Dell UltraSharp U2412M 24-Inch Screen LED-Lit Monitor, Black

I bought two of the Dell u2412m monitors that Im using on a Mac Mini for software development. Since I look at a lot of code all day long, text clarity is very important to me. I also use the monitors for graphics design and editing, so color performance and contrast is important as well. I also work in an environment where I have a lot of outside light coming in (including a window behind my chair), so an anti-glare coating was critical for me. Based upon the reviews I read here, I was a little concerned about the anti-glare coating on the u2412m and how that would effect my ability to read text. At times my eyes have had a little bit of a problem focusing on the text, but my brain seems to be adjusting to them after a day or so. Its a little hard to describe, but its like my eyes initially focused on the anti-glare coating instead of the image behind the coating. When I have a problem focusing, if I blink my eyes, they seem to refocus. In any case, after a couple of days, the text appears to be easier to read and I seem to have less eyestrain after a long day of coding on these than I did with my old monitors (Acer AL2216W). The color performance and contrast of the u2412m is significantly better than my old monitors, these look very rich compared to the old screens. Out of the box I did notice that one of the monitors had a slightly warmer white color than the other. This appears to be due to how they are calibrated for the Standard setting at the factory. I found that if I switched the color settings on the monitors from Standard to Custom Color and set the R,G,B levels to 100 on both monitors, then the colors appeared to be nearly identical. I am running with the colors at 100, contrast at 75, and brightness at 20 which seems to be about perfect for me. I now have 3 monitors connected (two of the Dells, and one of the old monitors) and I can say that overall I am very pleased with the improvement. The new monitors draw less power too, about 18 watts each with my settings vs 31 watts each for the old monitors. So now I am thinking about buying a third u2412m... This may not be the perfect monitor for my needs, but at this price point it does seem like a good choice and Im happy with the purchase. The stands also have great adjustability and the extra usb ports are very nice with my Mac.

After shopping for a new monitor, this is my third that Ive ordered from different places, second of this model. Finally! Ive found something I can keep. The model I received from amazon is in 96% perfect condition. Stable base (which was actually why I had to return the previous model), no backlight bleeding, the monitor is very bright, so I have the brightness turned down to 30 or so, which is great. The IPS viewing angles are fantastic compared to other IPS displays Ive seen. The only problem is that when I have totally black screens, like end credits or something, there is the slightest vertical streak on far right side of the screen. its very thin, less than 4mm across, and the pixels are good, just slightly slightly greyed out? I never actually see this error unless its a totally black screen. Also, its so far to the right, Im never really looking over there. 24 is a pretty big screen! Other than that, its perfect. No issues in my 4 days of ownership. Oh, but I would advise to just go to the Dell site to get the drivers for the monitor, the disk didnt find the monitor when I put it in. Downloading the drivers works perfectly.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this monitor. I was stupid before this and bought a cheap monitor. It hurt my eyes. I have an HP Pavilition with an excellent monitor, but this year, bought a Microsoft Surface, which also has an excellent monitor, just too small for my puny eyes. I bought a cheap large monitor and it was almost worse than the tiny screen. Finally ponied up for this monitor and its AWESOME Not only is it great quality and crisp clear text (I do mostly reading, writing, database work and programming) but its SOOOO adjustable and I didnt realize how cool that would be. This monitor SLIDES up down AND TILTS forward back AND ROTATES left right, great for when moving around in my chair. I do wish the base would move towards and back from me a little easier - it has a SOLID dependable base, but I do tend to drag it towards and away from me. Maybe Ill put a piece of felt or something to let it slide easier. This monitor can also go vertical which is very cool, but I find a little disconcerting just on orientation. If I were doing mostly writing, say like a lawyer, the vertical (portrait) mode might be how I keep it all the time, or if I had a second jack for a monitor, I might get another one of these - one for my desktop in horizontal mode and one for my writing in vertical mode. All in all, I have NOTHING Bad to say about this monitor. Oh, some people have commented that it doesnt have speakers and thats true. While that would be nice, it doesnt really take away from it and I think you can buy a speaker bar to attach, but dont quote me on that. Overall, this monitor has a high quality feel to it, sharp performance and flexible. LOVE IT!

This review is for people who are trying to decide between the Dell UltraSharp U2412M vs Asus PA248Q. I was really stuck when it came to picking between the two as they are very similar and in the end I ordered both of them and was able to compare them side by side. The following reviews are from my personal experience comparing them side by side, not from any of the specs. Hopefully this helps someone make the right choice for them. The Dell: The picture quality is slightly better than the Asus. Colors are a little bit more rich and the contrast is a bit better on the Dell. Refresh rate seemed to be about equal on both monitors. The monitor I had did not have any back light bleed either although it did have a bit of IPS glow (a little less than the Asus) but thats expected. The anti glare coating was not a problem for me at all. The Dell also is missing several features that are nice to have. It only has DVI and VGA and the USB ports on the side are 2.0. One complaint I had with the Dell is the menu system. Your choices for calibrating the monitor are fairly limited and the menu system is not the easiest to use. The stand feels good and it is spring loaded so the monitor slides up and down very easily. The Asus: This monitor seems to me to be superior is every way except for the picture quality. The picture quality, while very good, is slightly worse than the Dell as mentioned above. A lot of people complain about back light bleed with this monitor but the one I received had no back light bleed. It did have a little bit more IPS glow than the Dell however. One nice part is that the Asus has tons of nice features such as USB 3.0, 1:1 picture scaling, it comes calibrated, has HDMI, has picture in picture and has measurement overlays on the screen. The menu system on the Asus is better than the Dell because it gives you a lot more options for adjusting the image and the buttons on the side include a little joystick that makes operating the menu very easy and nice. The Stand is very sturdy and nice although I think I preferred the Dell simply because of the spring. The anti glare coating on the Asus did not bother me at all and is basically the same as on the Dell. One other thing is that even though the Asus is shown with a red line on the bottom, it doesnt actually have it, its just black. Conclusion: The Dell has slightly better picture quality and the Asus has better everything else.

Ive had the monitor a little over a month now. I appreciate the superior image quality, color, screen size and stand adjustment range compared to my old 22 TN 1680x1050 monitor. I use it mainly for internet use and RPG/MMO gaming. I do have a Spyder4 Elite colormeter and using that for calibration I have very clean, bright whites and deep blacks. Colors are vivid and true (99% sRBG after calibration). * Gaming response is great for the type of games I play. I see no abnormal ghosting (all LCDs have a little blur regardless of panel type or response time compared to a CRT). My RPGs and MMOs (like Skyrim and LotRO) look gorgeous. * The stands adjustment range is awesome. I daily use the height adjustment, tilt and swivel depending on how Im sitting in my chair. Its so nice to have an ergonomic monitor that accommodates me regardless how I slouch, tip back or sit upright. Every monitor should have such a stand, but sadly most dont * The screen is very close to perfect. There is a tiny bit of edge bleed, but it in general is the most uniform monitor Ive ever own. The screen is almost completely smooth and dark when the PC first boots and there are no dead or stuck pixels. Great job there on quality control there. * Unlike a few who complain about the Anti-Glare coating I have no issue with it. Unless I have my nose very close to the screen with a light background its unnoticeable. At the usual 24 I sit from the screen I really cant see it. Whites are clean, colors are true, text is sharp (use the Windows 7 Clear Type adjustment tool) and there is no undue graininess to the screen. My previous monitor was a glossy screen, so if anyone should be sensitive to the anti-glare coating it should be me. The U2412M is just fine and I think some people are trying very hard to find a perceived flaw to obsess over. Basically, its a matte screen. If you dont like matte screens, get a glossy, but be aware you will then have to deal with reflections in bright environments. * 1920x1200 resolution and a 16:10 aspect ratio. This is a personal preference, but I like the greater height of a 16:10 monitor for internet and productivity use. If you really need to view 16:9 material without it being stretched youll be better off with a 1920x1080 monitor since the Dell doesnt have 1:1 pixel mapping. You can set it to 16:9 in most video cards so the stretching isnt evident (my Nvidia GPU can using the Nvidia Control Panel). That brings me to one of the monitors few cons. It can adjust to view 4:3 aspect material (older games)without stretching in the menu. It uses black bars on the left and right to do this, but the problem is it then shows widescreen material with black bars as well. Most monitors (including my three year old HP) can switch back and forth automatically when using a 4:3 setting in the menu. With the U2412M you have to go into the menu every time when playing old games or watching a 4:3 aspect TV show or movie. All in all this is an excellent monitor for general use and Im very happy with my purchase. Amazon (as usual) delivered quickly and their excellent return policy during the 30 day window really put my mind at ease vs. buying from a local brick and mortar store. They double boxed the monitor for shipment and thats a rarity with most e-tailers (Newegg doesnt do that for monitors).

Bought this for use with a 2012 Mac Mini using this cable to connect the two:

We have been exceedingly impressed with the U2412M monitor thus far. Without rehashing (too much) what other reviews have said, heres what we like: 1) Aspect ratio: the screen size is perfect for working with documents, excel files, email and presentations. Yes a smaller screen will do the job but the extra vertical resolution is nice to have. 2) Highly adjustable: Dell UltraSharp panels have always been great in this regard, and this monitor is no exception. We love that the swivel (both left to right and horizontal to vertical) is effortless, and that its easy to adjust the vertical height and pitch of the monitor to help you achieve the best ergonomic viewing angle. This has really helped to reduce neck strain for both of us who use this monitor. 3) Great colors and image clarity: Im sure there are professional photographers and others who need nothing but the highest levels of color accuracy, but for normal office/web/photo use this monitor produces crisp, clear, pleasing images which are more than good enough for us. 4) USB side ports: USB ports on the bottom and side of the monitor have been a feature on various Dell monitors over the years. While this feature is easy to overlook, the convenience of being able to quickly access USB ports to pop in and out a flash drive has become a luxury that I dont want to live without. No more having to reach behind the PC, or twisting to reach strangely angled ports that manufactures put on their computers for some reason. Its also great if you keep your CPU on the floor and dont want to have to get down on your knees just to plug in a USB device. As always, Amazon customer service is great. The first display we received had a dead (dark) pixel. Amazon quickly shipped out a replacement and the new one was perfect. I highly recommend thoroughly checking out the pixels right after you receive it. There are helpful test patterns that you can play on YouTube and similar sites that make dead and stuck pixels easier to spot.

First, let me say I really like my Dell U2412m monitor. Ive had it about a month and have thoroughly enjoyed using it everyday, and for the price point, this is a wonderful monitor with an excellent feature set. However, its not perfect. The first one I received had severe clouding in the right top and bottom corners. Of course, these come setup with the brightness at an eye searing 75%, and the clouding diminished a bit when I turned it down to a more reasonable 30%, but it was still quite evident on a dark image, and not acceptable for my main purpose of photo editing, so back it went (thanks Amazon for the easy no hassle exchange!). The second one also has a tiny bit of clouding in the corners, but only when viewed really close-up, and mostly not visible at all except on a completely dark screen. So, not perfect, but acceptable. I really like the 16x10 ratio, its a nice big workspace. The build quality seems up to Dells high standards, and I love the stand, with its easy and yet very secure adjustments. I will say that the color on my second monitor leaned toward the green, cyanish side (yuck). Unfortunately, the color controls in the main menu are not fine enough for the kind of color adjustments that were needed, but luckily for me, I found some sites on the internet that described how to carefully access the service menu, and I was able to tweak the color to perfection using some very good LCD monitor test images I found using Google. So, lets wrap it up: Pros: 1. Good build quality 2. Excellent color and picture (when tweaked correctly) 3. Easy and stable stand adjustments. 4. Works beautifully with both my new Mac Mini AND my 10 year old Mac G4 (using a USB switch) 5. Lots of inputs and USB connections 6. 3 Year warranty Cons: 1. A bit of clouding in the corners, but generally not visible during normal use. 2. Only USB 2.0 3. No HDMI input So, would I recommend this? Yes, but with qualifications. Be sure and check your screen for unacceptable clouding, and be prepared to tweak the brightness, contrast, and color. If you can live without HDMI and USB 3.0 ports, than this monitor should be on your short list. UPDATE (March 4, 2013): I really like this monitor. It has performed flawlessly over the last 5 months. The bit of clouding in the corners doesnt seem to show up in real world use. No color drift and no problems whatsoever. I leave it on 24 hours a day and it automatically goes into power-saving mode whenever I put the computer to sleep. For the price, this is quite a nice monitor. Update (Sept 5, 2013): The thing I like most about this monitor, it just works. I know that sounds simple, but in this complex world of cables, and operating systems, and weird stuff, its nice to have something that I can just plug in and it works perfectly, all day, every day. The color has been SUPER stable, with no drift. The slight clouding in the corners hasnt gotten worse, and doesnt effect my day to day photo work. All-in-all, an excellent and reliable monitor.

Colors a little off and brightness too high out of the box, but monitors color balance and brightness is near perfect after calibration. Make use of suggested brightness and color settings online to get you much of the calibration benefit. The most striking difference with other TN-panel monitors Ive used is the considerably higher contrast level after calibration. HDR rendering effects are *striking* on this screen. Ive gone back to replay the original FEAR and Black Mesa on this, and the excellent contrast image enhances the games atmospheres greatly. The anti-glare coatings color shimmering effect some describe is only somewhat noticeable when close to the screen, and only when looking at a full or mostly-white background. At normal use distance while browsing, watching or editing video, or playing games, most people will be unable to spot the effect. I looked interesting on paper, but I did not fully realize how useful the portrait display mode would be to me until I used it. When rotated to portrait, the following become possible: 1. Full vertically extended view of many news and information websites. 2. Zoomed view of a single legal-size page in Acrobat or Word. Those concerned by the lack of HDMI input, I would suggest you should not be. The video signals of HDMI and DVI-D are the same; HDMI adds a digital sound transport that this monitor cant take advantage of. Get an HDMI to DVI adapter and youll be fine. Finally, do not underestimate the benefit of a 1920x1200 resolution when editing HD video. The extra vertical resolution makes it easy to work on the video at full 1080P resolution while preserving 120 vertival pixels of room for palettes above or below.

This is a gorgeous monitor. I wanted an IPS monitor for editing photos in Photoshop and Photomatrix (HDR). My 1080P gaming monitors just werent cutting it. My choice came down to Asus or Dell, and I finally went with Dell because of price. Frankly, the Asus PA248Q is probably equally gorgeous. I have tried out both the DVI and DisplayPort and see no difference. Before opening photos in photoshop, I ran X-Rites Colormunki Display on the Dell and on one of my old cheap TN monitors. The Colormunki made a striking difference. The initial factory setting of the U2412M was too green. In contrast the munki made my cheap monitor look worse (low contrast to improve color accuracy, I think). Whatever. It made the Dell IPS monitor look wonderful, and that is what matters. Update: Got my second monitor and it was a bit red. Again, Colormunki fixed it. Out of curiosity, I fired up some games on the U2412M. Common wisdom is that IPS is not good for gaming. Perhaps. Again, I thought it looked fantastic. My eyes must not be good enough to see the alleged light leakage IPS monitors supposedly have. I am pleasantly surprised by the ability to game on this monitor and the 1200 vs 1080 height difference is something I really like. Gaming is absolutely NOT what this monitor is for, but if you play games in addition to editing photos, this monitor works fine. My original plan was to have only the one IPS monitor and game on cheap TNs. This monitor changed my mind. I have ordered a second one and after a few paychecks will acquire a third. The TN monitors will be retired. Update: Third one is on its way! I have no use for HDMI on my computer screens, so I cannot comment on that. I mounted it on a multi-monitor stand, so I cannot comment on the supplied base. I selected this U2412M over a wide gamut monitor because I rarely print my photos. My (limited) understanding of wide gamut is that it is meant for people who mostly print their work. For display on screen, this regular IPS is better than buying a very expensive monitor and then not using the wide gamut you paid for. Should you buy the Dell U2412M instead of the Asus PA248Q? Personally, I believe they are equivalent. When I was buying, the Dell U2412M was cheaper. When you read this, it just might be the other way around. I recommend going with lower price. In summary, I found this Dell to be the best value for my photo editing and am pleased with its ability to game. I am buying more. I highly recommend using a calibration tool such as a Colormunki or Spyder4.