Dell U3417W FR3PK 34-Inch Screen Led-Lit Monitor

HUGE WARNING!! See at the end of the post I am a photographer who needs to have true colors and be able to straighten verticals and perspectives. I wanted to try a curved screen so began my journey to replace a 27" iMac screen with a 34" to avoid purchasing two monitors. After hours of research and returning an LG 34UM88 34" monitor, decided on this one based on reviews from many different sources. Many had written Wow!, Amazing!! but that was not my first impression. After first turning it on, I was underwhelmed. The screen is big, nice curve and easy to hook up, but I thought it was rather dim and contrast was low (whites and blacks were not really white or black but bluish and gray). I didnt want to change the factory setup as supposedly it is calibrated. However, I did start adjusting by going through the monitor presets (Standard, Movie, ComfortView, Multimedia, Gaming, Color Temp and Custom Color). I found that the ONLY preset that would help to boost the brightness and contrast to my liking was the Gaming Mode, which enables Dynamic Contrast. I am satisfied at this point in that I was able to achieve a true white and good contrast. Although one site Digital Trends reports the contrast on this monitor is less than the previous model (3415). So, one day later, I am satisfied and now have a view that could be described as outstanding. I dont understand others that have said the monitor was breathtaking right out of the box. Perhaps I received an anomaly, who knows. I dont have a photo shoot for a day, but will post again if anything changes. Especially in answering the question whether a curved monitor is ok to work with for architectural photography that demands straight verticals. BTW, I cannot find any Light Bleed or dead pixels. Looks like I got lucky. You could spend more and could spend less, but for the price, it is probably a keeper. Update: DO NOT BUY DIRECT FROM DELL! My experience was terrible with Dell. They did not update their website status at all, promised expedited delivery by the 6th (ordered this on the 16th of Dec), did not tell me they were having a part problem until I called and then said I wouldnt receive it until the 20th. I called and cancelled on the 9th but then received an email on the 11th stating that the monitor had been shipped. The price I paid was $849, but then there were two price drops down to $799 and when I called ask about getting a credit for the difference, was told the monitor would have to be delivered first, then I would have to call and request a credit. Thats when I decided enough was enough. Did I mention that all the reps are hard to understand their English, which only irritated me all the more? I called and today after receiving the "your monitor has been shipped" email and was told it was too late to cancel and that they had no record of my call on Monday to cancel. Yikes!!!!! Meantime, last Monday when I cancelled (or so I thought), I ordered the same monitor through Amazon and received the monitor two days later. If you search Dell reviews, you will see thousands and thousands of bad reviews for their customer service. My advice? Dont go near them to purchase, go through some other reputable seller like Amazon.

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What a great monitor! I love the widescreen. There plenty of software to help you manage the extra real estate. The built-in USB switch is awesome. The ability to pair a USB upstream to a particular video input makes it great to use with 2 computers (like a work laptop and your home computer). The Dell Desktop Managers keyboard shortcut that allows you to switch to a different input using a "soft key" is great if you have Windows on both inputs. However, I have a Mac on one input. So, I have to manually switch back to the Windows box. I usually stay on 1 system for a while before I switch to the other, so its not a huge issue (and a no-issue if you only have 1 input). However, it does loose 1 start for me because there is no fast way to manually switch input. Soft keys and menus are a pain in general. It takes me 6 button pushes to switch to my other computer when I need...

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I use this mostly for reading PDFs with 2 page view or writing with reference on the side. Working on Excel is wonderful as well. Text is sharp even at 100% scaling - I use 125% to make things bigger and clearer. Gaming and watching 21:9 videos are superb on this extra widescreen. I was deciding between this and a 32 inch 4k monitor. The 4k resolution, although with clearer text, would have punished frame rates and lacks the "wrap around" immersion the Dell gives you. No dead pixels were found and the fit and finish is good. The height adjustable stand helps with posture and it came with all the wires for each port. My only complaint is the monitor makes noises at random. It sounds like "pops", "cracks" or "snaps". They occur every 5 minutes and get more frequent when switching from a dark to white background. I thought it was thermal expansion causing the plastic to snap but the noises correlated with dark to white transitions, leading me to think there is a problem with the power supply. This seems like a common issue with Dell monitors after Googling the issue. They recommend me to look for sparks behind the monitor and plug directly into the wall outlet instead of my surge protectors. The monitor works fine otherwise and I will update my review if a solution is found.

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I bought this monitor to replace an Acer K272HUL with an intent to use it for work and gaming purposes, and I will review those two purposes separately. Work: For work it has met my expectations. My complaint with the K272HUL had always been that it was too bright/harsh to stare at for long periods of time in a dimly lit room. I had the monitor brightness turned down all the way and still did a little extra tweaking via software drivers. With just a small amount of brightness tweaking on the U3417W I brought it down into a comfortable range where I can read documents and work at the command line for reasonable periods of time with improved text clarity. The extra width comes in very handy to have documentation as well as an IDE or terminal window open at the same time. I do very little photo editing or publishing work so color accuracy and high contrast arent as much of a concern as eye comfort. Gaming: For gaming purposes I find it a little less than ideal. The "IPS glow" as others mention must be what Im observing. Black isnt a very dark black -- its more like a charcoal grey. Depending on my angle to the screen it can seem a little darker/lighter or even a bit silvery. This means that my older Acer has the Dell beat for blackness depth and uniformity. Enabling either Gaming or Movie preset mode turns on Dynamic Contrast ratio which helps. Also, there is a bit of back light bleed at the corners with the lower left hand being the worst-- not terrible but noticeable above the ambient backlight glow on a very dark screen. Some have claimed that the U3415W is worse, but I have not had the opportunity to compare them. I dont tend to watch movies on this screen, but if I did I could see the glow and bleed as being potential issues. Competitive online multiplayer isnt for me so having super tight input lag isnt critical. However, its nice to have the extra width in FPS games and I havent particularly noticed blurring or lag issues. I have adjusted to sitting a little bit further back from the monitor in order to take it all in though.

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I am using this with a 13" MacBook Pro w/ Touchbar (late 2016). Have it connected from the Monitors DisplayPort to one of the Laptopss USB-C plugs (search Amazon for part no. JCA141). Works flawlessly - as a replacement for a dual screen setup. The resolution is great, as is the color for my use (business, programming etc). Have added a photo of this monitor on a 24" deep by 60" long (smallish) desk - leaves plenty of space for my needs. Minus one star as at night, on a black screen there is very noticeable backlight bleed in all four corners.

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