- Table of Contents
- Intro
- Our Verdict
- Test Results
- Differences
- Compared to others
- Discussions
The Dell Ultrasharp U3818DW is a good ultrawide IPS monitor with decent picture quality, low input lag, and decent motion handling. It is an impressive monitor for office use, with great screen real-estate and some impressive multitasking features, including Picture-in-Picture (PIP) and Picture-by-Picture (PBP), and the USB Hub allows you to use one keyboard and mouse with two computers. Unfortunately, it doesn't perform as well in a dark room, and there is significant overshoot that causes motion smearing. It also doesn't support HDR, which is surprising for a 2018 premium Dell monitor.
Our Verdict
The Dell U3818DW is a good monitor for most uses. It has a good stand that can easily be adjusted to an optimal viewing position. It gets decently bright and has very good reflection handling, great for a bright room. The high resolution, large screen is great for multitasking or for an immersive gaming experience. It has low input lag and decent motion handling.
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Image remains accurate when viewed at an angle
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Excellent out of the box accuracy
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Lots of screen real-estate great for multitasking
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Noticeable motion smearing caused by overshoot
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Blacks appear gray in a dark room
Very good monitor for office use. The monitor can display two inputs at the same time, great if you telecommute and have a work and personal computer on the same desk. The stand is easily adjustable to an ideal viewing position. It has very good viewing angles, which is really important with a screen this size.
Very good monitor for gaming. It has decent motion handling, but the overshoot may cause some noticeable smearing in motion. It has excellent low input lag regardless of input resolution. The large, high resolution curved screen provides a more immersive gaming experience. Some gamers may be disappointed by the 60 Hz refresh rate and lack of VRR support.
Good monitor for multimedia. It has decent motion handling and a great response time, so there is little motion blur in fast moving objects. It has very good viewing angles, great for sharing the latest YouTube trends with some friends. Unfortunately, it doesn't look as good in a dark room due to the mediocre contrast ratio, as blacks look gray in a dark room.
This is a good monitor for media creation. It has a large, high resolution screen that allows you to see more of your project at once. It has very good viewing angles, great for sharing your project with a nearby coworker. Unfortunately, the Adobe RGB color gamut coverage is less than ideal for professionals working in photo or video editing.
The Dell Ultrasharp U3818DW does not support HDR. For a good HDR monitor, check out the Samsung CHG70.
- 7.2 Mixed Usage
- 7.8 Office
- 6.8 Gaming
- 7.1 Multimedia
- 7.3 Media Creation
- 5.2 HDR Gaming
- Update 6/11/2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
- Update 11/6/2018: There was an error with the curve radius scoring which has been fixed. This has not changed the usage scores for this monitor.
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Test Results
The stand is identical to the older U3417W. It has a unique trapezoid shape, and like most Dell stands, it is very slim, allowing you to place small objects directly in front of the monitor.
Mediocre ergonomics. The height of the monitor can be adjusted, and it can tilt and swivel, so you can easily turn your monitor for an impromptu meeting at your desk. The display can't be rotated, but with the large, curved design, you wouldn't really want to anyway.
The back of the monitor is very plain. Most of the inputs are grouped together near the center of the monitor.
The borders are thin and look good. They are the same thickness as the Dell U3417W, and slightly thinner than the ASUS PG348Q.
Because of the curved screen, the monitor looks thick when viewed edge-on. It is thinner than the U3417W due to the less aggressive curve. When VESA mounted, it is very thin, especially for a curved monitor this size (see our recommendations for the best curved monitors).
The Ultrasharp U3818DW is well built. There are no obvious build quality issues that could cause any issues.
The Dell U3818DW has a mediocre contrast ratio, but slightly better than the Dell U3417W. Unfortunately, there is no local dimming feature that could improve dark room performance.
Like the Dell U3417W, the contrast ratio was measured with Uniformity Compensation disabled. With this set to 'Calibrated', the contrast ratio is cut to 604:1.
There is no local dimming feature on this monitor. The video is for reference only.
The Dell Ultrasharp U3818DW is decently bright, and the brightness does not change with different content, which is great. It is a bit brighter than the Dell Alienware AW3418DW.
HDR is not supported on this monitor.
The monitor has good horizontal viewing angles. Given the size of the monitor, this is extremely important to ensure that the entire image remains uniform when sitting up close.
Excellent vertical viewing angles, typical of IPS panels. The brightness and colors shift at slightly narrower angles than the U3417W, but not enough to be noticeable or cause any issues. The black levels stay relatively flat at any angle, which is great.
The Dell Ultrasharp U3818DW has great gray uniformity. There are some dark vertical bands visible, but these are not noticeable under normal viewing conditions. There also isn't much DSE, which is great for browsing the web or watching streaming sports. Uniformity in near-dark scenes is much better, and there is almost no DSE.
Like the Dell U3417W, the gray uniformity was measured with Uniformity Compensation disabled. Setting this to 'Calibrated' did not significantly improve the uniformity, but cut the contrast ratio in half, so we don't recommend it.
Disappointing black uniformity. There is clouding visible across the entire screen, but not much flash-lighting, which is good. The photo is an overexposure designed to highlight clouding, in person, the Dell U3818W looks good in dark scenes.
The Ultrasharp U3818DW has outstanding accuracy out of the box. White balance and color accuracy dE are very low, and even enthusiasts likely won't be able to notice any inaccuracies. Gamma follows the target curve nearly perfectly, and the color temperature is only slightly cool.
The color accuracy and white balance are nearly perfect after calibration, but the Gamma is slightly worse. Color temperature is slightly warm after calibration.
You can download our ICC profile calibration here. This is provided for reference only and should not be used, as the calibration values vary per individual unit even for the same model due to manufacturing tolerances.
s.RGB Picture Mode: Custom Color (calibrated)Adobe RGB Picture Mode: Custom Color
Excellent SDR color gamut. Standard s.RGB color space coverage is nearly perfect, but coverage of the wider Adobe RGB coverage is limited. Overall, the Dell Ultrasharp U3818DW is great for daily use, but isn't ideal for professional photo or video editing.
s.RGB Picture Mode: Custom Color Adobe RGB Picture Mode: Custom Color
Excellent color volume. The U3818DW can produce bright colors across the s.RGB color space without issue. Unfortunately, it can't produce deep, dark colors in either color space due to the limited contrast ratio.
HDR is not supported on this monitor.
HDR is not supported on this monitor.
There are no signs of temporary image retention.
The monitor has great gradient handling. There is only minor banding in some dark colors, not enough to cause any issues.
There is no color bleed when displaying large areas of similar color.
Great reflection handling, similar to the AW3418DW. There should be no issues using this monitor in a bright room.
Response Time Normal Response Time Fast
The monitor has a very good response time, slightly worse than the Dell U3417W. There are only two overdrive settings, and unfortunately in both modes there is significant overshoot in some transitions that causes smearing in motion that may bother some people.
The Dell U3818DW is completely flicker-free. There is no PWM flicker at any backlight level. There is also no option to introduce flicker to help clear up motion.
The Dell U3818DW has a standard 60 Hz refresh rate that is fine for most users, may disappoint more demanding gamers. There is also no FreeSync or G-SYNC VRR support.
Non-native resolution tested: 2560 x 1080 @ 8-bit.
Excellent low input lag. The Dell Ultrasharp U3818DW only supports non-native resolutions in 8-bit, but this shouldn't cause any issues if you want to use 10-bit, as most graphics cards will upscale without you knowing.
Non-native resolutions are only displayed when sending 8-bit, otherwise, they are displayed at the native resolution. Non-native input lag is ever so slightly higher, but still excellent.
The monitor has a great 38" screen and impressive 3840x1600 resolution. This rather uncommon resolution is sometimes known as WQHD+, and is great for multitasking, or for watching widescreen 4k content.
There is an audio line-out port, but it is meant to only be used for speakers, as the volume can't be controlled.
There are 4 USB 3.0 ports, and a USB-C port that can be used with DisplayPort Alt mode, allowing you to connect a laptop to the monitor and charge it with a single cable. USB Power Delivery mode on the U3818DW can deliver up to 95W of power.
Unlike the U3417W, the U3818DW does not have a DisplayPort out, so it can't be daisy-chained with another monitor.
The Dell U3818DW has some impressive additional features. It is designed to connect to two computers at the same time. There are separate USB upstream ports that allow the monitor to function as a KVM switch by connecting your keyboard and mouse to the USB ports on the monitor. With the Picture-in-Picture or Picture-by-Picture mode, you can display two computers on the screen at the same time, and easily work with both. It has built in speakers, but no HDR support.
The controls on this monitor are very similar to other Dell monitors, including the U3417W. The buttons are small, but they are a bit stiff and aren't comfortable if you plan on making frequent adjustments. There are programmable quick buttons that can make this easier though.
Differences Between Sizes and Variants
We tested the 38" Dell U3818DW. Dell offers similar models in other sizes, but they perform differently from the U3818DW.
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their Dell U3818DW 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 | Resolution | Refresh Rate | Notes |
| U3818DW | 38" | 3840x1600 | 60 Hz | |
| U3417W | 34" | 3440x1440 | 60 Hz | |
| AW3418DW | 34" | 3440x1440 | 100 Hz | G-SYNC |
The U3818DW we reviewed was manufactured in May 2018.
Compared to other monitors
The Dell U3818DW is a great office monitor with some impressive features, but these features come at a premium price. See our recommendations for the best gaming monitors for PC, the best curved gaming monitors, and the best 4k gaming monitors.
The Dell U3818DW and the Dell U4919DW are very similar. The larger screen on the U4919DW is easier for multitasking and offers a more immersive gaming experience. The U3818DW has a better stand, with a better height adjustment, and it can swivel.
The Dell U3818DW and the LG 34WK95U both have very similar performance. The Dell is flicker-free and has better ergonomics so you can easily place it to your liking. On the other hand, the LG supports HDR and has a slightly faster pixel response time that leaves a shorter blur trail in fast-moving content.
The Dell U3818DW is better than the Dell U3417W. The U3818DW has a larger, higher-resolution screen that allows you to see more of your project. The 2018 U3818DW has much-improved input lag, great for gaming, but it's slightly dimmer than the U3417W. The U3417W has a DisplayPort out, so it can be daisy-chained to a second monitor. The U3818DW doesn't have this feature.
Overall, the Dell Alienware AW3418DW and the Dell U3818DW perform similarly, but the AW3418DW is better suited for gamers, whereas the U3818DW is better for office use. The AW3418DW has a faster refresh rate and better response time, as well as NVIDIA G-SYNC support. The Dell U3818DW has a larger, higher-resolution screen that is better for multitasking, as well as support for PIP/PIB, allowing you to work on two computers at once.
The Dell U3818DW is a bit better than the Samsung CHG90, unless you want the largest screen available and watch in a dark room. The U3818DW has much better viewing angles, which is extremely important in a monitor this size. Overall, motion looks better on the CHG90 thanks to the much faster refresh rate, but the CHG90 has PWM flicker, whereas the U3818DW is flicker-free.
The Dell U3818DW and the Samsung CRG9 are similar, but due to the differences in panel technology, they each have their advantages and disadvantages. The U3818DW uses an IPS panel, which delivers wider viewing angles, and the Dell has better ergonomics. The CRG9 has a much larger, higher resolution screen, and is a much better gaming monitor. The CRG9 supports HDR, has a faster refresh rate, and much better motion handling.
The Dell U3818DW and the LG 49WL95C-W are very similar overall. The U3818DW has slightly better ergonomics, but a smaller, lower-resolution screen. The LG 49WL95C-W supports HDR, although this doesn't add much.
The Dell U3818DW is better than the Acer Z35P for most uses, unless you are looking for an ultrawide gaming monitor. The Dell U3818DW has a higher native resolution and larger screen, great for multitasking, and the image remains accurate when viewed at an angle. The Dell is limited to a 60Hz refresh rate that may be disappointing to some gamers. The Acer Z35P has a higher native refresh rate, and it supports NVIDIA G-SYNC VRR for a tear-free gaming experience.
The Dell U3818DW is slightly better than the ASUS ROG PG348Q, but overall it depends on your usage. The ROG PG348Q is better for gaming, thanks to the faster refresh rate and G-SYNC support. The Dell U3818DW is better for office use thanks to the larger, higher-resolution screen, as well as the multitasking-oriented features, like PIP/PBP. The Dell U3818DW has slightly better dark room performance, as there is less backlight bleed and flashlighting.
