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Since 2004, I have worked on PCMag’s hardware team, covering at various times printers, scanners, projectors, storage, and monitors. I currently focus my testing efforts on 3D printers, pro and productivity displays, and drives and SSDs of all sorts. I would say that the D6000 is fine as a typical everyday productivity solution, but games would definitely be a problem, because on top of the loss of the NVIDIA GPU, you'll have the additional performance and image quality penalties of DisplayLink's compression that exist even with systems that only have a single GPU. You might even find that full screen video is a bit of an issue in terms of motion and/or compression artifacts, though this might depend on the resolution of your display and what else is going on with your system when trying to watch it. The U2520D handled both still and moving images well. Colors looked reasonably true and rich, and both contrast and dynamic range were spot-on. Our sample videos looked sharp and fluid, and showed a modest improvement in contrast with the Movie HDR setting enabled. A Whiz at Image Handling The Dell U2520D doesn’t have FreeSync, so naturally, it also won’t work with Nvidia’s G-Sync Compatible mode. You don’t get protection from tearing with this model, so optimizing your graphics settings to stabilize the framerate is necessary. Input lag sits at 10ms, so there will be no delays between your inputs and the display. Thoughts on the Dell U2520D
The U2520D has a VESA DisplayHDR 400 rating, the most basic level of VESA’s HDR scale. It has several HDR settings: DisplayHDR, Movie HDR, and Game HDR. It’s worth experimenting with them to see which you find the most pleasing. The User's Guide says the USB Type-C cable connects to the computer and “this port supports USB Power Delivery, Data, and DisplayPort video signal.” But none of that means anything to me. Power delivery? I already have power with the power cord. DisplayPort signal? I’m already using a DisplayPort cable. So I don’t get it. This model offers a pixel density of around 117PPI which isn’t close to 4K monitors, but sharp enough to produce clear and detailed images. Small objects like text can become less legible for some users, but as long as your eyesight is healthy you won’t have any problems. Gaming and videos look great since the pixels aren’t noticeable on this device when it viewed at a normal distance.Over the years, I have reviewed iPad and iPhone science apps, plus the occasional camera, laptop, keyboard, and mouse. I've also written a host of articles about astronomy, space science, travel photography, and astrophotography for PCMag and its past and present sibling publications (among them, Mashable and ExtremeTech), as well as for the PCMag Digital Edition. This is to allow PC's with different video OUT ports to work on the U2520D. To access the U2520D three USB Type-A downstream ports, you must also connect to the PC either the USB Type-A to Type-C cable or the USB Type-C to C cable. Below are three possible configurations =
If you’re looking for a compact but elite productivity monitor that displays color well, the U2520D is well worth your consideration. It costs less than the Lenovo P27u-10, and it features much better OSD navigation. It has a similar feature set but a smaller screen than the Editors’ Choice Dell 27 USB-C Monitor (P2720DC). They both have very good color accuracy, a full range of ergonomic features, and a generous port selection, plus both support automatic daisy chaining of a second monitor. The stand on the Dell U2520D is fully flexible, so its easier to arrange your desktop in a suitable way that is both comfortable and functional. It also comes in handy if you want to set up multiple displays, especially since this model supports daisy-chaining. You can opt for a VESA mount with a 100 x 100 bolt pattern, but we only think it’s necessary in extreme or special circumstances. The Dell U2520D also has a wide array of connectivity options that you won’t find on its competitors or gaming variants in the market. The monitor uses its DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0 slot as primary inputs, but it can also utilize its 90-watt USB-C port for single cable operation with laptops like the MacBook Pro. You will also find a second DP 1.4 slot for output which supports daisy-chaining for a seamless dual monitor setup. Build quality is fantastic like most Dell monitors, so you have no reason to doubt the Dell U2520D’s reliability and durability. The plastics feel reinforced and sturdy, while the seams and edges are straight and smooth. The device doesn’t exhibit any kind of wobbling so you won’t see annoying vibrations on the screen if you are a heavy typer. The buttons make it easy to navigate through the OSD. You can change color space, input source, brightness, contrast, and a host of other parameters. Note that if you daisy-chain a second monitor, you will first want to enable the MST setting in the Display menu. It Nails the sRGB Color SpaceUse the USB-C cable that came with the U2520D to connect the USB-C input on the U2520D to the USB-C port on the XPS. At that point you'll have both video and USB data (to enable the USB ports built into the display) running over that single cable, rather than just video as you would have if you got a USB-C to DP cable. You'll also have 90W of power coming from the display, which is better than the 65W available from the D6000 but still not ideal for your XPS 15. Dell claims color-gamut coverage of 99 percent of the sRGB color space, the standard color space used on the web and in many other applications, out of the box. The U2520D surpassed that, covering 99.9 percent of sRGB. Massive and sincere thanks for all that info. Very helpful. Point taken about providing all relevant tech info up front. Will try to do so in the future.
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