The Dell S2722DGM is a good 27 inch, 1440p monitor with a VA panel. It's a good monitor with very good contrast, excellent gray uniformity, and a superb SDR color gamut. It has just decent reflection handling but great peak brightness, so glare shouldn't be an issue for most users. It's one of the best monitors for gaming with a VA panel that we've tested so far, with fantastic low input lag, an excellent response time at the max refresh rate, and support for AMD's FreeSync Premium variable refresh rate technology. The VA panel has some downsides, though, as there's noticeable black smearing in dark scenes, and the image degrades when viewed at an angle. Overall, though, it's a good monitor that should please most people.
Our Verdict
The Dell S2722DGM is a decent monitor overall. The 27 inch, 1440p screen has a great amount of screen real estate for office use or media creation. It's great for gaming, with a fast response time, low input lag, and a handful of extra gaming features, including FreeSync variable refresh rate technology. It's decent for watching videos or media creation, but a bit limited, as the image degrades at an angle. Unfortunately, it doesn't support HDR.
- Deep blacks.
- Great peak brightness.
- Fantastic low input lag.
- Image degrades at an angle.
- Doesn't support HDR.
- Stand can't swivel or rotate to a portrait orientation.
The Dell S2722DGM is a good office monitor. The 27 inch, 1440p screen delivers a great amount of screen real estate, and it has good text clarity. It also has excellent gray uniformity, good gradient handling, and a superb SDR color gamut, great if your work requires accurate colors. It has just decent reflection handling but great peak brightness, so glare shouldn't be an issue for most people. The stand has limited ergonomics, though, as it can't swivel or rotate to portrait orientation, and the image degrades when viewed at an angle.
- Excellent gray uniformity.
- Great peak brightness.
- Superb SDR color gamut.
- Fantastic low input lag.
- Image degrades at an angle.
- Stand can't swivel or rotate to a portrait orientation.
- Mediocre black uniformity.
The Dell S2722DGM is a good gaming monitor. It has an okay response time at the max refresh rate, fantastic low input lag, and supports AMD's FreeSync variable refresh rate (VRR) technology for a nearly tear-free gaming experience. There's an optional black frame insertion feature that can clear up motion blur, but you can't use it at the same time as VRR. Unfortunately, like most monitors with VA panels, there's noticeable motion smearing in dark scenes.
- Okay response time at the max refresh rate.
- Fantastic low input lag.
- Fast refresh rate.
- Image degrades at an angle.
- Mediocre black uniformity.
- Black smearing in dark scenes.
The Dell S2722DGM is a decent monitor for watching videos. The 27 inch, 1440p screen delivers a sharp image when watching videos. It has fantastic input lag, excellent gray uniformity, and very good contrast. It only has decent reflection handling but great peak brightness, so glare shouldn't be an issue for most people. Unfortunately, the image degrades at an angle, so it's not a good choice for sharing the screen with someone else, and the stand can't swivel, so you can't really turn it to show them, either.
- Excellent gray uniformity.
- Deep blacks.
- Fantastic low input lag.
- Image degrades at an angle.
- Doesn't support HDR.
- Mediocre black uniformity.
- Black smearing in dark scenes.
The Dell S2722DGM is a decent monitor for media creation. The 27 inch, 1440p screen delivers great screen real estate, meaning you can see more of your project at once, and it has good text clarity. It has a superb SDR color gamut, but coverage of the Adobe RGB color space might be too low for professional use. It has excellent gray uniformity, good gradient handling, and very good contrast. Unfortunately, the image degrades at an angle, and the stand can't swivel or rotate to portrait orientation.
- Excellent gray uniformity.
- Deep blacks.
- Great peak brightness.
- Superb SDR color gamut.
- Image degrades at an angle.
- Stand can't swivel or rotate to a portrait orientation.
- Mediocre black uniformity.
The Dell S2722DGM doesn't support HDR.
Changelog
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Updated Feb 10, 2025:
Added that the Dell G2725D is another budget-friendly monitor with better accuracy before calibration.
- Updated Nov 30, 2023: Added that the Gigabyte GS27QC has a faster Response Time at its max refresh rate.
- Updated Oct 28, 2022: Added text to the macOS and Response Time boxes as part of Test Bench 1.2, and updated the text for accuracy throughout.
- Updated Oct 27, 2022: Updated to Test Bench 1.2, resulting in changes to the results and scores with the Response Time and Input Lag. Added tests for Console Compatibility and macOS compatibility and made minor changes to other tests, which you can see in our Changelog.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 27 inch Dell S2722DGM, which is part of Dell's S Series of gaming monitors. It's also available in a 32 inch size, but the larger size has a slightly different panel with a different curve, so our review here isn't valid for that size.
| Model | Size | Native Resolution | Max Refresh rate | Panel Type | Curve |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S2522HG | 24.5" | 1920 x 1080 | 240Hz | IPS | No |
| S2722DGM | 27" | 2560 x 1440 | 165Hz | VA | 1500R |
| S3222DGM | 32" | 2560 x 1440 | 165Hz | VA | 1800R |
| S3422DWG | 34" | 3440 x 1440 | 144Hz | VA | 1800R |
If you come across a different type of panel or your Dell S2722DGM doesn't correspond to our review, let us know, and we'll update the review. Note that some tests, like gray uniformity, may vary between individual units.
Our unit was manufactured in April 2021; you can see the label here.
Popular Monitor Comparisons
The Dell S2722DGM is a good monitor overall, and it's one of the best VA gaming monitors we've tested so far. Unfortunately, it's still plagued by the usual issues that affect VA gaming monitors, like black smear behind fast-moving objects in dark scenes. If you don't care about dark room performance, though, most IPS monitors deliver a superior gaming experience overall.
For more options, check out our recommendations for the best 27 inch monitors, the best gaming monitors, and the best 1440p monitors.
The Gigabyte G27QC is slightly better overall than the Dell S2722DGM, but the Dell is slightly better for gaming. The Dell has a faster response time and better black uniformity, and it's brighter. The Gigabyte supports HDR, it has better gradient handling, and it has a better contrast ratio.
The Dell S2722DGM is much better than the MSI Optix G27CQ4. The Dell has better ergonomics, a faster response time, better viewing angles, and better black uniformity. The Dell is also significantly brighter and can better overcome glare. On the other hand, the MSI has better gradient handling and can accept a 10-bit signal.
The Dell S2721DGF and the Dell S2722DGM use different panel technologies, each with strengths and weaknesses. The S2721DGF uses an IPS panel, and it has better ergonomics, better viewing angles, better reflection handling, and better gradient handling. The S2721DGF supports HDR, but this doesn't add that much, as it can't deliver an impactful HDR experience. The S2722DGM uses a VA panel, and it has much better contrast and better black uniformity, so it's a better choice for a dim or dark room.
The Dell S2722DGM is much better than the Samsung Odyssey G55A S27AG55. The Dell has a much faster response time, so motion in games looks much clearer. The Dell also gets a lot brighter, so it can handle more glare and a brighter viewing environment. The Dell also has a slightly better viewing angle, so the image doesn't degrade as much if you're sitting slightly to the side.
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.
Test Results
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