Dell u2711 Monitor for MBA 2011

[christurbo]

I am looking for a 27" display to connect to my MBA. initially I was looking at the Apple thunderbolt display however some reviews I have turned my attention to the u2711.

Questions:

1] Can I get native 2560 x 1440 resolution via a mini display to display cable from the thunderbolt port on the MBA? Or will I need to buy a dual link DVI connector?

2] If I bought a thunderbolt HDD caddy which supports daisy chaining could I plug the display port cable into the secondary daisy chained port on the HDD?

3] Do I need to plug a USB to USB cable into the u2711 to allow the USB ports on the monitor to work from my MBA? or will the display port cable transmit USB with no need for a USB cable?


Many thanks.

 

[Brian Y]

I am looking for a 27" display to connect to my MBA. initially I was looking at the Apple thunderbolt display however some reviews I have turned my attention to the u2711.

Questions:

1] Can I get native 2560 x 1440 resolution via a mini display to display cable from the thunderbolt port on the MBA? Or will I need to buy a dual link DVI connector?

2] If I bought a thunderbolt HDD caddy which supports daisy chaining could I plug the display port cable into the secondary daisy chained port on the HDD?

3] Do I need to plug a USB to USB cable into the u2711 to allow the USB ports on the monitor to work from my MBA? or will the display port cable transmit USB with no need for a USB cable?


Many thanks.

1) Yes. It should work fine. Displayport can handle that resolution no problems.

2) Yep, as long as this is at the end of the chain, it will work fine.

3) Yes - you will need a USB port. Thunderbolt -> thunderbolt can transmit USB, but display port cannot.

 

[Giuly]

You don't want the U2711, you want the Dell UltraSharp U2713HM, which is the latest version (and it's $100 less).

 

[drambuie]

You don't want the U2711, you want the Dell UltraSharp U2713HM, which is the latest version (and it's $100 less).

Actually, the U2713H is the new version of the U2711. The U2713HM is a lower performance version. The H is a wide gamut monitor with 10 bit per channel color, and the HM has only 8 bit per channel. It depends on the intended use. For general purpose use, the U2713HM would certainly be excellent. Either will be better than the U2711, which has had reviewers complaining about the aggressive anti-glare coating causing color fringing and readability issues with small text.

 

[Giuly]

The U2713HM is the direct successor to the U2711, with a new enclosure, better Anti-Glare coating, a USB 3.0 (instead of 2.0) hub and an AH-IPS panel instead of the IPS on the U2711.

The Dell UltraSharp U2713H is the 'pro edition', with the same great AH-IPS panel but with 10-bit color support and a 14-bit internal color processor. That's the one to get if you do graphic artistry.

 

[christurbo]

Thanks for the info.

I am also considering the new Dell u2913wm

http://www.dell.com/ed/business/p/dell-u2913wm/pd

 

[cocacolakid]

The Dell's come with a USB to USB cable (actually come with many cables in the box but no MDP to DP cable).

I had a Dell U2713HM for about 3 weeks. It was nice, but the picture didn't pop as much as a Thunderbolt display. My other major gripe about it was whoever designed the interface is an idiot. There is no dedicated input button. You have to wade through many menu button presses to change the input, which kind of defeats the flexibility of having multiple inputs. And every time you turn off a computer and go to change the input, once the Dell loses the signal from the computer/device that just turned off, it goes into power saving mode, requiring two more button pushes to wake it up long enough to start pressing the 375 buttons it takes to change to a different input. Comparing that to a HDTV I used for a monitor for a couple of years, where I could just press a button on the remote and change the input instantly, I got tired of doing that every time I needed to switch to another Mac. A dedicated input button would have solved the problem. After realizing I spent $700 (price has dropped another $50-100 in the last month from that) for a monitor with a picture quality not as nice as the Thunderbolt and the input menu was so annoying, I just bought a Thunderbolt instead and returned the Dell. The picture quality is a little better, colors stand out more as well, has the camera, etc. You can plug a 2nd Thunderbolt cable into the back of the display and hook a second Mac up, you just have to unplug the Thunderbolt cable from the back of the Mac you're not using at the moment so the display knows which input to use.

 

[christurbo]

I purchased a 27"ACD instead!

 

[MJL]

You don't want the U2711, you want the Dell UltraSharp U2713HM, which is the latest version (and it's $100 less).

I opted for the U2713H instead after reading the reviews. Can't rave enough about it, different beast altogether.