HOW I GOT IT Since July 2020 I’ve used a 24 inches curved monitor from Samsung: 1080p resolution, VA panel, a fairly standard solution at a reasonable cost (≈ 110€). I wasn’t disappointed with it, at all, but with some cash scraped together thanks to a couple of tech arbitrages (if you know me well, you are accustomed to my buy-and-sell spirit), I decided to invest in a new, better, bigger monitor.

My desk has a shelf 45 centimeters above it. The space for a PC monitor is therefore limited, and my first idea for the new purchase was directed towards a 21:9 ultra wide monitor: I do not play video games, and the increased horizontal real estate would have been much welcomed to improve my daily workflow. I had two choices regarding sizes: 29″ or 34″ (roughly corresponding to 24″ and 27″ in 16:9). After a detailed online research, I discovered that I had to stick with the former size, as 34″ monitors below 45cm in height are pretty rare.

At this point, however, I started considering the impact that an ultra wide screen would have been on my neck+shoulder pain that, unfortunately, has been with me for a long time. Turning the head right and left to reach the corners of the monitor would have been counterproductive to my initial intention of enhancing my desk setup. So, I concluded that I needed a standard 16:9 monitor, most likely a 27 inches one: after some time I shortlisted two models but miraculously (you’ll read why I use this adverb) I came across the main character of this post: the Dell S3221QS.

Screen dimensions	31.5 inches (80 cm), curved (1800R)
Resolution and refresh rate	4K (3840×2160 pixels)
Refresh rate	60 Hz
Screen technology	VA, supports HDR
Contrast ratio	3000:1
Response time	8-5-4 ms
Max brightness	300 cd/m²
Interface	2 x HDMI 2.0, 1 x DisplayPort 1.2, 2 x USB 3.0
Audio	2 x 5 W speakers, audio line-out
Adjustable stand	Yes (tilt, height)
Physical dimensions (LxWxH)	70.92 cm x 20.7 cm x 44.81 cm
Notable features	AMD FreeSync, VESA 100X100 cm, USB hub
Price (paid)	420€ (320€)

MY REVIEW As you can see from the above specs, this Dell juuuuust fits on my desk, a couple of mm shy of the shelf. Gaudemus igitur! I can’t deny how nervous I was when I unboxed and placed it for the first time, the monitor really seems merging itself with the library I have in front of me… Anyway, once everything was set in terms of cables and connections, I turned it on and this represents quite faithfully my reaction when I first opened a 4K video on YouTube:

It. Is. Gorgeous. The sense of immersion given by the combo curved display + large panel + slim bezels is unique, and the various settings let you tweak the image quality in so many ways that I still have to find them all. The HDR isn’t that effective, to be honest, but at this price point it is understandable. I tried connecting both my work (Lenovo ThinkPad L390, through its docking station) and personal (Apple MacBook Air M1) laptops, and they work well. Not flawlessly, as I encountered some obstacles with my MacBook, but still the experience has been good so far.

The real deal for me, apart from the great image quality, is how incredibly productive this monitor is. I can place four windows at once (for instance Teams, Outlook, PowerPoint and Excel), and everything is under control effortlessly. I will experiment other solutions, like Edge on 2/3 of the screen and Outlook and the other 1/3, but I am confident to say that this Dell is a true revolution for my day-to-day activities in front of a PC.

Another point worth mentioning is the PiP/PbP mode: when the ThinkPad and the MacBook are connected at the same time, turning on this function enables me to have one desktop inside the other (PiP, Picture-in-Picture) or one next to the other (PbP, Picture-by-Picture). These are particularly useful arrangements as they allow me to run personal contents in a smaller screen (still clocking a nice 1080p) while working on the bigger area, for example.

It’s less than a week that I have this beast on my desk, so these are more first impressions than a proper full review. Anyway, I’m super super happy about this purchase I made; more so as it is a sort of “first (true) contract gift” that I made to myself 😎