Dell UP3017 30-inch 16:10 Professional Monitor Review

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Viewing Angles, Uniformity, Response & Lag

To learn how we measure screen uniformity, please click here.

Dell lists the UP3017’s panel type as IPS but you'd almost think you’re looking at an AHVA screen in these photos. A tight air gap between the anti-glare and TFT layers helps maintain light levels up to 45° off-axis. The falloff isn’t too large and color shift goes slightly blue. In the vertical plane, gamma holds up well, while output drops by over half and the color becomes reddish.

Screen Uniformity

Every monitor we review with a uniformity compensation feature provides a different experience. Generally though, the improvement in image quality doesn’t seem great enough to warrant the inevitable hit to output and contrast. The UP3017 seems to do its thing mainly in the higher brightness steps. You can see that the black field result shows little difference between the on and off states. Our sample had hotspots in the upper-right and lower-left zones.

White field uniformity is quite good without compensation and superb with. Our C6 colorimeter saw a little extra output along the bottom of the screen, but our eyes did not. Color uniformity is also a wash with great numbers regardless. Don’t forget that the compensation is not available in the Color Space modes, which is where the UP3017 is most likely to be used. We had to run these tests using the Standard preset.

Pixel Response & Input Lag

Please click here to read up on our pixel response and input lag testing procedures.

While response and lag results won’t be of high importance to users shopping for a proofing monitor, it’s nice to know you can still blow off steam at the end of a long editing session by playing your favorite shooter. The UP3017 is at the slower end of the group, with speeds about equal to many business-class IPS screens. In fps titles, picture quality is fantastic, but once the action ramps up, there is some latency and motion blur to deal with. Casual games will play just fine.

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