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Readers Write: Did we do the Dell justice in our duel?

Vincent Alzieu
February 10, 2010 11:06 AM

On Monday, our first ever duel saw two monitors, the Dell U2410 and the Samsung F2380M. The former took the lead thanks to its raw power, but the latter won out in terms of value for money. But since then, a reader has been in touch to suggest we didn't do the Dell justice.

Bonjour,

I'm always interested to read your tests, which are fair and balanced and useful for consumers. But I wanted to say that in your duel comparing Samsung and Dell monitors, you missed a couple of important things (at least for users who need an excellent image quality):

1. The Dell 2410 uses 10 bit colour (rather than the usual 8 bits)

2. The Dell should almost be able to display the whole Adobe RGB colour space.

It's hard to compare it with the Samsung. Please let your readers know about these two points.

Thanks,

Here's our response:

1 - "10 bit colour" : we are going to have to a series of in-depth tests on this subject. Last time, we didn't find this argument particularly convincing: when we couldn't tell the difference between 8 bit screens and those with more, we invited manufacturer Eizo to come and show off their hardware in our lab. We had the chance to try a professional display: a black-and-white screen for looking at ultra high resolution medical imaging. This model is fitted to medical scanners, extremely accurate and produced in a special lab. We put a good quality TN-based screen with 8 bit colour up against 10 and 14 bit screens. Neither we nor Eizo's representatives could tell the difference, either far away or zoomed in. Perhaps with a Display Port and some professional-level graphics cards, but we only had our standard test equipment, which nevertheless includes a high-end 10 bit output.

2 - "Adobe RGB" : we mention this in the conclusion, and you're right: some imaging professionals will need to go for the Dell every time, especially if they need to use an extended colour space. So, if it wasn't clear before, it is now.

Dell U2410

Samsung F2380M