Update: July 22, 2014 - It seems that the Dell UltraSharp U2412M unit that I received does not cope well when it "heats up." After a few minutes of doing 3D work, or 3D gaming, the monitor heats up and then begins doing some "flickering." The flickering is quite annoying and makes it unusable for my purposes; this same flickering is not present when doing documents, web browsing, or video. My older 30-inch monitor, a Dell U3011, does not have these same flickering issues. Both of the monitors are utilizing DisplayPort, and the video card does not seem to be the culprit. Because of the flickering I have chosen to return the U2412M--it's too bad because it looks great when combined with two portrait side monitors.
Gear: Dell UltraSharp U2412M, BenQ RL2460HT, Portrait Monitors.
While testing the BenQ RL2460HT I noticed that it was excellent for landscape mode, but it was not great at portrait mode. Since I desire to be able to switch from landscape to portrait mode I need a proper monitor for that task, and I believe the Dell UltraSharp U2412M is the better portrait mode 24 inch monitor. Below are images of the box contents of the monitor, and there is also some comparison images.
Images
The box.
The packaging of the box contents.
Box contents: monitor, VGA cable, DVI cable, drivers and documentation, power cable, USB cable, and stand.
The stand feels solid. It allows for rotation, tilt, and rotation at the base.
The stand has a cable management hole on the back side.
The U2412M unit.
The monitor's side buttons.
The back of the monitor. There is support for VESA.
The power port, and the power port for compatible speakers.
DisplayPort, DVI, VGA, USB in, and two USB out ports.
Two more USB ports on the side of the monitor.
The monitor and stand together. This is the monitor at its max elevation.
The monitor adjusted to its minimum elevation.
The monitor in portrait mode. When you rotate the monitor make sure that you bring the bottom part towards you, and then rotate--otherwise you will get some nasty looking scratches on the stand's base.
The default On Screen Display (OSD) options.
Preset modes.
Manual adjustments include: brightness/contrast, input sources, color settings, display settings, other setting, and personalization.
You can change the Express/Shortcut keys.
Portrait mode example when viewed at frontal angle. The device supports 178 degree angles both horizontally and vertically. The coloration of the monitor remains consistent.
The monitor when viewed from the right side.
The monitor when viewed from the left side.
Dell UltraSharp U2412M and BenQ RL2460HT Comparison Images
Please note that the camera intensifies colors and shades on images, thus I recommend checking videos and other images on the web. Now, the reason for comparison is due to both of these monitors being marketed as handling landscape and portrait modes--let the comparison begin.
The Dell UltraSharp U2412M (left) and the BenQ RL2460HT (right) in horizontal mode. When viewed from the front both monitors look very good. If observed through a camera the Dell monitor shows flickering, the BenQ does not show any flickering whatsoever; when viewed with your eyes alone I could not notice any flickering on either monitor. The response time of the BenQ is noticeable better when compared to the Dell, we can observe this because when gaming the Dell experiences a horizontal "cutoff" when graphics are rendering; response time of Dell U2412M is 8 ms, BenQ is 1ms. Regarding resolution, the Dell comes in at 1920x1200, the BenQ at 1920x1080 -- so you do get some extra pixels with the Dell monitor.
When viewed from the side you can begin noticing differences. The BenQ's horizontal viewing angles are at 170 degrees; the Dell U2412M offers a horizontal viewing angle of 178 degrees.
From the left side both monitors look good. You can notice the Dell changing some of the coloration on its right side, but it's not as dramatic as what we saw on the BenQ when viewed from the right side. Overall both do a good job when in landscape mode.
The differences of the monitors come about more so when they are in portrait mode. Frontally they both seem ok, however you can notice some differences in colors on the left and right sides of the BenQ monitor. This means that your left and right eyes are seeing different "pictures" and this can become annoying (at least to me it does). Regarding viewing angles, the Dell U2412M can do 178 degrees and the BenQ is at lower 160 degrees.
When we move to the right side of the monitor the differences become very apparent. The BenQ shows a blue tint on its left side, and there is some "shading" going on. In "real life" the effects of moving to the right are not as intense, the camera is intensifying this.
From the left side you can clearly notice that the Dell U2412M is completely fine, but the BenQ is quite bad. Usually you can observe a yellowish/orange tint--but in this image you can see the screen to be very dark. Again, the camera does intensify the effect.
Both monitors when viewed from above.
Both monitors when viewed from below.
Coding in portrait mode is very pleasant, editing 3D maps in portrait mode feels very restricted. Perhaps a configuration of horizontal + vertical can be implemented to give a developer the more effective setup.
Both monitors showing Leadwerks engine in portrait mode. The Dell seems to have a stronger blue tint; the BenQ is designed to have "Low Blue Light" (which I lowered the settings to its minimum for these images--thus it would not look as yellowish/orange), however the images still show a considerable difference in colors.
Both monitors showing Leadwerks engine in landscape mode.
As you can observe, each can cope with landscape mode quite well. But in the case of portrait orientation the Dell UltraSharp U2412M is the clear winner.
Regarding the partition software for the monitors:
The name of the software is BenQ Display Pilot. However, the company that produces the software is Portrait Displays Inc. You could try to download an installer and see if it runs on your system. Links below:
For more info check:
in landscape mode how is the colour reproduction and image quality of benq compared to the dell one??
ReplyDeleteIf I was doing any type of color correction I wouldn't use either--there are better monitors. Of the two I would pick the Dell for landscape and portrait modes in regards to color reproduction. BenQ is a good monitor if you are short on funds and will mostly do gaming--where speed is the concern.
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