Noise
I am very touchy when it comes to noises. For me, a monitor has to be absolutely silent – even the slightest noise annoys me immediately. I went through an odyssey with the Samsung SyncMaster 245b because of its noise emissions which ended with me returning the screen to the dealer.
Unfortunately, almost every screen does emit noise of some kind. No power supply is perfectly silent and usually you can hear it when you listen closely to the back of your screen. Worse is usually the noise that is often emitted when monitors are dimmed in brightness. These are often much louder than the power supply and in contrast to the latter much easier to notice in front of the screen.
The power supply of the Dell UltraSharp 2709W is relatively peaceful. As usual you can notice it when you are listening behind the screen, but in front of the monitor I can not perceive it.
As expected, the dimmer is more troublesome. In some brightness settings the 2709W emits some noise/humming which is noticeable in front of the monitor. They are not as bad as with the 245b, but they are there. What saves the 2709W for me is that it is silent at brightness settings 0 and 50. These are exactly the two levels which are important for me. Obviously, complete silence over all levels would be preferable – but since none of the 4 flat screens which I have tested (Samsung SyncMaster 245b, 226bw, Dell 2407WFP and 2709W) yet could offer that, I’m starting to believe that this is not possible with current back lighting technology (looking forward to LED-backlights…).
People who are as sensitive to noise as I am should still be cautious. My experience with several 245b models has shown me that the silent brightness varies can vary strongly with each specimen. I do not know if it also varies on the 2709W, but you should be prepared. Also, reviews are usually hardly reliable when it comes to noise, since the noise perception depends on too many factors (hearing power, room acoustics, spread for standard factory models …).
6 replies on “My Dell UltraSharp 2709W (Review / Test)”
[…] Sander of Germany reviewed the 2709W in January 2009… The Dell UltraSharp 2709W rocks! The monitor looks cool, provides a good […]
Hi
I realy liked your review, was wondering if you could give me some advice on this monitor, im looking at either buying the dell 2408 or 2709, the monitors are nearly equaly priced here is australia and a 27 inch sounds really tempting.
i am concerned about the brightness as you have claimed, i will be using the monitor for everyday use and also CAD use, is there a differnce in the brightness control between the two montiors, i also dont want to be getting a hedache from prolonged use on the 27 inch. is there any qaulity difference in regards to text sharpness on the 2709 compared to the 2408 ?
Thankyou in advance.
G
Hello Gerrie,
I’m sorry, but I cannot compare the UltraSharp 2709W with the 2408. I have never seen the latter one in real life. The 24″ Dell that I have used was a different model.
But I can tell you that I have been using the 2709W for quite some time now and I did not develop a chronic headache or something. 🙂 I always use the screen at its lowest brightness setting, which is a little too bright for darkened rooms, but not headache-bright. During daylight, the screen is dark enough.
Greetings,
Florian
Can you really not reduce the brightness of the monitior? that would seem quite a strange thing for the manufacturers to do.
It puts me off that monitor as I find very bright monitors do make my eyes tired much faster at night.
Thanks for the heads up I might go for the samsung instead now.
You can reduce the brightness, just not as much as with for example the Samsung monitor. The Samsung can get pretty dark, while the Dell UltraSharp 2709W just varies between blindingly bright and normal bright. 🙂
[…] Sander of Germany reviewed the 2709W in January 2009… The Dell UltraSharp 2709W rocks! The monitor looks cool, provides a good […]