I've finally clocked enough hours gaming and doing computer things on the Dell SE2716H monitor to tell you that it's a really nice little 27-inch monitor.
I didn't think I'd like the curved part or that it would be beneficial but after staring at the thing for hours on end, I've grown fond of it.
At the right distance, the monitor's curve gives you a nice no-glare view of your world. I tinkered with the distance for a while until I got it right.
The max resolution of the screen is 1920x1080, or 1080p, which is fine for me because that's the max resolution I could get out of my Alienware M17x gaming laptop anyway. But if your graphic card can do more than that resolution, then this isn't the monitor for you.
The monitor is surprisingly light. I lifted it up without a problem from the box.
Some of you asked me some questions about the monitor, which I directed at Dell.
1. Why No 4K?
Reply: Dell does have a 4K monitor with a 27” screen size, but it doesn’t come in a curve format. Due to limitations with the current curve technology for the 27”, Dell has instead employed a full HD resolution for the panel.
2. Why TN panel and not IPS?
Reply: Dell is using the VA panel for SE2716H, which is comparable to the IPS technology.
To be honest, the TN screen looked fine to be, even though it wasn't an IPS panel.
You can push the sound from your computer through the HDMI port and output it from the monitor's 2x9W speakers. I found the sound pretty decent for in-built speakers and left them on for gaming. Except when the wife complains, then it's back to headphones.
I did have some overscan problems with the HDMI port when I first connected the computer to the SE2716H, which resulted in a thick black border around the image. But I fixed that fairly easily in my settings.
There are two HDMI ports, a VGA port and a headphone port behind. Pretty basic stuff though I wish the headphone jack was in a more accessible place instead of behind.
There were no DisplayPort and Mini DisplayPort inputs, which I'm more used to using. If you have a Mac that uses Mini DisplayPort, it can be a pain because you need to get a adaptor or a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI cable.
Other small annoyances are the lack of USB ports or height movement. You can see I've had to place it on my trusty box thing to raise it to the level I'm comfortable with. The stand doesn't allow height adjustments which I feel is important.
Still, the monitor is good value for the price, and has good color and contrast. The bezel at 7.7mm is quite thin too. I'm pretty happy with it.
