Dell UltraSharp U2410 review

The U2410's 16:10 aspect ratio has a 1,920x1,200-pixel native resolution, but the monitor also includes a 16:9, 1,920x1,080-pixel mode for watching movies.

Pretty in pink?
We tested the U2410 via its DVI connection under the default standard preset. The display posted a composite score of 94 in our DisplayMate-based performance tests. The U2410 scored well in nearly all of our colour and uniformity tests, but we found that it tended to compress colours at the light end of various colour scales. We also noticed that the monitor displayed a slightly pink tint in our colour-tracking test.

The U2410 achieved a brightness score of 434cd/m² -- higher than Dell's claimed 400 maximum. Adjusting the brightness to 100 per cent yields a very bright screen. We recommend setting the brightness to no higher than 60 per cent for most tasks, as prolonged exposure to this screen above 50 per cent brightness -- especially if doing plenty of Excel or Word work -- may result in eyestrain.

We looked at Kill Bill: Vol 1 on DVD and several 1080p movie files from Microsoft's WMV HD Content Showcase. Movies looked great, thanks to the display's deep blacks, and colours looked fuller and more natural than on the 2408WFP.

Unreal Tournament 3 and World of Warcraft looked great at a 1,920x1,200-pixel resolution, and the display showed no signs of ghosting or input lag. Compared with the 2408WFP, the U2410 exhibited deeper and richer colour in both games. We also looked at some high-resolution photos and found the colours to be natural and vibrant, proving that the two aren't mutually exclusive.

When viewing dark grey colours under the sRGB and Adobe RGB presets, we noticed apparent static dithering. We didn't see this dithering on the 2408WFP in its sRGB mode. We only saw this dithering with the two aforementioned presets, and there was no hint of it with the others.

We noticed a faint white glow when viewing dark images on the U2410 at off angles, and a dark shadow when viewing light images in the same way, about 120 degrees to the left or right and even less from above. The shift wasn't as dramatic as with a TN panel (the U2410 uses a H-IPS panel), but it was slightly more dramatic than in the case of the 2408WFP. The colour didn't shift as much as the perceived brightness did, however.

In our power-consumption tests, the U2410 drew 64W in its default mode -- less than the 2408WFP's 69W and more than the Samsung SyncMaster XL2370's 30W.

Conclusion
If you're looking for perfect performance, keep searching, because the Dell UltraSharp U2410 isn't what you're after. But, if you desire a monitor that, despite a few quibbles, still offers great performance and a host of useful features for a decent price, look no further.

Additional editing by Charles Kloet