dell 8 K MONITOR
Take your desktop to the next level with this 33-million pixel display
Take your desktop to the next level with this 33-million pixel display
£2,758 dell.com
You thought your 4K screen was super-crisp and clear? No, this is how you do crisp and clear. With a resolution of 7680x4320 (four times the pixels of a 4K screen), this 32-inch monitor has a pixel density of 275ppi – it’s almost like looking at print. This is cutting-edge stuff, and the result is an intriguing mix of a stellar upside partnered with occasional niggles.
Scale fail
For example, running Windows at default 100 per cent scaling isn’t an option with this kind of pixel density. Everything is far too tiny. On the other hand, cranking up the scaling comes with its own problems. Issues, for instance, like the fact that few websites are properly coded for high-DPI displays. That’s not always apparent on a small smartphone or tablet screen, but it’s all too obvious on a large desktop display.
Those caveats aside, there’s lots to enjoy here. Crispness and precision are on another level, and viewing really high-resolution images in all their glory is an obvious, but massive, bonus.
For motion video, the step up from 8K isn’t as dramatic as that from 1080p to 4K, even if that’s a fairly academic observation given that virtually no 8K content exists. It’s also worth noting that smooth, native-resolution gaming is largely an impossibility at 8K, even with the most powerful current graphics solutions. Upscaled games still look excellent, though.
Elsewhere the panel itself is a fabulous IPS affair, with fantastic viewing angles, supersmooth gradient rendering, plenty of detail in both white and black scales, and vivid, punchy colours. Generally, it’s very nicely calibrated out of the box at default settings, bar a slight warmth to the colour temperature.
There are also some setup and running issues. You need a video card with dual DisplayPort 1.2 connections to enjoy the full 8K experience at 60Hz. Even then, the display has issues coming out of a Windows-induced sleep. More of a long-term concern are the high temperatures at which the panel runs – it’s painfully hot across the top bezel. That said, for an early adopter product there’s some exciting potential here.