After almost 14 years of staring at Dell's now-ancient U2410 (24") 1920x1200 display as my primary driver (along with a work-provided 1920x1080 ST2420L as secondary), I've finally decided to up the stakes and make a Day 1 purchase of Dell's brand new U3824DW (38") 3840x1600 ultrawide display, released in June 2023.
This is more a high-level first impression than full scale review. Continuing to use a Mac Pro 5,1 with AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB and macOS 10.14 Mojave, so I won't be able to speak to how this performs on newer machines and OSes, at least not until my next Mac purchase.
Why I bought this monitor: As a web developer, extra vertical resolution is one of my top requirements. I'd even go so far as to call myself a vertical resolution snob. Anything 16:9 with 1080 (2160) or 1440 just doesn't cut it for my workflow. I've eschewed 4K simply because there was never a 16:10 equivalent for it. Although this new display is technically 21:9 (or from my perspective, 24:10), I'm quite satisfied with the extra 160 vertical pixels over most other ultrawides that max at 1440 vertical. I dig the other features such as built-in KVM, 2.5GbE port (complements my 2.5G switch nicely), split screen capabilities and improved 2000:1 contrast ratio, even if by "cheating" with IPS Black.
Why you would not buy this monitor: Initial complaints I've seen about the U3824DW is that it's way too expensive for what's offered. 60Hz max refresh, no OLED, 300 nits max brightness, rudimentary features compared to other brands, etc. If I was a dedicated PC gamer then I'd heartily agree with this statement and look elsewhere. (I could have bought the 49" display for less than the U3824DW.) However for my use case, those dissenting opinions were irrelevant. Luckily I knocked off about 10% from the MSRP by stacking coupon/cashback offers to make it more reasonable, although still pricey. But I plan to keep this display for many years (plus it's a tax write-off) so I'm good with that aspect. Could I have spent less on a previous-generation U3821DW? Probably. But I purposely waited for this next iteration to keep my latest equipment as future-proof as possible.
What I think: Keep in mind I'm comparing to a 14 year-old monitor, so it goes without saying that picture quality, connection types/speeds, gray-to-gray response time, and panel technology are all vastly improved from what I'm used to. How it compares to other brands like LG and Samsung, that's for other reviewers to decide. I had slight concerns about compatibility with older hardware/software, but thankfully didn't have to fuss with any settings, it showed native 3840x1600 resolution right out of the box. Colors are crisp and bright, with improved blacks definitely notable. Ran some native 21:9 video which looked spectacular. Although I have my own separate audio setup, the built-in 9W speaker is adequate enough if you don't want to clutter your workspace with audio equipment. And of course, viewing tall browser and developer tool windows makes me grin ear-to-ear. Now I can split screen in Visual Studio without having to scroll so much! I can already tell productivity will increase substantially. I'll be keeping my U2410 as a secondary (tertiary?) display that will sit at the top of my hutch for extra screen real estate.
Unfortunately macOS 11 Big Sur is needed in order to run Dell's Display Manager, which would make using the monitor features easier without having to fiddle with the display's joystick, so I'll just have to drive it manually for the time being to use said features, which is fine. Thankfully the basic driver installed without issue on 10.14 Mojave so no worries there.
If I find anything else to like (or dislike) over the next few weeks I'll be sure to post here. Feel free to ask questions or have me run tests. As of right now, I'm not regretting my purchase one bit. I should like to think it'll stay that way.
This is more a high-level first impression than full scale review. Continuing to use a Mac Pro 5,1 with AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB and macOS 10.14 Mojave, so I won't be able to speak to how this performs on newer machines and OSes, at least not until my next Mac purchase.
Why I bought this monitor: As a web developer, extra vertical resolution is one of my top requirements. I'd even go so far as to call myself a vertical resolution snob. Anything 16:9 with 1080 (2160) or 1440 just doesn't cut it for my workflow. I've eschewed 4K simply because there was never a 16:10 equivalent for it. Although this new display is technically 21:9 (or from my perspective, 24:10), I'm quite satisfied with the extra 160 vertical pixels over most other ultrawides that max at 1440 vertical. I dig the other features such as built-in KVM, 2.5GbE port (complements my 2.5G switch nicely), split screen capabilities and improved 2000:1 contrast ratio, even if by "cheating" with IPS Black.
Why you would not buy this monitor: Initial complaints I've seen about the U3824DW is that it's way too expensive for what's offered. 60Hz max refresh, no OLED, 300 nits max brightness, rudimentary features compared to other brands, etc. If I was a dedicated PC gamer then I'd heartily agree with this statement and look elsewhere. (I could have bought the 49" display for less than the U3824DW.) However for my use case, those dissenting opinions were irrelevant. Luckily I knocked off about 10% from the MSRP by stacking coupon/cashback offers to make it more reasonable, although still pricey. But I plan to keep this display for many years (plus it's a tax write-off) so I'm good with that aspect. Could I have spent less on a previous-generation U3821DW? Probably. But I purposely waited for this next iteration to keep my latest equipment as future-proof as possible.
What I think: Keep in mind I'm comparing to a 14 year-old monitor, so it goes without saying that picture quality, connection types/speeds, gray-to-gray response time, and panel technology are all vastly improved from what I'm used to. How it compares to other brands like LG and Samsung, that's for other reviewers to decide. I had slight concerns about compatibility with older hardware/software, but thankfully didn't have to fuss with any settings, it showed native 3840x1600 resolution right out of the box. Colors are crisp and bright, with improved blacks definitely notable. Ran some native 21:9 video which looked spectacular. Although I have my own separate audio setup, the built-in 9W speaker is adequate enough if you don't want to clutter your workspace with audio equipment. And of course, viewing tall browser and developer tool windows makes me grin ear-to-ear. Now I can split screen in Visual Studio without having to scroll so much! I can already tell productivity will increase substantially. I'll be keeping my U2410 as a secondary (tertiary?) display that will sit at the top of my hutch for extra screen real estate.
Unfortunately macOS 11 Big Sur is needed in order to run Dell's Display Manager, which would make using the monitor features easier without having to fiddle with the display's joystick, so I'll just have to drive it manually for the time being to use said features, which is fine. Thankfully the basic driver installed without issue on 10.14 Mojave so no worries there.
If I find anything else to like (or dislike) over the next few weeks I'll be sure to post here. Feel free to ask questions or have me run tests. As of right now, I'm not regretting my purchase one bit. I should like to think it'll stay that way.
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