Dell S2721HGF

The Dell S2721HGF offers stoning contrast, decent refresh rate and reasonable color at a low price, so it’s a good mainstream gaming display – but don’t expect too many extra features or top color accuracy.

Introduction

It’s tempting to assume that gaming gear is always expensive, but panels like the Dell S2721HGF reject that common notion with temptingly low prices.

To that end, Dell says the S2721HGF will deliver solid mainstream quality. With a 27in diagonal of the display with 1080p resolution and a 144Hz refresh rate, it shows a tick mark, at least on paper-boxes.

Lower prices make compromises, though, so I’m interested to see if Dell is a bargaining chip or an affordable one.

Price and availability

The Dell S2721HGF is priced at £ 199 in the UK, $ 229 in the US, and € 219 in Europe, making it one of the cheapest big-brand gaming monitors you can find right now.

This is basically the younger brother of the Dell S3220DGF, which I reviewed in April. This display has a 32in diagonal, a 2560 x 1440 resolution and a slightly better refresh rate of 165Hz, but it costs 399 / $ 419 / € 399.

Design and features

• Solid mainstream display technology, but nothing more
• Moderate adjustment options and rigid movements
• There are no additional features like USB port or RGB LED

On the Dell S2721HGF, Dell has spent most of the budget on the panel, which makes sense when you are creating an affordable gaming display – above all, the gaming experience should be a priority.

The 27in display uses VA technology that provides more contrast than the average IPS screen and has a resolution of 1920 x 1080. Dell’s refresh rate is 144Hz and it is compatible with both AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync.

Positively, the 1080p resolution is high enough to make games look decent, but not so much that affordable graphics cards will struggle. Almost any modern AMD or Nvidia card will be able to handle this screen, especially if you want to change the graphics settings. This is a decent resolution for playing eSports titles, because of their higher frame rate and more taxing on PC hardware.

Negatively, though, extending a 1080p resolution across a 27in display provides a density level of 82ppi. It’s low, and that means Dell isn’t particularly sharp. It won’t stop mainstream gaming, but the image here is noticeably less crisp than other displays; Easy to see pixels.

This is an amazing budget deal, and if you’re not happy about it, you’ll want to spend more: a 27in gaming display with a 144Hz refresh rate and 2560 x 1440 resolution will cost you at least / 250 / $ 259/250 250.

As mentioned, the 144Hz refresh rate is ideal for mainstream gaming and eSports, but if you’re serious about competitive gaming, you’ll want to spend more on the 240Hz panel. Elsewhere, Dell offers a 4ms response time and 8-bit color, which is a solid figure. The S2721HGF has a 1500R curve; It’s subtle, but it makes this panel a little more absorbent.

Essentially the plain exterior is primarily made of plastic, and the build quality is moderate একটু there is little movement toward the back, and it shakes when the monitor is touched. You can’t get too much decoration without the plastic slates on the back. Dell is at least easy to build; Also, it weighs only 6.8 kg and has a very thin bezel, so it is ideal if you want to create a relatively affordable multi-monitor setup.

Consistency is minimal. The S2721HGF provides 100mm height adjustment, 26 degree tilt and 100mm VESA support; There is no swiveling or portrait mode. In terms of movement, this monitor is rigid; It is difficult to move the display vertically without applying a lot of force.

The stand comes with a hole for cable-routing and around the back you’ll find two HDMI ports and a displayport connector. OSD is operated by a joystick and a quartet of buttons. They work fine: the controls are sleek, and the menu is well organized, if a little blind. Dell has no USB port and no speakers.

Not surprisingly, USB ports, RGB LEDs or other features will cost more. As the resolution increases, expect to pay at least / 250 / $ 259 / € 250 for a monitor with more features, and you’ll see the price increase as you add more power to the display.

Image quality

• Fantastic contrast, meaning depth and punch
• The colors are good, but not great
• Solid mainstream refresh rate and sync capability

Dell’s decision to use VA technology in this display is strikingly striking. I used a colormeter to measure the out-of-the-box performance of the S2721HGF and gave the Dell 251 a brightness level of nits and a fantastic black point of 0.08 nits.

These figures create a contrasting ratio of 3138: 1, which is a brilliant figure with impressive real-world effects. This ensures that the games have lots of punches and the colors are always bold. Its darker area has more depth and finesse than any IPS display. Fantastic contrast was maintained even at low brightness levels. Dark areas appear real black on this screen – with even worse contrast on some IPS displays, they look gray.

I turned away from the contrast, towards the color, and Dell has become a little more mediocre – no wonder for an affordable VA screen.

The Dell Delta E of 2.16 is decent but not outstanding, and the same can be said for its 6359K color temperature – together they present colors that are good enough for mainstream gaming, but expensive panels will be more accurate.

Dell’s display rendered 90.8% of the sRGB color gamut, which is another mediocre result. This means that Dell will create most of the shades needed for the games, but not all – you will miss 10% of the more extreme shades in the galaxy. This is another thing that you will not notice when you are gaming every day, but if you spend more cash then of course that number will be close to 100%.

My additional experiments have revealed that there are a few more areas where Dell continues to be merely average. Its backlight power is reduced by 15% in the lower-left corner and 21% in the lower-right corner, which is a high figure for a 27in display.

I noticed some backlight bleeding along the bottom edge. You’re only going to notice these issues in a darker, more stable scene, but it’s still worth remembering. Not surprisingly, this screen does not have the ability to handle HDR content: it is not bright enough and it cannot render enough DCI-P3 gamut.

Expert color modes are also not particularly good. The best option is RPG mode, but it keeps the image virtually unchanged by default. MOBA, RTS and sports modes all reduce the Delta E, so the colors lose their accuracy. The FPS option adds an uncomfortable pixelation to the text, perhaps to sharpen the screen – but it’s confusing and unnecessary.

My final test is about gaming, and that’s mostly good news. The 144Hz refresh rate is easily high enough to make single-player games look butter-smooth, and that’s enough to handle mainstream sports gameplay. There are rarely any spooky incidents, unless you insist on using the most difficult overdrive mode, and Dell’s input lag and response time performance is consistently decent. S2721HGF Smooth, crisp and impressive.

Conclusion

The affordable Dell S2721HGF monitor focuses on the core gaming experience and performs reasonably well. Its huge contrast ratio and deep black dot means give games a lot of depth and punch, and the color figures are good enough to render mainstream titles with appropriate precision. Refresh rate also provides smooth gameplay.

Of course, the budget bites in some areas. Dell offers moderate compatibility, unpleasant looks, and rarely any extra features, and its 1080p resolution is minimal for gaming – a 1440p panel will look even more glamorous. Dealing with these issues will result in a better experience, but the price will increase accordingly as seen with the choice of Samsung Odyssey G7.

Is this one of the best gaming monitors you can buy? No, but it has the quality and specificity to handle any low-cost as well as any mainstream gaming task and it makes it a winner.

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