New Dell IPS S2721DGF 165hz gaming monitor

[GhostDog1981]

I got mine today. Lovely build quality (as is the norm for Dell). I've got a i1display plus which I've just calibrated it for the first time ever on any monitor. Sort of a impulse buy at the time after watching hardware unboxed not approving of the out of the box calibration.

Sorry if I'm going over old ground in this thread but I'm not sure I can get past the oversaturated colours this model brings even after hardware calibration. I knew it was a wide gamut panel to begin with but I didn't really do much research specifically into what that entails annoyingly. I've tried the reference mode in the Nvidia settings which does level out my colour preferences a bit but after using a bog standard 60hz Dell panel for 4 years it's hard for me to adjust to. I'm not sure if that's even good enough grounds to return the item to Dell anyway so I'm probably going to have to stick with it. 1440p on 27' is lovely after using x2 24 1080p's for years so there is that

Colours are too warm for me and after trying 4 panels- I've given up and returning and getting the 27GP850-B from LG from German forest site for £399 all inclusive. Shame as good price and the Dell has all the features I was looking for but £92 cheaper

 

[GMac11]

I got mine today. Lovely build quality (as is the norm for Dell). I've got a i1display plus which I've just calibrated it for the first time ever on any monitor. Sort of a impulse buy at the time after watching hardware unboxed not approving of the out of the box calibration.

Sorry if I'm going over old ground in this thread but I'm not sure I can get past the oversaturated colours this model brings even after hardware calibration. I knew it was a wide gamut panel to begin with but I didn't really do much research specifically into what that entails annoyingly. I've tried the reference mode in the Nvidia settings which does level out my colour preferences a bit but after using a bog standard 60hz Dell panel for 4 years it's hard for me to adjust to. I'm not sure if that's even good enough grounds to return the item to Dell anyway so I'm probably going to have to stick with it. 1440p on 27' is lovely after using x2 24 1080p's for years so there is that

I have mentioned this above (I think). I returned mine because no matter what I did I could not get colours right and there was a perpetual warm tone to it whenever I got even remotely close to anything considered accurate colour wise.
While the monitor is wide gamut there is no colour clamping so as you say colours are oversaturated and in my experience reds and magentas were the worst offenders.
Although the monitor is IPS I have seen people who are much more expert than me say that these modern IPS panels are a far cry from the 'good old ones' from years ago. Let's not kid ourselves, this monitor was designed primarily for gaming and is marketed as such. I always said as a gaming monitor it's superb - especially at it's current price. But for office or colour critical work or people like me who just appreciate knowing they have at least reasonably accurate colours then look elsewhere I'm afraid.

 

[Goose]

Speaking of colours...

I got my S2721DGFA yesterday and the first thing i've noticed are that the colours are duller and more washed out (particularly reds and whites) compared to my 6 year old AOC 1440p 60hz IPS. This came as a bit of a surprise as I assumed a modern monitor would at least be as good if not better in regard to colours. I've also noticed that text is a little less clear than on my AOC and recalibrating ClearType doesn't help.

Is it unrealistic of me to expect a modern high refresh rate monitor to also have good colours, clear text etc. at this price point (I only paid £270 thanks the HUKD)?

 

[baldmonk]

Speaking of colours...

I got my S2721DGFA yesterday and the first thing i've noticed are that the colours are duller and more washed out (particularly reds and whites) compared to my 6 year old AOC 1440p 60hz IPS. This came as a bit of a surprise as I assumed a modern monitor would at least be as good if not better in regard to colours. I've also noticed that text is a little less clear than on my AOC and recalibrating ClearType doesn't help.

Is it unrealistic of me to expect a modern high refresh rate monitor to also have good colours, clear text etc. at this price point (I only paid £270 thanks the HUKD)?

mines coming tomorrow bought on same deal hope i get a good one.

 

[GMac11]

Is it unrealistic of me to expect a modern high refresh rate monitor to also have good colours, clear text etc. at this price point (I only paid £270 thanks the HUKD)?

I honestly think it is. As I said these monitors are geared towards gaming so I think it's fair to assume that Dell keep their higher quality displays (in terms of colour etc) for their more professional Ultrasharp line.
After returning mine I actually opted for the Alienware AW3420DW as I picked it up for £650 which is well under RRP. It also has the same (or similar) Nano-IPS gubbins as the S27 but it's a night and day difference for me.
Granted it's taken me a couple of days but I now have it where I need it (colour wise) and it's superb. That's something I couldn't achieve with almost 2 weeks of using the S27.
So think there is some merit that Dell do prioritise their monitor ranges.

 

[medley]

I have mentioned this above (I think). I returned mine because no matter what I did I could not get colours right and there was a perpetual warm tone to it whenever I got even remotely close to anything considered accurate colour wise.
While the monitor is wide gamut there is no colour clamping so as you say colours are oversaturated and in my experience reds and magentas were the worst offenders.
Although the monitor is IPS I have seen people who are much more expert than me say that these modern IPS panels are a far cry from the 'good old ones' from years ago. Let's not kid ourselves, this monitor was designed primarily for gaming and is marketed as such. I always said as a gaming monitor it's superb - especially at it's current price. But for office or colour critical work or people like me who just appreciate knowing they have at least reasonably accurate colours then look elsewhere I'm afraid.

Yes the reds are the standout issue for me. They just don't seem accurate to me. My dell 60hz panel may not be initially as engaging as the colours aren't as saturated but they are a lot more accurate in my eyes. Wouldn't usually be an issue with tree site with easy return policy but I'm probably stuck with it now.

I've been reading other sub forums (shall we say) and the general consensus is all panel technologies seem to have a trade off in some form. I just wanted accurate colours with 144/165 panel without spending £500+

 

[mattyfez]

Was going to say the ultrasharp range is more geared to professional media production, and have a price tag to match.
These are clearly marketed as gaming monitors.

 

[medley]

Was going to say the ultrasharp range is more geared to professional media production, and have a price tag to match.
These are clearly marketed as gaming monitors.

That's true. Got a very good deal on this monitor so I shouldn't really complain. Monitor technology doesn't seem to move as long as TV's for obvious reasons so may be my expectations need to lowered after using a 3 year old 144hz 1080p panel + 4-5 year old 1080p 60hz panel.

I may well look at getting another 27' 60hz panel to replace my 144hz secondary monitor. May be the Ultrasharp is something I should look into. 27" panel size is lovely for my current desk setup.

 

[Gundam God]

Slightly annoying issue is the power button turns the monitor off completely and windows no longer detects it, unlike my 2 other Dell monitors which are still "there" while the screen is turned off.

Found this forum thread on Dells site which does work but was wondering if anyone knows of any other/better solutions?

 

[baldmonk]

mine turned up today been using it for a few hours now and i love it no issues at all apart from my brain and vision trying to get used to a flat panel again after using curved so long lol but apart from that I'm well happy with my choice and obviously for the price i paid over the moon

 

[OzricB7]

Hello

Just got this monitor, noticed a slight mark on the very edge on both left and right side of the panel - half way up the screen. Only really noticeable if you shine a touch over it. Just wonder if anyone else has this?

https://ibb.co/sQw9j1f

Great screen though !

Thanks

 

[LadFromWales]

If the panel is perfect I'd just get a matte Sharpie and colour it in!

Thinking of getting two of these, or an ultrawide, but an IPS ultrawide costs more than two of these! I've seen the flat Iiyama but with a 34" or greater panel I'd want at least a subtle curve

 

[GMac11]

I've seen the flat Iiyama but with a 34" or greater panel I'd want at least a subtle curve

I'd echo that. I'm on my second curved ultrawide and I can't imagine using a flat one - maybe in use it would be fine but I get the impression the edges would be too far away and you'd lose an element of immersive-ness.

 

[Goose]

Is it all possible to get whites to look a little better on this panel as they're so dull and yellow (at least compared to my old monitor)?

 

[GMac11]

Is it all possible to get whites to look a little better on this panel as they're so dull and yellow (at least compared to my old monitor)?

Based on my experience no. As I mentioned I always had a warmish tone that I could never get right.

 

[snozski]

After six weeks with this monitor now, it has kinda grown on me.

I have calibrated it with displaycal and for sure even post-calibration general use (work youtube etc) it is over-saturated. I have however become used to this and it does not feel so offensive as it did, I've become used to it.

Gaming wise this display is stella, motion is smooth and colours appear great. I was lucky to snag a 3070 TIE ( ) recently and playing fps games at 165hz/fps is quite a step up Reminds me of quake 3 on a CRT its so smooth.

One thing anyone will notice though and is not fixable is the really poor contrast ratios. As reviews reported it's around 830 to 1 and blacks appear gray and washed out. Compared to my old eizo IPS panel from 2016 its noticeably worse and compared to my 2017 OLED TV and 2010 plasma TV its trash tier

I would say if you are mainly gaming this is a top tier pick in the price range and bargain with the recent discounts. I would get a Samsung g7 over this I think but I do not want that crazy curve.

 

[snozski]

Is it all possible to get whites to look a little better on this panel as they're so dull and yellow (at least compared to my old monitor)?

I noticed a yellowish tint to whites out of box. After calibrating with displaycal this went away.

My custom colour

gain

R 100
G 95
B 98

offset

R 50
G 50
B 51

Obviously, this in combo with an ICM profile too and all panels differ.

 

[markymoo]

After six weeks with this monitor now, it has kinda grown on me.

I have calibrated it with displaycal and for sure even post-calibration general use (work youtube etc) it is over-saturated. I have however become used to this and it does not feel so offensive as it did, I've become used to it.

Gaming wise this display is stella, motion is smooth and colours appear great. I was lucky to snag a 3070 TIE ( ) recently and playing fps games at 165hz/fps is quite a step up Reminds me of quake 3 on a CRT its so smooth.

One thing anyone will notice though and is not fixable is the really poor contrast ratios. As reviews reported it's around 830 to 1 and blacks appear gray and washed out. Compared to my old eizo IPS panel from 2016 its noticeably worse and compared to my 2017 OLED TV and 2010 plasma TV its trash tier

I would say if you are mainly gaming this is a top tier pick in the price range and bargain with the recent discounts. I would get a Samsung g7 over this I think but I do not want that crazy curve.

Hi pal. I have this monitor, but only had a few days now. I was looking at calibrating it and saw the X-Rite ones. These are around £158 for the pro model.
I was hoping to have done my tv too. However it's a 2018 OLED, so no built in test pattern. So will only get the value on 2 monitors.
Would you say that the calibration has made a massive change in regards to the colours now being more accurate?

I'm now looking around for tips and was hoping that I could have an accurate mode for Photoshop and desktop. Then another mode for gaming.

I have noticed in the bottom left that it is slightly more brighter when the screen is dark, but most of times I don't see this. No dead pixels, so think I will stick with the one I have.
I just want to try to get the colours more accurate (white seems paper white and more warm than my Samsung's blueish hue) before my eyes get used to the out of box settings.

 

[TheRandomGuy7]

To those unhappy with this monitor out the box.

I got mine this week and it's now set up right next to an Acer 1440p 144hz IPS. Out the box it looked worse, it was definitely oversaturated.

Try using the ICC profile from the Rtings.com review. All I did was apply that and up the brightness from 75% to 80%. Made it look 10x better and is now the colours are slightly better than the Acer, but it also goes MUCH brighter so is overall a much better looking monitor. For entirely accurate colours for photo work etc you've probably chosen the wrong monitor, but the colours do look fantastic for regular activities and gaming.

 

[GMac11]

Pretty much my synopsis as well. Colours were vibrant (if still a little too vibrant for my liking) but in games it was fine - if you are gaming and are looking at colour reproduction then you’re doing it wrong
As you say for office work/content creation colours were not accurate and certain hues significantly oversaturated.
My other issue was my work issue laptop is security ring-fenced so I couldn’t install/change colour profiles making the monitor wildly unusable on that machine.