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

Pros: - Viewing angle: Much better than a TN monitor: This is very important for monitors that are 24+ inches as all TNs look significantly darker at the top even when sitting right in front of them. This is very noticeable in dark areas of movies and games. All IPS variation monitors address this problem well. The Dell u2412m seems to not have quite as good a range as other IPS monitors, but it doesnt really matter if youre sitting right in front of it. - Sturdy base: Rock solid. Does not wiggle when typing or even shaking a less-than-sturdy desk. - Color reproduction: The range of colors is very good, minus blacks, once properly calibrated with a spectrometer. There might be a tad bit extra hint of blue, but nothing terrible. - No dead pixels: I absolutely hate dead pixels. It is a very common issue. Luckily, this monitor did not have a single one. Cons: - Factory Default settings: Out-of-the-box, the colors are waaaaaaaay off. Like you took a translucent blue paint brush to your monitor. Using Windows 7s monitor calibration tool is not sufficient, you will need either a really good third-party program such as EzTune or, for better accuracy, a monitor spectrometer such as the Xrite ColorMunki. - Blacks are poor: This is to be expected of an IPS monitor. I was unable to calibrate my monitor to distinguish between 96-100% blacks. - Anti-glare coating: Oh god. Where to begin? When I first turned my monitor on, the first thing that popped into mind was Wow, this monitor is really dusty. How did this happen? Upon turning my monitor off, and taking a better look at it, there wasnt any dust on it at all. I then turned it back on and looked closer. It was the Anti-glare coating that was applied to it, reflecting light produced from the monitor into the wrong directions and producing what looks like small, dull, red and green specs. I then began to speculate. Maybe they just used way too much anti-glare coating on my monitor? After-all, it received so many positive reviews on Amazon. Well, after looking around at other websites for reviews, it turns out that it is a very common complaint about this monitor. The dusty-looking screen is very distracting. Like looking through a window that had collected dust for a few years. Solid colors do not look like solid colors, bright colors look murky, and no matter what you do, you cant get over looking past the dirty screen. The Anti-glare coating itself is not very effective. I have a window to the side and it seems to somehow reflect some of the light back at me in a dull satin shine. For reference, my old monitor has a very glossy mirror-like finish and there is no glare at all on it. If the window was behind me, however, it would be a very different story. I really wanted to like this monitor. I really did. But the anti-glare coating is such an eye sore. This is unacceptable for me in a monitor. I have an old Gateway FHD2400. It was a TN medium-low-end monitor for its time, and it has a better picture than the Dell u2412m due to everything looking so clean. The only thing I liked better about the Dell is that it has a better viewing angle. Needless to say, I sent the monitor back. Out of the hundreds of purchases I have made on Amazon, 95% of them being technology related, this is the only item I have ever sent back for a refund. I had high expectations of the Dell u2412m, but was very disappointed in the end. I would like to see Dell cease use of the useless anti-glare on this otherwise nice monitor. Edit- For more information on Anti Glare with Hard Coat 3H, the coating Dell uses on their IPS monitors, google dell u2711 anti glare review.

Previous to this I had run a pair of Dell 2005FPW / 2007FPW S-IPS monitors because I do amateur photography and some design work. Color shift and accuracy matters more than response for me, even though I do game sometimes. The Dell 2005 was dying, losing its sync until warm ....So I went off to find a new monitor. I really wanted a 24 this time vs a direct replacement for the 20.1. But I was worried that e-IPS was fine for most, but not someone who often returns monitors... ME. My 2007FPW works fine.. but after 5 years the CFL back-light is unable to reach the 120 luminance setting I use when calibrating.. besides that it is working well and I have been happy with Dell Monitors. Next year the other monitor will get replaced.. but not sure what size. So After reading all the great reviews and the few bad reviews.. I decided to go for it on the Dell UltraSharp U2412M 24 My concerns going in were: > LED Backlite being too blue > Coating being differing / worse than what I was used to > Viewing Angles being less than S-IPS I got it set up today.... WOW!! I love the larger screen area... The controls are easy to use and the labels on the screen that come up make adjusting it in the dark easy.. Even before I got it calibrated there were some things I noticed. The color was good and it didnt suffer from the intense blue tints some of the first LED backlit screens did which made me avoid them for years. I like the anti-reflective coating. If I put my face closer than 18 inches from the monitor I can see it, just like on my previous two monitors and then only on a white screen. I dont see it when working at my normal distance which my eyes are tuned for. (only distance I dont need glasses) I use a Pantone i1Display to calibrate my monitors.. It calibrated perfectly... and am thrilled I wish the old monitor was as bright... but both are now color-temp and contrast calibrated to almost match. As you see I gave it 5 Stars.. Here are the low points, (Note that on a $290 24inch IPS monitor these NITS are not worth more than a half star and I am rounding up. >E-IPS vs S-IPS Side to Side in landscape mode I see the same viewing angle. If I stand and look down, I see the new 24 dim faster than the older S-IPS so the top to bottom viewing angle is not quite as good. I probably wouldnt run ii in Portrait mode because of that. But I havent tried.. When I do I will update the review. >When Calibrating the monitor the contrast, brightness and RGB settings were a bit coarser than I would like. This means that while my eye couldnt see a shift in brightness or contrast.. the calibration sensor would jump from just below perfect to just above prefect on the sensed levels. But I got it where I wanted and the calibtation curve as good as any Monitor I have owned. Thats it so far. If you cant deal with the screen coating or sit the right distance from the screen and are used to clear screens.. I can see why some people might not like this.. But I have a Window and or a TV behind me in the office.. the Anti-reflective coating is a godsend.. I have NO reflections even from intense sources of light behind me. For Photographers and Designers looking for a good monitor on a budget, that can be calibrated this is a solid choice I have nor problem reccomending.(Though at this price is not able to display a full Adobe RGB Gamut.) Dell saved some money by dropping HDMI ( so did my HP notebook which also has display port) If neded the adapters are a couple bucks. A non-issue. But the image quality is top notch. And great for this use.

Update -- after using a new adapter to connect to my MacBook (VGA to DVI, I believe), the sleep problem seems to be solved! (I did not change the type of adapter, just swapped one adapter for a different one at work.) So the problem seems to have been in the adapter. I am updating from one star to 5 OLD REVIEW FOLLOWS... THE PROBLEM IS NOW SOLVED! I bought this monitor to work with my Macbook Pro, 13-inch, Late 2011 model, running Mac OS X Lion 10.7.4. The monitor works great for a few minutes then goes into energy saver mode, goes black and will not wake up unless I use mirroring mode, which I dont want. I want two screens showing different things on each. Dell recommends upgrading the software on my laptop video card which is so far impossible because Intel only seems to offer windows versions of the software for the video card. So, to summarize, the monitor is really awesome when it works, which is hardly ever. Oddly, it worked well for several weeks, so Im not sure its possible to return to Amazon. I have tried many different ways to solve the problem, including turning off the feature on my computer that puts the display to sleep, playing with all the features on the monitor itself, plugging and unplugging everything in various orders, rebooting the laptop over and over, etc, etc... nothing solves the problem. I hope this information helps Macbook Pro users avoid the problems Im having with this monitor.... very, very annoying when you are busy at work!! Meanwhile my cheap old, small Viewsonic monitor worked beautifully with the same laptop, but the image was terrible.

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.

This monitor is a replacement for my 8 year old Samsung 213t. I was very happy with that monitor, and it lasted me through four computer upgrades since I originally purchased it in 2004. However, recently I had been wanting to move up to 1920x1200 for a little more space for my documents and software development tools. After one day of use, the U2412M seems to be an excellent replacement. Its much lighter than the 213t, and it runs much cooler due to the more energy-efficient LED backlighting. I will have to let others speak to the color accuracy, which I understand is generally pretty good for most purposes. From my relatively novice perspective it feels colder than my old Samsung, which perhaps is a result of the new monitor having whiter whites and less actual heat radiating from the front of the display. In any case, it does have a slightly different feel... not better or worse, but different. Pros: * Full-height 1920x1200 * Anti-glare coating (comparable to other anti-glare screens Ive used) * Good colors, seems to be best at 35 brightness * VESA mount for use on standard monitor arms and stands * LED backlight runs cool and is very power-efficient Cons: * Would be nice to have an SD card reader (not a big deal) I purchased this item directly from Amazon and it has zero dead or bright pixels that I can see. For those who care about this, they didnt double-box for shipment, but with Prime shipping via UPS it arrived with no damage.

Ive been trying to find a new monitor for some time now. I tried 27 monitors but in every case there was a problem with them - color desaturation, glass chips, LED bleeding, dead pixels, stuck pixels, defective ports, etc. Maybe I have terrible luck but is it so much to ask that a monitor actually fully work out of the box? Apparently so - I gave up on 27 monitors and turned to 24 monitors. Even in that range I had a real issue finding one that I liked (including other Dells) - until I came across this monitor. This is how monitors should be: sharp, clear, colorful, responsive, and with no defects. I liked this monitor so much I ended up getting three of them (and none of them had any problems). The picture is excellent and the colors are perfect. I havent noticed any ghosting when gaming and the viewing angle is great. The ONLY thing bad I have to say about the monitor is its lack of connections. Oh sure, it has DVI, VGA, and DisplayPort but I would have liked to have seen a second DVI port and/or an HDMI port (I hook in a Windows box and a Mac Mini). A very minor complaint, though. PROS: *Great Picture/Color/Response. *Everything worked! No dead pixels, no stuck pixels, no damage, no marks, no LED bleeding, no desaturation, great lighting and color balance - this was true on all three monitors. *Good menu system. *Excellent adjustable stand. *1920x1200 resolution is nice, 16:10 makes a huge difference. CONS: *Connections - would have been nice to have a second DVI port or an HDMI port; minor complaint though. This is easily one of the best monitors Ive ever seen, now if only there was a 27 version. I highly recommend it.

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.

monitor goes to sleep before the installer CD can do anything usefull setup instructions are uselss for installing any software or doing setup - all it says is to how to assemble it so much for DELL!! Dell tech support was in India I think - its Albion - they were clueless this is the only monitor I have ever had problems with I have a new ASUS Essentio Windows 8 Pc always in the past a video card would treat a new monitor ok - at least working in basic mode - not this time after much computer voodoo and plugging and unplugging and trying ito other pcs and rebooting it finally worked - I have no idea what did the trick due to this frustration it only gets 4 stars today the monitor itself seems ok now that its responding to the PC. 24 is a good size for sorting photos and doing simple editing. on a side note - I am quite pleased at the font sizes with this monitor and Windows 8. A pleasant surprise for my old eyes.

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.

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).