{"id":622,"date":"2022-05-24T00:20:05","date_gmt":"2022-05-24T00:20:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/engadget.vip\/?p=622"},"modified":"2022-05-24T00:20:05","modified_gmt":"2022-05-24T00:20:05","slug":"dell-s2740l-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/?p=622","title":{"rendered":"Dell S2740L Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='booster-block booster-read-block'><\/div><\/p>\n<h2>Pros<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Stylish, premium-looking, well-built design<\/li>\n<li>Reasonable image quality <\/li>\n<li>Decent connectivity<\/li>\n<li>Superb OSD and controls<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Cons<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Glass front = reflections<\/li>\n<li>Low resolution = visible pixels<\/li>\n<li>Limited adjustability<\/li>\n<li>Cheaper alternatives also offer 3D<\/li>\n<li>Connectivity difficult to reach<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"review-key-specifications\">Key Specifications<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Review Price: \u00a3277.00<\/li>\n<li>27-inch, 1920 x 1080 IPS panel<\/li>\n<li>Glass front, Tilt only<\/li>\n<li>HDMI, DVI, VGA, 3.5mm audio out<\/li>\n<li>Integrated two-port USB 2.0 hub<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"introduction\">Introduction<\/h2>\n<p>If you can afford it, there are few monitors nicer than a high-quality 27-inch IPS display with a 2,560 x 1,440 resolution, such as the ViewSonic VP2770-LED. The problem is that these usually start at over \u00a3500, and that\u2019s simply too large a chunk of cold hard cash for many consumers to want to spend on a screen. However, if you\u2019re willing to step down in resolution, 27-inch Full HD monitors \u2013 such as the Dell S2740L we have here \u2013 can be had for far less.<\/p>\n<p>Starting at around \u00a3270, the Dell S2740L is a 27-inch, widescreen, LED-backlit monitor packing a 1,920 x 1,080-pixel IPS panel and multiple connections including an integrated USB hub and audio output. It\u2019s a very stylish affair with an edge-to-edge glass front and faux metal stand \u2013 in fact, we would say it\u2019s one of the most attractive \u2018budget\u2019 displays we\u2019ve seen. Unfortunately, its classy stand isn\u2019t very adjustable, but as it already provides a decent amount of height, this may not be much of an issue.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"dell-s2740l\">Dell S2740L \u2013 Presentation and Assembly<\/h2>\n<p>The S2740L comes securely and attractively packaged in a colour box that\u2019s light on specs. Included with the 7.5kg monitor you\u2019ll find a handy illustrated setup guide and software CD, VGA video cable, power brick, and USB cable for its integrated USB 2.0 hub. <\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s missing here is any kind of digital video cable such as HDMI or DVI, both of which the screen supports. However, this is no longer as big a deal as it used to be since most households already have a spare HDMI lead \u2013 and if not they\u2019re cheap and cheerful. Dell also doesn\u2019t provide a 3.5mm cable for this monitor\u2019s audio output.<\/p>\n<p>Assembly is usually sublimely easy on Dell displays, and the S2740L is no exception. It arrives in three parts: the screen, the stand and the base. Simply click the stand and base together, tighten a thumb screw, click the monitor in place, and you\u2019re good to go. Unlike with some monitors disassembly is just as easy, thanks to a large button at the screen\u2019s back which lets you click it back out again. For those wishing to mount this screen on a wall or arm-stand, it\u2019s VESA 100mm compatible.<\/p>\n<p><\/img><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"dell-s2740l1\">Dell S2740L \u2013 Design and Build Quality<\/h2>\n<p>Just in case you didn\u2019t already gather as much from our introduction, the Dell S2740L is a beautiful monitor. Actually, it\u2019s a little depressing that a \u00a3270 monitor can look nearly as good as the \u00a3770, designer Samsung Series 9 S27B970D. <\/p>\n<p>Just like the S27B970D and indeed Apple\u2019s Cinema Display, the S2740L\u2019s front is a seamless glass whole. This may cause annoying reflections with any kind of ambient lighting present, but it can increase perceived contrast and sure doesn\u2019t hurt a monitor\u2019s visual appeal.<\/p>\n<p>The sides and rear of the Dell S2740L are finished in a matt black plastic that manages to look almost as premium, and which won\u2019t show off fingerprints or dust. The slim, curvy stand is silver plastic textured to resemble anodised aluminium (there\u2019s even a fake hinge imprint to add to the effect) while the base is a glass-like glossy black that perfectly matches the screen\u2019s glass-fronted shiny black bezels. <\/p>\n<p>Build quality throughout is pretty excellent. The plastics used in the Dell S2740L are thick and sturdy, without a hint of creak or unwanted flex anywhere. The stand provides a very stable base for this monitor.<\/p>\n<p><\/img><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"dell-s2740l2\">Dell S2740L \u2013 Adjustability and Connectivity<\/h2>\n<p>Our first negative with the Dell S2740L concerns its adjustability \u2013 or rather lack thereof. There\u2019s no swivel, height adjustment or pivot to be had here. Instead, all you get is tilt. While this is hardly unusual for a budget monitor, we were hoping for a little more from Dell given its past pedigree.<\/p>\n<p>Connectivity is very good. HDMI and DVI are joined by VGA on the video front, while a 3.5mm jack lets you output the HDMI\u2019s audio feed to external speakers. A two-port USB 2.0 hub is an unexpected bonus too. However, it must be said that the down-facing connectors are very difficult to get at, yet another reason why we miss pivot.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"dell-s2740l3\">Dell S2740L \u2013 Controls and OSD<\/h2>\n<p>Dell doesn\u2019t let the S2740L\u2019s buttons break its clean lines. Instead the controls are touch-based and, despite the lack of feedback, they\u2019re one of the better implementations we\u2019ve come across. <\/p>\n<p>The power \u2018button\u2019 uses a classic icon. Above it you\u2019ll find four tiny but distinct dots rather than the icons that so often represent touch controls. The reason this works so well is that the menus are context-sensitive and match up to virtual labels and menus on the screen, meaning you never need to wonder which physical \u2018button\u2019 does what.<\/p>\n<p>The top controls provide shortcuts to Presets and Contrast\/Brightness by default, but these can be customised to give direct access to Auto Adjust, Input Source, or Aspect Ratio settings instead. It\u2019s so handy to be able to set these shortcuts on more than one button, that it\u2019s definitely a feature we would like to see on every monitor.<br \/>\u00a0<br \/><\/img><br \/>Continuing with the good news, in the OSD menus are intuitively laid out and labels are pretty straightforward. However, once you dig down a little it becomes obvious that this monitor is aimed at the \u2018regular\u2019 consumer market rather than those after semi-professional image quality.<\/p>\n<p>For example, while there\u2019s a whole raft of presets, only Game mode lets you adjust Hue and\/or Saturation. There are no colour temperature settings. There is no sRGB or Image\/Photo preset, individual RGB colour control is limited to a single preset, and so on. Mind you, none of these things are deal-breakers if you\u2019re after a monitor for productivity, gaming or movie watching.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pros Stylish, premium-looking, well-built design Reasonable image quality Decent connectivity Superb OSD and controls Cons Glass front = reflections Low resolution = visible pixels Limited adjustability Cheaper alternatives also offer 3D Connectivity difficult to reach Key Specifications Review Price: \u00a3277.00 27-inch, 1920 x 1080 IPS panel Glass front, Tilt only HDMI, DVI, VGA, 3.5mm audio [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":623,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[45,13,14,15,16,12],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=622"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}