Dell 27 Plus 4K Review (S2725QS): The Monitor Almost Everyone Should Buy

Pretty design. Sharp, 4K resolution. Thin and ray to move around. 120-Hz refresh complaint makes it consciousness accelerated and responsive. Surprisingly clear speakers. Incredible value.

No USB ports. Can't beryllium utilized arsenic a vertical show pinch stand.

At 1 time, having a 4K show felt for illustration a luxury. Now, acknowledgment to nan powerfulness of modern computers and nan melodramatic value drop, 4K monitors are nary longer unattainable upgrades. They're becoming nan standard.

The Dell 27 Plus 4K is nan champion illustration of this inclination I've seen truthful far. It mightiness not person each nan bells and whistles of a Dell UltraSharp monitor, nor nan mind-blowing image value of nan Dell 32 Plus OLED. But for my money, this is nan best monitor nan mean personification moving from location should buy—especially erstwhile it's connected discount. I've seen it dip arsenic debased arsenic $254, and that's a bargain for what you get.

The Dell Difference

Dell monitors person ever been pretty, and nan Dell 27 Plus 4K is nary different. The bezels are thin, and nan guidelines and guidelines aren't overly large. The “Ash White” colour looks cleanable connected my already-white desk. It mightiness not look arsenic master arsenic a metallic aliases achromatic model, but for location use, I for illustration nan white. The creation is worthy noting, too, since astatine this price, immoderate monitors thin to look really cheap. Despite nan integrative exterior connected nan Dell 27 Plus 4K, nan guidelines and guidelines person metallic inside, truthful they consciousness sturdy.

Setting up this show is simple, pinch nary devices required. Compared to astir monitors, it does person an other backplate that must beryllium tightened into nan guidelines (with a thumb screw), but it only takes a infinitesimal aliases truthful to propulsion nan various pieces retired of nan container and person it fresh to go.

The backmost of nan show has a modular VESA mount, making it cleanable for connecting to a show limb if that's your jam. The guidelines gives you a afloat scope of adjustments, including 5 inches of height, tilt, rotation, and swivel. Unfortunately, it doesn't spell precocious capable to rotate it wholly into a vertical monitor, which is simply a shame. (You tin still usage it vertically pinch a show arm.)

The 1 genuinely old-school point astir nan Dell 27 Plus 4K is nan larboard selection. All you've sewage is 2 HDMI 2.1 ports and a DisplayPort 1.4 port. That's it. No USB-C for single-cable connections. No headphone jack. No upstream USB ports. The deficiency of USB-C is annoying, arsenic truthful galore laptops these days vessel without HDMI. If you person a MacBook Air, Dell XPS 13, Surface Laptop, aliases countless other laptops pinch constricted ports, you'll beryllium stuck utilizing a USB hub aliases docking station to get them connected to this monitor. That's not nan extremity of nan world, but it's 1 of nan missing features that keeps this circumstantial exemplary from perfection.

The deficiency of USB intends you'll request to plug things for illustration extra storage, your mouse, keyboard, aliases different accessories straight into your laptop aliases into a dock. Clearly, this is an area successful which Dell compromised to get nan value down. Fortunately, Dell sells nan aforesaid show pinch an integrated USB-C hub, nan S2725QC model, for conscionable $50 more. That's good worthy nan money. If you'd alternatively person those ports complete nan resolution, Dell moreover sells a QHD (2K) model (2,560 x 1,440) for $245 pinch a built-in USB-C hub. This model's refresh complaint is only 75 Hz alternatively of 120 Hz, though.

A batch of people, particularly connected a desktop PC, whitethorn not request those other ports anyway, truthful I for illustration that Dell offers nan action and doesn't complaint outrageous prices to upgrade. You'll salary much than $100 for it, but it's 1 area wherever nan Samsung 27" ViewFinity S8 has an advantage, pinch USB-C connectivity and more. It moreover comes pinch a KVM move to sweeten nan deal. I haven't tested that show myself yet, but it's connected my database for that logic alone.

Sharp, Accurate, and Fast

The Dell 27 Plus has a 3,840 x 2,160 resolution, different known arsenic 4K aliases UHD. This is simply a 16:9 facet ratio, which is standard, and astatine this size, nan solution is incredibly sharp. You decidedly can't prime retired pixels. It's an IPS (in-plane switching) panel, which is besides modular for a activity show of this type.

IPS won't person nan heavy blacks and HDR capacity of OLED (or Mini-LED), aliases moreover nan improved opposition successful newer IPS Black panels, for illustration nan Dell UltraSharp 32 4K U3225Q. However, nan show goes up to 355 nits and has a opposition of 1,270:1, according to my ain measurements. The colors amazed maine arsenic well. It covers 100 percent of nan sRGB colour abstraction and 79 percent of AdobeRGB. With rather bully colour accuracy arsenic good (an mean colour accuracy of 1.16), it's moreover a decent action for contented creators looking for an affordable show to lucifer pinch a MacBook Pro.

The Dell 27 Plus 4K does person a matte coating, which I don't prefer. It's still reasonably different to find glossy panels, extracurricular of OLED monitors aliases nan Apple Studio Display (9/10, WIRED Recommends), which is 40 percent brighter than this monitor. I'll ever return nan crystal-clear look of a glossy display, moreover if it intends having to woody pinch glare from clip to time. The matte decorativeness isn't excessively noticeable, but it does make nan show consciousness somewhat dimmer and little vibrant. The bully news is that it does a bully occupation of resisting reflections and glare.

Thanks to nan 120-Hz refresh rate and AMD FreeSync Premium, nan Dell 27 Plus 4K is moreover a decent small gaming show erstwhile you request it to be. No, it's not going to compete pinch a dedicated gaming monitor, particularly 1 that is QHD pinch a 240-Hz refresh rate, for example. But if you request 4K for work, nan Dell 27 Plus 4K functions good arsenic a hybrid gaming-and-work monitor. I happily tried a fewer different games, including Cyberpunk 2077, Marvel Rivals, and Star Wars Outlaws. The precocious solution is better-suited for slower, single-player experiences, but you tin propulsion it down to little resolutions and bask immoderate faster-paced games pinch nan 120-Hz refresh rate.

That higher refresh complaint isn't conscionable for gaming, though. Dell has been among nan first to present 120-Hz refresh rates crossed nan committee successful its mainstream user monitors. It makes for a overmuch smoother acquisition successful astir everything you do, from scrolling a webpage to moreover conscionable moving nan cursor. Trust me, erstwhile you spell to 120 Hz, you won't want to spell backmost to 60 Hz. It goes a agelong measurement toward making moreover this affordable show consciousness premium.

I fto nan brace of integrated 5-watt speakers ringing out, and again, I recovered myself surprised. For soul show speakers, I recovered myself enjoying nan experience. There's immoderate bass that tin beryllium heard, and overall, I've heard acold worse. The speakers really do elevate nan gaming experience, and I moreover recovered myself listening to euphony casually pinch them. (You should astir apt still snag immoderate computer speakers.)

Just Buy It

There are areas wherever nan Dell 27 Plus 4K feels bare-bones, particularly nan ports. And location are different areas wherever it goes supra and beyond, specified arsenic successful nan refresh complaint and speakers. But this each has to beryllium considered wrong nan discourse of this monitor's price. There aren't galore different name-brand 27-inch 4K monitors retired location for little than $300. The closest point Lenovo and HP person is astatine slightest hundreds of dollars more. LG and Samsung travel adjacent pinch their options, but their 4K 27-inch monitors only person a 60-Hz refresh rate.

If nan larboard business is simply a problem for you, which I tin afloat understand, I'd urge checking retired nan S2725QC model. But if you've been moving from location connected a crusty aged 1080p show for excessively long, nan Dell 27 Plus 4K is nan 4K upgrade you've been waiting for.