Brilliant "budget" monitor (Dell S2409W)

Member Name: f1ndl0w

Product:	Dell S2409W
Date:	10/05/09 (178 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent quality & connectivity.

Disadvantages: Doesn't have features that higher end models have (e.g. USB hub).

I purchased this monitor primarily for use as a second display for my MacBook, from what I could gather at the time it was essentially a "budget" monitor from Dell, lacking some of the features found in it's higher end counterparts (such as USB Hub, Built-in Speakers). Although don't let this put you off, when you consider that it is (at time of purchase) hundreds of £'s cheaper than these higher end models.

When I opened up the box my first impressions were that this thing was huge, I hadn't quite realised how big a 24-inch monitor would be up close, so it took a bit of re-shuffling of my desk to get it to fit. Installation of it was very simple, quite literally plug & play.

The monitor itself looks fairly good, with a glossy black trim around the actual monitor, and not a lot else. It will no doubt fit in anywhere, and actually match's the MacBook's screen rather well.

The resolution of the panel is 1920 * 1080; slightly less than many similar products (often 1920 * 1200), but this has a big advantage - it is the resolution of 1080i/p HD video, so it is possible to play this at full quality with no black bars/stretching.

Despite not having fancy bit's & pieces like USB ports, it has excellent connectivity for use as just a monitor - VGA, DVI, and HDMI ports. The firmware on the monitor allows you to switch between the three, so there is no fiddling about around the back with cables. In addition to this there is an audio pass-through, so it is possible to connect either a VGA/DVI & HDMI device and have it's audio outputted through a single socket, useful for use with speaker systems. This also automatically switches sources in conjunction with the display input.
The combination of 1920 * 1080 screen resolution & HDMI port make this ideal for one more thing ... as a monitor for games consoles. Simply plug in the HDMI cable, ensure that 1080p is selected (the best quality available) and watch the crispness of the images, perfect for when you want a quick break. In addition the combination of (relatively) small screen & high resolution mean that the images should look better than on a huge LCD/Plasma of the same resolution.

I'm no graphic designer/serious gamer so to me the screen quality isn't all that important, so long as it looks well in my eyes, I'm happy. I'm certainly impressed with this, everything looks perfectly sharp, and games (to me) look second to none. If you're into calibrating your monitor to printer etc. then there are plenty of options in the setup menu, so that should be no problem.

Summary: Definitely consider if you need a new monitor.

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