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.
- Image remains accurate when viewed at an angle
- Excellent out of the box accuracy
- Lots of screen real-estate great for multitasking
- Noticeable motion smearing caused by overshoot
- 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 60Hz 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.
Changelog
- Updated Jun 11, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
- 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 24, 2018: Review published.
- Updated Oct 22, 2018: Our testers have started testing this product.
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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 | 60Hz | |
| U3417W | 34" | 3440x1440 | 60Hz | |
| AW3418DW | 34" | 3440x1440 | 100Hz | G-SYNC |
The U3818DW we reviewed was manufactured in May 2018.
Popular Monitor Comparisons
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 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.
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.
The Dell U3818DW is better than the Acer Predator Z35P Bmiphz 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 Z35P has a higher native refresh rate, and it supports NVIDIA G-SYNC VRR for a tear-free gaming experience.
The Dell U3818DW is a bit better than the Samsung C49HG90/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.
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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