think of buying a Dell ST 2310F 23' monitor

Forums › Digital Imaging › think of buying a Dell ST 2310F 23' monitor - opinions please

nathanbarlow

48 posts

Geek

#74801 7-Jan-2011 14:51

hi guys,

was wondering if i could get some advice on a monitor which is going to be primarily used for photography editing, films, and some light gaming.

Went into JB HiFi on Queen St today, and after some browsing and asking questions of the IT guy, I have come to the conclusion that the Dell ST 2310 F widescreen monitor suits my needs. It also doesnt hurt that its price has been reduced twice - from around $500 to $295! They only have one left, and need to make a decision by monday preferably.

Theres a month or so old post requesting opinions on tomshardware's forums, but no-one ever got back to that guy :(

worried by this bad review: http://www.retrevo.com/s/Dell-ST2310-Monitors-review-manual/id/23508bh528/t/1-2/

Some features i know from the JB HiFi guys

5ms refresh    - not too shabby for casual gaming
1080p res   - perfect for DVDs/Blu-rays and for photography editing
HDMI             - good for DVDs/Blu's, and my TM2 laptop is HDMI capable
AVI & DVI       - compatible with most other computers = flexibilty

Now the kicker is the size. it's a 23" panel. My own research in the web says that for a 24" panel, a viewing distance of 3-4 ft is optimal, which means 22" is gonna be around 2-3 ft (my extrapolation here). Useing that on a desk as photography/gaming is going to be fine, but im querying whether watching a movie at some considerable distance eg sitting on bed (my desk is in my bedroom) is more like 6-10ft away Is this going to be 'too small' ?

FYI, i'm migrating from using the TM2's 12.1" screen (just for point of reference), and my previous desktop monitor was a 4:3 16" Phillips. SO 22", 23"or 24" is gonna be huuuge by my standards but still reasonable to be used on a desk

My other Q is whether the panel is a good panel - yes i know for photography a IPS screen would be better - but those are out of my budget, unless I go small screen.

If you have any suggestions of an alternative monitor of similar price but better for my needs or better quality feel free to make suggestions.

Cheers
Nathan

nathanbarlow

48 posts

Geek

#424978 7-Jan-2011 14:58

hmmm

the Dell UltraSharp U2311H is only $569, is IPS panel, 4 x USB (good as my laptop only has 3)
but is not HDMI. ... this is better 'screen' but loath to buy a non HDMI screen - am i making too much of a deal about HDMI here? I would be using VGA otherwise (not DVI on laptop) - which seems to me to be rather 'lame'... am i justified in thinking this?

thorax

75 posts

Master Geek

#425013 7-Jan-2011 17:11

If your upgrading from a 12" screen, I think any 23/24" LG, Samsung, ASUS panel would be a huge improvement, and you can get a LED backed one from $300 at the moment.

I have an LG E2340V, it has HDMI, DVI, vga, 5ms refresh rate, LED backlit. paid $300, great colour and contrast (some good factory calibration settings). watching movies from 10ft away is fine. Doing text and web from 10ft not so great, I need 40" + to do that. Also no problems with viewing angle from my bed to screen.

In terms of the Dell Screens, it is really hard to beat their quality, and if you can pick them up on special, I would say go for it. Just make sure you check that the monitor on sale is not a display model. Only bad thing I have heard about the lower end dells are that the backlight can bleed a little apart from that they are quite solid.

tigercorp

668 posts

Ultimate Geek

#425069 7-Jan-2011 21:12

nathanbarlow: hmmm

the Dell UltraSharp U2311H is only $569, is IPS panel, 4 x USB (good as my laptop only has 3)
but is not HDMI. ... this is better 'screen' but loath to buy a non HDMI screen - am i making too much of a deal about HDMI here? I would be using VGA otherwise (not DVI on laptop) - which seems to me to be rather 'lame'... am i justified in thinking this?

If your laptop doesn't have dvi then why not use the DisplayPort adaptor on the monitor and get a cable like this - http://www.mamakuku.co.nz/displayport-cable-dp-to-hdmi-s0065.html (assuming your laptop has a male HDMI connector).

CutCutCut

1039 posts

Uber Geek

#429167 20-Jan-2011 12:54

tigercorp:
nathanbarlow: hmmm

the Dell UltraSharp U2311H is only $569, is IPS panel, 4 x USB (good as my laptop only has 3)
but is not HDMI. ... this is better 'screen' but loath to buy a non HDMI screen - am i making too much of a deal about HDMI here? I would be using VGA otherwise (not DVI on laptop) - which seems to me to be rather 'lame'... am i justified in thinking this?

If your laptop doesn't have dvi then why not use the DisplayPort adaptor on the monitor and get a cable like this - http://www.mamakuku.co.nz/displayport-cable-dp-to-hdmi-s0065.html (assuming your laptop has a male HDMI connector).

Have you used one of these? I couldn't see if it was HDCP compliant anywhere. I was looking for something cheaper but this

U2311H has caught my eye and the lack of HDMI is one downfall it has.

CutCutCut

1039 posts

Uber Geek

#430639 24-Jan-2011 16:50

Just curious Nathan as to which monitor you went for? If you haven't pulled the trigger on a monitor yet I may have useful news for you in the next couple of days.

nathanbarlow

48 posts

Geek

#431070 25-Jan-2011 15:45

havent pulled the trigger yet.

have found out that the first model i was looking at (OP) - was an ex-demo one, and not keen on buying what could be a damaged monitor. Also been busy with uni crap haha

b0untypure1

1426 posts

Uber Geek

#431214 25-Jan-2011 22:10

lg make really nice lcd monitors, and samsung have nice led monitors.

i would get this instead of the dell
http://www.playtech.co.nz/afawcs0139235/CATID=507/ID=15370/SID=935197821/productdetails.html

or this

http://www.playtech.co.nz/afawcs0139235/CATID=507/ID=15149/SID=839293169/productdetails.html

and a little over budget
http://www.playtech.co.nz/afawcs0139235/CATID=507/ID=15053/SID=690133309/productdetails.html

Quic Broadband

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE. Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

Ragnor

8223 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#431383 26-Jan-2011 13:17

Those 3 you listed bounty are TN panel based and not in the same class as S-IPS based models like the Dell.

TN panel monitors are good bang for buck, low latency (gaming) work horses but S-IPS has much better colour accuracy and reproduction (useful for graphic designers, photographers etc) and wider viewing angles.

b0untypure1

1426 posts

Uber Geek

#431429 26-Jan-2011 15:28

wow, just found this website while i was researching those s-ips monitors. it has a best monitor price selector so i clicked $300 for this.
heres the link

http://www.reviewgist.com/best-monitor-price-under-300

b0untypure1

1426 posts

Uber Geek

#431432 26-Jan-2011 15:30

Ragnor: Those 3 you listed bounty are TN panel based and not in the same class as S-IPS based models like the Dell.

TN panel monitors are good bang for buck, low latency (gaming) work horses but S-IPS has much better colour accuracy and reproduction (useful for graphic designers, photographers etc) and wider viewing angles.

i understand :) obviously im a gamer :P

CutCutCut

1039 posts

Uber Geek

#431614 26-Jan-2011 23:15

Well I just picked up my Dell U2311H today and although I have had time to set it up, I haven't really fiddled with it much yet but pretty impressed with it so far. Got a great deal on it too which makes it even sweeter. I'd initially discounted the Dell Ultrasharps because they were out of my budget but super stoked I could get it!