Review on Dell FR3PK 34 Inch LED Lit Monitor, 60Hz, Swivel & Tilt Adjustment, Anti-Glare Coating, USB Hub, U3417W, HD by Larry Eady

You'll find numerous reviews on the web touting it as "best in class" or best value for money, as well as reviews comparing it to the older 3415 models and the larger 3418 models. Everything is right, the picture quality is just superb, and it is a very well designed monitor. I've connected this thing to MANY devices. Highly recommended! My connections are: MacMini via HDMI, Desktop with NVIDIA card via HDMI, Desktop with NVIDIA via DP-DP cable, and MacBook Air or Dell laptop via Mini-DP (requires manual cable switching between laptops). I also have an old video surveillance system with a VGA to HDMI cable that can be manually replaced with a desktop/HDMI cable if needed. There are no video splitters, mergers, converters or hubs here. The device comes with 2 full DP inputs and it was not clear to me that you cannot use both inputs as DP1 and DP2. It's not an option. Through Dell's online forums I got a quick response and a screenshot from the user manual confirming that the 2nd DP port was just an upstream port to connect two monitors with a graphics card via DP in and via DP out operate. DP #2 is essentially output only, but not clearly identified. The unit comes new with a bright orange cover covering this port, which should have alarmed me. This feature is only useful if your graphics card and another monitor support it, as it allows you to create a dual 34-inch screen. A big thank you to Chris on the customer forums. Dell's tech support phone line was willing to send me a new monitor, but mine obviously didn't go wrong. The monitor comes standard with a generous 3 year warranty. ?) has some fast I/O. For example, you cannot go from a graphics card's HDMI output to a DP input with a cable. Most HDMI to DP cables are unidirectional, not bidirectional - and that direction is DP out to HDMI in. So you can switch from the DP output of the NVIDIA card to the HDMI input of your monitor, but you cannot connect the HDMI output or the VGA output to the DP input. Not sure why the spec is limited as it seems logical that someone would want to use the DP input for this (and another) ad hominem "traditional" HDMI connection type. Consider an example where you have a bunch of stuff with an HDMI output (Mac, PC, Xbox, PS4, Switch, etc.) and no DP output. This monitor would essentially limit you to 2 HDMI inputs and you would have minDP and 2 DP ports on the back of this monitor which could not be used (although logic would say there are 5 things on the back of this monitor condition). monitor that looks like it should be a video input)! Another interesting tidbit for Mac users. My MacMini is a late 2012 model, so the user CANNOT connect to miniDP via miniDP (aka Thunderbolt 2) as the MAIN video output. Interestingly, you CAN use miniDP (TB2) as a secondary output, but only after HDMI is connected from the Mac and active as the primary output. It would be nice if Apple supported either/or HMDI or miniDP/TB2 as the "primary" video output. HDMI from a MacMini works and looks fine at full 3440x1440 resolution, but only at 30Hz. I will not play games at 60/120Hz on a Mac with a 6 year old onboard video output. I do not watch 4K/60Hz videos/movies/shows from the Apple Store on this device. I'm pretty sure the newer MacMinis, as well as some iMacs and running MacPros, support Thunderbolt 2 to miniDP for primary video output. The MacBook Air certainly excels in this regard. Apparently, Thunderbolt 3 for miniDP has its own quirks, so if you're a Mac user, you'll have to do some homework. I think Dell makes a better Mac monitor than Apple (much cheaper and more flexible, of course). The gaming experience on the rather old base graphics card NVIDIA g-Series 9800 is very good. The 34 inch screen is very immersive with minimal lag for casual gamers playing some basic fighting, driving, arcade, adventure and FPS games. I'm curious to see what a new/real/current graphics card will be like, I'm sure that would be great, but I don't spend $350 running most of my games on consoles - at least until I start messing around with VR, um With VR the external monitor doesn't matter anymore lol. I work a lot with Protools, Ableton Live and some professional audio and video applications (Mac and PC) The ability to open mix and edit windows with plug-ins and virtual synths (Live, Reason, NI Komplete, Akai MPC, Arturia and Spectrasonics) simultaneously on screen And the ability to open Word/Excel documents, notes and web browsers is just great. Of course, any 34-inch, 3440 x 1440 resolution screen will do, but the font detail, color accuracy, and overall clarity on this monitor are just superb for $600. Again highly recommended!