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Spyder22446688
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Dell's latest 30" UltraSharp (U3011)

Tue Jan 18, 2011 1:59 pm

AnandTech has posted a review of Dell's latest 30" UltraSharp, the U3011.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4070/dell ... h-flagship

Although the LCD was well-received, I was disappointed to see the following:

1. The panel does not use LEDs, and instead sticks with traditional CCFLs for back-lighting (and as such, power usage is high).

2. The panel is stuck at 60Hz, as opposed to 120Hz (at least one AnandTech editor has testified that larger panels look much, much smoother at 120Hz).

3. The integrated USB hub does not support 3.0.

Are there any technical limitations explaining why Dell shunned both LEDs and a 120Hz refresh rate? I have wondered whether LEDs harm color reproduction, and whether 120Hz @ 2560x1600 might come close to saturating a dual-link DVI connection, but I'm really not very sure. Any opinions on Dell's omissions would be appreciated.
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anotherengineer
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Re: Dell's latest 30" UltraSharp (U3011)

Tue Jan 18, 2011 2:23 pm

There isnt enough bandwidth to drive a 2560x1600 res monitor at 120HZ.

As for backlighting there is WLED (white led) which tends to be around the perimeter and there is RGB LED lighting which can be found on HPs Dream color for $2000 bucks and it's a 24".
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm ... 48397.html
As for why they didn't use WLED backlighting who knows, adds probly another 200-300 in cost for a monitor that size? And dell probaly buys the IPS panel off of LG and I have not seen any H-IPS panels with WLED lighting on the market yet, although there are some eIPS ones coming from NEC soon.

Usb 2.0 well the monitor has been out for awhile, probaly a money thing.

Here - monitor reviews done right
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u3011.htm
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JustAnEngineer
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Re: Dell's latest 30" UltraSharp (U3011)

Tue Jan 18, 2011 2:39 pm

anotherengineer wrote:
There isnt enough bandwidth to drive a 2560x1600 res monitor at 120Hz.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface
2560x1600 @60 Hz requires at least 135 MHz dual-link.
Last edited by JustAnEngineer on Tue Jan 18, 2011 2:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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BlackStar
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Re: Dell's latest 30" UltraSharp (U3011)

Tue Jan 18, 2011 2:39 pm

1. CCFL provides higher quality than white LEDs and the backlight lasts longer. For higher quality you need to go to RGB LEDs, which cost thrice as much and raise power consumption to CRT levels. Needless to say, very few monitors use RGB LEDs - everyone is using white LEDs and heavy marketing to make you think LEDs are magically better. They are not :D

2. Not enough bandwidth. What's the point of creating such a monitor, when current video cards cannot drive it?

3. That's rather annoying. But then again, Intel doesn't provide USB 3.0 on its motherboards, either, so who can complain?

I am using the smaller sibling of this monitor (U2311h) and it's by far one of the best purchases I've ever made. Beautiful construction and image quality - by far the best monitor around $250.
 
Spyder22446688
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Re: Dell's latest 30" UltraSharp (U3011)

Tue Jan 18, 2011 2:42 pm

It's a shame a monitor that size cannot be driven by a 120Hz refresh rate. From what I've read (to my astonishment), the difference in clarity from 60Hz is measurable. Certainly something I would want if shelling out over a grand for a monitor.

Thanks to all for the information. I did not know the details about white vs. RGB LEDs. The power-usage was especially interesting. Thanks.

I am currently using an MPVA 24" Soyo @ 1920x1200. I hope it does not die anytime soon, I love the image quality and aspect ratio. All for $300!
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Re: Dell's latest 30" UltraSharp (U3011)

Tue Jan 18, 2011 2:45 pm

When it comes to monitor reviews I'll take TFT Central everytime over AT.

Seems like those guys are just spec hunting. Edge-lit LEDs are known to give pretty uneven backlighting. Now that is not to say CCFL won't have that problem but if you think about it edge-lit is bound to be easier to get wrong. The Ultrasharp is a close-to-professional-grade monitor, I don't think power consumption should be the #1 priority there.

I never buy that 120Hz thing so I don't know what those guys seem so unhappy about.
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Spyder22446688
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Re: Dell's latest 30" UltraSharp (U3011)

Tue Jan 18, 2011 2:50 pm

Flying Fox wrote:
I never buy that 120Hz thing so I don't know what those guys seem so unhappy about.


I'm actually a little afraid to see a 120Hz panel myself. If it's actually as good as I've read about, I'll be ruined forever.
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anotherengineer
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Re: Dell's latest 30" UltraSharp (U3011)

Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:44 pm

Spyder22446688 wrote:
Flying Fox wrote:
I never buy that 120Hz thing so I don't know what those guys seem so unhappy about.


I'm actually a little afraid to see a 120Hz panel myself. If it's actually as good as I've read about, I'll be ruined forever.


You can get them, I have a samsung RZ2233 or 2233RZ it is a true 120HZ (120fps) although it is TN panel and the viewing angles are not that great. It is smoother though, and nice when I play CSS, its res is 1680x1050 so there is enough dvi-d bandwidth to run it.
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/samsung_2233rz.htm

I have seen 1920x1080 120HZ monitors also.

TV's however that say 120hz and 240hz are not true, the signal is interpolated up to that by internal processing.

I am unsure about the new 3D TVs though, they might be true 120HZ panels, however you would have to check to see if HDMI can support the bandwidth from your pc to the 3D TV if it is true 120HZ

I am waiting for NEC to release (in stores) IPS WLED monitors, my secondary old 19" viewsonic VP930b is great, but it's time for some nice new eyecandy.
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mboza
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Re: Dell's latest 30" UltraSharp (U3011)

Tue Jan 18, 2011 5:26 pm

Surely 120Hz or 240Hz tvs are true xHz panels, in that the panels can display the image but the inputs cannot accept a 120Hz signal?

Display port 1.2 appears to support 2560x1600 @ 120Hz.

Guess I will just wait until a U3012. Better start saving now.
 
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Re: Dell's latest 30" UltraSharp (U3011)

Tue Jan 18, 2011 5:33 pm

1. Thanks for the info on the lights sources guys. I was wondering the same thing, and figured there had to be a cost/performance aspect to it.
2. Bandwidth issues aside, do IPS panels themselves have high enough refresh rates to be able to support 120Hz? Given the quoted specs of 7ms/17ms for GTG/GTX max response times, in worst case, the pixels themselves can't fully support 60Hz, let alone 120Hz. Probably the reason why all the "3d" monitors have been TN thus far.
3. Windows still thinks my WFP2408 is a low-speed USB device, so if they can actually get Windows to recognize the U3011 as a full speed USB 2.0 hub, then I consider it an improvement.
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Re: Dell's latest 30" UltraSharp (U3011)

Tue Jan 18, 2011 5:36 pm

BlackStar wrote:
1. CCFL provides higher quality than white LEDs and the backlight lasts longer. For higher quality you need to go to RGB LEDs, which cost thrice as much and raise power consumption to CRT levels. Needless to say, very few monitors use RGB LEDs - everyone is using white LEDs and heavy marketing to make you think LEDs are magically better. They are not :D

Sort of. W-LEDs shine (hah) best on smaller display sizes and mobile devices where a CCFL would be more space intensive and the power savings for switching to LED are greatly disproportionate. On larger displays, a CCFL just gets a bit longer and draws a bit more power while W-LED physical density has to increase disproportionately for the same quantity and evenness of backlighting.

I would think longevity would have a lot to do with how often the display is power-cycled. LED output will fall off as a function of phosphor degradation, which is mainly a function of operating time, but CCFLs require an extra-high voltage jumpstart to ionize the tube before going to steady-state voltage, which substantially increases the rate of gas poisoning by the cathodes in addition to normal phosphor degradation.
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Spyder22446688
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Re: Dell's latest 30" UltraSharp (U3011)

Tue Jan 18, 2011 5:44 pm

ludi wrote:
Sort of. W-LEDs shine (hah) best on smaller display sizes and mobile devices where a CCFL would be more space intensive and the power savings for switching to LED are greatly disproportionate. On larger displays, a CCFL just gets a bit longer and draws a bit more power while W-LED physical density has to increase disproportionately for the same quantity and evenness of backlighting.

I would think longevity would have a lot to do with how often the display is power-cycled. LED output will fall off as a function of phosphor degradation, which is mainly a function of operating time, but CCFLs require an extra-high voltage jumpstart to ionize the tube before going to steady-state voltage, which substantially increases the rate of gas poisoning by the cathodes in addition to normal phosphor degradation.


You had me at "Sort of." :wink:
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