14 DAY TRIAL // Cramming a native resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels (4K) into a monitor or TV smaller than 40 inches is rare enough, but Dell wanted to take things one step further, so it put together a very special monitor.
That monitor is not only smaller than pretty much every 4K-capable display out there but also has a native resolution superior to that specification.
More precisely, the new monitor that Dell created has a resolution of 5120 x 2880 pixels, which leads to a pixel density of 218 pixels per inch. That is a lot. Take a 28-inch 4K monitor: it has a density of 157 ppi.
Behold the Dell UltraSharp UP2715K
“UltraSharp” was a well-deserved moniker for 4K monitors, and even some displays with lower resolution than that. Thus, a 5K display definitely earned its place in the same collection, and then some.
We're mildly surprised Dell didn't just give it a new name altogether, but we can only assume that the newcomer will be a unique piece of work, at least for a while.
4K panels are rarely enough bought, and a 5K display is, because of that, even more out of this world and out of time because of it.
If anyone buys it, it will be due to its status as a curiosity, and of course a means to accrue bragging rights among your peers.
We're making abstraction of the product's price though. Considering the image quality inherent to the resolution, and not even counting the other assets Dell made sure to include, the price is really low.
You'll be hard-pressed to find a 4K-capable monitor or TV for less than five thousand dollars / euro, or even more, but the new Dell UltraSharp UP2715K is priced below $2,000 / €1,600 - €2,000.
Sure, 27 inches is a lot less than 40 inches, but it's not like 4K-capable 28-inch monitors don't exist, and they don't cost so little. Although their makers might cut down the tags now that they have something to compare against.
Other features of the Dell UltraSharp UP2715K
The screen is an IPS panel of 10 bits, which allows it to produce 99% of the Adobe RGB color space and 100 percent of the sRGB palette. The 12-bit LUT set is supported as well. All the while, the maximum brightness is of 350 cd/m2, the contrast ratio is 1000:1 (dynamic contrast ratio of millions:1, dynamic mega-contrast as it were), and the viewing angles are of 178°/178°.
The only downside is the response time of 8 ms (average is 5 ms, the lower the better), but nothing's perfect.
Sales of the Dell UltraSharp UP2715K monitor will begin in December 2014 (next month then). The monitor has a pair of DisplayPort connectors, both of which need to be used for the 5K resolution to work (insufficient bandwidth for the 5K, 60Hz feed otherwise).
