This is a standard size cat,
and this is that same cat
next to my new 43 inch computer monitor.
Yes, you heard right, 43".
It's basically the same size as a lot of TVs out there,
but this one is actually designed to be used on your desk.
This is the U 4323 QE from Dell
and it combines all of the pros of a computer monitor
with the dimensions of a larger TV.
It's 4K, connects and charges your laptop
with a single USBC cable, has a built-in USB hub.
Yes, that is an ethernet port on a monitor
and can connect up to four different computers at once,
all using the same mouse and keyboard.
Now you'd be right in thinking
that this does kind of sound familiar.
It's essentially a bigger version
of what I'm calling one of the most popular monitors
out there right now, the Dell U2723 QE.
But a 43 inch computer monitor sounds pretty insane, right?
I mean, why would anyone want to use
such a large monitor at their desk?
Is bigger always better?
Or is how you use it more important instead?
Well, let's take a look.
Now using a huge screen at a desk isn't a new concept.
In fact, it's been gaining popularity over the years,
particularly with OLED TV screens
as OLED technology was unavailable
in smaller computer monitors until very recently.
Now the problem with using a TV screen
as a computer monitor is pretty obvious.
TVs are usually designed
for watching movies in a living room
not sitting close and writing emails on it.
You don't get any adjustability.
There's usually limited ports.
Color accuracy isn't great.
And features like a KVM switch or USBC functionality
simply don't exist.
So this begs the question, why?
Why do some manufacturers out there
think that there is a market for a 43 inch computer monitor?
The answer is actually kind of straightforward, really.
There are some people out there
with some pretty extreme multi-monitor setups.
Stock market traders or analysts, hardcore multi-taskers
with 10 different Excel spreadsheets open at once,
or simply running multiple computers simultaneously.
A large screen that allows you
to break up its screen real estate
into four separate quadrants kind of eliminates the need
for a multi-monitor setup,
but I'll touch more on this a little bit later on.
Alternatively, maybe you just love
having a ton of screen space,
especially if you set the scaling to native 4K.
Maybe your desk setup is in your bedroom
and you also watch movies on the monitor
when laying in bed and like the biggest size.
Basically, there's a lot of reasons
why someone would go out and buy a 43 inch computer monitor.
So I went out and purchased my own one to test it out
and so I could give you my honest opinion on it
after using it for 30 days.
And by the way, I purchased this monitor with my own money.
This review is not sponsored.
Dell had no input on the script at all.
Now, if you've been watching my other monitor review videos,
I reviewed the smaller siblings of this monitor,
the 27-inch U2723 QE
and a slightly larger 32-inch U 3223 QE.
Functionally, this 43 inch version
is almost identical to those monitors.
You get an impressive port selection
with 90 watts of USBC power delivery for laptops
as well as an ethernet port.
Although, this larger 43 inch version
has a front pop out quick access port.
You also get built in eight watts stereo speakers.
And the screen is, again, almost identical, just bigger.
So if you want the traditional review content
like color accuracy and build quality,
I'll link that video down in the description below.
In this video, I want to focus on what's different
with the 43 inch version.
And more importantly,
what it's like to actually use a 43 inch monitor
at your desk and some of the associated pros and cons.
But before that, a quick word from the sponsor
of this section of the video.
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Okay, let's talk pros and cons
and let's start with the most obvious thing first.
As you might expect, 43 inches is really, really big.
And while you don't necessarily have to wrap this monitor
around your waist to move it, in some situations,
it can be really tricky.
Like mounting it on a monitor arm.
Now conveniently, it does come with standoffs in the box
to attach it to a standard basal mount,
but this beast weighs just over 13 kilos
or close to 30 pounds without the stand.
That either exceeds or comes very close
to exceeding the weight limit of most monitor arms.
That being said, you can avoid the monitor arm altogether
by using the stand it comes with.
It's sturdy, provides a cutout at the back
to organize cables,
and allows for a decent amount of adjustability,
which is something you wouldn't get with a TV.
The biggest issue I found with the size
was simply just trying to adjust my desk set up
around the monitor.
I found I needed to push it
towards the very back of my desk,
furthest away from my eyes
so I could actually take advantage
of the larger screen size.
So if you have a really shallow desk,
I don't think this monitor is going to work for you
because you're basically just going to be like this
the entire time.
Also note that the most ergonomic way
to position a monitor is to have the top bezel
about level with your eye line.
So if you are particularly short or particularly tall,
you might have some issues.
If you can deal with the shortcomings I've listed so far,
the trade-off and indeed the main selling point
of this monitor is a vastly increased workspace area.
There's just so much room for productivity.
And there are advantages to having all of your windows
right in front of you
and not split between separate monitors.
For one, you eliminate that bezel right in the middle
and can arrange your secondary windows
nearly around the center of your gaze.
Meaning, you don't have to move your head as much.
Or I can easily fit four almost full sized windows
on the screen at once.
And unlike other smaller sized monitors
like a 32 inch for, example, they didn't feel too small.
And I never found myself
temporarily resizing certain windows to make them larger
while I was actively working within them.
And you can quickly resize or snap these windows yourself
within macOS or Windows using tools
like magnet or fancy zones.
Alternatively, you can use
internal multistream transport technology or IMST
to turn your single monitor
into effectively four separate monitors
when using a Windows pc.
No external software or display port split are needed.
And yes, this is only possible on Windows
at the time of recording this video, not macOS.
There's also an auto KVM switch built in,
which means you can use the same mouse
and keyboard to connect up to four different computers,
as long as they're all connected to the monitor.
Now, four computers at once is probably pretty overkill
for most people other than, for example,
corporate IT workers.
But it does allow you to run dual Mac
and Windows systems at the same time like I frequently do,
which leads me to my next point.
Just like these smaller versions of this monitor,
there is a picture in picture or picture by picture mode
and also a screen partition mode.
Now, I found these modes incredibly useful.
You can essentially turn this monitor
into two stacked widescreen monitors.
For example, as the saying goes,
"Business up top and party down the bottom."
Perfect for those long and boring virtual work meetings.
Plug in your work MacBook to watch yet another slideshow
about HR policy updates
and grind COD on your gaming PC at the same time.
The possibilities are endless,
but this is just one of the usage scenarios.
Like I mentioned previously,
I run both macOS and Windows systems side by side
and it works perfectly here.
There's just so much flexibility.
And unlike a 27 inch or a 32 inch screen,
43 inches gives you plenty of screen real estate
to play around with multiple computers.
Anyway, getting back to the sheer amount
of screen real estate you get,
once you get past the initial wow factor,
some cracks do begin to show.
Just like this Dell monitor,
most TVs these days have a 4K resolution.
And when you're sitting on a couch several meters away,
it looks great, but if you get up
and stand an arm's length away, not so much.
You can really start to see those individual pixels.
There's a term called pixels per inch or PPI.
And it's essentially just a number
that tells you how many pixels there are
within one square inch on a screen.
Here are some popular monitor sizes.
27 inch monitors with a 4K resolution
have a fairly good PPI of around 163.
Text is nice and crisp.
Operating system UI elements look sharp
and images just look so much better compared to, say,
a lower resolution like 1440p.
If you bump that size up to 32 inches and then 43 inches
at the same 4K resolution, you can see a huge change.
The larger sizes have the same amount of pixels
as the smaller 27 inch monitor,
but they're just way more spread out
with more distance between each individual pixel.
And this results in a fairly noticeable decrease
in image quality, especially if you're used
to a really high PPI like the retina screen
on your MacBook, for example.
If you've got both at your desk and switch between the two,
you can really notice the difference.
On lower PPI screens, font sharpness takes a big hit.
Sometimes, it might even look slightly blurry
due to the amount of pixelation.
And this is particularly noticeable on macOS
because macOS scales best on monitors
that use a native macOS resolution,
like the 5K studio display or 6K pro display.
4K still works fine and looks pretty good.
It's just not quite as sharp as a native resolution.
And bear in mind, Windows does not have this issue
and scales perfectly on 4K.
And it's not just text that is impacted here.
It's images and videos, too.
Activities like watching movies
or YouTube videos are totally fine.
Although, if sitting close,
you'll still want to reduce the window size.
But when it comes to other tasks,
you may struggle a bit depending what it is.
For example, editing photos.
I recently went on a trip to Japan
and was able to take some really cool shots.
Now I was using a Sony A7C,
which only has a 22 megapixel sensor, which isn't huge,
but still allows for some moderate cropping
or zooming before seeing too much quality loss.
Now editing photos, or for that matter,
doing anything creative on this monitor is incredible,
simply due to the amount of screen reel space
you get access to.
Not to mention the color accuracy is extremely good,
but see my previous review on the Dell 2023
ultra sharp lineup for more on that.
But when zooming into these photos
when editing in Lightroom to see if I was in focus or not,
I sometimes struggled to distinguish
between if I'd zoomed in too far
and it was the actual photo that was blurry
or simply the pixelation of a 4K resolution
spread out over 43 inches.
Now obviously, if you're doing these tasks professionally,
you'll have a more suitable monitor
or potentially even just use the retina screen
on your MacBook, but the point still stands.
For certain tasks, there's just not enough pixel density.
And I just want to stress that this whole low PPI
and pixel-y thing isn't really a negative
nor should it be a dealer breaker for you.
It's kind of like buying a large car
and not being able to park it in a small car park.
It's kind of par for the course, right?
I just wanted to spend some time discussing it
because at least for me, personally,
it was the biggest deciding factor
of whether or not I liked this monitor or not.
Now moving on to gaming,
I know that no one is going to purchase this monitor
with the express purpose of gaming.
I mean, it only has a 60 Hertz refresh rate.
It's 4K, so you'll likely need a beefy GPU
to push all those frames.
And the response time, although actually really good
for a monitor in this category,
is still higher than I'd like it to be.
But if you can sit back a bit
and actually put a bit of distance
between your eyes and the monitor, it's kind of enjoyable.
Competitive FPS shooters like COD, CS Go, or Valorant,
for example, are definitely not recommended.
But for more relaxed games,
particularly single player games,
didn't have any complaints.
But Liam, what about pricing?
Well, it currently retails on the Dell U.S. website
for about $1,300 U.S.
However, there is currently a sale making the price
about $1,045 and these sales are pretty frequent
for Dell monitors.
I mean, you'll get it not only on the Dell website itself,
but from resellers like Amazon or Best Buy.
So let's now take this price
and stack it up against some competitors.
Now the most obvious competitor is the standard TV.
They're quite affordable these days.
Even the ones with fancy OLED technology
like the LG C2, for example.
It's 42 inches, has a beautiful OLED screen
with the accompanying deep blacks, amazing picture quality.
It also has cool features like G-Sync and FreeSync
and 120 Hertz refresh rate, but it's primarily a TV.
So you have to account for all the things
like using a TV remote to adjust settings.
The stand it comes with has no adjustability.
There's no USB hub or charging built in
for laptop connectivity,
and the color accuracy isn't as good.
Basically,
it just has very computer monitor specific features.
For some, hey, that's perfectly fine,
but don't underestimate how appreciative
these features can become
if you're sitting at your desk,
working for eight hours a day.
Quick side note here, you can get the previous version
of the U4323 QE, the 2020 U4320 Q,
I know these names are absolutely awful,
for a few $100 less.
But just know that there are a few differences
between the two models, mainly color accuracy,
port selection, and design.
I go over these differences in my video
on the smaller 27 and 32 inch versions if you're interested.
But yeah, overall, I think this is a really solid monitor
for someone wanting 43 inches
of screen real estate on their desk.
It's computer monitor specific features
make it much more of an attractive choice
over just buying a cheap 4K TV instead.
But as I mentioned previously,
you really need to decide if going bigger
is worth the trade-offs,
which are mainly the reduced PPI or pixels per inch,
which has a pretty big impact on things
like text sharpness and just the sheer size of the thing.
Like are you actually going to fill up all 43 inches
with different windows and content and Excel spreadsheets?
Just something to think about.
But apart from that, I think it's a really solid monitor.
Anyway, hopefully, you enjoyed this review.
If you are interested in picking up
one of these monitors and you have any questions,
let me know down below.
Apart from that, I will catch you in the next one.