Samsung CF791 or Dell U3417W

Elladene · 20 Jul 2017 at 17:04

These both seem about the same price at 750.00, which is about the top of my budget.

I have NVidia 1070 - so freesync no use.

I will use for 'dual screen' office work a lot and some gaming - but gaming nirvana is not my main focus.

I am getting dodgy eyes due to inevitable ageing (40 odd) - not sure if one helps over the other in this regard.

Any advice would be appreciated. Id really like to press the button in the next day or two. Thanks for your help.

Adam

Bluntwrapped · 20 Jul 2017 at 18:41

I bought a brand new U3417W just a few weeks ago for £570

Definitely worth keeping an eye out. The great thing about Dell is you can buy it from anywhere and do a ownership transfer on the warranty.

Like yourself I was torn between the two but after reading about issues others are having with the Samsung I went for the Dell.

It looks stunning. It does have some backlight bleed but I guess that is to be expected. Adjusting the brightness helps minimise this.

Elladene · 20 Jul 2017 at 18:43

OK. Thx. Wow - 570 was a good deal.

Bluntwrapped · 20 Jul 2017 at 20:14

Yep brilliant deal. I had my eye on a few but this immediately caught my eye

Manufactured in June too rev 01, brand new.

In some ways it goes to show just how ridiculously overpriced UW monitors are

Check out the LG UM88 curved and non curved. They're lovely displays and share the same panel as the Dell. The flat screen version comes with a lower native refresh rate than the curved but the last time I looked was much cheaper. The flat one overclocks to the same as the curved out the box, so you end up paying quite the premium purely for the curved screen.

hornetstinger · 20 Jul 2017 at 20:16

Bluntwrapped said:
Yep brilliant deal. I had my eye on a few but this immediately caught my eye

Manufactured in June too rev 01, brand new.

In some ways it goes to show just how ridiculously overpriced UW monitors are

Check out the LG UM88 curved and non curved. They're lovely displays and share the same panel as the Dell. The flat screen version comes with a lower native refresh rate than the curved but the last time I looked was much cheaper. The flat one overclocks to the same as the curved out the box, so you end up paying quite the premium purely for the curved screen.

The curved one is 8 bit. The flat is 6 bit.

Bluntwrapped · 20 Jul 2017 at 21:07

Pretty sure the LG website says they're both 10 bit. Or 10 and 8+ FRC

hornetstinger · 20 Jul 2017 at 21:19

ok 8 and 10. curved one has more rgb/ntsc gamut also.

flat has 8 bit and frc, curved full 10bit.

Elladene · 21 Jul 2017 at 10:37

OK. After much research I'm completely stuck with paralysis by analysis: Dell U3417W vs LG 34UC98.

Any final thoughts/ comments which may help before I flip a coin?

hornetstinger · 21 Jul 2017 at 10:51

Elladene said:
OK. After much research I'm completely stuck with paralysis by analysis: Dell U3417W vs LG 34UC98.

Any final thoughts/ comments which may help before I flip a coin?

You could also go for the non thunderbolt version of this screen, saving a bit of money. It's exactly the same apart from lacking thunderbolt.

Daniel - LG · 21 Jul 2017 at 11:05

that was my thought exactly - 34UC88 is exact same technology just no thunderbolt (and its all black rather than white/silver) so if thunderbolt isn't required then 34UC88 might be a better option IMO

Bluntwrapped · 21 Jul 2017 at 11:43

One thing about the LG, through setting up my dad's for him I found the software for screen keyboard/mouse and file sharing fairly rubbish. At least when combining Mac OS and Windows. If you'll be using two Windows PC's I imagine it'll be much better for peripheral sharing yet still fairly useless for file sharing. Drag and drop isn't possible, the software requires you to use keyboard hot keys for file transfers, and even once set up it doesn't always work. This is also limited to single files rather than folders.

The promotional series of videos on YouTube for this are absolutely rubbish. You'll want to slap this guy by the time you've watched the series of them:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xfY-yxWimdo

Synergy works well as an alternative so long as you have the screen split. The moment you switch back to full screen single desktop it becomes confused to which display you're using, sometimes losing the mouse cursor completely.

I haven't had a chance to test the Dell equivalent on my monitor yet so whether it is any better I don't know.

Elladene · 21 Jul 2017 at 12:31

OK. I better go dell then I guess. Stable software sounds beneficial. The USB hub/switching sounds useful. I appreciate the LG 34UC88 is 100.00 cheaper and only lose thunderbolt - and I thank you for suggesting this - I considered it.

Bluntwrapped · 21 Jul 2017 at 15:32

I'm not sure if the Dell software is any better. If you're using a Mac and PC I would go for the LG. If both desktops will be Windows I would go for the Dell. The Dell software doesn't have a Mac OS version.

hornetstinger · 21 Jul 2017 at 19:08

No way I'd choose a monitor just because of the software to control it from the computer. Typically you'll set it once and leave it.

DaMac78 · 21 Dec 2017 at 20:21

Elladene said:
OK. I better go dell then I guess. Stable software sounds beneficial. The USB hub/switching sounds useful. I appreciate the LG 34UC88 is 100.00 cheaper and only lose thunderbolt - and I thank you for suggesting this - I considered it.

What Monitor did you finally purchase? The Dell? I tested all three of the Monitors listed in this post. The LG 34UC98, Samsung CF791 and Dell U3417W. The Samsung was by far the worst and the LG had to be replaced 2 times due to Pixel failures. The Dell not only had the best overall performance in build quality and features but also had slightly sharper picture when put directly next to the LG.
I went for the Dell.