The Dell S2721DGF is a 27 inch, 1440p monitor gaming monitor with a fast refresh rate and great gaming features. The IPS panel delivers wide viewing angles, and it has excellent ergonomics. It has a remarkable response time at the max refresh rate, with very little blur behind fast-moving objects, and it has a fantastic low input lag for responsive gaming and desktop experience. It's a versatile monitor with great reflection handling and a high peak brightness in SDR, so glare isn't an issue in a bright room. It has disappointing accuracy out of the box, but it has a superb SDR color gamut and incredible gradient handling. Although this monitor supports HDR and can display a wide color gamut, it can't get very bright in HDR and has low contrast, so HDR doesn't add much.
Our Verdict
The Dell S2721DGF is a great monitor for most uses. It has wide viewing angles, excellent ergonomics, and great reflection handling, making it a very good choice for office use or multimedia. Motion looks fantastic thanks to its remarkable response time at the max refresh rate, and it has low input lag, making it a great choice for gaming as well. Unfortunately, although it supports HDR, this doesn't add much due to the low peak brightness and low contrast.
- Excellent gray uniformity.
- Amazing horizontal viewing angle.
- Low input lag.
- Low contrast.
- Terrible local dimming.
- Disappointing accuracy out of the box.
The Dell 27 Gaming Monitor S2721DGF is a great office monitor. The 27 inch, 1440p screen is great for multitasking, and it has wide viewing angles and excellent ergonomics, so you can easily share your screen with someone else. It has great reflection handling and high peak brightness in SDR, so visibility isn't an issue in a bright room. Unfortunately, it has a low contrast ratio and poor black uniformity, so it's not ideal if you're in a dark room.
- Excellent gray uniformity.
- Superb SDR color gamut.
- Amazing horizontal viewing angle.
- Excellent ergonomics.
- Great reflection handling.
- Low contrast.
- Terrible local dimming.
- Disappointing accuracy out of the box.
The Dell 27 Gaming Monitor S2721DGF is great for gaming. It has a remarkable response time at the max refresh rate, resulting in clear motion with almost no noticeable blur behind fast-moving objects, whether you're gaming on a high-end PC or a console. It also has low input lag for a responsive gaming experience. Finally, it supports AMD's FreeSync variable refresh rate technology, and it's certified to work with NVIDIA's G-SYNC Compatible mode, both of which help to reduce screen tearing.
- Remarkable response time.
- Fast refresh rate.
- Low input lag.
- Great reflection handling.
- Low contrast.
- Terrible local dimming.
- Disappointing accuracy out of the box.
The Dell S2721DGF monitor is very good choice for watching videos. The amazing horizontal viewing angle makes it a great choice for watching the latest trending videos with some friends. The high SDR peak brightness and great reflection handling mean you don't have to worry about glare in a bright room. Sadly, it doesn't look as good in the dark due to its sub-par contrast ratio and poor black uniformity.
- Excellent gray uniformity.
- Amazing horizontal viewing angle.
- Low input lag.
- Great reflection handling.
- Poor black uniformity.
- Low contrast.
- Terrible local dimming.
- Disappointing accuracy out of the box.
The Dell S2721DGF is a great choice for media creators. The large, high-resolution screen makes it easier to see more of your work at once. It has excellent ergonomics and an amazing horizontal viewing angle, so you can easily share the screen with clients or colleagues. It has a superb SDR color gamut, with good coverage of the Adobe RGB color space. However, it has disappointing accuracy out of the box, so it might be necessary to have it professionally calibrated.
- Excellent gray uniformity.
- Superb SDR color gamut.
- Amazing horizontal viewing angle.
- Excellent ergonomics.
- Great reflection handling.
- Poor black uniformity.
- Low contrast.
- Terrible local dimming.
- Disappointing accuracy out of the box.
- Low contrast.
- Terrible local dimming.
- Disappointing accuracy out of the box.
Changelog
- Updated Sep 26, 2023: Made a reference to the Dell G2724D, which has an even faster Response Time @ 60Hz.
- Updated Apr 18, 2023: Confirmed that 1440p works on this monitor with the PS5.
- Updated Feb 21, 2023: Corrected our Reflections measurements, causing the Calculated Direct Reflections to increase.
- Updated Dec 22, 2022: Updated the text for clarity to match the results in Response Time.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Dell 27 Gaming Monitor S2721DGF, which is the only size available. There's an S2721DGFA variant that's only available in Europe but appears to be the same monitor. There are other gaming options available from Dell's 'S' series of monitors, some of which are listed below.
| Model | Size | Native Resolution | Refresh Rate | VRR | Panel | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S2721DGF | 27" | 2560x1440p | 165Hz |
FreeSync |
IPS | |
| S2721DGFA | 27" | 2560x1440p | 165Hz | FreeSync | IPS | EU version only |
| S2421HGF | 24" | 1920x1080p | 144Hz | FreeSync | TN | |
| S3220DGF | 32" | 2560x1440p | 165Hz | FreeSync | VA | |
| S2719DGF | 27'' | 2560x1440p | 144Hz | FreeSync | TN |
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their Dell S2721DGF doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we'll update the review. Note that some tests such as contrast, gray uniformity, and black uniformity may vary between individual units.
Our unit was manufactured in June 2020, and you can see the label here.
Popular Monitor Comparisons
The Dell 27 Gaming Monitor S2721DGF is a great monitor. It's a great gaming monitor that also works well for office use, multimedia, or media creation.
See our recommendations for the best gaming monitors, the best 27 inch monitors, and the best budget gaming monitors.
The Dell G2724D is a newer monitor than the Dell S2721DGF, and they have many of the same features. They each have a 1440p resolution and 165Hz refresh rate, but the G2724D is an improvement in most areas. This is because the G2724D has a faster response time across its entire refresh rate range, and it has better compatibility with consoles. It can downscale 4k images, which the S2721DGF can't do, and it even supports VRR with the PS5. The G2724D also offers better picture quality with higher peak brightness and improved color accuracy. On the other hand, the S2721DGF has a USB hub, which the G2724D doesn't have.
The Dell S2721DGF and the Samsung Odyssey G50D S27DG50 are both budget-friendly 1440p gaming monitors. They have similar specs and features, although the Samsung has a slightly higher 180Hz refresh rate. The Samsung is also brighter and comes with more accurate colors, so it offers a more polished overall experience. That said, the Dell has four USB-A ports to which you can connect your devices, which you can't do with the Samsung.
The Acer Nitro XV272U KVbmiiprzx and the Dell S2721DGF are both 27 inch IPS monitors with a 1440p resolution. The Acer has a slightly higher refresh rate of 170Hz next to the Dell's 165Hz, but the difference is small and shouldn't be noticeable to most people. The Acer has better response times, especially at 60Hz. Other than that, the only other big difference between them is the screen brightness.
The Dell S2721DGF is a bit better than the HP X27q overall. The Dell delivers a smoother gaming experience, with much less blur behind fast-moving objects. The Dell is also much more versatile, with a better stand that's easier to adjust to an ideal viewing position, and it has better connectivity, with a built-in USB hub so you can easily connect your peripherals to your PC.
We buy and test more than 30 monitors each year, all of which we purchase ourselves, without cherry-picked units or samples. We put a lot into each unbiased, straight-to-the-point review, and there's a whole process from purchasing to publishing, involving multiple teams and people. We do more than just use the monitor for a week; we use specialized, custom tools to measure various aspects and deliver objective, data-driven results. We also consider multiple factors before making any recommendations, including the monitor's cost, its performance compared to the competition, and whether it's easy to find.
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