Fdg(6265456)

The Dell U2312HM was pretty much everything we have come to expect from a Dell UltraSharp screen. It was pleasing to see Dell have stuck with an e-IPS panel and the decent feature and function set ofthe older model (U2311H) has been retained. The major technology change here is the move away from CCFL and towards a W-LED backlighting unit. In practical terms this only really offers the end usera slightly thinner profile and a slightly lower power consumption compared with the older screen. There are environmental advantages as well and it's a big trend at the moment so you can see why itsbeen done with this model and others in their range.

From a performance point of view I was impressed in a couple of areas particularly. The input lag was incredibly low and basically this screenhad no lag at all. Panel uniformity from our retail stock sample was also very good which was a positive sign considering there have been mixed reports and issues in the past with lower cost e-IPSscreens. Let's hope other experiences are the same. Default colour setup was good as well, and responsiveness was very good, making it one of the faster 23" IPS models we have tested for sure. On the otherhand I was a little disappointed by the quite low contrast ratio of 710:1 once calibrated. This was moderate for an IPS panel and not what we had hoped for considering what we had seen on otherrecent IPS screens, including the 24" U2412M.

The U2312HM is available now at a retail price of ~£210 (inc VAT). This is a little more expensive than a couple of other competing screens like the AsusML239H (£180) and the LG IPS231P (£150). However the Dell brand, support and the feature set of the screen attracts this slightly higher price and it's still well worth a look in the 23" sector. It isstill a considerable amount cheaper than some of the 24" IPS models, including Dell's own U2412M (£300) so if you don't mind sacrificing a little bit of screen real-estate and resolution this would...