Dell UltraSharp U2713HM

Bottom Line

The 27-inch Dell UltraSharp U2713HM is a great choice for those seeking a high-performing monitor with great ergonomics, a host of connectivity options and features galore. It's not the absolute best performing monitor available, and it's not the cheapest, but it offers terrific bang for the buck when compared to other monitors in its class.

Performance

An excellent performer across the board. Reviewers agree that the Dell UltraSharp U2713HM produces a great picture. Like most in-plane switching (IPS) panels, colors are rich and accurate and viewing angles are wide; the LED backlight helps save energy. It scores highly in most reviewers' testing. TFT Central's Simon Baker praises both the contrast and black depth as "very good." Games are among the few applications that can fully take advantage of the beautiful 2,560-by-1,440-pixel native resolution. CNET's Eric Franklin says movies still look sharp and colorful in 1080p, but he also reports a slight green tint problem during a testing of "Avatar." PCMag.com's John Delaney says the monitor shows very good light grayscale performance, yet only so-so performance on the dark end; CNET, on the other hand, finds shadow detail to be quite good.

Text shows up clear and crisp even in the smallest font sizes. Backlight bleeding is at a minimum, though some minor clouding is apparent in the upper-left corner, CNET finds. Overall, the Dell UltraSharp U2713HM performs like a high-end IPS monitor should: It offers a quality picture with wide viewing angles.

Features

Settings galore, yet easy to use. The Dell UltraSharp U2713HM has more than enough features to satisfy most users. The bottom-right-oriented onscreen display is simple and user-friendly. Eight presets are available. Some allow for lots of user tinkering, including the ability to adjust red, green and blue values individually. Others are more locked down, which CNET describes as a minor disappointment; you can adjust brightness, contrast, sharpness and hue and saturation, however, in all.

The energy-efficient features are a nice touch: An energy gauge that rests above the onscreen display monitors power consumption; an Energy Smart mode adjusts brightness based on room lighting; and Power Nap, which dims the screen or initiates sleep mode. The Easy Arrange feature allows you to create a tiling pattern for when multiple windows and apps are open. For those who like to use the 90-degree screen pivot, the lack of an auto-rotate feature is rather annoying as you have to manually fix screen orientation.

Design

Great ergonomics, connectivity options. The Dell UltraSharp U2713HM is surprisingly thin for an IPS monitor, thanks to its LED backlight; it's light too, weighing only about 13 pounds. Although it doesn't break any ground in terms of aesthetics, the simple matte black and silver finish looks pretty good. In terms of ergonomics, the U2713HM is armed with a 90-degree pivot, 45-degree horizontal swivel, 20-degree back tilt and nearly 4.5 inches of screen height adjustment.

Connectivity ports include HDMI, DVI, DisplayPort, VGA, a headphone jack, an upstream USB 3.0 port and 2 downstream USB 3.0 ports near the back of the cabinet -- plus 2 USB ports on the left side. Many of the ports face down -- rather than outward -- which could cause some annoyance when connecting and disconnecting cables. The on-set controls are located on the lower-right end of the bezel, and an onscreen labeling system prevents guesswork when accessing them.

Value

Great value for a performance monitor. It might not be the best performing monitor -- that honor goes to the HP DreamColor LP2480zx (*Est. $2,250) that costs a lot more -- and it might not be the cheapest, but the Dell UltraSharp U2713HM offers the best value among high-end displays, reviewers say. For a reasonable price, at least in terms of its class, you get excellent performance overall, plenty of adjustability and great ergonomics. A three- year limited warranty is included, and Dell is regarded as providing great customer service.

If you want a solid all-around display but find the U2713HM to be a little pricey, the 24-inch Dell UltraSharp U2412M (*Est. $340) is a prime choice for general use. Hardcore gamers, on the other hand, might prefer something with faster response times, like the Asus VH236H (*Est. $175) .