Dell has just unveiled two new business-oriented UltraSharp displays that use LG’s latest version of its IPS LCD panel technology called IPS Black. Thanks to this panel tech, the Dell UltraSharp U2725QE and U3225QE boast native contrast ratios of 3,000:1, which is triple what a typical IPS panel provides and 50% higher than previous generation IPS Black panels. This brings a new level of depth and richness to their image that means even though they’re not really meant as such, these could be tempting Dell gaming monitor options for some buyers.
With the explosion in popularity of OLED gaming monitors, it’s no surprise that when we asked Dell at the unveiling of its new UltraSharp displays whether the new IPS Black panels were intended for gaming, they said they weren’t as such. However, while OLED is clearly the best gaming monitor choice for purely gaming, there are still several reasons why many buyers might want to stick with an LCD screen, and given these new displays can hit 120Hz while delivering their stunning 3,000:1 contrast, these could be the ideal choice for some.
The reasons why OLED isn’t necessarily for everyone are threefold. First is that OLED suffers from burn-in, which is where the pixels start to lose their ability to change color properly over time, leading to a display getting a permanent ghostly image that tends to occur where a display has been showing the same bright color for a long time. In other words, they’re not at all well suited for use for work where you have large areas of a screen showing bright white or light grey backgrounds for eight hours a day.
To alleviate this issue, OLEDs can employ various screen tricks such as lowering the brightness of large, static areas of brightness, plus they can run a screen refresh to help revitalize the pixels. However, this leads to the second issue which is that OLED displays can interrupt what you’re doing. The brightness changes can be distracting, effect the outcome of your work if your doing image or video editing, and just generally make a display disruptive to your workflow.
Finally, there’s the fact that OLED displays tend to be not all that bright. Few can push a full white screen beyond a brightness of 300nits, with many struggling to hit 250nits, which is fine for use in darker rooms but not ideal for brightly lit work spaces.
All of which means that LCD is still the best choice for most work situations, and in turn IPS has been the best choice of the types of LCD that are available, thanks to it best balancing viewing angles with accurate colors. However, IPS screens have typically always struggled with two factors. The first is their relative inability to show really low black levels and get a resultingly high contrast, and the second is that from an angle they can experience a phenomena known as IPS glow. That’s where the backlight of the screen starts to shine through, further dulling the contrast of the screen. You can find out more about this in our IPS vs TN vs VA guide.
LG introduced IPS Black a few years ago to help solve both of these issues, with the first iteration of the tech boosting contrast from typically 1,000:1 to around 2,000:1, while widening the angle at which IPS glow becomes visible. You can find that tech in panels such as the Dell UltraSharp U3223QE that you can buy here.
These new Dell UltraSharp displays, though, take things to another level as they are the first available to use the latest version of IPS Black that boosts contrast to 3,000:1 and further reduces the effect of IPS glow.
In my hands on time with the new panels, I was immediately struck by the clearly deeper black level this panel could achieve compared to a typical IPS panel. Its reduced IPS glow (demonstrated in a video clip from Dell in the image above) was also obvious, making for a display that looked incredible for just about any angle.
The disadvantage of IPS Black is a reltaively slow response time, though Dell hasn’t yet specified exactly how sluggish these panels will be. Regardless, with them able to deliver a 120Hz refresh rate, they should provide smooth enough experience for the vast majority of gaming scenarios. After all, not everyone needs a sub 1ms, 360Hz+ screen on which to play competitive shooters. We’ll have to reserve full judgement until we can actually get one of these screens in to test but we’ve high hopes.
As to the specifics of these two new Dell displays, they’re both 4K panels, with the U2725QE being a 27-inch panel and the U3225QE being a 32-inch panel. Both also include ThunderBolt connections as well as conventional display inputs and even an RJ45 network port for slick connection to your network for any laptops or other devices connected via the display’s ThunderBolt port.
The monitors also sport a smart-looking silver and black design while their panels boast 99% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space so are able to deliver the fullest possible range of colors for HDR content. The U2725QE price is $699.99 while the U3225QE is $949.99, with both displays having a release date of Feb 25, 2025.
For more on Dell’s latest announcements, check out the new Dell Pro Max rebrand that the company has undertaken or check out its new Alienware Area-51 desktop PC and AW2725Q 27-inch 4K gaming monitor.