Today we’ll be reviewing Dell’s 27-inch monitor, which model is S2721HS. 27-inch size monitors are quite prominent among users. So the market’s demand for this size monitors is very high. Dell is a well-known brand that produces top-quality monitors by monitoring what users prefer for themselves. We can consider this product a fairly good deal from Dell. This monitor offers decent specifications, which creates interest among buyers. Its low price attracts designers and photo editors a lot. So today we will see can this monitor could be the best budget monitor for photo editing at its price point.
Let’s dive into the details and see each aspect of this monitor.
Design and Build Architecture:
The monitor comes with a modern and elegant design. The weight of the monitor is quite light which is only 9.5 lbs. We can easily move or shift the monitor as we want. A textured pattern covers the back side which provides a unique look and premium feel. Adds such a designated look and professionalism to corporate places. We can find the configuring buttons on the right side below the panel and are easily accessible.
Accessible Ports:
This computer monitor comes with HDMI port as well as some other ports, such as:
- Kensington security lock slot,
- Power connector,
- DisplayPort 1.2,
- HDMI 1.4 port,
- Audio line-out port.
In terms of ports, good options are available.
User Experience:
This monitor can be a convenience for those who use multiple monitors. That is, you get the benefit of rotating the monitor completely 90 degrees and height adjustment, tilt, and swivel. VESA mounting interface is also provided in this monitor. Which is a great feature. A thumbs up to DELL for that. This can terminate this monitor from the list of being the best budget monitor for photo editing. So whether you want to use the monitor as a primary or secondary, you can easily select the precise position and angle that best suits your needs and convenience.
The configuring buttons are very clickable. With an immediate click, every button responds quickly and does its job. We can flexibly operate the OSD menus. All the functions were easily accessible to control the monitor’s brightness, contrast, color temperature, and other options.
But it would have been better if there was a joystick system instead of buttons because nowadays most monitors have a joystick system which increases the usability and helps to customize and change every function easily. Buttons are not bad but a joystick is a better solution.
Setting up the monitor with the stand is easy enough that anyone can connect and place it.
Environmental Standards:
At present every brand focuses on their products to make them eco-friendly. The role of eco-friendly products is very high for our atmosphere. Because eco-friendly products are recyclable. And we can use them for various other purposes. Every brand is giving more importance to maintaining environmental standards in terms of their products.
Therefore Dell ensures TCO Display 8 certification, ENERGY STAR Certification & ENERGY STAR Version 8.0 certification to maintain environmental standards.
Many thanks to DELL for that.
Display Performance:
It is a 27-inch IPS Full HD(1920 x 1080) LED monitor with a 75Hz refresh rate. The monitor features an anti-glare screen as well as a 3H Hard Coating that protects the screen from the effects of excess light reflection and improves the clarity of the display in bright light conditions.
16.7 million colors support, 72% NTSC and 99% sRGB Color Gamut ensures an average color accuracy. We are saying it has average color accuracy because, if any graphic design or video editing work is done here, it will not be very convenient. Professional works require more color accuracy for appropriate output. This is not the best color accurate monitor in terms of price. But it’s fine in the price we’re getting this monitor. Apart from this, we are getting 1000:1 contrast ratio with 300 cd/m² brightness. A good amount of brightness has been kept here so there should not be any problem with seeing the screen. If you are in a bright lighting place, such as an official place then it is expected that there will be no problem seeing the monitor.
But the PPI we get on this monitor is very low, which is only 81. It can’t be ideal for a monitor. This can terminate this monitor from the list of being the best budget monitor for photo editing. Picture clarity and sharpness depend on PPI. This lower PPI may decrease the quality of the picture quality which may affect the user’s visual experience. It is not clear whether Dell has done such work for cost-cutting or not. However, it is not right to keep the decrement here. This can damage both their product quality and user trust in the brand.
Eye comfort is a very substantial part of those who sit in front of the screen for so long. Blue light is never good for our eyes when looking at the screen for a long time. So DELL’s own Comfort View Plus technology is built in which automatically displays the low-blue light screen. Which increases eye comfort and reduces eye strain.
Apart from this, AMD FreeSync™ technology is also supported. This technology synchronizes the refresh rate of a display with the framerate of FreeSync-compatible graphics cards. As a result, it solves input latency, screen tearing, and stuttering during gaming, and video playback issues. This proper synchronization provides a balanced output. This feature is most useful for gaming.
But this monitor is not specifically for gamers. If anyone is looking for a monitor for gaming, they should check out the alternate options which are dedicatedly designed and featured for gaming. This monitor is capable of playing basic games i.e. ok for those who like to play a few games to pass the time but not recommended for professional gaming at all.
The shortcomings that have caught our attention:
What disappointed us the most is that the PPI(Pixel Per Inch) is set so low that it is not suitable for content creators. It was not the right decision for DELL to compromise in this area. For this reason, this monitor will not be a blessing for a graphic designer or video editor. The matter will be more complicated for him/her.
Words of the finale:
From the above discussion, we can see that the monitor is pretty good-looking, modern, eye-catchy, and attaining good built quality.
As far as features are concerned, the monitor is packed with features like AMD FreeSync technology, ComfortView Plus technology for eye comfort, and VESA mount support. But we can’t call it an ideal monitor for gaming or editing-related tasks. Because it is impossible to accept compromisation on PPI for this kind of work.
If you are thinking of buying this monitor then our advice is to pick it for regular work and not professional work. It can even be a great option as the best secondary monitor. From a reviewer’s point of view, we are reluctant to recommend it as the best budget monitor for photo editing.
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