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Hi guys! Today I'll be performing a review on Dell U2515H UltraSharp IPS Monitor and share my experiences after using it for few months. This QHD 2560x1440 Widescreen 25" monitor was released around December 2014 with SRP (Suggested Retail Price) of 400 USD (1400 MYR). Dell is one of the computer monitor manufacturers that has finally brought 2K resolution into smaller size monitor that is commonly found in 27 inch monitor and above. Before diving into the review, let's take a quick glance over the features that this product offers and also get an overview of the technical specifications.

Intro: Size comparison between U2713HM (left) and U2515H (right). The U2515H has slimmer bezels (8mm) compared to U2713HM thick bezel (20mm). Dell U2515H is twice more vivid and brighter when both monitors are set to the same brightness contrast.



Features
1. Superior screen clarity meets complete color precision for a brilliant viewing experience.
2. Enjoy 25″ of superb screen clarity on a sharp QHD 2560 x 1440 resolution monitor.
3. Get great color consistency across an ultra-wide 178 Degree/178 Degree viewing angle.
4. Get exceptional color accuracy and consistency right out of the box, with each monitor factory tuned at 99% serge with a delta.
5. Help boost your productivity with a dual or multi-monitor setup.
6. Easy Arrange lets you choose how you view your custom window layout. See all your applications tiled side by side with nothing buried.
7. Work the way you want. Position your monitor for ultimate comfort with a full range of tilt, pivot, swivel and height adjustments along with easy connections to your PC and peripherals.
8. Your Dell Ultra Sharp 25 Monitor U2515H is designed to be pixel perfect. That’s why if you find even just one bright pixel, we’ll replace it under our Premium Panel Guarantee


Technical Specification
Size: 25" Wide Screen (63.44 cm)
Panel Coating: Light AG coating
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Interfaces: 2 HDMI (MHL) connector, 1 Mini DisplayPort, 1 DisplayPort (version 1.2), 1 DisplayPort out (MST)
Resolution: 2560 x 1440
Pixel Pitch: 0.216 mm
Design colour: Matte black bezel with silver stand/base
Response Time: 6ms G2G (Fast mode), 8ms G2G (normal mode)
Ergonomics: Tilt, height, swivel and rotate (left and right)
Static Contrast Ratio: 1000:1
Dynamic Contrast Ratio: 2 million:1
VESA Compatible: Yes 100mm
Brightness: 50 - 350 cd/m2
Accessories: Cable cover, power cord, DisplayPort to Mini DP cable, USB cable, factory calibration report
Viewing Angles: 178 / 178
Panel Technology: LG.Display AH-IPS
Weight: monitor without stand is 4.4Kg
Backlight Technology: W-LED
Physical Dimensions: (WxHxD with stand height range) 569.0 x 398.0 - 512.5 x 205.0 mm
Colour Depth: 16.78m (8-bit)
Refresh Rate: 60Hz
Special Features: 5x USB 3.0 ports (1 fast charge), DisplayPort out, audio out, factory calibration
Colour Gamut: Standard gamut 99% sRGB, ~72% NTSC


What's in the box
1 x Monitor with stand
1 x Cable cover
1 x Power cable
1 x DP cable ( Mini-DP to DP)
1 x USB 3.0 upstream cable (enables the USB port on the monitor)
1 x Drivers and documentation media
1 x Factory Calibration report
1 x Quick setup guide
1 x Safety Information

This post has been edited by asunakirito: Mar 11 2017, 01:05 PM

Dell U2515H Packaging

Packaging-1: The front of the U2515H box displays a picture of the monitor in the center along with Dell logo located at the top left corner.


Packaging-2: The rear of the box reveals the U2515H Input-Output (IO) Connections, the slim 8mm (0.31") bezel size and the display features: Quad HD resolution 2560x1440 at 60Hz (Max) + Wide 178 degree viewing angle with 99% sRGB coverage + Supports DP, mDP, DP out, HDMI (MHL), 5 x USB 3.0 (downstream), Audio-Line out.


Packaging-3: On the left side of the packaging displays a list of items that comes inside the box. Cables included: Power Cable, DP cable (Mini DP-DP), USB 3.0 upstream cable. On the right side of the packaging displays the dimension of the monitor: diagonal is 635 mm (25"), width is 569 mm (22.4"), depth is 205 mm (8.07") and height is 512.5 mm (20.18"). It also includes 2 sticky labels (the shipping address) and the serial number aka S/N and DP/N number. The two U2515H monitor I have with me is A01 Revision manufactured in January 2015 and March 2015.


Packaging-4: On the top of the box, it's sealed with Dell wrapper with a warning label "If this seal is broken or the package is damaged, check contents before signing receipt". It also has 5 steps shown in picture on how to extract the contents out of the box with care to avoid the monitor from accidentally drop out.

Dell U2515H Unboxing

Unboxing-1: Cutting Dell's seal and opening the box flaps first reveals the cables (USB cable, mini display port to display port), CD and user manual guide, and cable cover to hide the IO behind the monitor.


Unboxing-2: Upon sliding out the contents carefully, we finally see the monitor stand wrapped nicely with thin foam paper and also the power cord in a sealed bag. Ensure that the box flap handle on the sides does not get trapped internally as it will prevent the box content from extracting out smoothly.


Unboxing-3: Here are all the contents located on the top of the monitor. You can remove them first before taking out the monitor panel.


Unboxing-4: Here is the item underneath the monitor stand. It's the U2515H monitor panel covered in plastic foam wrapper to prevent any unwanted scratches.




Dell U2515H Accessories

Accessory-1: Here is all the accessories that comes inside the U2515H box! Starting from top to bottom: the cable cover, a user guide with CD containing the necessary installation driver (which I did not use but downloaded the latest Dell Display Manager from the official Dell website), a factory calibration monitor report, and 3 cables.


Accessory-2: Starting from left to right: mini Display Port to Display Port, USB cable (USB Type A male to USB Type B male), and 3-pin UK plug power cord.


This post has been edited by asunakirito: May 24 2015, 08:41 AM

Dell U2515H Design

Design-1: Unwrapping the Dell monitor reveals yet another foamy protection on the front! This pretty much provides lots of safety from scratches during shipment!


Design-2: On the rear of the U2515H, we can find a 100x100mm Vesa mount and the IO (Input Output) connection. You can purchase Dell Single Monitor Arm MSA14 to use the Vesa Mount for better flexibility in positioning the monitor. Also, you can find the Serial Number behind too! Dell customer support will require this serial number for monitor panel replacement. I noticed that my first new Dell U2515H monitor had some hard rubbing/scratches on the rear. I guess that this monitor is definitely not a new one, probably second hand?


Design-3: Taking a closer look at the IO from left to right, we can find the power, 2 x HDMI (MHL), 1 x Display Port (input), 1 x Mini Display Port (input), 1 x Display Port (output), 3.5mm Audio Jack, USB Port Type B (female), 4 x USB 3.0 downstream. Dell offers a Soundbar such as AC511 that can simply snaps snugly to the bottom of this monitor to be connected via the audio jack port. Do note that this monitor does not have any VGA or DVI connection, therefore ensure your computer motherboard or graphic card has Display Port or HDMI port in order to use this monitor! I have tested the HDMI (MHL) port with a Nvidia GTX 760 2GB and it displays 2560x1440 resolution flawlessly by default. For older graphic cards that uses HDMI below 1.4 might encounter smaller resolution of 2048x1152.


Design-4: On the rear panel itself, there is a Dell lock port (left) and a SuperSpeed aka SS USB 3.0 port (right) for your mobile devices. Dell offers a premium lock known as LP500 to secure your monitor with a carbon-tempered steel that easily attaches to monitor standard security lock slot.


Design-5: Here is the a look at the Dell Monitor stand. It uses black and silver theme. The previous Dell monitor stand is all black. What I did not really like about this new stand is the sharp corner on the front that pierces users finger when lifting this monitor up. This issue is not found in the older monitor stand as its curved smoothly. There is a serial number placed on the monitor stand too.


Design-6: To install the monitor stand to the monitor panel, simply placed the monitor panel with its face facing downwards, and gently hook the monitor stand into the 2 mini holes at the Vesa mount area. A noticeable click sound will appear to indicate its a successful lock. To remove the monitor stand, simply press the button just below the Vesa mount area and lift up the monitor stand away from the monitor panel. The bottom of the monitor stand comes with 5 anti-slip rubber padding. A blue line done with a permanent marker made by the Dell factory staff is an indicator of the monitor facing front without any swivel to the left-right.


Comparison-1: Here is a quick comparison between the U2515H (left) and U2713HM (right) size. It's not just longer but also its much more thicker. I noticed that U2515H generates slightly lesser heat compared to U2713HM when having it turned on for couple of hours.


Comparison-2: Below is a photo with 3 different custom DPI (100%, 125% and 150%). For day to day usage, I used 150% for both 25 and 27 inch monitor. 100% font is really small and causes eye strains when viewing monitors for a long period of time at a distance more than 1 arm's length.


This post has been edited by asunakirito: May 24 2015, 09:56 AM

Dell U2515H Orientation: Landscape and Portrait

Single Monitor

Single-1: Dell U2515H Landscape mode with maximum height adjusted! It goes higher than my Edifier R2730DB Studio Monitor speakers!


Single-2: Dell U2515H Landscape mode with minimum height adjusted! It goes below than my Edifier R2730DB Studio Monitor speakers!


Single-3: Dell U2515H Portrait mode with maximum height adjusted. With this height, its similar to Dell U2713HM with minimum height adjusted. It's pretty high and does strain my neck a little when viewing up closed, especially when you need to find those Internet browser tabs.


Single-4: Dell U2515H Portrait mode with minimum height adjusted. With this low height, it makes it a sweet spot for reading long documents in browser or PDF reader. However, you need to be careful of not having sharp objects near the bottom of the monitor stand as you might scratch it. It's best to leave some gap between the monitor and monitor stand.


Dual Monitor

Dual-1: As you can see from the photo, the Dell U2515H can be rotated either left or right side to be portrait mode. For older Dell widescreen monitor such as U2713HM, it can only be rotated left side only. This makes it really flexible for monitor rotational method.


Dual-2: Here is another perspective of the dual landscape U2515H monitor with 4 documents opened up simultaneously. I prefer this orientation much more since websites commonly uses 1280 as their website width while the 1440 height resolution gives ample space for vertical viewing.


Dual-3: This portrait and landscape setup for U2515H provides users greatness of both worlds. Users can view lengthy documents on the portrait monitor for referencing, while their landscape monitor will acts as the main for watching movies/gaming or video-audio editing that requires long horizontal width.


Dual-4: Dual Dell U2515H in portrait mode. Best if you are only using for reading documentation, e-book, PDF, etc. You can watch movies or TV shows with it, but its preferable with triple monitors though. For gaming, you might get annoyed with the bezel located at the center. I tried to align as best as possible but the gaps persist due to the rotational swivel that does not align 100% vertically straight.


Dual-5: With dual portrait widescreen monitor, you can also view 4 documents in this orientation too but it seems too crowded. If it's just text without much images, it's still bearable. I would recommend to have 1 browser per portrait monitor since 1440 resolution split into half which is 720 resolution doesn't provide much space for most website width.

Dell U2515H User Experience
When I first got my Dell U2515H monitor and turned it on, I was pretty shocked that it was so yellowish as a whole. I wondered how did Dell factory calibrated the monitor. Spending approximately 30 minutes tweaking the Color Preset using Custom Colors, I had managed to get it close to 95% white. The images were so much sharper-crisper compared to my U2713HM. However, when I started working using my Image Editor, I noticed there is a yellowish tint on left side of the screen. Instantly, I ran other applications that has a white background such as Notepad++ and FireFox browser with Google Search. To my horror, I noticed a dirty dark yellow tint formed at the bottom of the screen and yellowish tint smearing on the left side of the screen. Googling on this issue turns out that a few Dell U2515H owners reported this yellow tint issue on tech forum, but the reviews from verified customers on Amazon doesn't seem to encounter this issue at the point I received my monitor.

Another issue that I found out is the Dell U2515H daisy chaining via the Display Port 1.2 out. How I setup the daisy chaining is having Dell U2515H mDP to DP connected to the graphic card while the Dell U2713HM hooked up to Dell U2515H using DP to DP cable via the DP out. When I powered up my computer (the fans were spinning in my computer rig), both monitor shows "No Display Connected". Turning on/off the monitor nor plugging the cable out from the graphic card does not help in resolving this issue too. I had to manually force to restart my computer in order for the monitor display to work.

After reporting this issue to Dell customer service center, the customer support requests me to provide the necessary details (e.g. Serial Number) and also some photo of the monitor yellow tint via e-mail. Next, the customer support responded that they will do a 1-to-1 replacement. Remarkably, the monitor replacement is done within 2 business days which is a good experience! They also provide me some flexibility to return the monitor 1 week later after I confirmed everything is alright on my side. I had to repackage the yellow-tinted faulty monitor and store it into the box that the replacement monitor came in that had a green label with instructions on it. No extra charges on my side for the courier shipping! Strangely, the monitor replacement I received was manufactured in January 2015 with the same Revision Number A01 but does not have serious yellow tinting than the first one I had which was manufactured on March 2015.

After using the Dell U2515H monitor in different orientation, I found it best to use it in landscape. For dual monitor, landscape is still much preferred. Reason being, with a 2560x1440 resolution, it provides much more real estate for 4 documents. 2 documents side by side in each monitor, with 1 document using 1280x1440 space!). I feel that triple landscape monitor is a little bit overwhelming as I would need to move my neck/eyes more. However, triple portrait monitor will be much better as it does not take up as much horizontal space compared to a dual landscape monitor.

I also learned that purchasing the same monitor size preferably the same model either from Dell or other reputable manufacturers is important so it can be used to watch movies or play games with equal width and height stretched out. Another important factor to be considered is the bezel. Bezel is the black border that goes around the monitor. The slimmer it gets for the bezel, it will be a less of a distraction in watching TV shows/movies that uses both sides of the monitor.



Dell U2515H Video

Dell U2515H Dual Portrait Ultrasharp Monitor


Dell U2713HM vs U2515H Landscape Widescreen Monitor




This post has been edited by asunakirito: May 24 2015, 11:13 AM

Dell U2515H Verdict
The Dell U2515H UltraSharp Monitor gets my recommendation and thumbs up. If you are looking for a flexible monitor that comes with a superior monitor stand (capable of swivel, rotate with height adjustment), slim bezels (8mm), uses IPS panel, costs almost half of 27 inch monitor, superb warranty and provides QHD 2K 2560x1440 resolution, I highly recommend you to get this monitor without second thoughts. It's great for office work hands-down. However, I need to highlight that it does provides less of an immersive experience for users who plans to watch movie/TV shows or gaming on it. Personally, what matters to me most is the QHD 2K resolution. This allows me to have multiple documents opened for reference when working on blogs, office work and image editing with Photoshop. Another thing I would like to point out is the yellow tinting issue. You might encounter the same issue as me if you are to purchase this monitor or any Dell UltraSharp monitor, so be prepared to fork some time to resolve this issue with Dell's Customer Support within 30 days to get a 1-to-1 new replacement else outside that period, they might send a refurbished model instead. Below is a list of pros and cons that I list out to summarized my findings of this Dell U2515H UltraSharp monitor after using it for few months.

Pros
1. Slim Bezel: The slim bezels measuring 8mm in width makes it suitable for placing dual monitor side by side in portrait mode.
2. Portrait Mode: 25 inch is the sweet spot for portrait mode. It does not strain user's neck when viewing the monitor with 1 arm's length away. Great productivity for office work especially documents containing lots of text such as e-book, blogs or Google Search or list of items.
3. Crisp and bright: Everything from text to images, all are made crisp and sharp with this QHD 2K resolution packed in this 25 inch monitor compared to a 27 inch.
4. Cooler: U2515H generates less heat compared to U2713HM.
5. Smaller: If desk space is a constraint, this 25" inch makes it a suitable monitor for QHD viewing without sacrificing the screen resolution. Having 2 U2515H in portrait mode is same as having one U2713HM monitor in landscape.
6. Dell 3 Years Warranty Premium Replacement: The 1-to-1 replacement U2515H monitor came in 2 days after I gave a call to Dell Customer Service Center regarding the yellowish tint that plagued half side of my monitor and also the bottom with darker yellow tint.
7. Lighter: The packaging which includes the monitor, monitor stand and accessories weights approximately 6kg, making it much easier to transport to different places in a vehicle.
8. HDMI QHD 2K Support: Dell U2515H supports QHD 2K 2560x1440 resolution out of the box via HDMI, while Dell U2713HM only supports up to 1920x1080 resolution via HDMI.


Cons
1. Thick Bezel: The top-left-right corner are all slim but the bottom bezel is 20mm thick as U2713HM. As a result, it does not look good with triple monitors.
2. Movie/Gaming Immersive Experience: Doesn't provide a more immersive PC gaming and movie experience compared to a 27 inch monitor.
3. Difficulty aligning multiple monitor: It's a miss or hit aligning monitors in the same portrait mode. It will still have some gaps either the top or bottom. Found out that was the issue with the rotational behind the U2515H.
4. Poorly calibrated monitor from Dell Factory: Both the first monitor and replacement monitor has full yellow tint on it. After I have manually calibrated the color through the "Custom Color" preset, I still notice a slight yellowish tint on the bottom (for the replacement monitor) and half screen (for the first monitor). I'm unsure whether yellow tinting is the standard for Dell's calibration. Based from Dell's Monitor calibration report, it displays a higher blueish color but I don't see it in the monitor.
5. Yellow tint: The monitor replacement still has some slight light yellow tint when viewed at certain angles, but not as worse than my first monitor that reached me. I foresee that I'm one of the few customers who received on of the bad batch monitors.
6. Daisy Chaining Issue via Display Port 1.2: Encountered an issue with daisy chaining with Dell U2515H and Dell U2713HM where it only displays "No Display Connected" upon powering up my computer. It seems that after replacing the monitor, this issue has disappeared. Previously, this issue appears 2-4 times per week.
7. Non-tactile OSD Buttons: Dell U2515H uses touch-sensitive buttons to open the OSD (On-Screen Display) Menu. Therefore, it's a little bit of a hassle to find for the buttons which aren't lit up even though the monitor is on. If you are in a dark room, it's even more difficult to find them. I would much prefer these buttons tactile type and located at the rear of the monitor instead on the bezel to allow slimmer bezel for 2-5 monitors setup. I enabled "button sound" via OSD to provide feedback on the modification I performed is done successfully.
8. Tiny Text: When viewing text documents on Dell U2515H at 100% DPI, the text is very small, which causes eye strains when viewing the monitor afar which is a need when viewing multiple monitors. Need to increase the DPI to either 125% or 150% to solve this issue.


Dell U2515H Expectations
I wished all the issues pointed here are sorted out in their next monitor revision and lower the prices for 2K QHD monitor.


Disclosure: This review was made using my own Dell U2515H, duly purchased at the retail price.

p.s. If you have any questions regarding the Dell U2515H, feel free to ask me here

This post has been edited by asunakirito: May 25 2015, 09:36 PM

HDMI and Display Port both shows awesome 2K quality. No difference that I can see from my end.
Both cable can transmit audio signals. However, HDMI does not support daisy chaining.
The additional input can be use to connect with other devices (e.g. PC + Play Station 4 + TV), so you just switch via the OSD without needing to pull out the cables

Planning to purchase one?

In this review, I mentioned that 25 inches is small too just for its text font size. However, this can be mitigated with custommizing the DPI.
I set both 25 and 27 inch to 150% DPI as I'm sitting more than 1 arm lengths away.
In terms of productivity, 25 and 27 inch at 2K resolution is very good. 25 inch will look more crisp than 27 inch though. Everything seems much sharper.
If you game frequently, go with 27 inch monitor. For office work, go with smaller 2K monitor like the U2515H as it also saves desk space too for your paper documents.
Oh yeah, I have tested these Dell monitors and they definitely save quite amount of electricity (depending on the brightness you set) compared to using a TV as the main monitor.

Box Dimension:
Height: 16.5 inches (42.16cm)
Width: 9.6 inches (24.38cm)
Length: 26 inches (66.04cm)

Hope that helps

Yeah, picture looks pretty crisp even though the monitor is set at 150% DPI.
It would not look much different when you are sitting 1 arms length away from what I can tell.
What speaker are you using with your 21" monitor?

27 inch for a 4K display seems pretty tight, feels so cramped with it.
34 inch 21:9 seems ok

LG 34UM95 34" UltraWide Widescreen 21:9 Monitor

5k resolution requires dual display port 1.2 or a single display port 1.3.

will need to upgrade graphic card too if want to setup dual 5k resolution monitor

This post has been edited by asunakirito: Jun 28 2015, 02:03 PM

currently what monitor model and resolution are you using?

CyntrixTech was selling ARB U2715H monitors for RM1500 which is a superb deal but 1 week warranty.
It was sold off in 2~3 days. Didn't manage to get it though.2
24 inch is pretty small (like 1 finger smaller in height and 2~3 fingers in width compared to U2515H)
27 inch is around 1.5 finger more height and 3~4 fingers in width compared to U2515H)

This post has been edited by asunakirito: Jun 30 2015, 09:19 PM

When I play BF4, I did not experience ghosting though (Response Time set to 'normal')

I'm not sure if it would be okay for all games.
The current games I tested DotA, Starcraft, Warcraft, Minecraft, Battlefield 4, Solitaire, Flash Games - no issues of tearing/ghosting.

It depends whether your graphic card is capable of providing good FPS (Frames Per Second) to run game smoothly at 2K resolution.

If you are a user who does programming and surfing/researching a lot, this monitor is definitely worth getting as it allows you to split 2 browsers in 1 monitor.

It also depends on your budget too since this monitor costs approximately RM1.3K

If just Youtube and movie, 1920x1080p should be sufficient.
With 2K resolution, you can watch Youtube video at 1920x1080p with video playlist view-able located on the right side. (and can view more tabs per browser = longer width).

If you do video editing with Sony Vegas or Adobe Premiere Pro, you will benefit a lot from the wider resolution (longer video tracks)

You're welcome


If you have questions regarding this monitor, feel free to post them !

This post has been edited by asunakirito: Sep 14 2015, 10:08 PM

it allows you to plug your USB devices such as thumbdrive, flashbfrive, smartphone to your monitor and the data is transmitted from monitor to your PC via the USB cable.

Are you planning to purchase this monitor?

what screen resolution are you looking for?
2560x1440 or 1920x1080?

The 2560x1440 resolution will cost somewhat around double of 1920x1080 monitor.

The cheapest 2560x1440 is RM 900 including tax/shipping. Its the Shimian monitor imported from Korea by group buy.