“Introducing Dell’s fastest 32″ QHD curved HDR gaming monitor. Featuring strikingly realistic visuals with AMD FreeSync™ 2 HDR and 165Hz refresh rates.”
Link to Dell 32” S3220DGF Monitor (Currys)
Sections in this review:
Initial thoughts during unboxing
Setting up
During use
Suggested improvements
Conclusion
Images
Initial thoughts during unboxing
The monitor is packaged very well with polystyrene/cardboard support, of which there’s minimal packaging to dispose of, showing thought about the environment – hold onto the box and packaging for future safe storage or transport of the monitor. The box itself even clearly indicates the specs of the monitor, what accessories are included inside and how to unpack the contents.
A good, solid stand is included that’s easy to attach to the base using a thumb screw (no tools required) and there’s a hole in the stand to pass cables through with a nice blue logo near the top of the stand at the top/rear (the monitor is also wall mountable using a standard VESA 100 x 100 bracket). Speaking of the stand, leave the monitor in the box when connecting the stand with the attached base (keep the cover over the monitor, to protect the screen, until you’re ready to use it later).
When lifting the monitor out of the box, hold the part of the stand where it’s connected to the monitor, while using the other hand to hold the underside of the monitor. When moving the monitor around, it’s best to hold the sides of the monitor. Once unpacked with the cover taken off, the monitor has a sophisticated look – a mix of grey and black colours (grey for the base/stand/back and black for the front frame), so the monitor will contrast well and easily fit in with any hardware you may have.
Although the monitor is categorised as a gaming monitor, it is professional-looking and therefore would easily pass as a monitor in a corporate environment. The dimensions of this 32” monitor are 424.9 x 709.1 x 59.8 mm (H x W x D), which is about standard size for this shape of monitor, though some other monitors are slightly larger due to the size of their bezels. Speaking of which, the bezels on the Dell S3220DGF are of a minimal size and even the bottom bezel (where the Dell logo is) is small in height. The weight of this monitor (with stand) is a respectable 7.63 kg which is less than some other monitors.
Accessories include a DisplayPort 1.2 cable, HDMI 2.0 cable, USB 3.0 upstream cable and a power cable. Documentation including a quick set up guide comes in the box. The monitor, stand and base has a good, solid quality feel and nothing felt or sounded loose. When making space for the new monitor, disconnect the old one (leave the power cable for use with the new one) and carefully move the old monitor to another location, before wiping all the surfaces of the hardware and desk where you intend to place the new monitor.
Setting up
The Dell S3220DGF monitor is very quick and easy to setup. If you’re yet to connect the cables to the monitor, use the cover temporarily to prevent the screen from being marked (from fingerprints etc) until everything’s done.
The monitor has an excellent range of ports. From left to right (when looking at the back of the monitor) is the power port, security lock slot, 2x HDMI 2.0 ports,1 x DisplayPort 1.4 , audio line-out port, 1x USB 3.0 upstream port and 4x USB 3.0 downstream ports – two of these USB ports are located on the bottom edge of the monitor (and are BC1.2 charging) with a headphone out port between them. The fact that this monitor has a standard power connector means there’s no external adaptor for you to place or hang somewhere, especially as some adaptors can be extremely bulky.
Unlike some monitors, this monitor is swivel, height and tilt adjustable – many are a combination of just two of these. The monitor has a really good range of height adjustment too. When the monitor is at its lowest, the bottom of the frame measures about 6cm off the table top – which is very low, and when the monitor is at its highest, the bottom of the frame measures about 20.5cm off the table top – which is quite high. The bottom of the stand is positioned near the rear of the nicely-shaped base (which is about 250mm deep, 320mm wide and has rubber feet underneath to protect your desk), so if you have a relatively shallow desk the actual screen won’t end up being too close to you which is reassuring.
The curved shape of the screen (1800R, not too tight or shallow a curve) allows for a more immersive experience, so no matter which part of the screen you’re looking at, the distance remains the same. An optimum viewing experience will need a distance of about 30-35 inches, give or take, between your face and the screen.
During use
Although this is not a 4k monitor, the picture quality is excellent, images are crisp and detailed with great contrast – blacks are deep and whites/colours are bright. Although the LED-backlit VA panel is not a true 10bit panel (it’s 8+2), it has 1.07 billion colours, a native contrast ratio of 3000:1 and 90% DCI-P3 colour coverage. Viewing angles are good (178° / 178°) although you’re likely going to sit directly in front of the monitor and you can always swivel the monitor if need be.
The monitor has a brightness of 400 cd/m² which can be adjusted to lower settings, especially as the monitor is initially very bright once setup. ComfortView is a feature of the monitor that optimizes eye comfort by reducing blue light emissions and Anti-glare with 3H hardness is another feature that reduces reflections thereby making the picture clearer no matter how much light there is in the room. There’s a variety of preset display options, depending on your preference and the lighting environment your monitor is in.
The Quad HD (WQHD) 2560 x 1440p resolution offers almost twice as many pixels as full HD displays. Some may be concerned about upgrading to a 32” monitor, thinking it may be too large. 32” is a good size allowing for a lot of screen real estate and even those upgrading from something such as an old 19” SXGA monitor will appreciate the size of this monitor. Also, some may be wondering whether to choose between a 1440p monitor (2560 x 1440p, 16:9 ratio) or an ultrawide monitor (3440 x 1440p, 21:9 ratio). A 1440p (16:9 ratio) monitor fits most use cases, especially as it displays movies better, occupies less horizontal desk space and the vertical space of a 1440p monitor will be appreciated by many (some argue two windows placed side by side on a 1440p monitor look better/don’t look as squashed, compared to what it would look like on an ultrawide monitor).
This monitor comes with excellent gamer-specific specifications and features including a fast 4ms response time, 165Hz refresh rate, AMD FreeSync™ 2 HDR, DisplayHDR™ 400-certification, timer, frame rate counter, dark stabilizer, display alignment and user-defined profile presets. So even if you’re not so much a gamer and instead are more of a productive or general computer user, this monitor will have you covered for the occasion you want to let loose.
To control all of the functionality, there’s seven menu buttons located on the bottom right edge (when facing the front of the monitor) that are of the push type, which feel firm when pressed. Some may prefer the joystick type of menu button but these push buttons are easy to use/get used to and would be infrequently accessed anyway.
Suggested improvements
A joystick-type menu control, HDMI 2.1 ports and an extra cable perhaps (for those who may have another HDMI source to connect the monitor to) would be appreciated by some, but these are not a deal-breaker.
Conclusion
At the time of writing, this is Dell’s fastest 32″ QHD curved HDR gaming monitor. Given this, the monitor’s specifications, variety of ports and viewing experience outlined above, together with Dell’s guarantee of 3 years and their history for manufacturing excellent hardware, the Dell 32” S3220DGF Quad HD Curved Gaming Monitor is a high quality and versatile monitor that is suitable for a range of environments and uses – all at a reasonable price.
Images
