Dell P2715Q Monitor Review

We purchased the Dell P2715Q Monitor so our expert reviewer could thoroughly test and assess it. Keep reading for our full product review.

Whether you’re hooking it up to a dedicated desktop computer or using it as a secondary display for your laptop, you always want to make sure you’re getting the best bang for your buck when getting a computer monitor. Enter the Dell P2715Q, a 27-inch 4K monitor from Dell that puts function over form to deliver a sturdy, reliable experience in a muted package. Unlike monitors that catch your attention with their glitz and glamour, it’s a functional high-resolution display that gets the job done well without too much fuss. Plus, it won’t break the bank. 

We’ve spent countless hours putting the P2715Q to the test. Read on to see our compiled thoughts.

Design: Utilitarian above all else

Unlike its gaming-centric subsidiary Alienware, Dell tends to keep most of its own products understated in terms of design. The Dell P2715Q is a testament to that mentality, with a rather basic monitor design. 

The screen has fairly prominent bezels that are black and measure about two centimeters. The stand is silver and features a fairly minimal base that’s small, but sturdy enough to hold the monitor regardless of its orientation. The integrated cable organization on the rear of the stand was a thoughtful addition on Dell’s behalf, as it made it much easier to conceal the mess of wires behind the display and feed them underneath our desk (which doesn’t look nearly as neat as the top). 

Setup Process: Quick and painless

Setting up the display was simple. The monitor came in one piece inside its box and didn’t require any additional construction to get it in operating condition. Getting it running was as simple as plugging in the included power adapter and selecting from one of the two connection cables included with the monitor (we opted to use the HDMI cable with our 2016 Retina MacBook Pro running macOS Catalina).

Our computer immediately recognized the display and scaled the interface to match the 4K resolution of the Dell P2715Q. Out of the box, we felt the display was a bit bright, but that was easy enough to adjust using the onboard menu buttons located on the lower-right-hand corner of the monitor’s bezel. With that tweaked, we were ready to roll. 

Image Quality: Solid, but nothing special

The Dell P2715Q features a 27-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels for a total of more than eight million pixels. It offers a refresh rate of 60Hz and has a 9ms response time. 

For most tasks, the 60Hz refresh rate and 9ms response time was manageable, but if you’ve used monitors with faster response rates and higher refresh rates, you might notice the relative lag this monitor has compared to those. We didn’t notice it much when doing basic productivity test or browsing the web, but anytime we attempted to play games on the monitor, there was a noticeable difference compared to more gaming-oriented displays. 

According to Dell, the P2715Q offers more than 99 percent of the sRGB color space and a typical brightness of 350 cd/m2 (nits). Using a Datacolor Spyder X monitor calibration tool, we tested these claims were able to verify Dell’s claims. According to our calibration tests, the Dell P2715Q was able to achieve a maximum brightness of 452 cd/m2 (nits) and covered 100 percent of the sRGB color gamut. Furthermore, it managed to reproduce 78 percent of Adobe RGB, 75 percent of NTSC, and 80 percent of P3 color gamuts. 

These numbers mean you won’t want to use this for photography or video purposes if you’re doing it in a more serious capacity, such as printing large-scale or color grading commercial-grade films, but for basic photo editing for images that will appear on the web, it’ll get the job done without issue. The difference can further be diminished if you happen to have a calibration device on hand such as the Spyder X tool we used for this review, as it can create a more uniform profile for your specific needs. 

The screen on the Dell P2715Q proved more than bright enough, even at half power. In fact, during our calibration test, we had to turn the monitor down to 40 percent to achieve the desired 120 nit range suggested for standard displays. 

Overall, the display proved more than adequate for every task we threw its way outside of gaming. That said, casual gaming is manageable if you’re playing a less framerate-intensive game, such as first person shooters. We edited photos and videos, spent countless hours browsing the web (and even writing this article on the display), and even tossed together a few spreadsheets and it seamlessly fit into the workflow, providing plenty of resolution for our needs.

Price: Too much for too little

The Dell P2715Q is usually on sale for $430 if you can find it. At that price, the monitor is a bit overpriced, as Dell itself has numerous other monitors that far surpass it in both specs and features.

Competition: No shortage of rivals

There’s no shortage of competitors for the Dell P2715Q; it’s a fairly standard monitor with a basic feature set and standard design. However, for the sake of simplicity, we’ve narrowed it down to two 27-inch 4K competitors from two other manufacturers: the LG 27UD68-P and the Philips 276E8VJSB.

First up is the budget option, the Philips 276E8VJSB. This LED monitor measures in at 27 inches with a 4K IPS display (3840 x 2160 pixels). It features a streamlined design with thin bezels around the top and sides of the monitor with a thicker chin at the bottom. It features a DisplayPort 1.2 connection, two HDMI 2.0 connections and offers Philips’ MultiView technology, which allows you to use the single monitor as a display for two separate connected devices. It features a 60Hz refresh rate and a 5ms response time. This monitor costs just $279.99, making it less than half the price of the Dell P2715Q, all while offering a slightly improved package over the Dell. 

Next up is the LG 27UD68-P, a 27-inch 4K IPS monitor (3840 x 2160 pixels). The monitor features over 99 percent sRGB color gamut coverage, offers FreeSync functionality, and works with LG’s On-Screen Control software for easy setting changes via your computer. The monitor features a 16:9 aspect ratio and includes one DisplayPort 1.2 port, two HDMI 2.0 ports, and a single 3.5mm output port for audio. 

Simply put, the Dell P2715Q has plenty of competition and unless you’re set on the design of the Dell, it’s probably safe to say you’re better off finding a newer monitor with improved features and connections, because there’s no shortage of options.