Dell UP3017 30-inch 16:10 Professional Monitor Review

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OSD Setup & Calibration

The OSD is quite extensive and provides many adjustment options but in most cases, you’re only likely to need access to the picture modes and the brightness setting. We found the factory preset modes to be right on spec with no need for calibration.

OSD Tour

The backlight covers a large range from almost 350cd/m2 down to a dim 37. That means each of the 100 steps equals 3cd/m2 which seems a bit imprecise. The brightness and contrast sliders can also be accessed directly by one of the bezel keys.

The second screen contains the input selector, which can also be programmed into one of the bezel keys. In its default state, the UP3017 will automatically lock on to the first active signal it finds.

The Color menu offers eight image modes, and Standard is the default. The next four are task-specific. Color Temp sets the gamut to Adobe RGB and gives you a slider to set the white point in degrees Kelvin. Color Space is where you’ll find the factory calibrated presets for Adobe RGB, sRGB, Rec.709, DCI-P3, and two memory slots used by the included Ultrasharp Calibration software. Last is Custom Color where you can create your own mode with gain, offset, hue, and saturation sliders.

The Display menu has controls for aspect, sleep timer, sharpness, dynamic contrast, response time (overdrive), MST operation, and signal info. It also contains the uniformity compensation, which is only available in certain modes. Most notably it is grayed out in the Color Space preset where the factory calibrations lie.

The UP3017 supports PIP and PBP for two sources. The PIP window can be sized and moved around the screen.

Two computers can be connected to one UP3017 through each of the USB upstream ports. The USB menu lets you assign them to a particular video input so you can run a single keyboard and mouse combination.

There are no built-in speakers, but incoming audio can be switched manually between DisplayPort and HDMI feeds.

The Energy menu controls the behavior of the power LED and the two side USB ports, which can be used to charge devices drawing two amps or less. That means no iPads, which require 10W.

The OSD comes in eight languages and can be rotated when the monitor is in portrait mode. You can also set the timeout and transparency here.

Three of the bezel keys can be programmed for a variety of functions to provide quick access without entering the OSD. Their operation is indicated by small icons that appear on the screen.

The final menu contains a few ergonomic options and a full reset that returns the UP3017 to its default settings.

Calibration

Calibration is simply a matter of selecting the appropriate gamut from the Color Space menu and setting brightness to taste. Our measurements showed no need for further adjustment in the Adobe RGB and sRGB presets. DCI-P3 also comes quite close to standard. If you want to tweak in the OSD, choose Custom Color. Controls are provided for gain, offset, saturation, and hue. Unfortunately you can’t properly adjust the gamut from its starting point of Adobe RGB because there is no color luminance control. The best way to create your own color mode is to use the included Ultrasharp Color Calibration software along with an i1 Display Pro. The resulting lookup table is saved to one of the two memories called Cal1 and Cal2 in the Color Space mode. Since our sample was pretty much perfect out of the box, we did not see the need for further adjustment. Here are our brightness settings for various output levels.

  • Brightness 200cd/m2 - 60
  • Brightness 120cd/m2 - 30
  • Brightness 100cd/m2 - 23
  • Brightness 80cd/m2 - 16
  • Brightness 50cd/m2 - 5
Christian Eberle
Contributing Editor

Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors. Christian began his obsession with tech when he built his first PC in 1991, a 286 running DOS 3.0 at a blazing 12MHz. In 2006, he undertook training from the Imaging Science Foundation in video calibration and testing and thus started a passion for precise imaging that persists to this day. He is also a professional musician with a degree from the New England Conservatory as a classical bassoonist which he used to good effect as a performer with the West Point Army Band from 1987 to 2013. He enjoys watching movies and listening to high-end audio in his custom-built home theater and can be seen riding trails near his home on a race-ready ICE VTX recumbent trike. Christian enjoys the endless summer in Florida where he lives with his wife and Chihuahua and plays with orchestras around the state.

  • leclod
    Hi,
    I've seen loads of PC monitor tests, I've never seen a TV as PC Monitor test.
    In 2009, I did first see a friend using a wall mounted TV as second monitor for his laptop.
    TVs being cheaper, smarter and prettier than PC monitors, I've made the step to a 42" 3D capable Philips TV a few years ago.
    I've never looked back !

    Now with reasonnably priced 4K and even better looks, TVs might be even more attractive. Don't you think ?
    Regards,
    Claude
    Reply
  • ohim
    18705933 said:
    Hi,
    I've seen loads of PC monitor tests, I've never seen a TV as PC Monitor test.
    In 2009, I did first see a friend using a wall mounted TV as second monitor for his laptop.
    TVs being cheaper, smarter and prettier than PC monitors, I've made the step to a 42" 3D capable Philips TV a few years ago.
    I've never looked back !

    Now with reasonnably priced 4K and even better looks, TVs might be even more attractive. Don't you think ?
    Regards,
    Claude
    Because mostly they look like crap for some reason close up, i have a 40" 4K TV above my monitor meaning it has 110ppi, but i prefer my IPS 34" 3440x1440 (110ppi as the tv) monitor that has way better image at close range than the TV, at 2-3m you can`t really tell them apart.

    Reply
  • zodiacfml
    Sure if you have a big room and wall mounting placement is not an issue.
    Resolution is another thing, only the popular resolutions are available for TVs which is 1080p and the 4K, nothing in between.
    Next, they don't have adaptive sync.
    If you ask me though, I will have to wait for any monitor with a 120 Hz and 4K interface
    Reply
  • Patrick_Bateman
    If this monitor ever goes down to 600$, then I'll for sure buy one. I understand that this is for professionals, and for them it might be worth it, but at 1249$ MSRP, this monitor isn't the best value.
    Reply
  • ngaio
    18706833 said:
    If this monitor ever goes down to 600$, then I'll for sure buy one. I understand that this is for professionals, and for them it might be worth it, but at 1249$ MSRP, this monitor isn't the best value.

    Recently Dell had a 25% off sale. I'm sure it will come around again.

    Reply
  • nitrium
    I'm rocking an old Dell 16:10 at the moment (1920x1200) and the reason I haven't "upgraded" is primarily due to it feeling like a DOWNGRADE dropping to 16:9. The extra pixels at the bottom when you're doing 16:9 video editing, especially, is pure gold. Shame this screen is relatively expensive though. Would love to see this same resolution in a 27".
    Reply
  • bit_user
    Max Resolution & Refresh
    2560x1600 @ 60Hz

    $1068.24
    Aw, man... $1k for a 30" monitor that's not even 4k? No thanks.

    And where's the @#(^%&*$ OLED monitor they showed way back at CES? Last I heard, it was supposed to come out in August. Did the release get pushed back again?

    Not like I was going to buy one, but I want an OLED monitor, so they'd better start coming out.
    Reply
  • synphul
    18708979 said:
    Max Resolution & Refresh
    2560x1600 @ 60Hz

    $1068.24
    Aw, man... $1k for a 30" monitor that's not even 4k? No thanks.

    It's actually a decent price if you take a look at pcpartpicker's listings. They don't list every monitor for sure but yes, $1000 for a 30" ips panel at 16:10/2560x1600. Others from nec and hp range from $1200-2000.

    There are cheaper 32" 4k monitors like the BenQ BL3201PH but it's not really a professional monitor either. The colors aren't said to be the best, it's stuck with the srgb color space (no adobe options), contrast isn't the best. If doing basic tasks or cad work it's probably fine, for those doing design which will go to print, not so much. Features cost money and could be worth it if someone needs them. If not needed then it's overkill and ends up costing more.

    If all someone wants is a giant tn panel they're out there for less money. Dell's done pretty well for themselves with the ultrasharp's for the most part.
    Reply
  • 10tacle
    I have long preferred 16x10 having had (and still have) a 22" 1680x1050 Samsung and a 26" 1920x1200 Samsung. That extra height was great for flight simming and sim racing having extra virtual cockpit instrument reading capability.

    When making the jump to 2560x1440 with a 27" Dell three years ago I was missing that extra height, but the increased resolution and screen real estate more than made up for it. Honestly I am surprised panel makers are still making this aspect ratio since the manufacturing economy of scale favors 16:9 panels both for PC monitors and obviously for TVs. Considering Dell has had 30" 2560x1600 monitors for years and the fact that they are still over $1,000 proves it.
    Reply
  • zthomas
    Lets face it this monitor is for business and not gaming.. Dell sells tons of monitors.. almost every office I have been had almost all double Dell's on each desk..
    Reply