The Dell Ultrasharp U3417W is an above-average curved ultrawide IPS LCD monitor with a high 3440x1440 resolution. It gets brighter than average and comes with a factory calibration. It has a very wide viewing angle and produces a low amount of input lag, which is good for gaming. Unfortunately, its low contrast and uneven blacks result in only an average picture quality and it lacks motion-enhancing features such as a high refresh rate or black frame insertion.
Our Verdict
The Dell Ultrasharp U3417W does a decent job for a mixed usage. Its high resolution and large size make it a great choice for multitasking, and its high brightness and large viewing angles mean it will fit most environments without issue. Unfortunately, its uneven blacks and low contrast reduce its picture quality.
- Very good viewing angles
- Good factory calibration
- Non-uniform blacks can be quite distracting
- Low contrast ratio
Good monitor for usage in an office. While its stand doesn't offer much flexibility in movement, its very large size means you're rarely going to move the Dell 3417W. Its wide viewing angle and large virtual workspace make it very useful for productive tasks since you can have many windows open at usable sizes around the screen.
Good monitor for gaming. While it doesn't offer high refresh rates, the monitor's ultrawide aspect ratio makes for a very immersive gaming experience. Unfortunately, it also lacks features such as variable refresh rate and BFI which can greatly improve the motion quality.
Decent monitor for consuming a variety of media. The Dell 3417W's 21:9 resolution allows it to display most theatrical content without black bars, making it quite immersive. Unfortunately, it lacks support for wider gamuts or HDR. Its uniformity issues and low overall contrast also mean that its picture won't look exceptional in a dark room.
The Dell Ultrasharp U3417W is a decent choice for media creation. It comes with a factory calibration with serviceable accuracy, so less demanding workloads can be done straight out of the box. However, its limited coverage of larger color spaces such as Adobe RGB and DCI-P3 limit its usefulness in a professional environment.
HDR is not supported, which is normal as HDR support for monitors is very limited. For a monitor with support, see the Samsung CHG90.
Changelog
- Updated Mar 28, 2019: There was an error in the number of HDMI ports. There are 2 HDMI 2.0 ports, not 1.
- Updated Nov 06, 2018: There was an error with the curve radius scoring which has been fixed. This has not changed the usage scores for this monitor.
- Updated Oct 23, 2018: The review was missing the measurement for the swivel range in the Ergonomics test. We remeasured this and have updated the review.
- Updated Dec 15, 2017: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Dell U3417W, which is a 2017 model 34" Ultrawide monitor. There is another Ultrawide monitor from 2015, and many other sizes and year variants of the Dell Ultrasharp monitors, some of which are listed below.
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their monitor doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review. Note that some tests such as the gray uniformity may vary between individual units.
| Model | Size | Year | Resolution |
| U3415W | 34" | 2015 | 3440x1440 |
| U3417W | 34" | 2017 | 3440x1440 |
| U2715H | 27" | 2015 | 2560x1440 |
| U2717D | 27" | 2017 | 2560x1440 |
| U2718Q | 27" | 2017 | 3640x2160 |
Popular Monitor Comparisons
The Dell U3417W is an Ultrawide monitor with an office and productivity focus. While the high resolution and large size do make it great for this use, it comes at a high price and for other uses, it isn't as good of a fit. See our recommendations for the best curved gaming monitors, the best 34-49 inch monitors, and the best 1440p monitors.
The Dell U2715H is slightly better than the Dell U3417W. The U2715H is better for gamers as it has much lower input lag. The Dell U3417W is a larger screen with a widescreen aspect ratio and higher native resolution, so it is easier to multitask.
The LG 34UC79G-B is slightly better than the Dell U3417W. The 34UC79G-B has a much higher native refresh rate, and much lower input lag, as well as FreeSync support for gaming. Motion looks much better on the LG as it can introduce backlight flicker to reduce motion blur. While both screens are the same size, the Dell U3417W has a higher native resolution, so you can see more fine details.
The Samsung C49HG90/CHG90 is slightly better than the Dell U3417W, unless you need wider viewing angles. The Samsung CHG90 supports HDR and has much better dark room performance thanks to the higher native contrast. The CHG90 is better for gamers than the U3417W, as it has much less input lag and a faster refresh rate, so motion looks smoother with less blur. The picture quality of the Dell U3417W doesn't degrade when viewed at an angle.
The Dell U3417W is a bit better than the LG 43UD79. The U3417W is a bit brighter and has more vibrant colors due to the better color volume. The U3417W has better ergonomics and it's easier to adjust to a comfortable position, whereas the LG 43UD79 has very limited adjustments. It has lower input lag and the larger screen provides more screen real estate, which is good for productivity.
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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