Dell u3014 30" LCD monitor

So, my new, new monitor arrived yesterday. I happily set it up and began experimenting.

And then the disappointment set in. The resolution is 2560x1600. Same pixel width as the u2913wm monitor I just returned, and yet it shows LESS because the height is 1600 and the screen is set to a 16:10 ratio. The 29" is set to a 21:9 ratio, and so it shows more to the sides. Granted, 1080 pixel height is less than 1600, but I really noticed the lack of width, and not really the added height.

I played around in a few games trying to convince myself this is the better monitor for me. Bioshock Infinite can be tweaked to show more width with an FOV edit in the ini files. Battlefield 4 is supposed to have a working FOV slider, but I found that it did nothing for me. Guild Wars 2 looks fantastic, but again, you are stuck at the 16:10 ratio. Diablo III looks amazing at 2560x1600, however, and is probably the only game I tried that worked for me at that resolution.

Don't get me wrong, the u3014 is a fantastic monitor. The pixel density, resolution, and colors are amazing. I love that the touch sensitive buttons are little nubs that light up so you can feel when you touch one. I love that the power button is actually a button. The monitor itself is lighter than my 2009 27" Dell LCD due to the thinner body. (LED vs CCFL)

But, the things I didn't love outweigh the things I did love. I really want an ultra-wide resolution for games. I liked the missing bezels on the sides of the u2913wm. The 30" has pretty big bezels. The 30" also has some massive light bleeding at the bottom corners; Much more noticeable than the 29".

In the end, I ordered another 29" u2913wm from Dell. Hopefully this one won't have the power on issue. The 30" is going back next week.

I have heard rumors of a 34" ultra-wide Dell lcd in the works though. Stay tuned!

EDIT: This monitor also seems to have issues. The backlight will flicker for 15-30 minutes sometimes. It reminds me of old CRT monitors with low refresh rates. It gives me an almost instant headache. It's kind of ridiculous for a monitor this expensive to have an issue like that, although I have been reading reports of many issues with this model; Scan lines, backlight problems, and now the flickering. 

Dell U2913wm - Update

So, I discovered a minor issue with my new monitor; I can't turn it off and then just turn it back on when I want to. If I turn it off, the power button does NOTHING when trying to turn it back on.

Being that I used to work in IT at a support desk, I went ahead and troubleshot the thing on my own. It turns out the DP (Display Port) connection is bad. If I have a DP cable connected, the monitor will not turn on. I need to unplug the DP and power cables, then just insert the power cable and turn the monitor on, then insert the DP cable.

Needless to say, this is unacceptable to me, and the monitor is getting returned. It was a great monitor otherwise, but I decided that as long as I was experimenting, I would just get the next size up.

Stay tuned for my review of the Dell U3014 30" LED LCD. 2560x1600 resolution, here I come!