Dell G2410 review

Great scores in DisplayMate don't always translate into similar results in our real-world test, but the G2410 has some of the deepest blacks we've seen on a monitor; a critical attribute for good movie playback. We used the Movie preset to check out "War of the Worlds" ("WotW") on DVD and "House of Flying Daggers" ("HoFD") on Blu-ray. "WotW" looked great for a DVD, with a deep black level and accurate colors. "HoFD" also had deep blacks, accurate colors, and solid picture fidelity without any ghosting or streaking. The Samsung SyncMaster T240HD was our previous favorite display to watch movies on, but that distinction now falls to the G2410.

Most of this incredible performance can be attributed to the LED backlight in the monitor. Most monitors use cold cathode fluorescent lamp-based backlights--several fluorescent tubes stretched horizontally across the screen. The Dell G2410 relies on individual LEDs all over the back of the screen that turn off or on independently, giving the display more precise control over the amount of light coming through. The purported advantages of an LED backlight are better energy efficiency, more accurate color reproduction, a conceivably thinner panel design, and a higher potential brightness level.

A high black level on a display will distort the grayscale and adversely affect color reproduction. Thanks to its precise control of the backlight light however, the G2410 is capable of a low black level, which translates into fantastic color reproduction. While its maximum brightness is lower than the 2408WFP (234 versus 452 respectively), this was never a problem and at times we had to turn down the G2410's brightness to decrease the strain on our eyes. Its tested contrast ratio was less than the 1,000:1 claimed by Dell and came in at a fairly close 948:1.

We looked at the game Crysis on the G2410 in its Game preset and saw a clean picture with no signs of ghosting during fast movement.

The optimal viewing angle for a monitor is usually directly in front, about a quarter of the screen's distance down from the top. At this angle, you're viewing the colors and gamma correction as they were intended. Most monitors are not made to be viewed at any other angle. Depending on its panel type, picture quality at nonoptimal angles varies. Most monitors use TN panels, which get overly bright or overly dark in parts of the screen when viewed from nonoptimal angles. The G2410 uses a TN panel, and when it is viewed from the sides or bottom, we perceived the screen to darken about six inches off from center. Of course, when viewed from the optimal angle, we had no problems. Performance-wise this is the only area that the 2408WFP faired better. The 2408WFP is made with a S-PVA panel which are known for having wide viewing angles.

Juice box

Dell G2410	Avg watts per hour
On (Default Luminance)	23.22
On (Max Luminance)	25.17
On (Min Luminance)	12.9
Sleep	0.48
Calibrated (200 cd/m2)	17.5
Score	Good
Annual energy cost (@$0.1135/kWh)	$7.26

Find out more about how we test LCD monitors.

Service and support
Dell backs the G2410 with a solid warranty including three-year parts-and-labor that covers the backlight. It also offers support through a 24-7 toll-free number, 24-7 Web-chat, and fast 24- to 48-hour turnaround e-mail--a better package than most monitor vendors, whose support doesn't usually carry into the weekends. Navigating Dell's Web site and finding the drivers, product manual, and quick guide was simple and easy.