Anyone seen the UP2414Q and P2715Q side-by-side? [Wondering about AG coatings.]

[theorist9]

Hi guys, first post!

Just upgraded to a 4K-capable MBP (11,3, 15" Retina, Feb 2015), and I'm trying to decide between the Dell P2715Q (27" 4K IPS) and Dell UP2414Q (Ultrasharp 24" 4K IPS). [There's a P2715Q vs P2415Q (24" 4K IPS), thread, but I couldn't find one addressing the P2715Q vs the UP2414Q.] Here are my questions:

1) Anyone seen the P2715Q and UP2414Q side-by-side? If so, does one have a less aggressive AG coating than the other? [I want to avoid grain/sparkles.] From customer reviews on Amazon, I gather the P2415Q is the most aggressive (strong complaints on this), the P2715Q is much better (minor complaints), and that the UP2414Q is a bit better still (no complaints). But I've never seen this addressed by someone that has been able to compare them side-by-side, so I'd be very interested to hear if anyone here has (or if not side-by-side, then at least from someone that's seen both).

A Dell salesman told me 'they all have the same H3 coating, but the P2715Q has an additional polarization filter, so it's better than the other two when it comes to coating.' But I don't know how much credence to lend him. Indeed, I suspect he's wrong because, while the manuals do say all three have an H3 coating, (a) the manual for the P2715Q/P2415Q indicates both have "anti-glare treatment of the front polarizer"; (b) the latter language indicates that the anti-glare treatment is on the polarizer, it's not itself polarizing (so he likely had no idea what he was talking about); and (c) user reports indicate a significant real-world difference in AG aggressiveness between the P2715Q and the P2415Q.

2) Yosemite's text looks pretty bad on my 94 ppi Dell 2408WFPb (24", 1920 x 1600), not much better on the 128 ppi display on my previous MBP, but acceptable on my current MBP's 221 ppi Retina display. When it comes to text, is the 163 ppi of the P2715Q sufficiently retina-like, or does one need the 184 ppi of the UP2414Q to achieve retina-like sharpness?

3) When the UP2414Q was introduced, it could only do 4K@60Hz via MST, which is problematic. Anyone know if its input circuitry has since been upgraded to do enable it to do 4K@60Hz via SST, like the P2715Q can?

4) A review of the UP2414Q (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/dell-up2414q-monitor-review,3781.html) reports it uses a GBR-r LED backlight (superior to the more common white LED, since it's more accurate natively, but more $$). The Dell salesman told me all three of the monitors I've mentioned use this but I suspect he's wrong about this as well, since the UP2414Q does nearly 100% of the Adobe RGB color space, while the P-series monitors are at around 80%



Thanks!

 

[dagamer34]

1) I never particularly noticed.
2) Both appear to be retina-like. Chose whatever size you prefer for whatever distance away from the screen your eyes will typically be.
3) Nope, MST only. And because of the "flawed" implementation of MST, I've had times where the UP2414Q would only turn on half the display or not at all. I had to return it.
4) UP2414Q will do 100% AdobeRGB vs. 79% for the P2715Q. I don't know specifically about the backlight, but the gamut on the UP2414Q is definitely greater.

My guess is if the P2715Q doesn't fit what you want, I'd wait to see if Dell updated the UP2414Q. They are usually on a 2-year cycle with their monitors so SST and maybe even HDMI 2.0 are in the cards this year. Or consider the P2415Q which is an excellent monitor as well.

 

[theorist9]

Thanks for the reply! Did you calibrate the displays and, if so, did you notice any differences due to the difference in color gamut during normal use (e.g., web surfing)?

 

[dagamer34]

Thanks for the reply! Did you calibrate the displays and, if so, did you notice any differences due to the difference in color gamut during normal use (e.g., web surfing)?

I calibrated them to both be 100% sRGB so the 99% AdobeRGB monitor wasn't showing off more colors. To my inexperienced eyes, I couldn't tell much difference (but I'm not doing print work).