Dell UP3214Q Review
by Chris Heinonen on April 1, 2014 12:00 AM ESTChanging the color gamut to AdobeRGB instead of sRGB produces similar pre-calibration results. The grayscale is pushing red and this leads to dE2000 errors that are visible. A larger issue is the color gamut, as it is over-saturated at the points below 100% and has a serious tint shift in magenta. The color errors are very visible and it happens at all saturations for almost all colors.
|
Pre-Calibration |
Post-Calibration, 200 cd/m^2 |
Post-Calibration, 80 cd/m^2 |
|
| White Level (cd/m^2) | 199.8 | 199.5 | 80.6 |
| Black Level (cd/m^2) | 0.2655 | 0.263 | 0.2625 |
| Contrast Ratio | 752:1 | 759:1 | 307:1 |
| Gamma (Average) | 2.31 | 2.21 | 2.40 |
| Color Temperature | 6580K | 6567K | 6521K |
| Grayscale dE2000 | 2.68 | 0.63 | 0.67 |
| Color Checker dE2000 | 4.13 | 1.07 | N/A |
| Saturations dE2000 | 3.91 | 1.70 | N/A |
Post-calibration the grayscale and gamma are spot-on with no visible error to them. The gamut is much improved with the exception of green and cyan. The behavior here is very strange, as we can see the gamut is capable of hitting 100% saturations for them, but after calibration it does not. I’m willing to lay the blame for this on CalMAN and an issue with the calibration here. Since every point except for these 5 are virtually perfect, and the pre-calibration data shows those points should be possible, I imagine it’s a bug. Multiple attempts to calibrate gave the same results, so it isn’t something I can correct myself.
If we believe that is a bug, then post-calibration the Dell UP3214Q is almost perfect in AdobeRGB mode as well. It encompasses the entire gamut and has very accurate results. The results for 80 cd/m2 are identical to the ones for 200 cd/m2 but some of the data was lost and those charts are missing. The pre-calibration numbers are not great for the Dell UP3214Q in the grayscale, but the color gamut is good. It manages to use the full AdobeRGB gamut with its backlighting system unlike other UltraHD displays.
Note: Dell provides their Dell Calibration software with the UP3214Q. Using this and a meter like the XRite i1Pro you can save two modes with your own light output, gamma, and color space settings. Unfortunately I could never get it to work properly with the UP3214Q. The software would detect the i1Pro which is connected directly to the UP3214Q USB ports, but didn’t detect the UP3214Q itself. Updating the monitor firmware and the Dell Calibration software didn’t resolve this issue either. Talking to others with the display they had similar issues as well so hopefully Dell can resolve this as this software has worked well in the past.
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Death666Angel - Tuesday, April 1, 2014 - link
On the topic of HiDPI and scaling: I have a 11.6" 1080p laptop (XE700T1C) and have no issue with it running at 125% and that is with using my finger most of the time (I only use the pen when I am already holding it because of note taking). 11.6"@1080p is 190 DPI, this is just 140. Unless you are using multiple monitors and suffer issues because of that, you need to get your eye sight fixed if you have having "high DPI" trouble with modern Windows .Bob-o - Tuesday, April 1, 2014 - link
Would love to see Anandtech evaluate all products on linux. . . at least a 1 paragraph "I tried it" kind of thing. . .houkouonchi - Friday, April 4, 2014 - link
I tested this monitor on linux. Works better on linux than all the rest because of the MST BS. On linux you just set it in a config file and never have problems and you don't have to worry about drivers 'dancing' their way around the problem. Not only that only on linux allows both GPU and monitor scaling of all resolutions while the display is in MST mode. People can't get scaling working at all on this on windows when the display is in MST mode.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8oPyKDriiQ
lord solar macharius - Tuesday, April 1, 2014 - link
Just FYI - these issues have all know since the monitor went on sale last December. Dell's stance currently is if you want one with a fixed firmware you have to give up your new monitor and accept a refurbished replacement.http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/periph...
Darrenn - Tuesday, April 1, 2014 - link
170 watts power usage! Are you kidding me? Typical 32 inch led monitors use around 30 watts. Somebody had to tell manufacturers that power usage is supposed to go down not increase by a factor of almost six.MrSmartyAss - Tuesday, April 1, 2014 - link
Hey, it's still April's fools day... that price is a grotesque joke. Just save your hard earned $$$ for the Vizio P-series and forget that DELL even offers this HDMI 1.4 embarrassment of an UHD monitor.AnnonymousCoward - Tuesday, April 1, 2014 - link
Ok seriously. The picture on anandtech.com is stretched, to give the screen an aspect ratio of 2.24! But no, this isn't a 21:9 screen.dgingeri - Wednesday, April 2, 2014 - link
"Sure, you can run a desktop at full resolution with no scaling but that is almost impossible for anyone to actually use."I use a 27" WQHD (2560X1440) monitor without any scaling, and it works beautifully. That's ~109DPI. It's not that much harder for a 32" UltraHD monitor to do the same. The DPI for that monitor calculates out to about 137DPI. I don't agree that it would be "almost impossible for anyone to actually use."
nquery - Wednesday, April 2, 2014 - link
The key is having good OS support for HiDPI. This is at least coming to OSX in 10.9.3.I have a 2013 retina MBP driving a Dell UP2414Q on 10.9.3. It works really really well. I have it set to 2x scaling most of the time ("Retina" in Apple parlance) and so have a super super crisp display for software development/text all day long. I don't game much but all apps work perfectly. It is like looking at a 24" recent smartphone, iPad. The only issue I have is that on occasion the display will not wake from sleep, but a quick cycle of the monitor power button resolves its and all windows return to where they were. Once Dell fixes the firmware for this I will likely exchange it. Otherwise the build quality and image is superb.
Before people chortle that it is waste to have an OS scale a 4k monitor to 1080p, remember that even though the effective resolution is 1080p for text with OS X scaling, the full 4k resolution is still available for use by imaging apps, games, etc. And sometimes I simple change the OS scaling to provide a 2560x1440 desktop if I need more 'real estate'. But my primary goal with HiDPI is to finally have crisp, sharp readable text on a big screen. 4k @ 32" is not about HiDPI, it's about desktop real estate. So it depends on what your needs are.
fyi, I was recently able to buy the 24" Dell Ultrasharp for < $1000 all in with some careful shopping. That's a few hundred more than the recently announced Samsung UD590 but it's far nicer IPS panel.
CalaverasGrande - Wednesday, April 2, 2014 - link
I don't know what is wrong at Dell. They never had the industrial design chops of Apple or IBM/Lenovo's products. But they were still head and shoulders above the other PC and display makers. The current Dell displays are just ugly. Not talking bout the picture quality, rather it's chassis and stand.Seriously, what is up with that hideous stand? There is not one angle that looks right on it. And the chassis with the silver and dark grey is very out of place on a $3k monitor.
The Lenovo UHD-4k designs are far more professional looking. Asus qhd/4k/uhd displays are also more pleasing in a Honda CRX kind of way.
Samsung and LG's professional offerings are similarly far less ugly.
I know it may sound trite, but hey, if I am sitting in front of it 40+ hours a week it matters.