Why You Can Trust CNET Dell UltraSharp U2412m review: Dell UltraSharp U2412m
Dell UltraSharp U2412m
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As the follow-up to 2009's Dell UltraSharp U2410, the U2412m has quite a bit to live up to. I expected Dell to stay on its high-end and expensive course it had already plotted for the series. Not surprisingly, I'll admit to being a bit disappointed when I learned Dell went with a cheaper IPS panel with the 2412m compared with its previous efforts.
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
Design and features
"Thin and light" aren't usually descriptors assigned to 24-inch In-Plane Switching (IPS) monitors, but in the curious case of the Dell UltraSharp U2412m, that's as apt a description of its physical attributes as I could think of.
Unlike the U2410 from 2009, the U2412m houses an LED backlight and uses an E-IPS panel as opposed to the H-IPS panel that the U2410 utilized. E-IPS panels are cheaper to manufacturer, but performance-wise, usually land between Twisted Nematic (TN) and H-IPS. Check out the performance section to see how true that is in this case.
The U2412m's LED backlight affords it a much thinner design than previous entries in the series. Initially, the panel measures 1.1 inches thick. It then tapers back toward the rear where another 1.6 inches house the connection options and ventilation system. This brings its collective depth to 2.7 inches; that's a little more than half an inch thinner than the U2410. At 13 pounds, again, we're seeing something uncharacteristic: a light IPS monitor. Unexpected, since they can easily top 20 pounds.
The left and right side bezel measures 0.7 inch each, and the full panel width is 21.9 inches. The foot stand sits 11 inches wide and 7.2 inches deep; however, knocking the panel from the sides yields ample wobbling on a flat surface. Not a necessarily earth-shattering discovery, given its light weight.
The U2412m sports a complete collection of ergonomic options, including a 90-degree pivot, 45-degree left and right swivel, and 20-degree back tilt. Also, there's 4.8 inches of screen height adjustment, with panel-to-desktop space measuring 1.3 inches at the bottom and 6.1 inches at the top.
Video connections options consist of DisplayPort, DVI, and VGA. The lack of HDMI is disappointing, but perhaps even more disappointing is the placement of the connections that are included. Connections on monitors should face out, not down, plain and simple. Many smaller monitors achieve this, as do pretty much all TVs. It's time we started seeing them on performance monitors. That said, the pivot feature makes slightly less blood drip from my nose when connecting the monitor.
The OSD array is aligned vertically along the lower-right bezel and consists of four small but well-spaced buttons. Navigating the OSD is simple and clean. Dell still makes the best-designed OSDs in the industry with a contextual navigation system that never lets you forget the function each button has at any given time.
Customizations are robust and vast, providing access to brightness, contrast, and sharpness. Its seven different presets consist of Standard, Multimedia, Movie, Game, Text, Color Temperature, and RGB. The color temperature preset allows for altering temperature values from 5,000 Kelvin up to 10,000K. The RGB preset allows you to access red, green, and blue values individually. One minor disappointment, however, is that you can't alter color temperature or RGB values when in a different preset. You can augment both hue and saturation, though.
For the energy conscious among you (all both of you), in the top-right corner of the OSD sits an energy use meter that gauges how much power the monitor is using. Also, there's an Energy Smart mode that lowers the brightness based on the amount of ambient light in the room.
Perhaps as a byproduct of being unaccustomed to such light IPS displays, it was difficult to get used to something (a well-performing IPS monitor) that felt so light and airy. In my mind, IPS monitors should be these weighty behemoths; experiencing the opposite was a bit off-putting. Admittedly, this is a crazy personal thing and doesn't really affect the monitor's quality.
| Design and feature highlights | |
|---|---|
| Connectivity: | DVI, DisplayPort, VGA |
| Ergonomic options: | 20 degree back tilt, 45 degree left and right swivel, 90 degree pivot, 4.5 inch height adjustment |
| Resolution: | 1,920x1,200 pixels |
| Aspect ratio: | 16:10 |
| Audio: | n/a |
| VESA wall mount support: | Yes |
| Included video cables: | DVI, VGA |
| Backlight: | LED |
| Panel Type: | E-IPS |
| Screen film: | Matte |
| Number of presets: | 7 |
| Overdrive: | No |
| Picture options: | Brightness, Contrast, Sharpness |
| Color controls: | RGB and six color-temperature options |
| Gamma control: | Yes |
| Additional features: | USB downstream x 4, USB upstream x 1 |
Performance
I tested the Dell UltraSharp U2712m through its DVI input, connected to a Windows Vista PC, using the included DVI cable. The display posted a composite score of 97 on CNET Labs' DisplayMate-based performance tests.
DisplayMate: The U2412m displayed light gray up to level 254; 255 is considered white and every level in-between it and 1 is a variation of gray, so 254 is about as high as you can get. The U2412m's performance here indicates that the display would retain its contrast ratio and likely not be prone to washing out light colors. As for dark gray, the U2412m just barely displayed down to level 2 while still maintaining a very deep black, pointing to the display being capable of retaining dark detail during dark scenes in movies.
The U2412m excelled in all of our color tests, showing a propensity for displaying color accurately and smoothly with no unexpected jumps in color scale progression.
In our Dark Screen test, we did see some light clouding in all four corners of the screen. And by "light" I mean "very little."
Text: Black text on white looked clear, without any obvious color tint problems. Also, fonts were clearly visible down to a 6.8-point size.
Movies: I tested the Dell UltraSharp U2412m using the Blu-ray version of "Avatar." The movie preset provided a great movie-watching experience, displaying a high contrast and vibrant look with rich colors with appropriately deep blacks. No oversaturation or green tint problems were noticeable.
Games: When evaluating the look of games on a monitor, the two most important features to consider are vibrancy and color. If the monitor can display games with a bright and vibrant cleanness, this goes a long way toward benefiting its looks. If colors can also pop with fullness and depth, games can usually look great. Streaking is a different concern that honestly isn't very pervasive with most modern monitors, but if you're concerned about it, be sure to check out the last paragraph in this section.
Different still is input lag, which is, put simply, the time it takes from when you input an action through your keyboard, mouse, or gamepad to when you see that action represented onscreen. Every monitor has a degree of input lag, but only a very small percentage of people would even notice it. Given that, it's not something I find valuable enough to test for. PSA, over.
Using the Game preset, Dragon Age II looked excellent on the U2412m with a high vibrancy and dramatic color pop. Same as movies, no obvious color tint problems were present.
To test refresh rate, I used DisplayMate's motion graphics tests and stared at a number of colored blocks as they moved around the screen at various speeds. The U2412m displayed large after-images of the blocks as they shifted across the screen, but I didn't notice this level of ghosting when actually playing games.
Photos: When looking at faces and light-colored hair, in the Standard preset the U2412m's colors sometimes dipped ever so slightly into a greenish hue, but the bright colors of clothing and environments popped with vibrancy.
Recommended settings: Each preset is tailored quite well for its task. For general use, however, I preferred the standard preset, adjusting only green to about 90 percent. This gave the monitor great color balance, perfect for general use.
Viewing angle: The optimal viewing angle for a monitor is usually directly in front, about a quarter of the screen's distance down from the top. At this angle, you're viewing colors as the manufacturer intended. Most monitors aren't designed to be viewed at any other angle. Depending on its panel type, picture quality at non-optimal angles varies. Most monitors use TN panels, which get overly bright or overly dark in parts of the screen when not viewed from optimal angles.
Anti-glare (AG) screen coating plays a part as well. Some viewers prefer the coating not be applied at all, while others favor only a limited amount. Still, others are completely indifferent; however, AG coating doesn't adversely affect quality and its merits, or lack thereof, are strictly a question of preference.
The U2412m uses an E-IPS panel, which provides it a wider-than-TN viewing angle that fails to match viewing angles seen on higher-end IPS panels.
The AG coating works fairly well here, keeping out most reflections; however, on a black screen viewed from an off angle, some blurry impressions of the environment are visible. Luckily, you'll likely have something on screen while you're using it, like, you know, images. So, this likely won't even be an issue. Actually, forget I said anything.
Power consumption: Armed with an LED backlight, the Dell UltraSharp U2412m achieved fair power consumption, with a Default/On power draw of 27.5 watts, compared with the Dell UltraSharp U2410's 63.69 watts in the same test.
In our Sleep/Standby test, the U2412m costs 0.59 watt and the U2410 pulled a lower 0.47 watt. Based on our formula, the U2412m would incur more than double the cost of the U2410, with a per-year pull of $19.32, compared with the U2410's $8.63 per year.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
 | Brightness |
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
 Juice box | |
| Dell UltraSharp U2712m | Average watts per hour |
| On (default luminance) | 27.5 |
| On (max luminance) | 35.1 |
| On (min luminance) | 14.4 |
| Sleep | 0.59 |
| Calibrated (200 cd/m2) | 25.6 |
| Annual power consumption cost | $8.63 |
| Score | Fair |
Find out more about how we test LCD monitors
Service and support
Dell backs the U2410mwith a solid warranty, including a three-year parts and labor warranty covering the backlight. It also offers support through a 24-7 toll-free number and 24-7 Web chat. Dell also has a fast 24- to 48-hour e-mail turnaround time--a better package than most monitor vendors, which don't offer weekend support.
Conclusion
When it comes to value, there are few monitors that show up like the U2412m does. It includes a great list of ergonomic features, plenty of useful OSD customizations, and good performance at a great price.
HDMI will be missed, and while it won't quite match high-end monitors in viewing angle performance, most users wouldn't even notice the difference. Professionals who rely on pinpoint accuracy, however, will want to spend a bit more money to get something that better aligns to their needs.