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The big talking point is the resolution which is a standard 16:9 ratio and unusual for a computer monitor. This (2048×1152) is noticeably higher than a standard 1080p screen and may very well sway gamers towards a possible purchase as it will give a higher pixel count than a standard screen in this price range. When testing all of the latest PC games on Windows 7 64 bit with both an nVidia GTX480 and ATI 5870 the resolution was supported in the driver. Dirt 2 and Crysis for instance supported it immediately without any resolution tweaks – and just as importantly looked great. I actually ended up replaying a substantial portion of Crysis – the glossy screen, rich colours and pure black/shadow reproduction really did help to create a totally immersive experience throughout all the environments.
I can safely say that I can recommend this screen to anyone wanting a high quality monitor for their games while being in a great position to watch movies later with the highest possible quality. Although I have said it a few times now, the black level and depth really does need to be seen to be believed – I really was not expecting this impact from such a modestly priced screen.
Colour saturation, while slightly inaccurate for a professional designer will suit gamers and movie fanatics perfectly. Negatively I can say that the highly reflective screen might annoy some people but I adapted to it once I adjusted rear lighting in my room. If your budget stretches to £300 there are many other great panels on the market, but I have managed to find the SP2309W on ebay for £160, and at this price it really is a no brainer. It is one of the best gaming monitors on the market in the sub £250 bracket.
Kitguru says: Gaming on a budget? Want res? This is the monitor for you.
Nice review, i feel like i should buy this monitor now… however, i wish you guys can try out the camera and max refresh rate supported.. and maybe also the usb function… btw, good site, love the contents here…
p/s: Something wrong with the comment box, i cant see what i’m writing, like the alphabets are all white in color.. using firefox btw…
Thanks – we are going to fix the text issue shortly, sorry for the inconvenience. We didn’t really have a very long time with the screen so I had to omit some testing. The USB works well however..
Whenever I look at monitor reviews I always look for the same particulars; Supported Resolutions: ???, 1:1 Pixel Mapping: ???, Response Time: ???, Input Lag: ???
While these may not be important to some for those of us who play fighting games like Street Fighter 4 or older DOS/Windows titles that only support resolutions below 800×600 these are critical. Without these, no matter really how good a screen is, it’s a killer deal for anyone wanting to use these for older PC titles or some console games that require these features.
1:1 pixel mapping is supported
I am getting this delivered tommorrow, finally purchase it direct from the dell site after 3 weeks of research. £185 all in with 3 year warranty, the dell ST2410 was the same price on the site, but the picture quality is not on the same level as the sp2309w. Another monitor I looked at was the samsung xl2370 boasting a 5,000,00:1 contrast ratio and an ultra slim design however I think it lacked hdmi connectivity and had a 5ms response time so no good for me as an avid pc gamer.