- Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 18 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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18 out of 18 people found this review helpful
4.0 stars
"Exceptional Monitor! True Value!"
Pros: Value!!! Massive, massive screen Real Estate, Excellent color correctness, Massive scale!, Did I mention VALUE???
Cons: Very dated bezel, dual-tone black/silver back cheesy, lack of options and inputs compared to other units, scary investment in vid card.
Summary: OMG!!! You have no idea the scale of this thing until you sit in front of it to work/play!. It's M-A-S-S-I-V-E. I got a STEAL and paid $1630 via my company. I'm a Network/Systems Admin - what a bargain. Yes, I've played with the Apple 30" in the store. But until you work with a screen this big on your desk, you have no idea. You can almost get whiplash watching your apps.
On a more serious note, the color correctness is very good - not as good as my previous Dell 2405FP widescreen, but good nonetheless. Brightness - excellent. You can monitor a myriad of applications simultaneously. I have good eyes and run at max resolution of 2560x1600. If you plan on running anything less, DON'T bother buying this monitor. It also has that fantastic feature my 2405FP had - the multimedia card reader built right into the left side - great idea. Very useful. It alslo functions as a USB hub with 2 slots.
Now for the bad. The only reason I didn't rate this thing a 10 is for (1)Complexity and cost of installation and (2) Lack of options and inputs compared to my previous 2001FP and 2405FP aslo from Dell.
If you don't buy this thing with a brand new Dell system tailored specifically for it, and have little experience with internal PC hardware, you're going to have a hell of a time getting this to work. You MUST have a PCI Express DVI video card that can do 2560x1600. It's a good idea to buy the reccomened cards from Dell's site listed underneath the monitor description. In my case, I bought a BFG Tech GeForce 7800 GT OC 256MB GDDR3 from CompUSA for $370. You will also NEED a 400W or better power supply. I picked up a new Antec 500 SmartPower 2.0 500W supply. I put both in an OptiPlex GX620 Mini-Tower chassis. My card requires direct power from the supply. You also MUST use the DVI cable and power cable that came with the monitor or you may wonder why nothing is working. In all, this is NOT "plug-n-play" for the uninitiated. But I did get it working and am very satisfied.
About those options. I've been using a gorgeous 2405FP for months. I'm used to having a VGA, DVI, S-Video and composite inputs to choose from. I'm used to occasionally using PIP from video sources. Those don't exist on this monitor. Not happy about that. Furthermore, the bezel and overall case colors on the other Dell FP's are much more modern and attractive.
Overall, I can't complain. This thing is one of the greatest bargains on the planet right now for the $$$ I ordered for. If you're not getting corporate rates, it may be a couple of hundred bucks more - not sure. Even still, compared with $2,500 for the Apple 30", it's still a steal. To boot, the 2405FP will probably come down in price too. Last I checked, it was about $899. Honestly, for home use, the 2405FP is a better option for most people IMHO.
- 3 replies to this review
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I spoke with Dell technical support about my ATI FireGL X3-256 (AGP) and they said it would work with the 3007WFP. The dual-link DVI support is the key, no dual-link DVI, no 3007.
Other than those thoughts, a few more:
1) Sublo's summary was excellent, especially the thoughtful recommendation that for most people's need, the 2401FPW is an excellent choice.
2) I wish I had access to sublo's corp discount.
3) I think the lack of additional inputs was not the marketing plot others believe to preserve Dell's LCD TV line; It takes more and smarter hardware to make low-res inputs look reasonable on a massive pixel pusher like the 3007. Even HDTV input is low-res on this monitor!
The big decision is whether to get TWO 2401FP's or ONE 3007. The practical side shows the cost/benifit to be in the dual 2401FP configuration (more pixels, larger screen area, lower cost). But 30" in my face, that's hard to ignore. -
I spoke with Dell technical support about my ATI FireGL X3-256 (AGP) and they said it would work with the 3007WFP. The dual-link DVI support is the key, no dual-link DVI, no 3007.
Other than those thoughts, a few more:
1) Sublo's summary was excellent, especially the thoughtful recommendation that for most people's need, the 2401FPW is an excellent choice.
2) I wish I had access to sublo's corp discount.
3) I think the lack of additional inputs was not the marketing plot others believe to preserve Dell's LCD TV line; It takes more and smarter hardware to make low-res inputs look reasonable on a massive pixel pusher like the 3007. Even HDTV input is low-res on this monitor!
The big decision is whether to get TWO 2401FP's or ONE 3007. The practical side shows the cost/benifit to be in the dual 2401FP configuration (more pixels, larger screen area, lower cost). But 30" in my face, that's hard to ignore. -
I know a lot of people are upset that all the different connections were left of this moniter. Dell did not overlook this or forget to add them in the design process. It is a a business decision. If they left the connections on this moniter it woulld chew into their LCD and Plasma TV product line sales. Many people would opt for this moniter instead of a Dell 30in LCD TV because of the extremely higher native resolution. It would be a bad business model for Dell to have a product that would directly cut into the sales for another product of the same size.
