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February 22nd, 2021 12:00
U2421E vs U2520D
I'm struggeling with buying a new monitor and can't decide between the U2421E and the U2520D.
For the U2421E speaks: ComfortView Plus (an always on, built-in low blue light screen) because I work long hours and I regularly suffer from eyestrain in the evening.
For the U2520D: higher resolution (117ppi vs 94ppi) and hence more desktop surface.
Does anybody have any experience using one of these monitors?
Can you still read text without problems on the U2520D? Isn't it too small?
And is the ComfortView Plus an asset or just a gimmick?
Many thanks for any advice!
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jphughan
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February 22nd, 2021 16:00
@zueri8008 While I absolutely recommend QHD over FHD/WUXGA if you want additional workspace, I wouldn't recommend getting QHD resolution on a 25" display. 117 ppi is higher than most people will be able to use comfortably at 100% scaling, and if you have to enable a higher scale factor then you remove the benefit of the additional workspace because you're making things larger to compensate for the higher density, and some Windows applications still don't handle scaling well. If you want QHD, I'd go to a 27" display. That gives you a density of 108 ppi, and some people even find that a bit too small for comfort. Windows is designed around a reference pixel density of 96 ppi, for what it's worth.
As for blue light, Windows 10 has had "Night light" for several releases now, which can reduce blue light on the OS side. You can customize the "warmth" of night light mode and the timing, including a mode that causes it to go on and off according to sunset and sunrise on each day. And even before that was baked into Windows 10, there were applications like F.lux for this purpose. So unless you plan to use your display with other sources that can't do blue light reduction on their own, I wouldn't bother with that feature.
So if you can't fit or afford a 27" QHD display, I'd stick with 24" FHD or WUXGA (1920x1200). The additional vertical real estate of the latter over the former does make a difference even though it doesn't sound like much, so I'm glad that Dell has been bringing that resolution back on some of its laptops and desktop displays.
jphughan
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February 22nd, 2021 16:00
@zueri8008 Just as one fun fact about 27" QHD displays that I noticed when I upgraded from 24" WUXGA to 27" QHD. A 27" QHD display running at standard Windows scaling results in a physical size and pixel density that means that in Word or Acrobat, it is possible to show two 8.5x11 pages side-by-side, in their entirety (margins and all), in either portrait or landscape orientation (the pages, not the display), at full print size, meaning that if you hold up a physical 8.5x11 sheet of paper to the display, it will be the same size as the onscreen rendition. And you will still have room above and below those pages for the Word/Acrobat interface itself. That has turned out to be a pretty nice productivity perk for me.
zueri8008
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February 22nd, 2021 21:00
@jphughanthanks a lot for your extensive answer! It was really helpful and I'll go with the 24 inch and FHD resolution because I'll buy two of them. Two 27 inch monitors are a too big setup for me while one is not enough. Thanks again!
Jaded Koala
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October 6th, 2021 07:00
Its great to find that someone else @zueri8008 has gone through the same dilemma as me. I am starting with a 24 screen and kept thinking about getting either a second 24 or another monitor of 27 inch. After the long hours of work on the 24 I have found it (and ComfortView Plus) really comfortable (obviously the marketing name was well chosen).
Wanting to be able to refresh multiple apps and easily control window sizing I had firmly decided on two screens but was also interested in how the 25 inch would work. For a short time I thought about working with a 24 and 27 but then thought I will either just spend most of my time using the 27 as my workspace or dealing with an OCD issue of getting bugged by differing screen sizes. The WUXGA (1920x1200) on the 24 has certainly paid off and I am now keen to get a second 24 and extend my workspace.
I should add that I am really happy using the thunderbolt connection from my XPS laptop and wanted all my screens to have this option for future swops. One 27 inch with this option is (at the time of writing this) the same price as getting two 24 inch. So your question and your answer @jphughan have helped me cut down a thought process. Thanks. My wallet also helped.