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PCM2The reason I asked is simply because Nvidia’s GTX 10 series are prone to issues using ‘G-SYNC Compatible Mode’ that don’t necessarily occur on newer GPUs, such as the RTX 20 series. Screen blanking, flickering and other visual disturbances are all more likely. That isn’t to say this model would definitely work with ‘G-SYNC Compatible Mode’ any better with the RTX 20 though, I’ve got not evidence to suggest it would and the XZ242Q isn’t certified as ‘G-SYNC Compatible’. But it is possible – though it wouldn’t change the obvious sharpness and clarity issues you experienced either way.
GiantHogweedInterestingly, after not using me Dell S2415H for over a month, the frozen / stuck sub pixels that were red, green or blue are not there at all. They were only visible on dark scenes and even if I try to find them here, I simply can’t now. Don’t know if is related to lack of use, or movement of it being put away in it’s original box and being moved around / tipped up, but this issue appears to be gone. I still get ghosting after something that will have been on my monitor for simple ages in the past (the BBC news channel). You can see the outline of the time box at the bottom right for up to half an hour after switching to something else, but that is not visible in time.
So I will be able to cope with this monitor for now, but I really want my next monitor to have a glossy finish. Weather one will be available in the next few years, I don’t know. Reflections don’t seem to bother me – I just find ways around that, but the amount of advantages (presumably due to the finish) in my case is huge. As I was told further up, many monitors look warmer on one side than the other. I never noticed that with my S2415H, unless I try unrealistically close, then the same thing becomes apparent. I never even knew this was the case until now. But it seems the gloss finish really helps make this issue unnoticeable. On all 3 monitors I’ve bought and am going to have to return, the colour shift from one side to the other was so distracting for me even if it is normal. A deep navy blue background to a skype call looked nice on the left and the middle, but lost its colour and literally looked grey by the time it is on the right of the screen. And I sit between 2.5 and 3 feet away from my monitor. This issue is also frustrating on games when at night, it looks like night on one side of your monitor, but late sunset / sunrise on the other due the the rather warm appearance. Also rather annoying when watching films or 4:3 aspect footage.
I also think my S2415h may have a little bit of backlight bleed if I try really hard to find it, but after sitting back into a realistic position, even on a black background, it is barely noticeable, even on full brightness. If it really is related to matte vs glossy that makes such a difference to the amount of noticeable backlight bleed and IPS glow, I really am puzzled as to why there are virtually no gloss monitors out there now. Years ago, when I was at school, I remember loads of the monitors there had a gloss finish. It seemed easier to find monitors online a few years ago with this finish too.
As thompson mentioned further up the page, hopefully Dell’s 21h series monitor will continue to have a glossy screen and include a VESA mount. Also hope they don’t have the level of bleed I experienced with the U2518D.
MrBridgeSixContext: I bought and returned multiple monitors in the last few months looking for a monitor without major issues, I went through 5 AOC 24G2, they all came with dead pixels, I then tried an Acer XZ242Q and it was just plain bad, with sharpness issues and non functional G-Sync. Finally I decided to spend a little extra on a Dell monitor with a TN panel even though people sway you away from TN at any chance they get.
My initial impressions of the Dell S2421HGF are very good!
Build quality is better than other options in this price range (but stand lacks some axis). Image quality is very decent, much better than the Acer XZ242Q and only slightly more muted than the AOC 24G2, backlight bleed is minimal and the screen surface is a little more on the grainy side but nothing that bothers me.
I can only conclude that the guy who reviewed this monitor for Tom’s Guide is clueless, when using one of the custom user profiles (Game 1 to 3) the monitor gives you access to a whole bunch of settings to mess with, like saturation, hue and gain controls for individual RGBCMY channels, that’s the best OSD flexibility I’ve seen yet.
Pixel response seems to be great but I lack the means to test it non subjectively, even when setting overdrive to its maximum – called extreme – there’s no visible overshoot when using G-Sync with the range of 64-144hz (not tested with G-Sync off, Dell’s overdrive seems to change its behaviour when G-Sync is off).
G-Sync works perfectly with only a minor issue which is it blanking for a second when the fps dips below 49, probably an issue only on GTX 10 series cards as PCM2 mentioned.
The AOC 24G2 is a bit better and a bit cheaper, but is only worth it if you get a PERFECT unit, which in 5 tries I hadn’t.
I was wrong to rule out these new TN panels in favour of these cheap IPS ones, the S2421HGF is fast, clear and vibrant.
* Revised comment as posted on r/Monitors.
PCM2Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Dell S2421HGF, I’m very pleased to see you’re enjoying the experience so much! I’ve actually requested a sample of this to review myself, but Dell aren’t able to provide one just at the moment. I haven’t tested a model with the particular panel the Dell uses before, so it would be nice to check it out at some point. With my own testing absent it’s very useful to have some good feedback from users like yourself to encourage others to consider the model. 🙂
GiantHogweedI’m wondering if having a curved monitor could possibly help with this warmer on one side issue (however I should put it). I noticed this with all 3 matte monitors I bought. As viewing the ones I had in line with the edge of the monitor shows it as the correct colour when on dark scenes. But when in the middle and correct position, it was always noticeable that one side was significantly warmer than the other.
I’m just wondering if this is part of the reason why they make such things as curved monitors. Can it help reduce the amount of visible colour change / IPS glow from your position?
If no glossy alternatives become available to replace my S2415H at some point, this may be the way for me to go as I seem to be extremely sensitive to this issue.
PCM2Curved monitors are more for immersion and potentially enhancing viewing comfort. They don’t tend to have a pronounced effect on ‘IPS glow’ or colour consistency, possible exception being if a monitor is very strongly curved (1000R or potentially greater, perhaps). The only curved IPS-type models are 34″+ UltraWides, too.
GiantHogweedAha, now that is a good point. I hadn’t noticed that they were not IPS until around the size you mention. I know for certain that 24 – 25 inch will be the biggest I can have and be a comfortable distance from it. Will just have to wait for more options.
thompsonHello PCM2, do you know how is the screen surface like on the AOC Q27T1 and AOC U32U1? Is it light matte/medium matte?
Thank youPCM2
Lich095Hey PCM! I’ve been trying to make up my mind on what to buy, but feel like help needs to be required. I’m looking for monitor for my girlfriend, who’s inexperienced digital 2D artist. I’ve come to conclusion that it should be IPS with as-good-as-possible color accuracy for the budget, which is around 150$. For now we’ve set our eyes on BenQ BL2480, Dells P2419H and U2419H. BQ is kind of apealing cause of their eye protection technology, Dell U series is notorious for exact same parameters we’re looking for, but as far as I know it was best around 2011 and they didn’t evolve much since then (tell me if I’m wrong), while P series is like little brother of U, not so sharp, not so accurate, but cheaper. Maybe I am missing something somewhere?
PCM2The BenQ model’s ‘eye friendly’ features are shared with the Dell models. The only real advantage to the BenQ in that respect is the range of Low Blue Light (LBL) settings, the balance to the image with them applied and how easy they are to activate and deactivate. The Dell models offer an LBL setting (their main one is called ‘ComfortView’) but it goes for retaining contrast over image balance, so appears with a somewhat yellowish green tint. Your eyes adjust to this to an extent. The BenQ settings are more flexibile with various ‘levels’ and they make adjustments to the red and green channels to help balance things out a bit better. The U2419H actually has a ‘ColorTemp’ preset which you can set to ‘5000K’, which is an effective and visually quite well-balanced LBL setting – I prefer it to ‘ComfortView’. This ‘ColorTemp’ preset is one of the things the ‘U’ series has but the ‘P’ series does not. Aside from that the main difference between the U2419H and P2419H have been covered earlier in the thread. It’s really all about the level of factory calibration and some of those additional OSD settings.
I don’t know where “not as sharp” comes from when comparing the ‘P’ to ‘U’ models. Given the pixel density is exactly the same, the same neutral sharpness level is applied and in fact I believe they use the same or a very similar panel. Don’t be fooled that Dell sticks to a fairly similar design to what they used several years ago. There’s a reason for that – “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. The main evolution aesthetically has been the slimmer bezels, a design feature shared by other manufacturers and related to the panels now used. The backlighting has also evolved as have the port revisions used. The older Dell Full HD models were not flicker-free, had a fairly wonky colour gamut, poor pixel responsiveness, a very grainy screen surface, a thick and to some ugly bezel around the entire screen and used older USB port revisions. To claim nothing has changed there is a pretty shallow and misleading assessment.
GiantHogweedLooking at 4 of Dell’s recently listed s2421 series, it looks like they are all anti-glare. I am assuming that one of these replaces the S2419 that was glossy? It is a real shame that they are going this direction as all of these have VISA mounts which is critical for me, but they no longer have the glossy finish.
Been using my S2415H again for the past few months and it goes between having none to 30+ stuck sub pixels on the bottom right corner. Only a problem when viewing dark scenes in a dark room but strange how at times they completely go.
I’m just not sure why virtually all brands seem to be steering away from a glossy finish when under the right viewing conditions, they are the clearer finish to have. Presumably why every single TV, tablet and phone these days have that finish. I am just baffled why I can’t find any monitors like this anymore.
PCM2Yup, I’m pretty frustrated that Dell has decided to go for matte anti-glare on a line of monitors that used to have at least one glossy option. And it has upset quite a few of our readers who were hoping for a newer glossy model, given the advantages of such a screen surface in the right lighting environment. As you point out.
GiantHogweedI almost wonder if Dell would still service something you bought directly from them past the warranty period if you paid for it. I would be prepared for it to cost as much or maybe more than what I paid for this monitor new given they no longer make it, but anything that can allow me to have a fully functional glossy monitor again would be worth it. I also keep trying to look for my S2415h this 2nd hand.
If you could ask Dell to do this, they may wonder why I don’t buy a new monitor, but the reasons should be clear given that they no longer make that surface.
LemonHi all, my Dell U2412M decided to stop working after 5 years and I’m looking at a replacement. From talking to the local computer repair shops, they all recommend to me that I’d be better off buying a new monitor. I suspect one of the diodes or capacitors may have gone, but unfortunately I don’t have a multimeter or solder kit to fix it. So I’ve resigned myself to purchasing a new monitor.
I mainly do web browsing and watch video on it, so an IPS or VA panel is probably my best bet I think. I don’t do any gaming so response time isn’t a big deal for me. Eye comfort is much more of an important issue for me. Budget wise something in the £250 ($320) region is what I’d be willing to spend (perhaps overkill for what I would use it for?).
I was thinking about going for another Ultrasharp, but I’m considering going for the cheaper P series (as I understand it, they are essentially the same monitors but the U series has better sRGB accuracy), but I’m also open to other manufacturers for cheaper. I should also say, I’d like a monitor to come with a stand that has an adjustable height. I was looking at the BenQ BL2420PT which looks like really good value for money, under £200.
Thanks for all your feedback in advance 🙂
PCM2If you’re looking for a nice upgrade in pixel density without feeling too alien coming from a U2412M I think the BL2420PT would be a good choice. It is indeed excellent value for money and I feel you’ll enjoy it for your uses. The extra ‘real-estate’ is a substantial upgrade from Full HD in my view, even on a 23.8″ screen. You can of course get more recent 23.8″ WQHD models, but the main difference you’d notice there is really just the slimmer bezels and for some models a wider colour gamut. The core performance characteristics aside from that haven’t really changed compared to the BL2420PT.
LemonThank you for your reply PCM2, it is much appreciated. I’ve been so used to Dell monitors for the last 15 years, so I’m just perhaps just used to their monitors. But at the price and specs of the BenQ, I think it is worth getting it, especially via Amazon, as you tend to get good support within the warranty period should things go wrong rather than buying directly from manufacturers (though it shouldn’t be this way!). Is there anything from Asus, LG, AOC etc. that you could recommend or consider looking at?
PCM2Nothing that can quite compare to the BL2420PT for value. As noted, there are a few more recent models with slimmer bezels (like the Dell P2418D and Philips 245B1), but that’s really the main difference and the cost isn’t quite as low. The Philips also offers a 75Hz refresh rate, which can be nice. If you’re happy to mount the monitor via 100 x 100mm VESA to an alternative stand then the Philips 245E1S seems to provide exceptional value for money – but I have no experience with it or user feedback to share.
msphiNot sure if this is the place to ask questions about lower grade monitors but here we go, I just want to know if theres any difference between these two apart from one having bezels and the other not.
24MK430H: https://www.lg.com/us/monitors/lg-24MK430H-B-led-monitor
24MK600M: https://www.lg.com/us/monitors/lg-24MK600M-B-led-monitor
Also, opinions on these two or any suggestion about better alternatives in the same price range is appreciated.
PCM2Hi msphi,
This is a suitable place for this sort of discussion, so I’ve merged your thread.
The 24MK600M uses a newer panel, but I can’t give technical details as to the differences between the two models (calibration, possible pixel responsiveness differences etc.) The only notable difference is that the 24MK600M can be set to run at 75Hz ‘by default’, whereas the 24MK430H is a 60Hz model. It may be possible to overclock the 24MK430H, but there are no guarantees. Depending on your own preferences and usage this could be desirable or may not be of interest.
As I’ve mentioned earlier in this thread a lot of these ~24″ Full HD IPS models (there are many) are really very similar to each other aside from aesthetically, ports and the fact some are set up to run at 75Hz by default and others aren’t. So the 24MK600M is probably a decent choice, if you’re happy enough with the basic design and tilt-only stand. Otherwise the Dell P2419H would be one I’d look out for if you’re after a solid monitor with full ergonomic flexibility. And the benefit of Dell’s excellent aftersales support, should you need it.
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