In the world of working from home, you are likely to work on two machines: the official company-provided device, which you should use for work, and your personal machine, which you use outside of work hours. .
The Dell U2722DE 27-inch screen at 857 euros at Amazon
For the past 18 months, my work devices have lived either in a bag until I needed them or next to old computer equipment. A now-redundant monitor, USB hub, keyboard and mouse were also there, for those times when I absolutely needed to use the work laptop. Switching between devices meant physically changing desks, which I was lucky enough to be able to fit into one room.
But this way of doing things was quickly removed when the Dell U2722DE appeared in my life. And there is no turning back.
The center of your IT installation
The first thing this monitor does is become the center of your computing setup. Thanks to its USB hub functionality, it is already very practical. It has a USB-C port for transferring data and delivering 90 watts of power, another USB-C port for data only, and a USB-C port that delivers 15 watts of power, but also four USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports with a capacity of 10 Gb/s, an RJ45 network port, two DisplayPort ports, an HDMI port and a headphone jack.
The idea of this monitor is that instead of plugging it into a desktop or laptop, you connect the device to the monitor and then a single cord goes back to the computer or laptop via USB-C if possible, or in the case of my desktop computer, a DisplayPort cable and a single USB cable. If you’ve used a USB hub, it’s the exact same scenario, although it’s still amazing to realize that Ethernet connectivity goes from the monitor to the desktop, which also means that when a machine is selected as the input, the Wired connectivity is down.
Using the U2722DE won’t magically transform your existing cable clutter. After all, the cables still have to plug somewhere, but rather than having a mess behind the desk all the way to the desk, and sometimes having monitors and accessories in non-optimal positions due to the length of the cables , it’s easier to sort out and much more accessible with the U2722DE acting as the middleman.
The DisplayPort fully exploited
There is at least one cable that no longer runs to the desktop, it’s the DisplayPort cable that connects to one of my monitors, as it is daisy chained to the U2722DE.
For the past few weeks, I’ve had a laptop positioned under a trio of screens: an older Dell U-series connected to a desk, the U2722DE in the center, and another U-series daisy-chained to the U2722DE.
In this configuration, the left display is permanently attached to the desktop computer via DisplayPort, and the two right displays can be switched from desktop to laptop using the U2722DE’s built-in KVM and daisy chaining of monitors via DisplayPort Multi-Stream Transport (MST).
Decluttering
In theory, there is a GPU and/or DisplayPort 1.2 MST limitation on the number of pixels that can be handled via MST. But with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 on the U2722DE and 1920 x 1200 on a U2415, there was no problem. In my case, the Nvidia 1060 embedded in Linux desktop had no problem with three screens, but the ThinkPad X1 Carbon of 8and generation on Windows couldn’t handle the laptop’s display as well as three screens, and always wanted to disable one of the external monitors.
Where decluttering really comes into play is the monitor’s KVM switch. Using two different machines during the day no longer requires me to leave my seat, as the monitor allows me to change the input between the desktop’s DisplayPort connection and the computer’s USB-C connection portable.
One of the features that Dell is touting about the U2722DE is the ability to have picture-in-picture where the output of one machine overlaps the second. After using it, there are a few reasons why I stick with switching inputs between different machines rather than using picture in picture. First, it disables DisplayPort daisy chaining, which throws the display off.
Picture in picture, boo
Otherwise, the view is a scaled down version of what would be displayed on screen, so text is difficult to read, and most options involve overlaying, which means you sacrifice viewing on the U2722DE as well. There is an option for a split in the middle, but the 27-inch U2722DE screen isn’t big enough for that to work well. But it is something that can be used when needed.
The twist is that the only way to change the machine that has USB connectivity – which includes the keyboard and mouse which must have wired USB connections to work – is to interact with the back of the screen where the button is located to operate the monitor menu. Changing the input is therefore, at best, a little complicated to do.
Given these trade-offs and the fact that the process of switching between USB input and monitor input is basically the same, I find it easier to just switch the U2722DE’s input and have it switch , as well as the screen in series, between the machines.
As part of a monitor test, it is worth talking about the panel used in this monitor. It’s a 27-inch Quad HD IPS panel, and because it’s part of the UltraSharp series, it doesn’t refresh at the high frequency that gamers want, but for everyone else it’s a good typical panel of the U series.
As you might have guessed from the type of screens around it, I’m quite biased towards the U-series and like the more accurate colors compared to the previous Dell S-series display .
I think Dell has backtracked by ditching the traditional buttons and replacing them with an oversized power button and joystick control on the back of the monitor. This means that every time you want to switch between devices or access a menu, you have to guess where the joystick is. Guesses get better over time, but they’re still guesses. The Series S, on the other hand, had buttons located below the bezel of the screen, which is a much better solution.
If you just want this panel without the full hub and KVM functionality, the Dell U2722D is available at a lower price than the full monitor. But it’s just 100 euros less. Especially when the USB hubs themselves can cost several hundred dollars on their own. In my mind, at least, it helped offset the high price tag by taking a USB hub out of my life.
The main reason you might not buy this monitor is that it’s terribly hard to find. In many places it is out of stock. And lead times are very long. In short, if you want this monitor and you see one available, jump on it.
Supply issues aside, this monitor is a nice revelation that allowed me to simplify my setup – making it more complex with a KVM in the middle – with screen quality being a nice bonus.
The Dell U2722DE 27-inch screen at 857 euros at Amazon
Source: ZDNet.com