28-inch Dell P2815Q vs. 27-inch Dell U2713HM

[skaertus]

So, I am willing to buy a new monitor for my 15-inch retina MacBook Pro (Ivy Bridge version) and I am seriously in doubt between these two contenders. They sell for roughly the same price.

Here is what I could find about each of them:

27-inch U2713HM
2560x1440 resolution
IPS panel with 178/178 viewing angle
350 cd/m2 brightness

28-inch P2815Q
16:9 format
3840x2160 resolution
TN panel with 170/160 viewing angle
300 cd/m2 brightness

As I understand, the 27-inch monitor should have better quality, as it is an IPS display with more brightness, better viewing angles and with better color accuracy. However, the 28-inch monitor is capable of displaying more pixels on the screen.

I am not a photographer, nor I work with graphics or art. I will use the monitor for office work (basically Microsoft Office and a few other similar apps) and Internet browsing. Watching videos, listening to music, reading PDFs, writing text, editing presentations, researching. The usual stuff, several windows opened at the same time, which makes a large screen estate very welcome.

So, I would like to know the following:

1. Do both monitors work well with my retina Mac? Running both OS X and Windows?

2. Do both monitors work well with other laptops (especially with Windows laptops equipped with an Ivy Bridge processor and an integrated HD 4000 video card)?

3. Is the 27-inch monitor so superior to the 28-inch monitor in terms of image quality that I should get it instead of the additional pixels?

Finally, I would like to say that I am not interested in looking at other monitors. I don't live in the US, so my choices are limited and were narrowed down to these two.

Thanks in advance.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Your MacBook Pro can't support the resolution of the 28" display. Only the late 2013 Retina MBP can.

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht6008

 

[JeffiJers]

Your MacBook Pro can't support the resolution of the 28" display. Only the late 2013 Retina MBP can.

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht6008

Wrong, his computer will support the "4k" out put via HDMI but only @ 30hz
(which kills me)

OP, i have a TB (1440P) and it took some time to get use to coming from my early 2013 retina.

Flip a coin. I would almost consider the high res even though it has the slow refresh rate.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Wrong, his computer will support the "4k" out put via HDMI but only @ 30hz
(which kills me)

I don't have an early 2013 or Late 2012 like his (Ivy Bridge), but the specs say 2560x1440 max on externals. I only see 4k support at 30hz on the late 2013.

Wouldn't be the first time that Apple under-reported the actual capabilities, but I would still say it's "unsupported" - different from whether it can work or not.

 

[JeffiJers]

I don't have an early 2013 or Late 2012 like his (Ivy Bridge), but the specs say 2560x1440 max on externals. I only see 4k support at 30hz on the late 2013.

Wouldn't be the first time that Apple under-reported the actual capabilities, but I would still say it's "unsupported" - different from whether it can work or not.

Correct, your 2012 (same as my early 13) will output 4k via hdmi. Google it, some users have posted about it in this forum.

Look into it more esp with the OSX update. I believe the 4k only work in bootcamp or something.

 

[skaertus]

Wrong, his computer will support the "4k" out put via HDMI but only @ 30hz
(which kills me)

OP, i have a TB (1440P) and it took some time to get use to coming from my early 2013 retina.

Flip a coin. I would almost consider the high res even though it has the slow refresh rate.

Even if my Mac supports the 4k monitor, I am leaning towards the 1440p model right now. I read some mixed reviews of this 4k monitor. Although they praise the high resolution, they also say the colors are washed-out and the 30 Hz instead of 60 Hz is annoying.

 

[JeffiJers]

Even if my Mac supports the 4k monitor, I am leaning towards the 1440p model right now. I read some mixed reviews of this 4k monitor. Although they praise the high resolution, they also say the colors are washed-out and the 30 Hz instead of 60 Hz is annoying.

Sounds like a solid choice. Cant go wrong with that dell.