[PCM2]

Hi debynory and welcome,

I feel that going for something like the Samsung S22D390Q would be the best option. Although I haven’t tested it myself, I suspect it is similar to the S24D390HL which I have reviewed. It ticks all of your boxes except DVI, but given that you can get DVI to HDMI cables for such monitors with no drawbacks I don’t see that as a problem.

[derekod]

Hi,
I would just like to give an update, I have purchased the Dell U2515H and I was a little hesitant at first.

This is my first day with the monitor and can safely say that I the monitor feels more comfortable on the eyes than the AOC q2770Pqu or the DGM IPS-2701WPH which I had previously tried after being used to using the DELL P1130 21″ CRT.

I have not calibrated this yet but the colours just look more accurate on the standard preset and also the grayscale steps in the black level test show more detail in the lower blacks over on lagom’s website.

What I do find strange is that I am actually comfortable viewing at its default resolution and have not had the need to use scaling as of yet, as this is a slightly smaller screen.

I have not found any negatives as of yet.

Blacks could be blacker, it is only noticeable when the screen is predominantly black, but I can live with it and I am being a little picky.

[PCM2]

Thanks for the update derekod, and I’m really glad to hear you’re enjoying it and finding it very comfortable on the eyes. Perhaps there is just something about that pixel density or something else that you find very natural and comfortable. Whatever it is, glad to see it working out for you.

[jeffc]

Just thought I would update and thank PCM2 for the expert advice. I received the BenQ EW2440L a few months ago and am very pleased with its performance. I’m using settings slightly modified from the test settings I agree that it has a slight bluish colour tint at default settings. A friend also saw the monitor and was very impressed with the display quality. I’d recommend it to anyone with similar requirements to me.

Thanks again 🙂

[PCM2]

Thanks for the feedback, jeffc. It’s great to hear that you’re finding the EW2440L to be comfortable and are happy with the image quality. 🙂

[derekod]

I have just realised that my u2515h monitor is maxing out at 2048×1152 over hdmi
I know that all three support 2560×1440
Currently using nVidia 358.50 drivers
Inf file shows max of 2560×1440 for hdmi
I would love to know where the issue is

[PCM2]

Could you tell/remind me what GPU you have the monitor(s) connected to? Does this issue persist with a single U2515H connected and nothing else?

[derekod]

I am using a Gainward GTX460 GLH it has a 1.4a spec hdmi port which supports 2560×1440.
I presume there should be no problem with 1.4a hdmi on the card to 1.4 hdmi on the monitor.
Yes it is only a single connection.
I have forced it to connect at 2560×1440 using a custom resolution and changing the timing from automatic to GTF, but I did not like the idea of leaving it on a forced custom resolution so I just deleted it and reverted back to 2048×1152 as Monitor Asset Manager says that CVT and GTF timings are not supported.

Monitor build date is 2015, week 34.

[derekod]

I have also just noticed that Monitor Asset Manager displays
EIA/CEA-861 Information
Revision number………. 3 from what I understand is
•Revision number: here 3 (=EIA-861b)
HDMI 1.0 to HDMI 1.2a uses the CEA-861-B video standard
Not sure if that has any impact.

[PCM2]

That is interesting. I’m not sure about the significance of that either, but HDMI 1.4 uses CEA/EIA-861E rather than the ‘B’ suffix. There certainly seems to be something a bit flaky with the HDMI port controller on the U2515H, as some users have perfectly HDMI 1.4 compatible GPUs like you do but still can’t get the proper native resolution. Others seem to have no issues, which is bizarre. I’m not really sure what you could do about that short of using a different GPU to be honest.

I wouldn’t worry about issues from using CVT Reduced Blank (CVT-RB) for timing with the custom resolution, regardless of what the monitor asset manager is telling you. It is simply that the monitor does not use that signal timing for any of its integrated resolution sets. It isn’t really asking the monitor to run in a different way (that is or isn’t supported) but rather changing what the GPU does. It won’t cause any issues on the monitor or the GPU for that matter – if the monitor displays an image using CVT-RB, it is supported.

[Intikhab]

Well as you are using NVidia gpu you should try using automatic timings for custom screen resolution and monitor should not give you trouble creating custom resolution which is it’s native resolution, and automatic timings are better when using native resolution as custom resolution. Could be corrupted drivers issue too, both amd and NVidia tend to have them from time to time and to be sure about not having them again try this, Uninstall drivers from windows uninstaller for programs then when all softwares are uninstalled from there go to control panel. From there scan for hardware changes and windows might install NVidia drivers again. This time when you right click and uninstall drivers from there and select the options to delete the drivers for this device, repeat this process until windows are loading only generic display driver not NVidia based drivers. When all is done restart windows and then installed the latest drivers you want.

[derekod]

Just to follow up a little further I installed a DVI to HDMI adaptor and it listed 2560×1440 as native pc resolution but when I click to apply I just get a black screen, weird!

[PCM2]

Very weird, but as above I’d just use the CVT-RB with HDMI (or HDMI to DVI). I don’t think it’s as Intikhab is suggesting, although it is always worth clean-installing the driver just in case. I’m guessing you just get a blank screen if you try to set a custom resolution with automatic timings.

[Intikhab]

I tend to have such issues where games crash(e.g deathtrap) where if i select 1920×1080 resolution but using forced gpu scaling. When without forced gpu scaling the game limits resolution to 1366×768 and below resolutions nothing higher is shown, unless i disable high dpi scaling in compatibility then i get all resolution even custom ones. Other games won’t crash but won’t show higher resolution than 1366×768 unless i check compatibility for them, but some don’t have any issues at all. I was using 140% scaling on 1920×1080 on 21.5 inch bx2250.

But your issues seems similar but completly different as it is happening on resolution selection within windows not in-games, are you using windows scaling there ? which windows you are using 7,8 or 10? Could you check osd settings of monitor if there is something wrong there which shouldn’t be like pc input or av input for source or aspect: widescreen or auto?

Have you tried clean driver install?

[derekod]

I notice that I see vertical banding on my Dell u2515h it is always there on a grey gradient and I notice it on nearly black screens as well. Changing resolution has no effect on it, surely it should not be present on an 8bit panel. I know on tft central they had not noticed any issues. Should I consider getting a replacement?

[PCM2]

How are you observing the gradient? Have you made any changes to colour channels or contrast on the monitor? It is absolutely possible for a true 8-bit monitor to show some banding, depending on the sorts of modifications the manufacturer has made to gamma etc. when they have calibrated the panel.

[derekod]

This is an example of one of the sites that I have used to verify it is more noticeable in the darker shades than the lighter half.

http://tft.vanity.dk/monitorTest_scale.html

[PCM2]

Yes, this would be quite normal for that panel following various corrections (as above) made either by Dell or the user. The panel natively has quite low and possibly unconventional/’wonky’ gamma it seems and has to be corrected by Dell. Note our observations on the AOC Q2577PWQ when gamma mode is changed (refer to the ‘Lagom’ testing in the ‘Contrast and Brightness’ section). Also make sure you’re not viewing in FireFox as some versions use Mozilla colour management which interferes with things and can cause banding when there otherwise wouldn’t be.

[avmddm]

Hi PCM2,

I’m from India. I have been following your thread for past one week or so. I want a new external monitor for my macbook air 2014 model. My main purpose is for reading text – pdfs and other ebook formats. Also for occasional movies and tv shows. No gaming.

Dell U2414h seems perfect for my requirements because of the good reviews you gave and the displayport connectivity. But costs 19000-20000 INR

Dell p2414h costs 14000-15000 INR. Also with displayport connectivity.

BenQ EW2440L – VA panel costs 10000 INR.

BenQ EW2740L costs 20000 INR.

What do you suggest? Any other good monitors for reading with displayport connectivity in this range? Also, does mini DP on my macbook to vga cable conversion affect the quality of output?

[PCM2]

If you’re using VGA at the terminal end (i.e. monitor) using any converter, then an analogue signal is used. This is not as stable or ‘high quality’ as a digital connection so is best avoided. You can get MiniDP to HDMI converters that should do the trick and maintain a digital connection, although they can be a bit expensive and perhaps hard to get in India. Given this and your uses it might actually be woth going for the P2414H. It offers very similar performance to the U2414H really, it’s largely the ports and aesthetics that differ.

[Author]

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