clearly displays more details.

2. The 28-inch TN screen is a large-size screen that provides a wider field of view; the TN screen achieves the expected display effect, which is no worse than IPS.

3. High-gloss black piano paint process, ultra-thin frame and matte screen are stylish.

4. With picture-in-picture and picture-by-picture functions, users can watch content from two different sources and perform multiple tasks at the same time, effectively saving time and cost.

5. Built-in dual speakers, each with 9W high power, and the sound quality is clearer than products of the same level.

6. 2ms extremely fast response time, effectively avoiding problems such as screen tearing and freezing.

7. Among 4K monitors, the price is not expensive.

shortcoming:

1. The back panel is very easy to attract fingerprints and dust. If you care about the appearance, you will have to spend time and money to maintain it.

2. The bracket does not support lifting and is not user-friendly enough.

3. Under 4K resolution, even under the system, the experience of many application software is still unfriendly. In addition, your computer needs to have strong performance support.