The Dell Ultrasharp U3824DW offers the world’s first 37.5-inch IPS Black panel with improved contrast and fantastic colors. It’s also equipped to be the center of productivity and a hub for the latest workstation devices in the market. Let’s take a closer look at this premium offering to see if it should be your next upgrade.
Dell Ultrasharp U3824DW Specifications
- Screen Size: 38 Inches
- Resolution: 3840 x 1600 WQHD+
- Aspect Ratio: 21:9
- Panel Technology: In-Plane Switching (IPS Black)
- Refresh Rate: 60Hz
- Response Time: 5ms
- Contrast Ratio: 2000:1 (Static)
- Brightness: 300 cd/m² (750 cd/m² Peak)
- Built-in Speakers: Yes (2 x 9 Watts)
- Stand: Height – Yes
- Stand: Tilt – Yes
- Stand: Swivel – Yes
- Stand: Pivot – No
- VESA Compatibility: Yes (100 x 100)
- Connectivity: DisplayPort 1.4 x 1, HDMI 2.1 x 2, USB-C PD 90W x 1, USB-C Downstream PD15W x 2, USB-C Upstream x 1, USB-A Downstream x 1, USB 3.2 x 4, USB 3.2 BC 1.2 x 1, 3.5mm Audio Jack x 1
- Dimensions (WxHxD): 35.2″ x 22.2″ x 9.9”
- Weight: 29.26 lbs
Design and Features
The Dell Ultrasharp U3824DW follows the aesthetic we saw on its IPS Black siblings, such as the Dell U3224KB. The monitor has a matte black and silver finish, so it looks more than just an office monitor without appearing to be too striking. The monitor has a bezel-free design, but it still has minimal panel borders if you look close enough.
The unboxing experience for it is the same as the brand’s premium models that we recently handled. It’s neatly packed in a massive clamshell box that weighs almost 50 pounds when it’s fully loaded. Assembly is very easy since you only must unpack the stand, attach it to the cabinet, and lift it out with ease.
The monitor comes with cables for DisplayPort, HDMI, USB-C, and a USB-A to USB-C cable. It’s already equipped with all the necessary wires, so you don’t have to go out and spend more to get it working with a specific device. You will also find a calibration report inside the box, but these things are usually not accurate since Dell uses a proprietary system for factory calibration.
It’s also a massive display, so some desks with large peripherals might not be able to accommodate its width that exceeds 35 inches. It’s not as deep as other ultrawides since the curve is gentler while the base is flat. It is very heavy at almost thirty pounds, so handling it firmly is necessary if you are moving around.
The Dell Ultrasharp U3824DW’s build quality is excellent since it looks and feels like a very expensive monitor. The panels are sturdy and appear like they were manufactured with extreme precision. The stand is stable and firm, although the screen wobbles a bit if you nudge it because of the weight.
Its connectivity layout is one of the best in the business since it offers just about anything you will need for a workstation. The monitor has DisplayPort 1.4, two HDMI 2.1 slots, and a 90-watt USB-C port with DP Alt Mode for video inputs. You also get two USB-C downstream slots with 15 watts each, a USB-C upstream port, four USB 3.2 slots, a USB 3.2 BC 1.2 slot, an RJ45 LAN slot, and 3.5mm jack.
That’s a lot of options, but it lets you utilize the monitor for a myriad of devices out there. The U3824DW’s 90-watt USB-C slot kept our laptop sufficiently powered through heavy tasks, but gaming on it will require more. It also still has a USB hub under the bottom bezel, but it’s not the pop-out version the other UltraSharp 2024 monitors have.
Its specs are rounded off by a pair of built-in speakers with 9 watts of power. The set sounds good enough for videos and movies, so you can sit back and relax if it is too hot to wear headphones. We still think that its better served by a properly tuned headset, but we’re glad Dell included a usable set with the product.
Display and Performance
The Dell Ultrasharp U3824DW boasts a 38-inch curved IPS Black panel with a 3840 x 1600 resolution, a 60Hz refresh rate, and a 5ms response time. The backlight has a 300 cd/m2 output while the contrast is listed at 2000:1. This model doesn’t advertise entertainment-grade specs like HDR, but that’s understandable since it’s a business-oriented model.
The Dell Ultrasharp U3824DW may have 3840 horizontal pixels, but its pixel density is not comparable with a 4K screen. However, it’s still crisp and detailed for anything with images without sacrificing too much legibility and visibility. It’s a bit more demanding on GPUs, but this model is limited to 60Hz, so many video cards out there can run it smoothly.
As mentioned, we used the same laptop with an RTX 3070Ti to test this monitor. We didn’t have any issues with it since the monitor immediately fired up and showed the display instantly. You may have to adjust the resolution and aspect ratio, but it’s not a repeating issue once been set.
The Dell Ultrasharp U3824DW covered 100% sRGB, 90% Adobe RGB, and 91% of the DCI-P3 color space. Its default accuracy could be better for the price, although that 2.53 dE average is already decent for daily use. The monitor looks good and balanced out of the box, but its brightness could use some adjustments since it’s too high out of the box.
Calibrating the monitor with our Calibrite Display Plus improved the dE average to 1.6, making it look more balanced and less cool or bluish. However, it’s a level of improvement that doesn’t make the extra purchase necessary in most cases. Frankly, we expected better results for both uncalibrated and calibrated states from a monitor in this class.
The Dell Ultrasharp U3824DW’s backlight reached 336 cd/m2 at 100%, so it has some room for adjustment. The monitor’s contrast reached 1412:1 at 37% brightness and a 0.086 black luminance. The screen looks great when it presents dark scenes, showing us the true benefits of IPS black technology.
Panel uniformity for the test sample was excellent since there were no immediately noticeable flaws like clouding. The bottom corners of the screen did have some variance from the rest, but it was too little to notice, even if the colorimeter recorded it. Note that this can change between every unit since no two panels are made the same, so there are worse ones out there.
It’s not the most responsive monitor out there, but that’s okay since it wasn’t meant for fast-paced gaming. However, the U3824DW has decent motion clarity, provided that you use its overdrive’s Fast setting. There will be some very minor overshoot in some scenes, but it is not significant enough to ruin your casual gaming experience.
The Dell Ultrasharp U3824DW doesn’t support FreeSync and G-Sync since it was not intended for gaming. Most users will be fine with this, but incredibly immersive games like Cyberpunk 2077, which would look amazing on it, could use VRR. Its input lag sits at 9ms at 60Hz, so it’s lag-free for most usage scenarios.
Thoughts on the Dell Ultrasharp U3824DW
The Dell Ultrasharp U3824DW is a great monitor thanks to its excellent quality and flexibility. Its vibrant IPS panel provides great imagery, plus it has enough contrast to get rid of the grayish-black rendering that is common on older IPS panels. It’s filled to the brim with connectivity features, so owners can maximize it for complex workstations or business setups.
However, we expected better accuracy from it after seeing the other recent UltraSharp monitors. It is not particularly bad, but we expected more from an expensive monitor that belongs to a series that has dead-accurate offerings. It’s still a great upgrade, but we’d consider the U3223QE or even the U4323QE for editing work.
Pros:
- Premium Quality and Craftsmanship
- Excellent Contrast and Black Luminance for IPS
- Vibrant
- Extensive Connectivity with USB-C and HDMI 2.1
Cons:
- Expensive
- Not as Accurate as Other Dell IPS Black Monitors
About the Author: 
Paolo has been a gaming veteran since the golden days of Doom and Warcraft and has been building gaming systems for family, friends, and colleagues since junior high. High-performance monitors are one of his fixations; he believes that every citizen’s right to enjoy one. He has gone through several pieces of hardware in pursuit of every bit of performance gain, much to the dismay of his wallet. He now works with Monitornerds to scrutinize the latest gear to create reviews that accentuate the seldom explained aspects of a PC monitor.
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