Dell U2412M - 16:10 IPS without Breaking the Bank
by Chris Heinonen on February 28, 2012 9:00 AM ESTIntroducing the Dell U2412M
For every monitor review that I’ve done for AnandTech so far, I know that as soon as I check the comments there will be a thread with the same theme: “I don’t care about 1080p monitors, I only want 16:10 aspect ratios!” When widescreen displays first came out for desktop LCD monitors, virtually every model was a 16:10 display. The 20” Dell I have on my own desk is 16:10, and almost every vendor made 16:10 panels.
As the price of flat panels dropped and HDTV adoption took over, more and more desktop panels migrated to the HDTV aspect ratio of 16:9. The reasons behind this were easy to understand, as you could produce more displays, reuse panels across PC and TV lines, and have a lower cost across the board to let you sell them for less. Most people were more than happy to pay less for a display than to pay 2-3 times as much for those extra 120 pixels at the bottom of a display. As this happened, 16:10 panels became relegated to higher end models, almost always as IPS panels and often with high end features like AdobeRGB colorspace support and more.
Dell finally decided to address this with their U2412M display that features a 1920x1200 on its 24” panel. The U2412M is also an eIPS panel that is natively 6-bit but uses A-FRC to display 16.7 million colors. Dell has managed to bring this monitor in at $329 and can often be found on sale for under $300, while most other 16:10 24” panels come in at $500 or more. What did Dell have to do to hit this aggressive price point? Let's find out, starting with the specifications overview.
| Dell U2412M Specifications | |
| Video Inputs | D-sub, DVI, DisplayPort |
| Panel Type | eIPS |
| Pixel Pitch | 0.27 mm |
| Colors | 16.7 Million (6-bit with A-FRC) |
| Brightness | 300 nits |
| Contrast Ratio | 1000:1 (Typical) |
| Response Time | 8ms GTG |
| Viewable Size | 24" |
| Resolution | 1920x1200 |
| Viewing Angle | 178 H, 178 V |
| Backlight | LED |
| Power Consumption (operation) | 38W |
| Power Consumption (standby) | Not Listed |
| Screen Treatment | Anti-Glare with Hard Coat 3H |
| Height-Adjustable | Yes, 4.5" of adjustment |
| Tilt | Yes |
| Pivot | Yes |
| Swivel | Yes |
| VESA Wall Mounting | Yes, 100mm VESA |
| Dimensions w/ Base (WxHxD) | 20.22" x 21.89" x 7.10" |
| Weight | 8.73 lbs. without stand |
| Additional Features | 4 port USB Hub, Power Management Software |
| Limited Warranty | 3 Years |
| Accessories | Power Cable, DVI Cable, USB Cable, VGA Cable |
| Price | $329 at Dell.com |
The stand with the U2412M is very adjustable, with tilt, swivel, pivot, and height adjustments available to the user. There is a 4-port USB 2.0 hub with two ports on the bottom of the display and two that are more accessible on the side of the display. The one port you might find missing is an HDMI port, but as the HDMI port is trademarked and requires licensing fees, and adds nothing that other ports don’t offer on a display with no speakers, I’m not particularly sad about the loss. Most HDMI transmitter chips are limited to 1920x1080 resolution as well and that would just be another cost that really adds no benefit. DisplayPort is starting to become more and more common now and I’d prefer to see those ports instead.
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ryedizzel - Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - link
+1cheinonen - Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - link
Can you provide any more feedback, or examples, on why you feel this way? Of course I don't want to alienate readers with my writing style.jamyryals - Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - link
He's posting about a commenter, not you Chris.cheinonen - Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - link
Ah, I missed the subject heading there as I was reading through the comments. Sorry about that!bobsmith1492 - Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - link
Pot... kettle. Don't mind this troll, Mr. Heinonen.ryedizzel - Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - link
I guess I am one of the few that actually wants a 1080p monitor! My PC sits next to the 46" living room TV and its much easier to mirror the resolution on my desktop for watching movies or playing games using the wireless Xbox controller adapter.I'm just dying for a 120Hz passive 3D monitor to hit the market before I upgrade.... or OLED. ;)
Zoomer - Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - link
This monitor can do that just fine.TerdFerguson - Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - link
Great review, thanks.phantom505 - Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - link
I went ahead and bought the AOC. As far as image quality goes, it doesn't seem like this does that much better, but you look at it much more favorably, which is odd. Now I'm not a fan of the brushed chrome, and I hate the stand, but I don't see how having a slightly larger aspect ratio makes this better than the AOC. I guess the color and stand might, but I find that hard to believe for $100 improvement.I'm more curious the ASUS Artistic series (or whatever they call it) performs with claims of low dE and 98% of the Adobe RGB gamut.
cheinonen - Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - link
The AOC did very well for the price, as getting the eIPS display for under $200 is nice. The Dell was very close as far as color accuracy, but had the extra resolution, far better stand, USB hub, better contrast ratio (when it comes to displays, contrast ratio winds up being more important than anything else for seeing a clear difference side-by-side), better black level, and a nicer UI. The extra inch isn't important to me really, but it also stands out more relative to other displays due to the panel technology and aspect ratio.I'm working to get a review of the ASUS ProArt series in the future, as I'm very interested as well.