Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
The S2422HG can be enjoyed in its Standard mode without calibration, but you will see a slight purple tint in gray and white shades above the mid-range. Luckily, it includes a Custom Color mode like most Dell monitors, which delivers a more precise result.
Grayscale and Gamma Tracking
Our grayscale and gamma tests use Calman calibration software from Portrait Displays. We describe our grayscale and gamma tests in detail here.
In the default chart, the S2422HG is perfectly neutral in the darker parts of the image but lets a little purple creep into the highlight areas. Gamma tracks almost perfectly with the 2.2 reference, which is good performance.
Calibration of the Custom Color mode brings grayscale tracking down to a series of invisible errors with all steps under 2dE and most under 1dE. Gamma introduces a slight hump (too dark) at 90% brightness, but you won’t see an error that small with the naked eye.
Comparisons
Though the S2422HG’s 3.31dE default measurement is about average among gaming monitors, it’s good enough to take the win here by a nose. However, calibration is worth the effort with a nice gain to 1.07dE, a difference you can easily see. Though that takes it from first to last, it’s still an invisible error, so the final comparison is a very close result.
The S2422HG certainly doesn’t need help in the gamma department. There aren’t any options for lighter or darker luminance tracking, but since it nails 2.2 almost perfectly, there’s no complaint. Not only does that ensure full-detail rendering, but it also makes the large color gamut look even more saturated.
Color Gamut Accuracy
Our color gamut and volume testing use Portrait Displays’ Calman software. For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, click here.
Not all FHD monitors include a wide gamut, but the S2422HG does, and it tracks DCI-P3 with excellent precision. Out of the box, it has an average error of 2.13dE, which is excellent by any standard. Red, yellow, blue and magenta are fully covered, while green and cyan are only a tad short of the top.
Calibration reduces the error to 1.65dE though the visual difference is relatively small. The grayscale calibration is responsible for this and is worth doing to make gray shades more neutral.
Comparisons
The S2422HG ranks among the best in the gaming category for color accuracy. That it covers 88.49% of DCI-P3 is a nice bonus. Only the Gigabyte has a better dE value, and it isn’t low enough to make a visible difference. No one will be dissatisfied with the Dell unit’s color quality.
Though the Monoprice and Gigabyte screens have a tad more color volume, it’s an infinitesimal amount. It would be hard to spot a difference between the top four monitors here. Though the BenQ and Viotek exceed sRGB, they are visibly less colorful than the S2422HG. This is an impressive performance for a $170 display.
MORE: Best Gaming Monitors
MORE: How We Test PC Monitors
