The new Dell U3011 30″ Monitor is a monster. At 30″ and 2560×1600 resolution (roughly DOUBLE 1080p) I can open up a TON of windows simultaneously without having to switch back an forth. This is a huge time savings for me because I’m constantly updating my blog, editing photos, writing emails, and backing up files. The screen looks beautiful and the interface is extremely easy to use.

When it’s time to get down and do some Photo Editing, its simply awesome. Since the screen has so much resolution I can display around 300 thumbnails on the screen without having to scroll around. During photo editing, the huge resolution lets me see the images with a TON more detail without having to zoom in. Double edged sword? Yes. Since I’m seeing the images so HUGE, if the focus is off just a touch, or there is just a little bit of motion blur, its immediately noticeable. This is also good though because it helps me refine my shooting and guarantees that when these photos are printed or displayed on a more normal monitor, they will look AWESOME.

On top of all this, the Dell U3011 30″ Monitor comes calibrated from the factory for both Adobe RGB and sRGB color profiles, so I know I’m getting accurate color. The gamma and contrast are accurate as well because this is an IPS monitor. IPS panels don’t suffer from the contrast and color shifts at off angles that everyday TN panels suffer from. Sure this monitor isn’t cheap but the quality is fantastic. Dell has some awesome warranties on these monitors and even provides a new panel if you get even ONE dead pixel (and thats saying something with over 4 million pixels!). They have been making these professional grade monitors for close to 5 years now, and this revision is just the latest of a great line of monitors. Highly recommended if you have a need and the money for one of these monitors.

Update 2/25/11: After about 3 months I’m still very happy! The monitor is still working great! Couple more thoughts:

• The swivel base is very useful when meeting with clients because I can just swivel the panel over so it faces them. Just takes a few seconds to get it back to where it should be.
• Not one dead pixel has showed its face on this thing
• Since the bezel is all a flat texture it makes it look cleaner a lot longer
• I’ve had great luck with pictures printing just what they look like on the monitor

I know I’ve said it before but the Dell U3011 saves me NOTICEABLE time when working on pretty much anything. Without having to scroll around all the time, I can focus on what I’m working on. The only regret I have with this monitor is that I didn’t pick it up cheaper. I’ve seen the Dell U3011 on sale for several hundred less than I paid for it already. Not that the monitor isn’t worth what I paid for it, its just a sickening feeling when you buy something and then see it for a few hundred dollars cheaper a few weeks after.

I also built a new photo editing computer when I got this thing. Click here to check out my complete Photo Editing PC Build.