Dell UltraSharp 32 4K USB-C Monitor – U3219Q Reviewed.

It’s been ages since I reviewed a monitor. Sure, I’ve kept up with the tech, and even did features about them back in the day but I’ve never (in recent years) had the need to get a monitor,

That’s because I mainly use TVs and notebooks for gaming and working. Hell, it’s been years since I’ve even had a desktop.

Still when Dell asked me whether I’d be game to review their UltraSharp 32 4K monitor, I wasn’t about to say no. After all, it’d be a great chance to get a feel of the monitor, which is great since I’m finally in the process of building a new gaming rig.

So…does the Dell UltraSharp 32 4K monitor fit the bill? Read on and find out.

What is the Dell UltraSharp 32 4K Monitor?

The Dell UltraSharp 32 4K USB-C Monitor is a 31.5″ 4K USB-C monitor featuring InfinityEdge (it’s nearly without bezels) and multitasking capabilities, thanks to its multi-faceted USB-C port. With it, the monitor can send power and data between two connected PCs without a hitch.

It’s priced at $1,459 but is currently on sale for $1,179 at Dell’s website.

As its name suggests, the monitor is capable of 4K output (60Hz) and features VESA certified DisplayHDR 400, for gorgeous color reproduction.

The monitor also comes with a DisplayPort 1.4 (HDCP 2.2), a HDMI 2.0 port (HDCP 2.2), a USB Type-C port and a USB 3.0 (upstream port), 2 USB 3.0 ports and 2 USB wih BC1.2 charging capability. Sadly there’s no memory card reader embedded, so you’re going to need a USB adapter if you’re using a SD card.

USB placement is great, with two ports being prominently located on the lower left of the display, with the rest bunched together with the other ports at the back.

These were a bit problematic to access regularly, so if you have to use them, make sure to use devices that you don’t plan to remove often.

Thanks to its InfinityEdge, the Dell UltraSharp 32 is nearly all screen real estate. There are bezels around the display (like every other monitor) but its incredibly thin. If you’re thinking of having a multi-monitor setup, you really should consider this since the thin bezels gives the illusion of a near seamless setup.

The screen itself isn’t a slouch either. The display supports HDR so you know by now that the colors are great. Its 8ms response time means there’s very little input lag, which is great if you’re into fast paced gaming. It doesn’t do much if you’re into more cerebral games like StarCraft or Minecraft though.

Configuring the display through the monitors OSD (on-screen display) was a bit fiddly, but after a while the multitude of menus became second nature to me.

You probably won’t want to fiddle with them after calibrating anyways so it doesn’t hinder you too much past the initial setup and acclimation period. There’s also a quartet of different HDR presets built-in, making it easy to jump between settings though I personally just stuck with the Game setting.

Dell’s picture in picture feature can also be enabled through the OSD. The feature is great if you’re working with multiple machines at once, as it lets you pipe in two different feeds from separate sources to run simultaneously on the same screen.

Gaming goodness!

Speaking of the screen, there’s very little ghosting in the games that I tried it on, so it’s all good. Visuals were sharp and well defined, which makes everything easy to catch. Viewing angles were great too.

Overwatch ran smoothly, with no delay that I noticed. Same thing with Alien Isolation, though its slower paced gameplay highlighted the visuals nicely, even without full HDR support.

It’s a bit of a bummer that the display doesn’t have G-Sync or Freesync built-in, especially since it can already function as a decent gaming monitor already. Why not just go all the way, right?

Watching UHD movies via the Xbox One X, the monitor reproduced the colors as well as my LG 4K HDR TV. Hell, I might even say the Dell monitor’s colors looked more vibrant, with solid blacks and white. Alien Covenant’s Neo and Xenomorphs looked much better on the Dell monitor in my opinion, though it has admittedly been awhile since I watched it on my other 4K screen.

Physically, the monitor is a solid piece of electronic equipment. The base is incredibly stable (not to mention heavy), which is great since the monitor itself isn’t that light. The weight, coupled with the rubber feet makes it highly unlikely to move without expending a ton of force.

The stand can rotate pretty well; fully 90 degrees horizontally to vertically, with – 30 to 30 degree swivel and – 5 to 21 degree tilt. It’s solidly clamped to the base, so even you’re constantly moving the monitor around, it’ll stay in place where you want it to with no issues.

Assembling it wasn’t a problem at all; just slot in the base pieces, screw in the bottom part and then attach the back plate to the monitor. You’ll be up and running in under 5 minutes, I guarantee.

In fact, most of the time that I took was spent on getting the monitor out of the damn box (which is HUGE).

Sadly, there’s no wire management cavity, (but there’s a hole to run the wires through if you want) so you’ll want to get creative if you’re the type that hates to have cords running around.

The bottom line.

The Dell UltraSharp 32 4K USB-C Monitor – U3219Q isn’t perfect in the sense that there certainly are flaws that Dell could fix.

Adding in SD card support, making the OSD more intuitive, offering a higher refresh rate and even adding in G-Sync or Freesync support would all be majorly welcome.

However, despite those shortcomings, there’s already a ton of great features present in the monitor, especially if you’re not a gamer. If you’re a gamer, it falls a bit short of expectations, though its HDR support and refresh rate is a definite plus.

The Dell UltraSharp 32 4K USB-C Monitor – U3219Q isn’t the perfect monitor for everybody, but it’s still a damn good one.

TLDR:

Great monitor with some shortcomings, especially if you’re a gamer. Awesome for productivity with its picture in picture feature. Solid piece of hardware overall.