I’ve used a lot of different types of monitors in the past couple of years.
From multi-monitor setups in various configurations, a variety of 34 inch ultrawides from different
companies, to even a large 4K TV, but I’ve always felt like there was always something
missing.
Then this Dell 49 inch ultrawide launched and I instantly bought it.
The wider horizontal resolution has been great for multi-tasking and the built-in KVM is
well designed for switching seamlessly between my desktop and laptop.
But the $1700 price tag is a lot of money but that’s the premium you pay for one of
the best single monitor setups for productivity.
Hi I’m David and this is the new king of ultrawides monitors for productivity, the
Dell U4919DW.
So the stand out features with this monitor are definitely going to be the key specs,
that sheer size of a 49 inch diagonal at this ultrawide aspect ratio is about 122 cm wide.
And the resolution, at 5120x1440 isn’t quite 4K level but it’s my perfect mix of screen
real estate and comfort.
This is basically two 27-inch 1440p monitors stuck together.
But it isn’t just the specs alone but the workflow that this monitor enables with the
super wide display, USB features, and even free software.
The wide resolution lets me spread 3 applications across the screen without any of them feeling
too cramped.
While on a typical 34 inch ultrawide I was able to use it with 3 applications across
the screen as well.
It usually felt a little too cramped to use like this all the time, so I tended to use
it with just 2 applications side by side.
The 1440 resolution of pixels from top to bottom lets me read significantly more lines
of text than the 1080p counterparts and I personally find this more comfortable than
a portrait monitor, a tall large TV or even a stacked setup.
The monitor has the slight 3800R curve that definitely helps on such a wide display without
distorting the image too much, which is great for graphic designers.
But for me I think I would have liked a more aggressive curve because I find myself needing
to physical shift around from one side to the other to clearly read text displayed on
sides of the screen.
And finally, the display is nicely color calibrated out of the box, flicker free, and does exhibit
IPS glow and some bleed around the edges but I find that pretty normal.
This monitor also does produce a little bit of coil whine but only while in standby mode
so you might need to turn off the display if you sleep in the same room.
But in general, it’s everything I’d expect from a monitor for a great productivity or
content creation display.
The free Dell display software has also improved from when I last tested it.
Using it I can quickly maximize my applications to a third of the monitor while holding down
the shift key, while still having the flexibility to have custom-sized windows floating around
on screen, or manually extend a window wider when I’m looking at a long timeline on Premiere
Pro.
You can choose from a variety of different configurations or customize your own.
But I found 3 equal thirds worked best for my workflow.
It doesn’t have as many power user and customization features as something like DisplayFusion provides,
but it’s enough for what I need to get the most out of this ultrawide display.
And it’s free so there’s no reason not to use it.
Next let’s look at the KVM switch.
If you’re like me who likes to switch between a laptop and desktop, the built in KVM in
the display is almost perfect, I’ve customized the easy to use physical display buttons,
so I can quickly choose USB C input on my laptop, or DisplayPort on my desktop.
Switching the display also redirects my USB Keyboard and Mouse to whichever system I have
specify in the display.
So, it’s a seamless transition switching between my desktop and laptop.
You can also program a keyboard shortcut to make switching display inputs even faster
but there’s a small bug that prevents the usb inputs from switching over if the other
system’s display is asleep, but this isn’t an issue if you use the physical buttons instead.
As for the connectors on the Dell U4919DW it has two HDMIs, one DisplayPort, one USB-C,
and a variety of USB connections.
All the video ports support the full 5120x1440 at 60Hz and you also can run this monitor
in picture by picture mode so it acts like two separate discrete 2560x1440 displays.
Perfect if you want to run two systems at the same time on this display or if you want
to game in exclusive full screen on one half while still being free to display anything
else on the other.
USB-C is the other key feature you’ll find more and more on modern displays.
Connecting a laptop to this Display over USB C is simple.
Through a single cable you’re driving the display, connecting to the USB Keyboard and
Mouse, and recharging the laptop with up to 60W of power delivery.
The stand for the display is pretty standard for Dell ultrasharps.
You can change the height, tilt, and even pivot, so it’s everything I need for my
ergonomics.
But I really like the aesthetics of using a monitor arm, so I’ve been using my Amazon
Basic Monitor arm, and while at 25lbs this monitor is at the load limit for this arm,
it seems to be holding up well so far.
So in the end, this monitor is almost perfect for what I need in a productivity display.
The resolution is perfect for comfortably laying out 3 applications or viewing a long
video edit.
The included Dell Display manager software makes arranging and re-arranging applications
across such a large display really simple.
And the built in KVM feature makes switching between my desktop and laptop simple and instantaneous.
But if you’re mainly a gamer I’d stick to a high refresh rate ultrawide.
Or if you’re mainly watching movies or HDR content maybe get a TV instead, and that price
tag of $1700 is well let’s be honest is a lot of money, whereas instead you could
just go for a pair of nice 27 inch or 34 inch ultrawide monitors to save yourself some money.
But if you’re like me, and just want that near perfect multi-tasking experience on a
clean and simple single monitor.
This is pretty much as good as it gets.
But I’m definitely going to need a bigger desk.
Hope you guys enjoyed this one.
You know what to do.
And I’ll see you in the next video.