accessories.us.dell.com
$1,499
By: William Van Winkle
If you’re going to dream during the holidays, dream big. Really big. Dell’s 30-inch U3011 is one of the most impressive pieces of glass to ever hit the desktop PC monitor market. For starters, you’ve got a 2560 x 1600 (16:10) native resolution backed by a three-year guarantee against even a single bright pixel defect. That same three-year period is also covered by Dell’s Advanced Exchange Service, which ought to be mandatory when you’re dropping 15 C-notes on a screen.
Other basic specs, such as a 1000:1 contrast ratio and a 370 cd/m2 brightness are less relevant, given the fluid nature of contrast measurement and the fact that few people will want a calibrated brightness beyond even 140 cd/m2. We asked our elves to calibrate and measure the U3011, but they declined, perhaps fearing to get too close to anything that overpowering and awesome. As it turns out, though, this request was largely unnecessary, since Dell ships the U3011 with a factory calibration report.

However, a 7 ms gray-to-gray refresh rate means no ghosting on fast-moving images. More important for color-sensitive professionals is the U3011’s 100% coverage of the sRGB gamut standard, 99% coverage of AdobeRGB, and 117% coverage of CIE 1976. Interestingly, Dell kept CCFL backlighting on this model rather than taking to the more energy-efficient LED path. Being an in-plane switching (IPS) design, you get exceptionally crisp detail, best-of-breed color reproduction, and 178-degree viewing with very little discoloration at the extreme angles. Dell’s anti-glare coating also doesn’t have a bad case of the sparkles as on some other panels.
Dell’s stand is excellent, providing smooth vertical movement and sharp lines without seeming too bulky or unattractive. You do sacrifice the ability to pivot 90 degrees into portrait mode because the screen is just that big. On the other hand, the U3011 is a veritable cornucopia (not to mix holiday metaphors) of connectivity, featuring two HDMI, two DVI-D, one DisplayPort, one VGA, and component video ports. You’ll also find four USB 2.0 ports and a 7-in-1 flash card reader.
We’d also like to give credit to Dell’s on-screen display controls, now found across many of its newer monitor models. This is a pet peeve of ours. Why its so hard to make decent OSD controls is anyone’s guess, but Dell’s touch-sensitive implementation, complete with legible fonts and downright intuitive icons, is among the best we’ve ever seen. That’s really good news if you’re a display perfectionist prone to changing settings based on content and environmental conditions.
Bottom line: The U3011 may cost enough to buy half of a tree farm, but it’s guaranteed to be the gift that keeps on giving for years.
- Headphones: Bowers & Wilkins P5
- Flash Drive: Kingston HyperX 128 GB USB 3.0 Drive
- Keyboard: Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750
- Monitor: Dell UltraSharp U3011
- Custom PC: Digital Storm Black Ops Assassin
- Display: Samsung MD230X6 6 x 23" Display Array
- Networking: Netgear Universal Wi-Fi Range Extender WN2000RPT
- External Storage: Seagate GoFlex 1.5 TB USB 3.0
- Mini PC: VIA Artigo A1100 Pico-ITX Kit
- Mobile Phone: Dell Streak
- Mouse: Logitech Performance Mouse MX
- Network Storage: Thecus N4200 Pro NAS/iSCSI SAN
Agree. Those clothes weight too much.
are you kidding me?
Spoken like someone whose knowledge of female anatomy comes entirely from internet porn. That your chances of ever encountering the real thing are close to zero comes as a relief to women everywhere.
are you kidding me?
What? I'm not even sure you know what you're talking about..
Spoken like someone whose knowledge of female anatomy comes entirely from internet porn. That your chances of ever encountering the real thing are close to zero comes as a relief to women everywhere.
In a world where models have to live the most unnatural, unhealthy life just to be what the companies decide is pretty for the rest of us, this comment to these otherwise very thin women is the most out of place I've ever seen. Do you have any idea what words like these can do to some women? I'm shocked and really afraid to see an actual woman which answers your definition of "thin".
What? You don't want those girls? Perfect, I'll take them.
It's coming tomorrow!
Chris
Agree. Those clothes weight too much.
i have modeled on television. and these girls are solid.
ironically the digital storm pc is almost identical to the one i just built for myself.
if they ship girls that look like that with thier pc's ill never build my own again.
Overall great Article and loved all the selections even tho I didn't agree with the streak!
if anything they need to gain weight, i prefer my women healthy, not hefty mind you, but if i see bone it sets off red flags for me.
I think Toms realized that the blond in green isn't that good a looker so instead of putting a bag over her head they cropped the pic to not include it, lol. Funny stuff Toms.
Hope the models don't check the comments area cuz some of the comments on here are pretty blunt, 2 of them might get their feelings hurt.
Back to the article- why does the Assassin have 2 CPU coolers? Did they ship you a different model for photography?
Been a long time since I've actually commented on an article. I had to struggle to remember by username/password for this site...I'm glad I did. Now I can call you an idiot.... Idiot.