Hands On with Dell's 27-inch P2714T Touch Monitor

Performance Summary: Windows 8 is clearly focused on touch computing, and if that's the goal, a monitor like the P2714T is a handy tool to have at your disposal. It's highly responsive to swipes and gestures, it supports 10 points of capacitive touch input, and it offers a large and flexible screen that tilts from 10 degrees to 60 degrees. Color reproduction is quite good on the P2714T, and we didn't have any trouble using the panel in brightly lit environments. We did notice the monitor struggle with black levels just a bit, and we also picked up some Moire interference, but otherwise the P2714T didn't sweat our DisplayMate benchmarks.

 

Windows 8/8.1 is here to stay, and with it is a concerted effort by Microsoft to get users accustomed to touch computing. Microsoft can't drive this revolution by itself -- the company needs help from hardware partners to deliver accessories that take advantage of this new computing paradigm, and that's what Dell has done with the P2714T.

 

This isn't a monitor that you'll likely pick up for Windows 7 or Linux, but paired with Windows 8, it has quite a bit to offer. The PLS panel Dell chose to go with ensures great viewing angles and superior color reproduction compared to cheap TN panels, and the edge-to-edge glass makes sure there's no protruding bezel to get in the way of finger swipes. Throw in 10-point capacitive touch support and you have a monitor that's well suited to help Microsoft showcase Windows 8.

The elephant in the room, of course, is the asking price. It carries an MSRP of $700 (Dell has it marked down to $550 at the time of this writing, though you can find it for slightly less at Amazon), which is approaching 30-inch monitor territory. We don't want to act like a few hundred dollars is chump change, but if you're already spending this much on a monitor, the jump to a 30-inch In-Plane Switching (IPS) panel with a 2560x1600 resolution isn't a huge leap. Likewise, for around the same money (or less if you're willing to go with an off-brand) you can pick up a 27-inch non-touch monitor with PLS panel and a 2560x1440 resolution.

This is where Dell has your wallet in a vice. While you can upgrade to a bigger, better monitor for not a whole lot more (street pricing, at least), you'll lose out on touch input, which is what the P2714T is all about. That's really the bottom line here -- this is a somewhat expensive monitor that's big in size and only average in resolution, but great for touch input. If you've bought into the whole touch craze that Microsoft is selling on the desktop and you're willing to invest a few bucks to exploit Windows 8's touch capabilities, the P2714T is a very good option with a few bonuses, like MHL support and surprisingly good gaming performance. However, if you're more interested in bang-for-buck performance and are still willing to spend a chunk of change (without touch support), Dell's U3011 is a better bet.

 

Sleek, responsive, and flexible tilt options Surprisingly good gaming performance Good color reproduction 10-point capacitive touch USB 3.0 support MHL support	No built-in speakers Big panel begs for a higher resolution than Full HD 1080p Black level performance Expensive