Dell P2720DC 27 inch

amazon Dell P2720DC 27 inch reviews

As the higher-end model of two similar, released business monitors, the $479.99 Dell P2720DC offers a better port selection than its Dell P2720D sibling, adding one more USB Type-C port and a second DisplayPort connector. According to Dell’s naming convention, “P” stands for productivity, “D” stands for QHD resolution (2,560 x 1,440 pixels), and “C” represents a USB-C port, but “DC” can just easily short for “daisy-chaining.” The P2720DC’s secret sauce is that you can connect a second monitor to it via DisplayPort, and the Dell Express Daisy-Chaining feature automatically configures Windows’ display settings for an extended dual monitor setup.

Just enough bezel

The P2720DC’s 27-inch screen offers IPS technology and a standard widescreen (16:9) aspect ratio. The flat screen is housed in a matte black case. It has minimal bezels — 0.8 cm at the bottom of the screen and so small it’s almost nonexistent on the sides and top — which adds to its appeal as a candidate for multi-monitor setups.

Including the stand, the Dell P2720DC measures 40 x 61.5 x 18 cm and weighs 7.3 kg. The case connects backward with a silver shaft with a round hole near the bottom through which you can thread cables. The shaft is housed in a gray base measuring 24 x 19 cm, and the screen feels pretty solid when mounted on it. The stand supports height adjustment (up to 13 cm), tilt, swivel (90 degrees in either direction), and swivel (90 degrees from landscape to portrait and back). It also features four holes in a square 100mm apart to support VESA wall mounting with a suitable bracket (not included).

Various connection ports

One of the strengths of the P2720DC is its wide selection of ports. The USB-C port supports DisplayPort over USB and delivers up to 65 watts of power, allowing the monitor to power and even charge a laptop connected to it while receiving data or video.

The monitor has four downstream USB ports (two USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0) to charge handheld devices and connect peripherals. One of its DisplayPort 1.2 ports connects to a computer, while the other connects a second monitor to the system.

Most of the ports are placed face-down on the back, but the screen is small enough that it shouldn’t be a problem to rotate the device to access them. Two downstream USB ports are on the left side for easy access.

Simple Daisy-Chaining

The big draw to the P2720DC is the promise of ease of connecting a second monitor to it for many users. Although the Dell Express Daisy-Chaining utility automatically adjusts Windows display settings to an extended-mode multi-monitor configuration when a second monitor is attached to the DisplayPort connector, you must enable the DisplayPort settings first. Multi-Stream Transport (MST) in the on-screen display (OSD) menu. The second monitor doesn’t need to be another P2720DC; it’s not even a Dell monitor, nor is it the same size or resolution (though it can’t be higher than the QHD resolution).

Buttons and menus

The physical controls on the P2720DC are typical of business monitors, including a small power button at the bottom of the screen near its right edge and a row of four smaller navigation buttons to the left of the power button. While the system isn’t as easy to use as the mini-joystick OSD menu controller now found on many games and some all-in-one monitors, I didn’t find it too difficult to navigate Dell’s menus. The four buttons can be called Color, Input Source, Menu, and Exit based on their default purpose. Menu items include Brightness/Contrast, Input Source, Color, Display, Menu (change OSD language and display duration), Personalization, and Other.

Brightness/Contrast includes sliders to adjust those two settings. From the Input Source, you can select HDMI, DP, USB-C, or Auto Select. You can access preset modes such as Standard, ComfortView, Movie, Game, Warm, Cool, and Custom Color from Colors. From Personalization, you can set shortcuts and enable or disable USB charging.

From the Display menu item, you can change the aspect ratio, adjust the sharpness, and enable the MST setting, which is essential to connect a second monitor to the P2720DC.

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Check color and brightness.

I measured the P2720DC’s brightness, contrast ratio, and color accuracy using Portrait Display CalMAN 5 calibration software, a Murideo SIX-G signal generator, and an X-Rite Pro 3 Plus spectrometer. I measured brightness in Standard mode at 250.4 nits (candelas per meter squared), far below its rated 350 nit brightness but more than enough for typical business use. I calculated a contrast ratio of 990:1, a hair below 1000:1.

Above is the color accuracy or chroma chart of the sRGB color space produced when testing in Standard mode. The area inside the triangle represents all the colors created by mixing the primary colors red, green, and blue. The circles, representing my measurements, are mostly located just outside the triangle and are evenly spaced.

The P2720DC covers 99.8 percent of the sRGB color space — the standard color space used on the web and many other applications — surpassing Dell’s 99 percent sRGB color coverage. Our testing also covered 78.1% of Adobe RGB, a wider color gamut used in some photography applications, and 82.6% of DCI-P3, a common color space used to project digital movies. All of these are more than enough for the display’s intended use.

In addition to our official testing, I did some ad hoc testing by viewing various documents, web pages, videos, and photos on the screen. Colors are bright, vivid, and look realistic in photos and videos. The text looks sharp, and the business graphics are nice.

More than one

It’s not the only monitor that supports daisy-chaining to a second monitor. The P2720DC is one of the few Dell monitors to be included, powered by the company’s Express Daisy-Chaining feature, adding the convenience of automatically configuring a multi-monitor setup as an extended pair of monitors. Happily, it has many other attributes, including a wide selection of ports, a full set of handy features, and good color coverage (basically covering the entire sRGB gamut).