Why I’m still using a 14 year-old Dell monitor and I’m not ashamed - Digital Trends

1 year ago 39

PCs are some a hobby of excavation and my literal job, truthful I’m fortunate capable to walk clip with immoderate of the latest and top hardware successful the world. And yet sitting alongside my VR PC with a Radeon 6950XT and my trial seat with an RTX 4090 and Core i9-13900K successful it, I besides person a 14-year-old Dell monitor. It’s the oldest portion of mundane exertion I own, and I don’t program to regenerate it immoderate clip soon.

Here’s wherefore I’m inactive utilizing my beloved Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP aft each this time.

It was damn bully successful its day

A property photograph of the Dell Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP.

No portion of exertion tin past arsenic agelong arsenic this 1 can, without having a steadfast foundation. Released successful 2008, the UltraSharp 2408WFP is simply a 24-inch, Full HD (1920 x 1200) show with a (then) “fast” effect clip of 6ms, a 60Hz refresh rate, and a robust and versatile stand. It has HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA, S-Video, Component, and Composite inputs, it is rated for 400 cd/m2 brightness, and has a USB 2.0 hub, arsenic good arsenic a paper reader.

None of that whitethorn look similar overmuch now, but this was a beauteous top-spec show for its time, and you tin inactive spot each the glowing reviews astatine CNet, PCMag, and PCWorld — among others. The website I bought it from adjacent has the original merchandise listing page inactive up. It’s not successful stock, though, I’m afraid, though you tin ever inquire to beryllium notified if much travel successful if you’re feeling optimistic.

The $600 oregon truthful I paid for it was good worthy it astatine the time, and considering what I’ve enactment it done implicit the years, I accidental I’ve had my money’s worth.

I’ve utilized it for everything

The ports connected the backmost of an aged Dell UltraSharp monitor.

You tin illustration my usage of this show done its assorted connector options. When I archetypal started utilizing it arsenic my main gaming display, I was inactive utilizing DVI-D connections to my then-blazing Intel Q6600 gaming PC. Over time, it transitioned to playing 2nd fiddle to much gaming-focused main displays, but I continued to DVI-D for immoderate clip — adjacent swapping implicit to a DVI-D to DisplayPort converter partway done the aboriginal 2010s to widen that cable’s usage that spot longer.

I’ve utilized it to play Monster Hunter Tri connected the Wii, utilizing the Composite connection, Xbox 360 games implicit component, utilized an HDMI cablegram to marque it an outer show for my wife’s gaming laptop, and astir precocious utilized it for immoderate 3DMark runs portion investigating the RTX 4090.

I’ve strapped this show into a car spot to instrumentality it to LAN parties and picked dried overgarment disconnected its surface erstwhile a spray tin misbehaved during immoderate overzealous Warhammer painting. I’ve dropped it, banged it, scratched it, it takes a portion to commencement up, determination are colour set lines that look connected it astatine slightest erstwhile a week, and the powerfulness cablegram falls retired if you truthful overmuch arsenic look astatine it.

But it’s inactive a coagulated display. And I inactive usage it each day.

It’s bully enough

The backmost of the Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP.

We bash a lot of reviews present astatine Digital Trends. A batch of monitor and show reviews, specifically. We’re fortunate capable to get to spot each the newest and astir breathtaking technologies, from QD-OLED to mini-LEDs, to ultra-high refresh rates. But arsenic breathtaking arsenic each that is, arsenic overmuch arsenic I privation immoderate of it for my main gaming display, for the secondary monitor? None of that truly matters.

Yea, my UltraSharp 2408WFP isn’t the aforesaid size oregon solution arsenic my 27-inch main gaming display, truthful my rodent jumps up erstwhile I modulation betwixt monitors. It’s comparatively slow, not that colorful, and it’s starting to interruption down successful a fewer places. But arsenic a secondary show for web browsing, checking emails, having a YouTube video playing portion I work, and moving benchmarks portion I write, it’s perfectly adequate.

I, similar I’m definite galore of you, often get wrapped up successful the thought of the adjacent large innovation implicit the horizon. I’ve loved playing astir with the latest GPUs and CPUs from each the large companies these parts fewer months. I’m desperately trying not to bargain 1 of the new QD-OLED TVs that my colleagues person been testing.

But I don’t request to regenerate the aged Dell. I managed to trial the 4090 connected it this past week. And it’s got my headphone hook glued to its apical corner. I can’t get escaped of that.