So, question... Was trying to decide on a monitor last night when I realized - they don't have USB ports. Is this not standard? My Dell monitor at work has two USB ports and a speaker attached.
USB and speakers are not standard, you have to get into the bit more expensive models to have those things. And even then the speakers are terrible so I dont recommend spending extra money for those. USB is starting to come down to cheaper models, however you still pay around $10-40 extra for a model with USB on it compared to the exact same model without.
Thanks, I'll just go for the models without then. I just thought having the USB ports on the monitor were convenient but I could do without. I hardly ever use my speakers at home (I usually have my headphones on LOL) Just trying to reduce the wire clutter at home.
This is probably the one you will want if you do go with USB. I really dont think you will find any monitor even close to this within a couple hundred Dollar price difference. Its one flaw is build quality, which all monitors this cheap and under have poor build quality anyway so it cant even really be considered a flaw. If you want the better build quality, you always have to pay for it: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236201 Or this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824260047
I have a rather complex and overkill sound setup for a lot of reasons, but I have noticed that the accessory detachable speakers on my dell monitors are very hand when you just want system noises. They are plenty loud, and they have DUAL headphone outputs with very powerful headphone amplifiers built in that are very handy. When i just want to hear acceptable sound through headphones, I often just plug into them rather than power up all the amps and burn through tons of electricity. http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...AWELAID=181458451&dgc=SS&cid=27722&lid=628335 I have one for each monitor. Did wonders for cleaning up my desk. And it makes a great "grotbox" for listening to recordings in all their crappy speaker glory!
I kept visiting this thread and it made me want a new monitor... just bought a 27.5 inch HannsG 1920x1200 LOL. Can't wait to play beta with that baby!
2 years ago I bought my 24" Dell monitor, it was on sale during their "Summer Event" and I love it a whole lot. I think it was this one? But I only paid ~$160 for it. http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...ynoteSearch&baynote_bnrank=4&baynote_irrank=0 Anyway, I've used Dell monitors ever since I started building computers and I can say I've never had one bad, or shipped bad, or anything. I can't pay the premium of some other brands where I've always gotten good bang for the buck here.
My father and I have had a two occasions where we got a dell ultrasharps that had a few bad pixels. On both occasions, Dell directly fixed the issue by sending replacements no charge shipping either way. This is the primary reason that every monitor he owns- and own- is a Dell. They work great, and last a long time. I just wish I could say that for the rest of dell's offering.
I've bought dell computers and laptops for years and have had nothing but outstanding performance from them. I recently bought an alienware and their service was incredible. A couple years ago I bought an xps laptop (along with the extended warranty) and I broke one of the keys on the keyboard. They had a guy in my home the next day to replace the keyboard. I dunno why Dell has such a bad name. I've had nothing but stellar performance from their product and service. (but I always buy the accidental damage protection)
Well these days the prices of Alienware Desktop PC's are at least within a couple hundred bucks of building a PC from scratch. Even though now they are essentially just beefed up Dells. Customer support overall has improved, I guess it just depends on who you get transferred to. IMO the Dell monitors are worth the price. Personally i'd rather build a tower.
I have two issues with Dell: Quality consistency. The latter first: Like any PC builder, Dell buys in bulk to get the best possible deal on the parts to increase their margins. Not a bad thing, a profitable business is not the problem. The problem is, that depending on when you buy a Dell, you may get one company vs another for specific parts in a computer. Some of these parts are better quality that others, but no change in price. Unless you have bought from Dell with some kind of frequency, you may never be any the wiser. But for those of you nodding your head, you all know exactly what I mean. Lately, I've seen it go from inconsistent, to "cost cutting" -which is bad. Dell has grown enough to approach builders and make Massive bulk buys demanding a low price. Think Walmart style contracts. The component builder knows its too good a deal to pass up, and they cut corners to make the product work at the price they were given to produce. These bully-style tactics work in in some ways, but quality will always suffer. I've found that component pieces of Dell computers, when matched with similar parts in the aftermarket, will often (if not always) underperform compared to their aftermarket counterparts- in important areas like heat, speed, long-term reliability. With that experience, does it really make any sense to pay "a dew hundred dollars more" for a product a few percent less satisfactory? With the simplicity, availability of parts, compatibility standards, and excellent support communities- I cant see why anyone with a least a small amount of technical ability would bother with a more expensive and remarkably less reliable and less mod-able product. This argument, of course, breaks down when the discussion moves toward hard to build items like monitors or laptops- which are both products Dell build with excellent reputation.
Tiger Direct's having a monitor sale today if you're interested: http://www.tigerdirect.com/email/WEM3033.asp?cm_re=Homepage-_-Spot 02-_-email_WEM3033
Dell monitors are still arguably the best out there. The Ultrasharp ones that is, at least for gaming.
Typing this on a 6 year old 24" Ultrasharp, which was only recently relegated to 'side panel' next to my 30" Dell Ultrasharp. Offtopic - when speak about Dell desktops quality compared to Ultrasharps, you are comparing consumer grade to professional grade. If you have an enterprise contract with Dell, you get very consistent and identical builds of desktops and laptops using the same hardware that change infrequently to survive in the world of corporate standards, and have relatively low hardware issues. Dell Ultrasharps are miles above their P series (which can have multiple different panel manufacturers within the same model number of LCD) and other 'joe consumer' Dell models of monitors. Regardless, I always recommend a Dell to my friends/family that are not computer enthusiasts, reason being is that there prices are decent, but their support is phenomenal. Not many companies can walk my old man through running diagnostics on his hard drive, removing it from the case, installing a replacement, and restoring his system - hell I don't even want to do that lol.
you are very very correct about the consumer vs enterprise. Completely different conversation, though. Oh, and I love my 24" ultrasharp even more than my 30"!! the 24 by Dell was a masterpiece. Perfect compromise of form and function.
I would like to get a 30 inch. I am getting sick of my 24 inch acer that I got for 124.00 a year ago.
U3011 is an unreal monitor. Some who seem a bit sensitive to lag complain about it in FPS. It isn't noticeable to me. What is noticeable is the amazing depth and accuracy of colors across a massive screen. I preference MMO's and the color depth of this monitor, coupled with the boarder less real estate (compared to eyefinity) is lovely.