Good news, everyone! Soon 4K monitors are going to start being actually affordable. Dell have just announced details of their new UltraSharp UHD range of monitors with price tags that might not give you a heart attack. It's hardly cheap , but we could soon be seeing a proper 28-inch 4K 3840 x 2160 Ultra High Def monitor for less than $1,000. That's cause to celebrate when When you consider that the only 4K monitor I've actually been able to get into the labs is Asus' 31.5-inch PQ321Q, which costs around £3,000 in the UK, that's a pretty hefty saving.
As well as the P2815Q 28-inch UltraSharp 28 Dell have also announced a 24-inch professional-grade screen starting at around $1,300, the UP2414Q Dell UltraSharp 24. Yup, that's a 24-inch screen with a 4K panel squeezed into it. As mentioned, it's a pro panel, which means an 8ms IPS screen, operating at 60Hz with a minute pixel pitch of just 0.137mm. That's the distance between each individual pixel and means this ought to be one crystal clear display.
We're approaching the Apple Retina "my god I can't even see the pixels" level of fidelity, but on a big classy desktop panel.
It might seem strange that Dell are talking about the 28-inch UHD screen costing less, but I believe that's going to be down to a different, cheaper, panel technology being used in the larger monitor. I'm not sure who the manufacturer of the actual panel is, but there is a 28-inch 4K TN screen doing the rounds in China.
We've all become used to the joys of IPS screens, with their great viewing angles and improved colour and contrast, so it might seem like a backwards step going for an old TN screen. But, as a gamer, sitting directly in front of the display you're not going to be suffering from limited viewing angles. There's also the fact that TN screens also have a higher response time. The panel the Dell monitor could be using has got a 3.5ms pixel response.
Of course we'll have to wait and see what they're like when they make it into my labs. The UP2414Q should be out this month, while the 28-inch P2815Q is likely not to make it out until early next year. You'll have my impressions once I've had a play with it.
