Dell Unveils UltraSharp U3417W: Makes Its Curved Display More Curved
by Anton Shilov on September 14, 2016 11:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Monitors
- Dell
- IPS
- WQHD
- Ultrasharp
- Curved Display
Dell has unveiled its new top-of-the-range 34” curved monitor for consumers. The new UltraSharp U3417W display has the same WHQD resolution as the U3415W introduced a year ago, but increased curvature and a new chassis design. The monitor is aimed particularly at users who do heavy multitasking but do not want to install two monitors on their desks.
Nowadays, the majority of display makers position their curved monitors primarily for gamers and multimedia enthusiasts, thus, trying to incorporate very high refresh rates along with dynamic refresh rate technologies like AMD’s FreeSync or NVIDIA’s G-Sync. Meanwhile, Dell, quotes IDC’s findings that professionals from many industries (including those, who do finance, accounting and creative work) can benefit both from ultra-wide 21:9 aspect ratio as well as curvature. As a result, Dell offers curved monitors specifically tailored for professionals. Back in April, 2015, the company released its first U3415W curved display and this month it unveiled a newer model, the U3417W.
The Dell UltraSharp U3417W has higher curvature than its predecessor: 1900R vs 3800R. All the other specifications are generally similar: an IPS panel with 3440×1440 resolution, 1000:1 contrast ratio, 300 nits brightness, 178°/178° viewing angles, 5 ms response time in fast mode and a 60 Hz refresh rate. Dell believes that slightly higher curvature will further improve professional productivity.
| Dell's Curved Displays | ||
| UltraSharp U3417W 2016 model |
UltraSharp U3415W 2015 model |
|
| Panel | 34" IPS | |
| Native Resolution | 3440 × 1440 | |
| Maximum Refresh Rate | 60 Hz | |
| Response Time | 5 ms in fast mode 8 ms in normal mode |
|
| Brightness | 300 cd/m² | |
| Contrast | 1000:1 | |
| Viewing Angles | 178°/178° horizontal/vertical | 172°/178° horizontal/vertical |
| Curvature | 1900R | 3800R |
| Pixel Pitch | 0.233 mm | 0.2325 mm |
| Pixel Density | 109 ppi | unknown |
| Anti-Glare Coating | Yes | |
| Diagonally Viewable Size | 86.72 cm 34.14 Inches |
86.5 cm 34.055 inches |
| Preset Display Area | 799.80 mm × 334.80 mm 31.49" × 13.18" 267773.04 mm² 415.01 inches² |
798.20 mm × 334.80 mm 31.43" × 13.18" 267237.36 mm² 414.2474 inches² |
| Inputs | 1 × DP 1.2 (HDCP 1.4) 1 × mDP 1.2 (HDCP 1.4) 1 × DP 1.2 (out) with MST (HDCP 1.4) 2 × HDMI 2.0 (HDCP 1.4) |
1 × DP 1.2 1 × mDP 1.2 1 × DP 1.2 (out) with MST 1 × HDMI 2.0 1 × MHL |
| USB Hub | 4-port USB 3.0 hub, two ports support fast charging 2 USB Type-B upstream ports |
|
| Audio | 9 W × 2 audio in/out ports |
|
| Launch Price | $1199.99 | |
When it comes to connectivity, the UltraSharp U3417W resembles other modern monitors from the company (e.g., the UP3017) designed for professionals as it supports two HDMI 2.0, one DP 1.2, and one mDP 1.2 inputs. For convenience, it has one DP 1.2 output with MST to for daisy-chaining to another display. Besides, the monitor also supports PBP and PiP features when connected to two PCs. Finally, it has a quad-port USB 3.0 hub with two receptacles supporting BC 1.2 charging as well as two USB Type-B upstream ports (to connect to two different computers).
The Dell UltraSharp U3417W curved display is available now for $1199.99 from the manufacturer. Meanwhile, the older model, the U3415W is now available for $899.99. It is unknown whether Dell will keep selling both models, but for now the previous-gen display is available for the price, which is $300 below its original MSRP.
Source: Dell
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xthetenth - Wednesday, September 14, 2016 - link
Glad to see the form factor getting enough love that they're updating already. I've got the U3415W and it's an utterly fantastic monitor for work. Great screen, and the USB hub tying the two USB inputs to different video inputs makes switching between multiple computers incredibly convenient.Not sure the 17 is worth 300 more, but as time goes on that should drop. I do think the increased curve is an improvement, the wider curve on the 15 is enough to prevent the corners from being at a drastic angle to the user but not enough to place the entire screen equidistant from the user's eyes.
Black Obsidian - Wednesday, September 14, 2016 - link
I love my U3415W as well, both for productivity and gaming; the extra immersion in simulation games and extra display space in most others that support 21:9 make it more compelling than 4K, IMO.It would have been nice to see FreeSync on the new iteration, but by the time the U3419W rolls around, we should see FreeSync support across the board on the GPU side (perhaps excluding nVidia if they decide to be extra stubborn), and hopefully it's just an automatic inclusion on all non-budget monitors.
damianrobertjones - Thursday, September 22, 2016 - link
You must be seeing things. Having a curved screen is a gimmick with no actual, as far as I've read, real science behind needing one. Sure, it might look nice, but I'll stick with a flat AOC Q3477 (3440x1440).We've tried two curved screens, in work, with the conclusion being that it's nice but not worth it at all (especially on a smaller 23" screen). Opinions differ.
sscirrus - Wednesday, April 12, 2017 - link
Curved monitors are much more useful than curved TVs. Because the user is sitting much closer to them, the curvature has an effect in making the screen equidistant, which can help the user see small details.Personally, I work with lots of very small text (I do a lot of programming) and I used to have trouble seeing the text in the far corners of my larger monitors. I've been using this one for over a month now and I can see every corner clearly. It's made a big difference to me.
ExarKun333 - Wednesday, September 14, 2016 - link
Why buy this at $1200 when you can get the Predator X34 for the same price and you get 75/100hz?arayoflight - Wednesday, September 14, 2016 - link
Not to mention the new ones from LGxype - Wednesday, September 14, 2016 - link
Because more ports, including 2 with USB fast charging and the ability to daisy chain displays? Decision really only depends on what you value more, the former or whatever the Predator offers. They both seem different enough to me to warrant a place in the market.(Personally I also like the looks of the Dell more, but there’s bound to be enough people around who’ll prefer the Predator. *shrug*)
saratoga4 - Wednesday, September 14, 2016 - link
The 2015 Dell and the Predator X34 are the same panel right? they have similar specs, identical radius of curvature, and I think they're both from LG.DanNeely - Wednesday, September 14, 2016 - link
Maybe, maybe not. It's not generally listed anywhere easy to find; but there're different grades of a given panel available as the manufacturer bins based on dead pixels, panel consistency, etc. It's one of the reasons why NEC or Ezio monitors are so much more expensive than seeming equivalent models from other companies. Both makers of premium monitors for content creators pay extra to get the best sliver of panels from the manufacturing runs. From the other direction, using lower than normal grade panels was one of the reasons why the 1440p "Korean" monitors were so much cheaper than anything else at the size/resolution a few years ago.Olaf van der Spek - Wednesday, September 14, 2016 - link
Dell hardware is usually available for far less than list price...Dell displays also have better stands and probably better warranty. Image quality is probably better as well.