Dell Ultrasharp 2408WFP 24" Widescreen LCD

Dell uses an LCD panel which uses S-PVA technology, which means that Samsung is likely the brains behind the actual LCD panel. S-PVA offers 10-bit color, which is in-line with Dell’s claims of supporting a wider color gamut compared to the majority of large-screen monitors. It’s clear that Dell has taken their time and focused a lot of efforts on clarity and color precision with the 2408WFP – and it shows through. This is arguably the most beautiful screen which we've tested out of the box. For reference, we have Dell’s 30” 3007WFP right next to this screen in testing, and tons of experience with the Dell’s older 2407WFP 24" model. Even with this range of high-end monitors against it, the 2408WFP showcases a very noticeable difference in color. Right out of the box, our screen was perfectly calibrated, making our other screens look dingy and old.

Obviously, the screen shipped with no dead pixels. As the Ultrasharp is Dell’s premium lineup, it would be embarrassing to still be dealing with this problem in this day and age. Dell now has a policy that they will exchange your panel for free if any bright/stuck/dead pixels appear in the first three years, which is a pretty solid indicator of the quality levels expected here.

As a desktop display, the 2408WFP works brilliantly. A 24” display at 1920 x 1200 resolution is just about the perfect sized display for business usage in our opinion. Colors are vibrant and crisp, video looks great, especially when played back at the screen's full 1080P (1920x1200) resolution. Below are some snaps of the camera without any color retouching.
 

Dell 2408WFP showing a Windows Vista desktop

As a gaming display, again, just about perfect, with a 6ms pixel refresh rate and no noticable lag. 1920 x 1200 resolution works well in a gaming environment as well, as most mid-to-high-end cards can play games at this resolution quite well. A 24” definitely does not have the same total visual immersion aspect like 30” displays do, but they’re still a great size for gaming.
 

Dell 2408WFP showing Half Life 2 : Episode One

Workstation users will dig the 2408WFP as well. Not only does the high-resolution allow for additional workspace (check out all the Photoshop real-estate below), but the monitor’s crazy number of inputs also allow you to monitor / swap between a number of systems with just a few presses of the input button. The top notch color accuracy and integrated card reader support mean that the display will likely be well regarded by photographers and digital artists.
 

Dell 2408WFP showing Adobe Photoshop CS3

Really, we could not find any major flaw in regards to the performance of the screen. It’s bright, has excellent contrast, performs as fast as one would expect, and is surprisingly easy on the eyes. Some users have complained about their screens being “too blue” or “too pink”. Eyes can be tricky sometimes, as you may have adopted to an incorrect color schema with your current display, so a properly configured display can look “off” for some time while your eyes adjust. Or, Dell could just be shipping some which are configured wrong – we can’t say for sure. We can say that our test display was configured well, definitely a bit “colder” compared to most monitors, but our whites and blacks were extremely vivid and appeared more lifelike.