Dell U2311H

After the Dell U2211H reached our top score of five stars last week, it's only fair to expect similar results from its 23'' big brother.  And from the look of their specs, it seems that the only thing that separates the two monitors is their size.

Then again, if all you had to do to learn about a product was reading its tech specs, then DigitalVersus wouldn't need to exist ... and lots of you would probably end up disappointed when your new purchases don't live up to manufacturers' promises.

Build Quality and Design: Good, but could be better

Just like the 22'' version, the U2311H has great hardware with a height-adjustable stand, a portrait mode and VGA, DVI and Display Port inputq, with a four-port USB hub.  We remain disappointed by the absence of any audio features at all.

Good colours with the default settings, even better after calibration

Measured Colours

Ideal Colours Compare the Dell U2311H to other LCD monitors in our Product Face-Off

By default, the U2311H accurately reproduces colours, with a deltaE of 2.8, where scores of under 3.0 are considered acceptable.  Still, the 23'' still suffers from a slight blue tinge and shades of grey that are a little too light.

Moving from the Standard colour mode to Warm, you completely get rid of the excess blue and correct the level of brightness in different shades of grey.  This setting does add a little pink to pure white, but the overall effect is positive, brining the deltaE to 2.1.

With results like this, this monitor will answer the needs of the majority of users.  Only people who do a lot of intensive photo work or professional video editing will find fault, and they can use our calibration profile to perfect their results.

Responsiveness: A little slow for FPS

Coloured   Transparent
Average ghosting over ten frames

We didn't notice any difference in terms of responsiveness between this model and its 22'' counterpart: rapid moving objects are smooth, but not quite as fluid as on the best gaming monitors.  FPS fans will prefer the 2209WA, or better still, a 120 Hz display.

The same is true for the input lag, which remains below the perceptible threshold, so you won't be able to blame it if you mess things up at your next multiplayer session.

Movies

Although the U2311H keeps blurriness in check, you can't rely on it for upscaling.  You should go for a specialist player (either hardware or software) to do the job.