Hey Guys,

Here's the situation. I need to get a new monitor for my PC. I'm considering either the Dell U2412M or the U2414H. The 12M is the wirecutter's pick for a good monitor, however it's a bit old and uses older connector technology. The 14H is $50 more but it looks much slicker with a much smaller bezel, and more modern ports (I particularly like the USB 3.0 quick charging port). I think the colour gamut is a little wider for the 14H but not by much so I guess the displays themselves could be considered about the same.

I'm just not sure if the sleeker look and more modern ports for the 14H are worth the extra $50. Also something that throws a wrench into the works is that the 12M is usually more expensive than the 14H but is on sale right now, so maybe the 12M is a better buy due to the higher MSRP?

P.S. I am going to be running it off of a R9 270X.

Let me know your thoughts!

http://accessories.dell.com/sna/products/Gaming_Accessories/productdetail.aspx?c=ca&l=en&s=dhs&cs=cadhs1&sku=320-2676

http://accessories.dell.com/sna/products/Gaming_Accessories/productdetail.aspx?c=ca&l=en&s=dhs&cs=cadhs1&sku=860-BBCG

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/dell-u2412m-monitor-best-monitor/

Got specs? Googled 2012M and 2014H and didn't really find much on the first few hits. The closest thing I could find were pages from forums in 2012.

Always be IPS monitoring.

They're both IPS, I hyperlinked the sites for the specs at the start of my post but i can just paste them if it's not working for you.

Ah, that's why google didn't come up with anything. They're 2412/2414.

Biggest thing I'd consider is resolution. 2412 is 1920x1200. 2414 is 1920x1080. You're hard pressed to find a 1920x1200 monitor nowadays. So, it's either an older model or carries a premium for that resolution.

I'm a huge fan of 1920x1200. But I use my computers for more than gaming. I'm running a 7950 that's overclocked to 7970 speeds and it's nothing but smooth sailing at 1200p.

If you're just going to be gaming, I'd go for the 14. A lower resolution means you'll be getting higher frame rates on your video card. You'll have HDMI inputs to add consoles. The 14 looks pretty sexy, bezel wise. It's also LED backlit.

There's a thread on the Hardforums regarding the monitor. The guys who picked them up seem to like them. Looks like a few people pushed them to ~70hz refresh, too.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1793502

@zelyre: Oh sorry, I've corrected it now. Thanks for the input, I'll have a look on that forum and see if it sways me one way or another. I will probably use my computer for CAD and modelling with COMSOL as well so maybe the extra space will be worth it. Damn this is a tough choice! Why did you have to make two similarly priced, differently-awesome monitors? DAMN YOU DELL!

I have the U2412M and love it. It's the best monitor I've ever used. Especially for something like CAD, which I also use.

Also, despite what's been said, you're unlikely to get a much better frame rate just because your monitor has an extra measly 120 lines of resolution to process. So I honestly wouldn't worry about that too much. Besides, both AMD and Nvidia have options to put the monitor into 1920x1080 mode anyway.

@jsnyder82: Yeah, I'm not worried about game performance. The 270X is quite a bit more powerful than the new consoles so it should be able to run new games fine at either resolution for at least a few years. It's reported to run smoothly at 1600P even. It's really down to aesthetics and modern available ports vs lower (but normally higher) price but older ports and not so nice looks.

@rollingzeppelin: I do kind of wish there was an HDMI port on this monitor. Although you can buy a DVI-to-HDMI cable, they're pretty cheap on Monoprice. And I wouldn't suggest hooking up a console to a 16:10 monitor because the image will be stretched. But if you're planning on using this solely as a computer monitor, I can't recommend it enough.

Oh, and as someone who uses CAD, a 16:10 monitor feels much less cramped compared to a 16:9 for using those types of programs.

hmmm, I am thinking of hooking up my console to it at some point, but I might also just wind up getting a TV later on. Too many options!

TFT Central Is Your Friend

They just recently reviewed the 2414 and stacked it up against the 2412, the 2414 is a great choice (especially with that beautiful 4ms input latency).