Dell S2240M 21.5-Inch Screen LED-lit Monitor

I'm a graphic designer and my trusty, incredible Samsung 24" 245BW finally bit the dust after four years of magazine layout and constant use. So I began looking for a replacement that can produce the accurate color spectrum I need for my work with enough screen real estate to work with magazine layout and menus on either side without overlapping the pages.While looking at monitors in Best Buy, I saw the Dell S2340M and the impressive image stood out among all other monitors in the display. And at the time, it was on sale for $159.99. But I was concerned about the reflective screen, so went with a 23" LG. The LG's image is very good but I couldn't stop thinking about the image quality of the Dell and after a few days decided to go ahead and give it a try. But when I checked the price again, it had gone to $229.99. Oh well. The LG is doing a good job, so put the Dell on the back burner and waited to see if the price would go back down with Christmas coming up. Then while doing a search, I found the Dell S2340M on Amazon for $139.99 with free shipping and immediately ordered it. Got it today and it's excellent. Image quality out of the box was spectacular, requiring only a slight adjustment of brightness. Magazine layouts pop with more life and appear closer to the printed product. Whites, grays, and blacks are pure...better than the LG and my old Samsung. Screen illumination is very even from corner to corner. Very accurate colors and contrast compared to the final printed magazines, which is what my work is all about. Text is very sharp and clear. I'm also a professional photographer and photos look amazing with good depth. BTW, I'm using an NVIDIA EVGA GT 610 video card with DVI connection.As for the reflective screen, I'm having no issues under any conditions in my home office. The only time I'm aware of reflections is with a dark subject, but have already learned to simply "look beyond" the reflections, at the subject. Really not a big deal, especially when considering the excellent image quality.As with the LG, the bezel is very thin and I love this design. Setup was a breeze, simply plug n play. Adjustments are pretty easy to navigate (MUCH easier than the LG) and there are plenty of adjustments to fine tune the image for my work. The base construction/connection is much better than the LG and is much more stable. The LG can be a bit wobbly if I bump the desk, while the S2340M is very solid. However, as many have mentioned, the concave connection area in the back is poorly designed and makes cable connections tight and impossible if you need an adapter. So let me remind those who want to use HDMI, the S2340M has no HDMI connector and I don't see any way of using an adapter without cutting out the bottom 'lip' of the concave. I'd suggest going with the "L" version of this monitor which has HDMI connection.It's still early and I've only had this monitor a few days, but so far it's excellent in providing accurate colors, very pure whites, grays, and blacks, accurate skin tones and realistic images that pop compared to the frosted screen on the LG.I'm not a gamer but like to play the old Quake III Arena on occasion, and although the graphics look good on the LG, they really pop on the S2340M and appear much clearer, with more depth. Makes me feel like I'm 'in' the game instead of on the surface. The LG's response time is 5ms, while the S2340M is 7ms, and both provide flawless game play with no lag, ghosting or other issues. It's just so much nicer playing on the S2340M because of the better image.Overall, for my needs this monitor would be excellent at the MSRP of $229.99 and is quite a bargain at the $139.99 I paid with free shipping. I've already returned the LG and will be ordering another one of these excellent monitors as a backup.Some reviewers felt this monitor is cheaply made and I'm sure many components are. However, I find the basic construction to be solid with very good fit and finish. Just wish Dell would have designed the cable connection area to be more 'adaptable'.UPDATE: I just received the second S2340M and it's every bit as good as the first one. I'm using it now and only had to adjust the brightness by 5 percent. Wonderful accurate color, sharpness, contrast and overall image/text quality. Pure whites/blacks/grays. BTW, incredible service from Amazon. I ordered this one on Friday Dec 20 using the free shipping option expecting to receive it after Christmas, but received it today, Monday Dec 23. However, apparently I got one of the last S2340Ms sold by Amazon direct at the lower price with free shipping and I'm sure glad I made the decision to order mine when I did.

This is a phenomenal monitor for the price. It does have a VERY glossy screen, which looks awesome in low light conditions. Even in my room with reflected sunlight (not direct), there is a lot of reflections on the screen. That being said, I'm not using the monitor for work, mostly web browsing and watching video, so I will put up with the reflections for those purposes since the display quality is so awesome. The reflections aren't as noticeable when the background is mostly white or when playing video. They are more noticeable when the background is stationary and darker. If you like glossy screen monitors, read the other reviews, I don't think you'll be disappointed.PS, the only calibration I did out of the box was to turn the brightness up from 75 to near 100 (I like it bright). The colors already look awesome. Text is sharp and legible, images are crisp, and the contrast is good. The monitor design itself is very sleek and lightweight...very nice!!!Here are my only two negatives on this monitor so far:1. The control buttons are on the right side of the monitor (not the front), and are difficult to access where my monitor is set up. I don't understand why monitor manufacturers feel the need to hide the buttons, just put them in front, I don't care what they look like, at least the power button if nothing else!2. The dvi connector is placed in a very awkward position on the back of the monitor. If you are using a hdmi cable with dvi adapter at the monitor, you will NOT have enough space to make the connection. I had to buy an hdmi to dvi cable without adapter to make the connection, and even that just BARELY fit. They definitely could have located the dvi connection to make it much more easily accessible.Those are only two minor issues, not enough to warrant taking off a star. I love this monitor!!!

I recently bought this after comparing several other monitors. First, I had an AOC 27" monitor. The picture was decent and it looked nice, but the matte finish was too grainy. Particularly with only a 1920x1080 resolution, it was a large monitor for that resolution and it looked too harsh. So, I then gravitated to a Dell 27" S2740. This was much nicer, and looked beautiful. I was just a little uneasy with how pixelated the images and icons looked. Particularly since this was hooked up to a Mac Mini, it really didn't look very "Mac-like" and was a bit of a disappointment. That's when I decided at this resolution and price range, I needed to be in the 23"-24" monitor size range. I tried both the Dell 2440 and 2340. Although I slightly preferred the bezel and looks of the 24" monitor, the color depth wasn't even comparable to the 23".Which brings me to this review. The color depth is amazing, and particularly if you're using a Mac, the IPS panel looks as nice as an iMac any day of the week. The bezel is very thin, and the edge-to-edge glass makes it look contemporary and not at all out of place with the Apple gear. I'm not a gamer, so for web browsing, photo editing, and movie editing, this is top notch. Of the monitors I've ever used, the picture quality on this one is top notch. I would have still preferred this panel in the 2440's body, but that's a very small price to pay. One other thing to note, the "M" model just has the DVI connector, and the "L" has an HDMI. They are identical if you're going to use them on a computer, so save yourself over $50 and stick with the "M" model. Everything else is the same.If you're in the market for a great looking 23" monitor (especially if you have a mac), I'd highly recommend this one!