Review Dell S2716DG Monitor
I recently just built a new computer and during this process I decided it was time for a new monitor. My Dell U3011 was going on 4 years old and although I liked it very much, it wasn’t my favorite monitor. That distinction went to a 27” Dell monitor I had before the U3011. You might spot a trend, I’ve been buying Dell monitors exclusively for well over 10 years. My only issue with the U3011 is the physical size, I had to noticeably turn my head to see all parts of the monitor, not much of an issue in normal workflow, but can be a killer for gaming.
Before I bought my current monitor I looked at 4K monitors and Ultra Wide Screen monitors. My concern with 4k monitors is the resolution. As a developer I spend a lot of time staring at text, as the smaller the text gets the worse my eyes get. After a fair amount of research I found that Ultra Wide Screen monitors are great for work and I think that all companies should be providing their knowledge workers with a Dell U3415W. But Ultra wide monitors just aren’t that good for gaming, most games are pretty broken at ultra-wide resolutions.
For gaming one issue I had with the U3011 was screen tearing. The U3011 was rated at 60hz, which means roughly I’m capped at 60fps, not a problem for most games, but can be an issue with in first person shooters.
Recently there has been a trend in monitors that are gaming grade, like the Asus ROG Swift. The sweet spot for these seems to be around 24” to 27” and seeming my all time fav monitor was a 27” that’s where I decided to land. After looking around I found the Dell S2716DG G-Sync Monitor.
This hit my points, 27”, good resolution, from Dell, G-Sync capable. It was also significantly less then the U3014 I was looking at.
Going on a little over a week now I have to say I’m really liking the Dell S2716DG. I have a significant part of my desk back, which is a plus as I’m a desk pack rat. The monitor is very adjustable, as it’s a TN panel viewing angles play more into positioning then IPS panels. It also has a super thin bezel around the edges, only making me wanting to buy more for my multi monitor setup. From what I can tell colors are very nice and vibrant and brightness is not an issue with this monitor.
From working in Visual Studio, Sublime or WebStorm to playing Star War Battlefront, StarCraft 2, Final Fantasy 14 or Fallout 4 the Dell S2716DG has performed very well. It has also very cathartic to finally set my refresh rate in Windows and games to 144hz. For my entire computing life to this point it’s been 60hz or lower.
If your looking for a new monitor for gaming and non-gaming I would recommend the Dell S2716DG. To all the companies out there supplying hardware to developers or knowledge workers ensure the entire computing picture is good. Too many times I see companies give out decent computing hardware but give the cheapest monitors, keyboards and mice to their developers. This is what needs to be realized, all the computing hardware doesn’t matter if people get migraines or carpel tunnel using it, go out and buy them a Dell U3415W.
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