Dell UltraSharp 34 Curved Monitor U3417W Review (2024)

When we reviewed Dell's UltraSharp U3415W ($799.99 at Dell) last year, it was only the second 34-inch, ultra-wide curved monitor to hit PC Labs (the LG 34UC97-S ( at Amazon) being the first), and its excellent performance and robust feature set earned it our Editors' Choice for the emerging category. Its replacement, the Dell UltraSharp 34 Curved Monitor U3417W ($1,099.99), doesn't offer much in the way of new features other than a more pronounced curve and side-mounted USB ports, but it, too, delivers outstanding color and grayscale performance and is packed with a powerful audio system, an ergonomic stand, and multiple video ports. It's our top pick for high-end, extra-large-screen monitors.

Design and Features
The U3417W($879.99 at Dell) is similar in looks to the Dell U3415W. Both of them use a black-and-gray, bezel-free cabinet, and both have a curved In-Plane Switching (IPS) panel with a WQHD (3,440-by-1,440) resolution. The biggest difference between the two has to do with the panels' curve: The Dell U3415W has a slight 3,800R curvature (which means that if you put several of these monitors edge to edge to create a complete circle, the circle's radius would be 3,800mm), while the U3417W offers a more pronounced 1,900R curvature. Additionally, the U3417W has two side-mounted USB 3.0 ports, whereas the Dell U3415W's USB ports are all located at the rear of the cabinet. The U3417W's panel has non-reflective coating and a peak brightness of 300 cd/m², a 21:9 aspect ratio, a 1,000:1 native contrast ratio, and a 5-millisecond pixel response.

The 16.9-pound cabinet is supported by a stand that offers 60 degrees of swivel, 26 degrees of tilt, and 4.5 inches of height adjustability, and the rear panel contains VESA mounting holes for wall mounting. There are four function buttons, a Power switch, and two 9-watt, down-firing speakers embedded in the lower bezel. At the rear of the cabinet, facing downward, are two HDMI inputs, a full-size DisplayPort input, a mini-DisplayPort input, and a full-size DisplayPort output that can be used to connect multiple monitors in a daisy-chain configuration. They share space with an audio output, two USB 3.0 downstream ports, and a USB 3.0 upstream port.

Picture settings include Brightness, Contrast, Gamma, Sharpness, and Dynamic Contrast Ratio settings. There are seven picture presets, including Standard, ComfortView (low blue light), Multimedia, Movie, Game, Color Temperature, and Custom Color. The Custom Color setting contains advanced six-color Hue and Saturation adjustments, as well as RGB Gain and Offset settings. There's also a Uniformity Compensation setting, which is calibrated at the factory to ensure that brightness and color fidelity is uniform across the entire screen.

Dell UltraSharp 34 Curved Monitor U3417W

Dell covers the U3417W with a three-year warranty on parts, labor, and backlight. Inside the box are DisplayPort and HDMI cables, an upstream USB cable, and a resource CD containing drivers and a User Guide.

Performance
The U3417W provides excellent color accuracy out of the box. On the chromaticity chart below, the colored dots represent our color measurements results as measured with a colorimeter, and the boxes represent the ideal color coordinates as defined by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE). As you can see, red, green, and blue colors are perfectly aligned with their corresponding boxes. Moreover, colors appeared uniform and evenly saturated in the DisplayMate Color Purity and Uniformity tests and while displaying scenes from Marvel's Captain America: Civil War on Blu-ray.

In my test photos, the IPS panel did an excellent job of displaying highlight and shadow detail, and it aced the DisplayMate 64-Step Grayscale test, accurately displaying every shade of gray from light to dark. IPS panels are known for their wide viewing angles, and the U3417W is no different; colors stayed true, and the picture remained bright when viewed from an extreme top, bottom, and side angle.

Although gaming is not the U3417W's forte, its 5-millisecond (gray-to-gray) pixel response did an acceptable job of displaying fast-action gaming in our Crysis 3 (PC) and Grand Theft Auto V (Sony PlayStation 4($799.95 at Amazon)) performance tests. There was some screen tearing and noticeable ghosting in darker scenes of the games, but these artifacts were relatively minor. If ultra-smooth gaming is a requirement, you're better off with a dedicated gaming monitor, such as the Acer Predator X34 ($499.00 at Amazon) . The U3417W's input lag (the time it takes for the monitor to react to a controller command) of 28.7 milliseconds, as measured with a Leo Bodnar Lag Tester, will also deter gaming enthusiasts. Our fastest monitor, the BenQ XL2430T ($470.69 at Walmart) , measured a short 9.5 milliseconds, and the Acer X34 measured 10.3 milliseconds.

The U3417W does not offer a power-saving ECO mode, and it consumed 56 watts of power in testing while operating in Standard mode. That's more than the Acer X34 (49 watts), the BenQ XR3501 ( at Amazon) (50 watts), and the Dell U3415W (46 watts).

Conclusion
If you're looking to replace a dual-monitor setup or just want more screen space for watching movies and surfing the Web, put the Dell UltraSharp 34 Curved Monitor U3417W at the top of your list. At just over a grand, it isn't cheap, but if you require top-shelf performance from an ultra-wide monitor, it's money well spent. The 34-inch IPS panel delivers stellar color and grayscale performance, and viewing angles are wide, with no picture degradation. The massive screen's 1,900R curvature puts you closer to the action while watching video, and the dual 9-watt speakers deliver a nice wall of sound. Although the U3417W is not designed for gaming, it can still be pressed into casual play, but its input lag and lack of gamer-centric features will likely disappoint the hardcore gaming crowd. As with its predecessor, the Dell U3415W, this model offers plenty of ports, including a DisplayPort output for daisy-chaining multiple monitors and a USB 3.0 hub, but this time around Dell placed a couple of USB ports on the side of the cabinet for easy access. Solid performance, robust features, and a few key upgrades put the Dell UltraSharp 34 Curved Monitor U3417W at the top of its class, and earns it our Editors' Choice distinction.